Food and medication
Caffeine and medication
Caffeine can add to some medicines’ effects (jitteriness, a racing heart, poor sleep) or change how much of the medicine your body absorbs or keeps.
27 medicines on our checker are affected, and for 1 the advice is to avoid it. Tap a medicine for every food and drink that matters with it.
Avoid caffeine with these medicines
- Alendronic acid · Fosamax, Binosto
Coffee markedly reduces how much alendronic acid your body absorbs. Do not take your dose with it.
Where this comes from
“Even dosing with orange juice or coffee has been shown to markedly reduce the absorption of BINOSTO”
US FDA drug label
Take care caffeine with these medicines
- Bendroflumethiazide
Drinks with caffeine can make you more thirsty and need to pee more. Make sure you drink plenty of other fluids instead.
Where this comes from
“Drinking lots of tea, coffee, hot chocolate, cola, energy drinks and other drinks with caffeine can make you more thirsty and need to pee more.”
Information from the NHS website - Beta blockers · propranolol, metoprolol, atenolol
Large amounts of caffeine can raise heart rate and blood pressure, working against the medicine.
- Carbimazole
Caffeine can make dizziness caused by carbimazole worse.
Where this comes from
“If carbimazole makes you feel dizzy, it's best to avoid alcohol, coffee and other drinks containing caffeine as these can also make the dizziness worse.”
Information from the NHS website - Clonidine · Catapres
Caffeine raises blood pressure, working against clonidine if you take it for high blood pressure.
Where this comes from
“Drink less caffeine, such as tea, coffee, cola and energy drinks.”
Information from the NHS website - Co-beneldopa · Madopar
Caffeine from tea and coffee can interfere with sleep, a common side effect of co-beneldopa.
Where this comes from
“Reduce tea and coffee and other drinks that contain caffeine.”
Information from the NHS website - Co-dydramol · Paramol, Remedeine, Remedeine Forte
Avoid coffee if co-dydramol makes you dizzy.
Where this comes from
“Avoid coffee, cigarettes , alcohol and recreational drugs.”
Information from the NHS website - Diphenhydramine · Nytol Original, Boots Sleepeaze, Histergan
Caffeine has the opposite effect to diphenhydramine and can stop it working if you're taking it to help you sleep.
Where this comes from
“If you're taking diphenhydramine to help you sleep, try not to drink anything that contains caffeine, such as coffee, tea, cola or energy drinks. Caffeine has the opposite effect to diphenhydramine on your body and can stop it working.”
Information from the NHS website - Eplerenone · Inspra
Caffeine in the afternoon and evening can make difficulty sleeping worse, a side effect of eplerenone.
Where this comes from
“Avoid caffeine (such as tea, coffee, cola, energy drinks and chocolate) in the afternoon and evening.”
Information from the NHS website - Esomeprazole · Nexium, Nexium Control, Emozul
Cutting down on caffeinated drinks may help ease acid symptoms while on esomeprazole.
Where this comes from
“Try to cut down on caffeinated drinks, such as tea, coffee and cola.”
Information from the NHS website - Gaviscon
Caffeinated drinks like tea, coffee and cola can worsen symptoms.
Where this comes from
“cut down on caffeinated drinks, such as tea, coffee and cola”
Information from the NHS website - Hydroxocobalamin · Cobalin-H, Neo-Cytamen
May make hot flushes worse. Try cutting down on drinks containing caffeine if you get this side effect.
Where this comes from
“Try cutting down on alcohol and drinks containing caffeine, such as tea, coffee, cola and energy drinks.”
Information from the NHS website - Isosorbide mononitrate and isosorbide dinitrate · Chemydur XL, Isotard, Monomil XL
Coffee and tea can make facial flushing worse if you experience this side effect.
Where this comes from
“Try to cut down on coffee, tea and alcohol because they can make flushing worse.”
Information from the NHS website - Lansoprazole · Zoton FasTabs
Cut down on tea, coffee, cola and energy drinks, as they can make acid symptoms worse.
Where this comes from
“It also helps to cut down on caffeinated drinks, such as tea, coffee, cola and energy drinks, as well as alcohol.”
Information from the NHS website - Levothyroxine · thyroxine, synthroid, eltroxin
Coffee soon after your dose reduces absorption. Wait 30 to 60 minutes.
- Lithium · priadel, camcolit, lithium carbonate
Big changes in how much caffeine you have can change lithium levels. Keep it steady.
- MAOIs · phenelzine, nardil, tranylcypromine
Large amounts of caffeine can raise blood pressure on an MAOI. Keep it moderate.
- Mirabegron · Betmiga
Caffeine drinks may irritate your bladder and make urinary symptoms worse.
Where this comes from
“drinks with caffeine, such as coffee, tea, hot chocolate, cola and energy drinks”
Information from the NHS website - Oxybutynin · Aspire, Ditropan
Caffeine can increase how much you pee and may worsen bladder symptoms while taking oxybutynin.
Where this comes from
“cut down on drinks that contain caffeine, such as tea, coffee, cola and energy drinks, as caffeine can increase how much you pee”
Information from the NHS website - Pantoprazole · Pantoloc Control
Cutting down on caffeinated drinks can help ease the acid symptoms pantoprazole treats.
Where this comes from
“It also helps to cut down on caffeinated drinks, such as tea, coffee, cola and energy drinks, as well as alcohol.”
Information from the NHS website - PPIs · omeprazole, lansoprazole, esomeprazole
Coffee can trigger reflux for some people.
- Pregabalin · Alzain, Axalid, Lyrica
Coffee and tea in the evening can worsen pregabalin-related sleep problems.
Where this comes from
“Avoid having a big meal, smoking, or drinking alcohol, tea or coffee in the evening.”
Information from the NHS website - Solifenacin · Vesicare
Caffeine in tea, coffee, cola and energy drinks can increase how much you pee if you have urinary incontinence.
Where this comes from
“cut down on drinks that contain caffeine, such as tea, coffee, cola and energy drinks, as caffeine can increase how much you pee”
Information from the NHS website - SSRIs · sertraline, fluoxetine, citalopram
Caffeine can add to jitteriness and poor sleep, common early side effects.
- Sulfasalazine
Tea or coffee in the evening can make difficulty sleeping worse.
Where this comes from
“Avoid having a big meal, smoking, or drinking alcohol, tea or coffee in the evening.”
Information from the NHS website - Tolterodine · Neditol, Detrusitol, Mariosea
Caffeine can increase how much you pee, which may worsen incontinence symptoms.
Where this comes from
“cut down on drinks that contain caffeine, such as tea, coffee, cola and energy drinks, as caffeine can increase how much you pee”
Information from the NHS website - Verapamil · Securon, Verapress, Vera-Til
Cutting down on coffee and tea may help if you get flushing while taking verapamil.
Foods and drinks that count as caffeine
- Coffee
- Espresso
- Instant coffee
- Iced coffee
- Tea
- Green tea
- Matcha
- Energy drinks
- Cola
- Dark chocolate
- Pre-workout
- Caffeine tablets
- Yerba mate
- Guarana
- Latte
- Cappuccino
- Mocha
- Chai latte
- Iced tea
- Earl Grey
Common questions
- Which medicines does caffeine affect?
- 27 medicines on our checker: Alendronic acid (avoid), Bendroflumethiazide (take care), Beta blockers (take care), Carbimazole (take care), Clonidine (take care), Co-beneldopa (take care), Co-dydramol (take care), Diphenhydramine (take care), Eplerenone (take care), Esomeprazole (take care), Gaviscon (take care), Hydroxocobalamin (take care), Isosorbide mononitrate and isosorbide dinitrate (take care), Lansoprazole (take care), Levothyroxine (take care), Lithium (take care), MAOIs (take care), Mirabegron (take care), Oxybutynin (take care), Pantoprazole (take care), PPIs (take care), Pregabalin (take care), Solifenacin (take care), SSRIs (take care), Sulfasalazine (take care), Tolterodine (take care), Verapamil (take care).
- Which foods count as caffeine?
- Coffee, Espresso, Instant coffee, Iced coffee, Tea, Green tea, Matcha, Energy drinks, Cola, Dark chocolate, Pre-workout, Caffeine tablets, Yerba mate, Guarana, Latte, Cappuccino, Mocha, Chai latte, Iced tea, Earl Grey.
General information from NHS medicine pages and drug labels, not medical advice. Always follow your prescriber, pharmacist or the leaflet with your medicine. How we check.