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.
6 medicines on our checker are affected. Tap a medicine for every food and drink that matters with it.
Take care caffeine with these medicines
- Beta blockers · propranolol, metoprolol, atenolol
Large amounts of caffeine can raise heart rate and blood pressure, working against the medicine.
- 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.
- PPIs · omeprazole, lansoprazole, esomeprazole
Coffee can trigger reflux for some people.
- SSRIs · sertraline, fluoxetine, citalopram
Caffeine can add to jitteriness and poor sleep, common early side effects.
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?
- 6 medicines on our checker: Beta blockers (take care), Levothyroxine (take care), Lithium (take care), MAOIs (take care), PPIs (take care), SSRIs (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.