10 Medications You Should Never Mix With Coffee

Thyroid Medicine

If you have hypothyroidism, your thyroid gland-a butterfly shaped gland at the front of your neck-is not producing enough thyroid hormone.

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And it’s not a small effect: Patient case reports show that coffee can even reduce the absorption of thyroid medicine by more than half.2

Cold or Allergy Medication

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Some allergy meds, like fexofenadine should not be taken with coffee as it can overstimulate your central nervous system, increasing the symptoms of restlessness.6 It’s always a good idea to ask your healthcare provider for advice regarding the combination of coffee and cold or allergy medicine.

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Diabetes Medication

If you mix your coffee with sugar or milk, that could lead to a spike in blood sugar and impact how well your diabetes medication works. In addition to that, studies show that caffeine may worsen symptoms for people with diabetes.

Drinking anything with caffeine, like coffee, could raise your insulin and blood sugar levels, according to study published by the American Diabetes Association.7

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Alzheimer’s Medicine

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Alzheimer’s medicine, like donepezil, rivastigmine, and galantamine are affected by caffeine. The caffeine in coffee tightens up the blood-brain barrier and can decrease how much of the drug makes it to your brain. Alzheimer’s medications work by protecting the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, and drinking high amounts of coffee has been shown to impair that protective effect.10

Asthma Medication

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Many people with asthma take bronchodilators during a flare-up, like aminophylline or theophylline. Bronchodilators work by relaxing the airways, making it easier to breathe, but they come with side effects like headache, restlessness, stomach pain, and irritability.12 Drinking coffee, or other drinks high in caffeine, can increase your risk of these side effects.13Coffee can also reduce how much of the medication is absorbed and useful to your body.2

Osteoporosis Medication

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Drugs like risedronate or ibandronate prevent and treat osteoporosis and should not be taken at the same time as coffee because it makes the drug less effective. It is recommended that you take these medications before eating or drinking anything, and only wash the pill down with plain water. This will allow your body to maximize the full amount of the medication. When you drink coffee with these types of medications, their effectiveness can be reduced by more than half.15

Antidepressants

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Coffee can affect how your body uses antidepressant medications. Some drugs, like fluvoxamine, amitriptyline, escitalopram, and imipramine can be metabolized differently if you drink coffee at the same time, especially large amounts of coffee. Coffee can reduce the amount of the medicine that is absorbed by your body.2

Studies show that fluvoxamine in particular has been found to enhance the usual side effects of caffeine. This can cause symptoms like insomnia and heart palpitations. It’s best to take your medication and hold off on the coffee for a while.17

Antipsychotic Medicine

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Medications that treat psychosis include: phenothiazine, clozapine, haloperidol, and olanzapine. Coffee can make your body absorb less of these medications than you normally would if you waited a while to enjoy your morning cup of coffee. Studies show that many of these medications are metabolized or broken down by the body differently in the presence of coffee. To get the full effect of your medicine, take it with water instead of coffee.2

Blood Pressure Medicine

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Many people take blood pressure medications, like verapamil or propranolol, which work by slowing down your heart rate. That means your heart doesn’t have to work as hard to pump blood to all of your body’s cells. However, drinking coffee at the same time as taking blood pressure medications like felodipine can cause less of the medicine to be absorbed by your body. You may not get the full benefit of the medicine. Talk with your healthcare provider about how to time your pills and your morning cup.2

Melatonin

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By contrast, coffee works as a stimulant, making you feel more awake. The caffeine in coffee does the exact opposite job that melatonin does. It can make you more alert and can make it hard to fall asleep. Drinking coffee can inhibit melatonin production in your body and make the hormone less effective. If you take melatonin at the same time as drinking coffee, they could cancel each other out.2

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Approved – Sully