10 medications you should never mix with caffeine.

Most of us start our day with the streaming cup of tea/coffee and head to the bathroom soon after. This is a common effect of caffeine.

Studies show that coffee may stimulate your stomach, changing the time it takes for food to make it through your digestive system.

However, your morning cup of caffeine can also interact with medications you may be taking, and alter how fast those are absorbed into your bloodstream too.

That means that drinking tea/coffee at the same time you take your medication may affect how well they work for you. In 2020, a group of researchers reviewed numerous medications and how they were affected by caffeine. They reported that caffeine “significantly affects the absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion of many drugs”.

However, not all medications are affected by consuming caffeine. Read on to learn which medications to not mix with caffeine and what to look for.

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. This can cause weight gain, dry skin, joint pain, hair loss and irregular menstrual periods.

Many people are prescribed thyroid medications to help balance out their hormones.

Studies show that drinking caffeine at the same time as taking your thyroid medication can reduce how much of your medicine is absorbed by your body, making the medicine less effective for you.  It’s not a small effect: patient case reports show that caffeine can even reduce the absorption of thyroid medicine by more than half.

Cold or Allergy medication

Medications for colds or allergies are used by millions of people, and they often contain salts effecting the central nervous system

Caffeine is also a stimulant, so washing your allergy medication down with caffeine may increase symptoms like restlessness and the inability to sleep.

It is always a good idea to ask your healthcare provider for advice regarding the combination of caffeine and cold or allergy medicine.

Diabetes medication

If you mix your caffeine 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 or tea could raise your insulin and blood sugar levels. According to study, published by the American Diabetes Association, the study was small so more research is needed but the researchers warned that drinking too much caffeine could make it more difficult to manage blood sugar and eventually raise the risk of diabetes complications.

Alzheimer's medicine

Alzheimer's disease mostly affects people over the age of 65.

It is a disorder of the brain that results in a loss of cognitive function, making it difficult to think, remember or go about your daily tasks.

Alzheimer's medication is affected by caffeine. The caffeine in coffee specially tightens up the blood- brain- barrier and can decrease how much of the drug makes it to your brain. Alzheimer's medication work by protecting the neurotransmitter acetylcholine and drinking high amounts of coffee has been shown to impair that protective effect.

Asthma medication

Asthma is a chronic disease that affects your lungs making your airways inflamed and irritated. This results in difficulty breathing, coughing and wheezing, and a tight feeling in your chest. Many people with asthma take medication that works by relaxing the airways making it easier to breathe but they come with side effects like headache, restlessness, stomach pain and irritability. Consuming coffee or other high drinks in caffeine can increase your risk of these side effects. Caffeine can also reduce how much of medication is absorbed and useful to your body.

Osteoporosis medication

Osteoporosis makes your bones thin and fragile increasing your risk of bone fracture millions of people have osteoporosis and its most common in women, especially women who have already have gone through menopause. It is recommended that to take medications before eating or drinking anything, and only wash the pill down with plain water. This will allow your body to maximise the full amount of medication. When you drink coffee with these types of medication, their effectiveness can be reduced by more than half.

Antidepressants

They are the most prescribed drugs for adults in their twenties and thirties, and their uses has increased dramatically over the last few decades. They can help with depression, a mood disorder that affects you how you feel and function.

Caffeine can affect how your body uses antidepressants medications. Some drugs used for antidepressants can be metabolised differently if you drink coffee at the same time. Especially large amounts of coffee coffee can reduce the amount of medicine that is absorbed by your body.

The usual side effects of coffee with medication can cause symptoms like insomnia and heart palpitations. It is best to take care your medication and hold on to the caffeine for a while.

Antipsychotic medicine

Antipsychotic medicines are helpful for people who live in schizophrenia, mania, major depressive disorder and other mental health problems.

Antipsychotic medications work by inhibiting certain neurotransmitters or blocking receptors in the brain.

Caffeine can make your body absorb less of these medications that you normally would if you waited a while to enjoy your morning cup of coffee.

Studies show that many of these medications are metabolised or broken down by the body differently in the presence of caffeine to get the full effect of the medicine.

Blood pressure medicine

Hypertension or high blood pressure for many isn’t well controlled.

Hypertension increases the risk of heart disease and stroke. It’s a common, but silent disease, since it rarely shows symptoms.

Many people take blood pressure medications which work by slowing down your heart rate. That means your heart doesn't have to work as hard as to pump the blood of all your body’s cells.

However, drinking coffee at the same time as taking blood pressure medication can cause less of this medicine to be absorbed by your body. You may not get the full benefit of the medicine.

Melatonin

Melatonin is a natural hormone that your body produces, which helps you feel sleepy at night. The hormone is triggered by the sun going down, signalling your brain that it's time to rest.

By contrast, coffee works as a stimulant, making you feel more active. The caffeine in coffee does the exact opposite job that melatonin does. It can make you more alert and can make it challenging for you to fall asleep. Drinking caffeine 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.

When to see a healthcare provider

If you take any of these medications and specially if it's recommended that you take them first thing in the morning, try delaying the first cup of tea/coffee. If you take more than one medication speak to your healthcare provider about how to balance your caffeine intake.

You should balance the medications and caffeine intake if you are experiencing an unpleasant side effects like restlessness, jitteriness or insomnia. Speak to your healthcare provider can help you find a solution.

Take away

Caffeine is a stimulant which effects the gastrointestinal track. It can alter how your body breaks down and absorbs your medications. You may just need to change the timing of your caffeine intake.