6 Side Effects When Mixing Caffeine with Medications

Caffeine is typically how most Americans start their morning routine. While caffeine offers many great health benefits, you should know important information on caffeine and how it interacts with certain medications.

At best, you’ll experience a small inconvenience, like mild headaches; with some medications, the interaction is so severe that you put yourself at risk of fainting and maybe even making the medication not work at all.

Here are six common medications that you should pay attention to if you take caffeine at all. We’ve ranked them by three categories: Serious, Moderate, and Mild.

Serious Caffeine and Medication Interactions:

Zanaflex (tizanidine hcl)

Zanaflex is used to treat muscle spasms and cramping caused by spinal injuries and CNS (central nervous system) diseases, such as ALS and multiple sclerosis. As an alpha-adrenergic agonist, tizanidine hcl already has the side effects of dizziness, drowsiness, and weakness. Caffeine has the effect of increasing the concentration of tizanidine in your blood, which in turn makes these side effects even more pronounced. In some cases, fainting occurred. This is a very serious interaction, so if you’re taking any meds with caffeine, let your health care provider know immediately.

Moderate Caffeine and Medication Interactions:

Ciprofloxacin

Ciprofloxacin is a broad spectrum antibiotic that is used to treat bacterial infections. This antibiotic has the side effect of making the effects of caffeine greater in your system. That means that if you take Ciprofloxacin along with caffeine, the caffeine will have more of an effect on you. Irritability, sleeplessness, headaches, and nervousness are all possible.

Cymbalta (Duloxetine Hcl)

Cymbalta, or the generic version duloxetine HCL, is an antidepressant and to treat nerve pain from diabetes, fibromyalgia, and other chronic pains in muscle tissue and bones. Cymbalta already has common side effects like nausea, insomnia, and dry mouth. Caffeine causes the medication to rise beyond the desired levels and may increase side effects. Additionally, you can develop a larger risk of serotonin syndrome that can cause an entire host of other side effects.

Fluvoxamine

Fluvoxamine Maleate is sold under many different brand names and is an SSRI (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor). As an SSRI, it is used to treat anxiety and depression, as well as OCD. Fluvoxamine is like Ciprofloxacin, in that it heightens the effects of caffeine, promoting agitation, restlessness, and nervousness, which can run counter to what Fluvoxamine is typically prescribed to treat.

Methotrexate

Methotrexate is used to treat several disorders, from autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, to USA as a chemotherapy compound. Because methotrexate has such severe side effects, the dosages for treatment of autoimmune diseases are usually kept extremely low. Caffeine can actually inhibit the effectiveness of methotrexate, so if you are taking it, you should reduce or eliminate your caffeine intake.

Noroxin (norfloxacin)

Norfloxacin is a fluoroquinolone antibiotic that is used to treat urinary tract infections, prostate inflammation, and gonorrhea. Similar to other antibiotics, norfloxacin exacerbates the effects of caffeine when taken together. You might experience increased jitters, more nervousness, headaches, or increased heart rate. You’ll be better off if you don’t take any caffeine during the course of treatment.

Mild Caffeine and Medication Interactions:

Valium (diazepam)

Diazepam is commonly prescribed as a sedative, so it shouldn’t be a shocker to know that taking caffeine (which is a stimulant) is counterproductive to the goals of the medication. Be sure to talk directly with your health care provider if you start taking diazepam and want to include caffeine as part of your daily routine.

Always Talk to Your Health Care Provider

Whenever you are given a new medication from your doctor, you should always discuss what medications you’re currently taking, so they can discuss possible interactions. After all, if one medication you take makes another one go completely off the rails, it can have a cascading effect that could be disastrous for your health.