Key Takeaways
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Wait at least an hour after taking omeprazole before drinking coffee to allow the medication to work.
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Drinking coffee too soon after taking omeprazole can increase stomach acid and counteract the medication.
Omeprazole (known by the brand names Prilosec and Prilosec OTC) is a medication belonging to the proton pump inhibitor (PPI) drug class. It is commonly taken to treat conditions like frequent heartburn and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).
Omeprazole works by blocking a receptor in the stomach that’s responsible for producing stomach acid. Typically, omeprazole takes effect between 30 minutes to two hours after taking the medication.
Generally, waiting at least an hour after taking it is best to ensure it has time to start working before drinking an acidic beverage like coffee. However, limiting or avoiding caffeine intake altogether might be a good idea if it’s a major trigger for your heartburn or GERD symptoms.
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What Is Omeprazole?
Omeprazole is a proton pump inhibitor (PPI) that can help reduce stomach acid. It is available with and without a prescription in both brand-name (Prilosec) and generic versions. Omeprazole comes in several oral forms: tablet, dissolving tablet, capsule, and suspension.
Adults can take OTC forms of omeprazole to help reduce heartburn that occurs multiple days per week or more frequently.
The prescription forms of omeprazole are U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved for a longer list of indications, including:
In some cases, healthcare providers prescribe medications for reasons outside those the FDA has approved. This common practice is known as “off-label” prescribing. Healthcare providers sometimes prescribe omeprazole off-label to help prevent stomach ulcers, particularly in people with a higher risk of developing an ulcer.
Coffee and Medications: What’s the Risk?
Certain foods and beverages can interfere with medications. These interactions might prevent the medication from working effectively or lead to potentially harmful side effects.
Coffee is one beverage that can interact with medications, primarily due to its caffeine content. Caffeine can interact with medications during different phases as they move through your body.
Absorption
Caffeine interacts with receptors in your stomach and intestines, speeding up digestion. This reduces the time food and medications remain in your digestive tract.
Medications, like tablets or capsules, are often absorbed into the bloodstream through the digestive tract. When you consume caffeine, this absorption may happen faster, potentially increasing the drug’s levels in your bloodstream.
Caffeine and other components in coffee, such as chlorogenic acids, can boost stomach acid production. Some medications, like Xanax (alprazolam), absorb more quickly in acidic environments, enhancing their effects. However, medications that need less acid for absorption, such as amoxicillin, may work less effectively when taken with caffeine.
Distribution
Caffeine can influence how medications are distributed throughout your body and into tissues. It can restrict some drugs from reaching the brain. As a result, medications that act on the brain, like Aricept (donepezil), might be less effective when consumed with caffeine.
Elimination
Drinking coffee often results in an increased need to urinate. This occurs because coffee directly leads to higher pressure on the kidneys, resulting in faster urine production. Besides making urine, the kidney works to filter medications out of the blood for removal from the body. As such, drinking caffeine speeds up the filtration process and removes medications from the body more rapidly.
Though the table below isn’t a complete list, it highlights common interactions between medications and coffee or other sources of caffeine.
| Medication Type or Class | Examples | Interaction With Coffee | Result of Interaction |
| Iron or mineral supplements | • Ferrous sulfate • Calcium carbonate |
Binds with caffeine | Reduced effectiveness of mineral supplements |
| Benzodiazepines | • Ativan (lorazepam) • Valium (diazepam) |
Coffee increases stomach acid | Increased side effects of benzodiazepines, such as drowsiness |
| Medications for Alzheimer’s disease | • Aricept (donepezil) • Namenda (memantine) |
Caffeine limits drug delivery to the brain | Reduced effectiveness of Alzheimer’s medications |
| Seizure medications | • Dilantin (phenytoin) | Coffee increases stomach acid | Reduced effectiveness of seizure medications |
Because caffeine is the component of coffee mainly responsible for most of its interactions with medications, drinking beverages with lower or no caffeine content, such as decaffeinated coffee, reduces the risk of drug interactions.
However, the acidity of decaffeinated coffee may still alter the way the body absorbs medications.
Green tea contains about 30 to 50 milligrams (mg) of caffeine per 8-ounce (oz) serving compared to 80 to 100 mg of caffeine per 8-oz serving of coffee. Similarly, caffeinated soft drinks contain about 30 to 40 mg per 12-oz serving. So, these options are less likely to interact with medications than regular coffee, though they don’t completely eliminate the risk.
To prevent interactions, taking medications with plain water is best.
How Soon Can You Drink Coffee After Taking Omeprazole?
After taking omeprazole, you should wait at least an hour before drinking coffee.
Omeprazole and coffee may interact by causing opposite effects on stomach acid production. However, unlike other types of interactions between coffee and medications, coffee can reverse the acid-reduction effect of omeprazole rather than affecting the drug itself.
Coffee contains acidic components, such as chlorogenic acids, which increase the acidity of the stomach. In addition, the caffeine in coffee stimulates further acid production. These actions explain why coffee may sometimes cause heartburn and acid reflux.
It takes between 30 minutes and two hours for omeprazole to begin to take effect. If you drink coffee before the omeprazole has time to start working, coffee increases stomach acid production and blunts the effect of the omeprazole. However, if the omeprazole reaches its full effect before you consume coffee, it helps limit the potential acid reflux and heartburn from the coffee.
To optimize omeprazole’s effectiveness, take it an hour prior to coffee, decaf coffee, or any foods or beverages besides water. The acidic components in decaf coffee can both increase stomach acid production and may reduce the success of omeprazole treatment.
Side Effects
In most cases, omeprazole is well tolerated with only mild side effects. Common side effects of omeprazole include:
Children may experience additional mild side effects. These include:
Rarely, omeprazole use has been associated with more severe side effects, such as:
Long-term treatment with omeprazole should generally be avoided. When taking OTC omeprazole products, limit use to 14 days. However, healthcare providers may sometimes prescribe omeprazole for longer periods when the benefit outweighs the risk. Some potential long-term side effects of omeprazole may include:
- Low magnesium, which may occur after three months of use
- Higher risk of bone fractures when taking omeprazole for over a year
- Fundic gland polyps (benign growths on the lining of the upper part of the stomach) after more than a year of omeprazole treatment
- Vitamin B-12 deficiency after a year of taking omeprazole
When you take omeprazole for an extended period, your healthcare provider may suggest dietary supplements to take along with the medication to keep you healthy. These typically includevitamin B12, magnesium, or other mineral supplements.
Safely Taking Omeprazole
Most healthcare providers prescribe omeprazole for once-daily use. For optimal effectiveness, take omeprazole about one hour prior to a meal or non-water beverage around the same time each day. For all-day acid-reduction relief, omeprazole works best when taken prior to the first meal of the day.
Potential for Drug-Related Interactions
Some medications may interact with omeprazole. A few examples of these include:
Other medications may cause interactions with omeprazole. Before starting any prescription or OTC medication or supplement, talk to a healthcare provider to ensure each product is safe to take alongside omeprazole.
Dietary Habits Associated With Heartburn and GERD
The foods or beverages associated with heartburn and GERD vary for each individual. The specific items that frequently lead to heartburn or acid reflux symptoms for an individual are known as “triggers.” Common triggers for heartburn and GERD include:
- Coffee
- Spicy food, such as hot peppers
- Foods high in fat, including some meats, butter, and cheese
- Fried foods
- Chocolate
- Alcohol
- Acidic fruits, such as oranges, limes, and tomatoes
Lifestyle Habits While Taking a PPI
Though medication often provides relief for heartburn and acid reflux, changing certain aspects of daily life can also help. When an individual identifies trigger foods and beverages that commonly result in heartburn symptoms, they can work on reducing or eliminating them from their diet.
Other lifestyle changes can help to lower the frequency and severity of heartburn symptoms. These include:
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