Is It Safe To Drink Red Bull While Taking Subutex For Anxiety?

Posted on Thu, 30 Jan 2014

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Thu, 30 Jan 2014 Answered on

Sat, 12 Jul 2025 Last reviewed on

Question : Hello, the last couple of days I have lost my energy, feel lethargic, have loss of appetite, but at some points experience anxiety attacks. There are financial problems in my life that I am sure are contributing to my anxiety attacks; however, I must mention the fact that I am on Subutex and have been on it for awhile. Lately, since I started school, they don't have coffee there, so I have started drinking red bull near the time I take my subutex. Yesterday, I felt nauseous in the afternoon, and when I went home, I felt like I had no energy or appetite, and I fell asleep early and only ate a peanut butter & jelly sandwich for dinner. Today, I missed school, because I still did not feel good and just did not have the energy to get it together to go to school. I also have been prescribed clonazepam for my anxiety. I saw online that you should not mix subutex with red XXXXXXX energy drink. Is this true, and could this be the reason I am feeling the way I do? I probably should also mention that it has been below 20 degrees for about the last week, so maybe that is also adding to my lethargy? What do you think?

Answered by Dr. Preeti Parakh (5 hours later)

Hello,

Welcome to Ask A Doctor

Red Bull energy drink contains high amounts of caffeine, taurine, sugar and other substances. There have been some studies on its effects, but there is no scientific data on its interaction with buprenorphine (Subutex). Whatever information is available is what people who have tried the combination themselves have written, and I agree with you that most people say that combining the two is not a good idea. But there are also some people who did not perceive any harmful effects on combining the two.

Please try to look back and see if you made any changes to your usual pattern of taking the two things yesterday. Also take into consideration the number of cups of coffee you take in addition to Red Bull. If there was any change, that may explain what happened to you.

If nothing is clear, try assessing if you might be in withdrawal from either Red Bull or Subutex. If you are having a craving for one of these, that may be a pointer. Both substances can make you feel low and fatigued during withdrawal. For Red Bull, there is not enough scientific data on dependence and withdrawal but caffeine withdrawal is known to cause depression and anxiety in susceptible people.

The weather may have a role too. Perhaps it has made you take more coffee than usual for the last few weeks. It may also alter the body's metabolism to some extent.

Kindly reach out incase of further queries

Best wishes.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar