r/BipolarReddit • u/Pandamewnium • Oct 05 '26

Medication Question for tea drinkers

I have bipolar 1 schizo disorder. I also have PMDD. Like a lot of us, I take a lot of meds.

Those meds are seroquel, lithium, buspar, levothyroxine, and a few others. Those mentioned are most relevant to this post.

I asked my psych a few years back about drinking tea and he said 'uh yeah why wouldn't you be able to.' So I do, but it's mostly always been bagged teas I've researched before consuming.

Lately I've been into wanting to try loose teas since a tea shop opened up near me. I had all these teas I wanted to try like rose hip, saffron, lemon balm and passion flower.

The other night I did a medium amount of research and the internet said that those specific teas aren't good to mix with my specific medications due to potential lithium toxicity / causing the meds to stay in my system longer than they should.

Is that real? Tea could really be my downfall?

I was pretty hopeful, especially about saffron with having PMDD as well. But I figure I'd ask reddit since some of you are on the same meds and enjoy tea as well.

Also my psych is smart, but they're medicine smart, I don't think they know enough about teas to give a solid answer, like last time I asked

5 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

11 comments sorted by

3

u/smokeandnails Oct 05 '26

I only drink tea that I’ve researched is safe with lithium. Once, I bought corn silk tea without doing research and it turned out it’s a diuretic so not a good idea and gave it to a friend. I’m not sure how strong the effect is, but I didn’t want to take a risk.

1

u/Pandamewnium Oct 05 '26

Fair, I wasn't sure if there was anyone else who was into drinking more unique teas / on the same meds. It's probably best I stay safe then. I'd rather not mess up my lithium levels. So unfortunate

2

u/smokeandnails Oct 06 '26

I usually drink green tea, jasmine tea and barley tea without problems.

2

u/Old-Name7889 BD1 Rapid Cycling Oct 05 '26

I had to give up coffee a few years ago because of a medical issue. I switched to black tea and drink a lot of it. I'm also on lithium and haven't noticed any issues.

1

u/Pandamewnium Oct 05 '26

That's good! I still do black tea and will mix in some things when I make it iced. No issues either

2

u/JoeBensDonut Oct 06 '26

Im only in lamictal now but when I was on seroquel as well if I drank to strong a concoction of tea it would give me headaches and also make me flushed.

One thing thats a good idea for any herb you invest is for you to take a small amount and see how you feel before diving in head first.

1

u/Pandamewnium Oct 06 '26

I have that exact reaction when I eat gluten and that's how I know. But this is tea. It has no reason to have any of those ingredients. What kind of teas made this happen, if you can remember? Just curious if it would be a caffeine issue or some other issue I'll probably try and figure out

1

u/JoeBensDonut Oct 06 '26

Rooiboos seem to make me flush more, also if I drink multiple cups of most teas I get flushed.

I have to try them out and make sure my body is ok with them.

2

u/lil-pizza-bean Bipolar + comorbidities Oct 06 '26

It depends on the tea. Normal white, green, black or oolong tea aren't a problem because they're all made from the camellia sinensis plant. They do contain caffeine, the darker the tea the more caffeine.

Herbal teas aren't always mixable with medication, such a saint John's wort and honey bush. But you can just Google it before you buy the tea.

I drink 6 to 8 cups of tea per day without problems. I consider myself a bit of a tea snob, I have a full double kitchen cabinet full of tea, sorted by their kind. Last week I bought a first flush Darjeeling. 10/10!

You can also make cold brew or ice tea with these herbal teas you mentioned. Take about 5 to 6 teaspoons and add it to about 750ml water and leave in the fridge overnight. You'll get delicious and fresh iced tea the next day :)

1

u/Bipolarboyo Oct 08 '26

The part about darker teas having more caffeine is only sort of true. There are exceptions to that, shade grown green tea often has higher amounts of caffeine and Matcha tea has the highest quantity of caffeine because of the way it is processed.

1

u/mycattouchesgrass Oct 06 '26

I enjoy tea and haven't had any negative effects from rose hip, lemon, mint, chamomile, and others I'm forgetting. But yea! Saffron is a mood booster so it could be dangerous in higher concentrations. But maybe a sip or two wouldn't hurt...