Codeine and Oxycodone Interaction
Drug interaction information between Codeine and Oxycodone.
Codeine and Oxycodone have a documented minor interaction in FDA labeling.
FDA drug labeling documents a minor-severity interaction between Codeine and Oxycodone. Major interactions are generally avoided, moderate ones may need monitoring or a dose adjustment, and minor ones are usually low-risk. This page shows the documented mechanism and guidance. Label-documented interactions are not a complete safety review, so always confirm your own medications with a pharmacist or doctor. Educational information, not medical advice.
How They Interact
Both drugs are strong pain relievers that slow down your breathing and brain activity. Taking them together can make these side effects much stronger and more dangerous.
What To Do
Your doctor should use very small doses and watch you closely for signs of extreme sleepiness or trouble breathing.
FDA Label Information
If urgent use of an opioid is necessary, use test doses and frequent titration of small doses of other opioids (such as oxycodone, hydrocodone, oxymorphone, hydrocodone, or buprenorphine) to treat pain while closely monitoring blood pressure and signs and symptoms of CNS and respiratory depression.
Codeine Also Interacts With
- Bupropion minor
- Fluoxetine minor
- Trazodone minor
- Tramadol minor
- Cyclobenzaprine minor
Oxycodone Also Interacts With
- Carbamazepine moderate
- Rifampin moderate
- Buprenorphine moderate
- Butorphanol moderate
- Nalbuphine moderate
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I take Codeine and Oxycodone together?
This is a minor interaction. Your doctor should use very small doses and watch you closely for signs of extreme sleepiness or trouble breathing.
How serious is the interaction between Codeine and Oxycodone?
This interaction is classified as "minor" severity by the FDA. Minor interactions are unlikely to cause significant problems but should still be mentioned to your healthcare provider.
Why do Codeine and Oxycodone interact?
Both drugs are strong pain relievers that slow down your breathing and brain activity. Taking them together can make these side effects much stronger and more dangerous.
Understanding the Codeine and Oxycodone Interaction
FDA-approved prescribing information for these two drugs flags their combination as a minor-severity interaction. Codeine belongs to the Opioid Analgesic class and Oxycodone belongs to the Opioid Analgesic class - two categories that can collide when co-prescribed. The mechanism described in FDA labeling is: Both drugs are strong pain relievers that slow down your breathing and brain activity. Severity tiers matter: major flags generally advise avoidance, moderate flags often require monitoring or dose adjustment, and minor flags may only call for awareness.
Context around a specific patient determines real-world impact. Codeine has 27 total documented interactions on file in this dataset, and Oxycodone has 28. Each additional medication compounds the interaction surface, which is why pharmacists run full-profile checks rather than evaluating one pair at a time. FDA-derived guidance for this pair is: Your doctor should use very small doses and watch you closely for signs of extreme sleepiness or trouble breathing. Timing of doses, renal and hepatic function, age, and other concurrent prescriptions all shape whether a labeled interaction matters clinically.
An interaction flag is not a verdict. A large share of labeled interactions are managed routinely in clinical practice, the fix may be as simple as spacing doses or adding a monitoring test. Others require the prescriber to choose a different medication entirely. This page surfaces FDA-sourced labeling and openFDA data for educational purposes only; it is not medical advice and cannot account for your full clinical picture. Never start, stop, or adjust either Codeine or Oxycodone based on a web page, speak with your prescriber or pharmacist before making any change.
Sources: FDA Drug Labels (SPL) via openFDA (2026). This is for informational purposes only and is not medical advice. Always consult your healthcare provider about drug interactions.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.