Ranitidine and Midazolam Interaction
Drug interaction information between Ranitidine and Midazolam.
Ranitidine and Midazolam have a documented moderate interaction in FDA labeling.
FDA drug labeling documents a moderate-severity interaction between Ranitidine and Midazolam. 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
Ranitidine can cause midazolam levels to build up in your body. This happens because the drug is processed more slowly than usual.
What To Do
Use caution when taking these medicines together. Your doctor may need to watch you closely for extra sleepiness.
FDA Label Information
Other Drug Interactions Caution is advised when midazolam is administered concomitantly with drugs that are known to inhibit the P450-3A4 enzyme system such as cimetidine (not ranitidine), erythromycin, diltiazem, verapamil, ketoconazole and itraconazole. The effect of single oral doses of 800 mg cimetidine and 300 mg ranitidine on steady-state concentrations of midazolam was examined in a randomized crossover study (n=8). Ranitidine increased the mean steady-state concentration to 62 ng/mL.
Ranitidine Also Interacts With
- Risperidone major
- Theophylline major
- Valproate major
- Clonazepam minor
- Darunavir minor
Midazolam Also Interacts With
- Darunavir major
- Itraconazole major
- Nirmatrelvir/Ritonavir major
- Ketoconazole moderate
- Verapamil moderate
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I take Ranitidine and Midazolam together?
This is a moderate interaction. Use caution when taking these medicines together. Your doctor may need to watch you closely for extra sleepiness.
How serious is the interaction between Ranitidine and Midazolam?
This interaction is classified as "moderate" severity by the FDA. Moderate interactions may worsen your condition or change how your medications work.
Why do Ranitidine and Midazolam interact?
Ranitidine can cause midazolam levels to build up in your body. This happens because the drug is processed more slowly than usual.
Understanding the Ranitidine and Midazolam Interaction
FDA-approved prescribing information for these two drugs flags their combination as a moderate-severity interaction. Ranitidine belongs to the H2 Receptor Antagonist class and Midazolam belongs to the Benzodiazepine class - two categories that can collide when co-prescribed. The mechanism described in FDA labeling is: Ranitidine can cause midazolam levels to build up in your body. 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. Ranitidine has 15 total documented interactions on file in this dataset, and Midazolam has 39. 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: Use caution when taking these medicines together. 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 Ranitidine or Midazolam 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.