Drug interactions
Desipramine + Hydroxyzine
Severity: Moderate
Desipramine and Hydroxyzine: moderate interaction.
Last updated
For healthcare professionals — reference only. This page is a brief summary, not medical advice and not a substitute for official labeling or clinical judgement. Always verify before prescribing or dispensing.
Summary
Both drugs are sedating and have anticholinergic activity, and both can prolong the QT interval. Combined use can cause marked drowsiness, impaired psychomotor function, anticholinergic effects and a higher risk of arrhythmia, particularly in older adults.
What this interaction means in plain words
Desipramine and Hydroxyzine can affect each other. The combination is often manageable, but it may need a change of dose, a change of timing, or extra checks while both are taken.
Desipramine belongs to Central Nervous System; Hydroxyzine belongs to Respiratory.
Why it happens
Additive CNS depression, antimuscarinic effects and QT prolongation through cardiac potassium channel blockade.
What to do
Use the lowest effective doses and obtain an ECG if there are other QT risk factors. Counsel patients about sedation and avoid the combination in the elderly or in patients with known QT prolongation.
What to ask your pharmacist
- Should I take them at different times of day?
- Does the dose of either medicine need to change?
- Is there anything I should avoid, such as alcohol or certain foods, while on both?
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Other interactions of Desipramine
- Desipramine + Disopyramide Contraindicated
- Desipramine + Dofetilide Contraindicated
- Desipramine + Ibutilide Contraindicated
- Desipramine + Isocarboxazid Contraindicated
- Desipramine + Methylene blue Contraindicated
- Desipramine + Pentamidine Contraindicated
Other interactions of Hydroxyzine
- Droperidol + Hydroxyzine Contraindicated
- Hydroxyzine + Pimozide Contraindicated
- Hydroxyzine + Thioridazine Contraindicated
- Hydroxyzine + Vandetanib Contraindicated
- Alfentanil + Hydroxyzine Major
- Amiodarone + Hydroxyzine Major
Frequently asked questions
Can I take Desipramine with Hydroxyzine?
MediHelp rates the interaction as moderate. Desipramine and Hydroxyzine can affect each other. The combination is often manageable, but it may need a change of dose, a change of timing, or extra checks while both are taken. Both drugs are sedating and have anticholinergic activity, and both can prolong the QT interval. Combined use can cause marked drowsiness, impaired psychomotor function, anticholinergic effects and a higher risk of arrhythmia, particularly in older adults.
How serious is the interaction between Desipramine and Hydroxyzine?
MediHelp rates it moderate, on a four-level scale (minor, moderate, major, contraindicated) based on published labels and references. What to do, in brief: Use the lowest effective doses and obtain an ECG if there are other QT risk factors. Counsel patients about sedation and avoid the combination in the elderly or in patients with known QT prolongation.
What other medicines interact with Desipramine?
MediHelp also lists interactions of Desipramine with, for example, Disopyramide, Dofetilide, Ibutilide. The full list is on the Desipramine page.
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