Drug interactions
Desipramine + Ketamine
Severity: Moderate
Desipramine and Ketamine: 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 act on the central nervous system, and combining them can increase sedation and impaired psychomotor performance. Tricyclics together with ketamine may also raise heart rate and blood pressure, though this is less well documented.
What this interaction means in plain words
Desipramine and Ketamine 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; Ketamine belongs to Central Nervous System.
Why it happens
Additive CNS depressant effects and possible sympathomimetic augmentation.
What to do
Monitor the level of sedation and the hemodynamic parameters when ketamine is given to a patient on desipramine. Reduce the ketamine dose if excessive sedation or hypertension develops.
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 Ketamine
Frequently asked questions
Can I take Desipramine with Ketamine?
MediHelp rates the interaction as moderate. Desipramine and Ketamine 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 act on the central nervous system, and combining them can increase sedation and impaired psychomotor performance. Tricyclics together with ketamine may also raise heart rate and blood pressure, though this is less well documented.
How serious is the interaction between Desipramine and Ketamine?
MediHelp rates it moderate, on a four-level scale (minor, moderate, major, contraindicated) based on published labels and references. What to do, in brief: Monitor the level of sedation and the hemodynamic parameters when ketamine is given to a patient on desipramine. Reduce the ketamine dose if excessive sedation or hypertension develops.
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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