Drug interactions
Desipramine + Tolterodine
Severity: Moderate
Desipramine and Tolterodine: 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
Desipramine has anticholinergic properties, though less than amitriptyline, and adds to tolterodine's antimuscarinic effects, causing dry mouth, constipation and urinary retention. Tolterodine may compete for CYP2D6, and both drugs can affect cardiac conduction.
What this interaction means in plain words
Desipramine and Tolterodine 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; Tolterodine belongs to Genitourinary.
Why it happens
Additive antimuscarinic effects with shared CYP2D6 metabolism.
What to do
Monitor for anticholinergic effects and cognitive changes, and consider an ECG in patients with cardiac risk factors. Adjust the dose of either drug if adverse effects occur.
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 Tolterodine
Other interactions of Desipramine
- Desipramine + Disopyramide Contraindicated
- Desipramine + Dofetilide Contraindicated
- Desipramine + Ibutilide Contraindicated
- Desipramine + Isocarboxazid Contraindicated
- Desipramine + Methylene blue Contraindicated
- Desipramine + Pentamidine Contraindicated
Frequently asked questions
Can I take Desipramine with Tolterodine?
MediHelp rates the interaction as moderate. Desipramine and Tolterodine 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 has anticholinergic properties, though less than amitriptyline, and adds to tolterodine's antimuscarinic effects, causing dry mouth, constipation and urinary retention. Tolterodine may compete for CYP2D6, and both drugs can affect cardiac conduction.
How serious is the interaction between Desipramine and Tolterodine?
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 for anticholinergic effects and cognitive changes, and consider an ECG in patients with cardiac risk factors. Adjust the dose of either drug if adverse effects occur.
What other medicines interact with Tolterodine?
MediHelp also lists interactions of Tolterodine with, for example, Clarithromycin, Clozapine, Cobicistat. The full list is on the Tolterodine page.
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