Drug interactions
Methadone + Pholcodine
Severity: Moderate
Methadone and Pholcodine: 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 opioids with central depressant activity, so combining them can deepen sedation and slow breathing. The risk is greater in opioid-naive patients, the elderly and those with respiratory disease.
What this interaction means in plain words
Methadone and Pholcodine 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.
Why it happens
Additive central nervous system and respiratory depression from two opioid agonists.
What to do
Avoid unnecessary use of pholcodine cough preparations in patients taking methadone, and monitor sedation and respiratory rate if both are needed. Counsel the patient about drowsiness.
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 Methadone
- Alvimopan + Methadone Contraindicated
- Calcium / magnesium / potassium / sodium oxybates + Methadone Contraindicated
- Droperidol + Methadone Contraindicated
- Ibutilide + Methadone Contraindicated
- Isocarboxazid + Methadone Contraindicated
- Lefamulin + Methadone Contraindicated
Frequently asked questions
Can I take Methadone with Pholcodine?
MediHelp rates the interaction as moderate. Methadone and Pholcodine 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 opioids with central depressant activity, so combining them can deepen sedation and slow breathing. The risk is greater in opioid-naive patients, the elderly and those with respiratory disease.
How serious is the interaction between Methadone and Pholcodine?
MediHelp rates it moderate, on a four-level scale (minor, moderate, major, contraindicated) based on published labels and references. What to do, in brief: Avoid unnecessary use of pholcodine cough preparations in patients taking methadone, and monitor sedation and respiratory rate if both are needed. Counsel the patient about drowsiness.
What other medicines interact with Methadone?
MediHelp also lists interactions of Methadone with, for example, Alvimopan, Calcium / magnesium / potassium / sodium oxybates, Droperidol. The full list is on the Methadone page.
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