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What the label lists and what reports show

Desipramine side effects

Desipramine's FDA label lists its adverse reactions in its own words. FAERS holds 274 reports naming it through July 30, 2026; the reaction reported most often, leaving out the conditions it is used for, product-use terms and outcomes, is fatigue (22 reports).

  • Generic listed
  • Boxed warning

Check it at the source: the desipramine FDA label on DailyMed (effective July 9, 2025, Alembic Pharmaceuticals Inc.); the FDA FAERS public dashboard.

What does the label list?

From the label: adverse reactions

Included in the following listing are a few adverse reactions that have not been reported with this specific drug. However, the pharmacologic similarities among the tricyclic antidepressant drugs require that each of the reactions be considered when desipramine hydrochloride tablets are given. Cardiovascular: Hypotension, hypertension, palpitations, heart block, myocardial infarction, stroke, arrhythmias, premature ventricular contractions, tachycardia, ventricular tachycardia, ventricular fibrillation, sudden death There has been a report of an “acute collapse” and “sudden death” in an 8-year-old (18 kg) male, treated for 2 years for hyperactivity. There have been additional reports of sudden death in children (see PRECAUTIONS-Pediatric Use). Psychiatric: Confusional states (especially in the elderly) with hallucinations, disorientation, delusions; anxiety, restlessness, agitation; …

Source: FDA drug label, Alembic Pharmaceuticals Inc., effective July 9, 2025 (SPL set cad14805-64d8-4257-b5f1-d56e0063f0e2), via openFDA; the full label on DailyMed

What do FAERS reports show?

274 reports list desipramine among the medicines taken, each a report of something that happened, not proof the medicine caused it; 26 are coded as a death and 86 as a hospital stay. Counts follow how widely a medicine is used and watched, and they are not a measure of how risky it is. Of the 19 reactions below, 9 are named by the same term (in US spelling) in the label's adverse reactions, warnings or patient leaflet; a reaction the label does not name may still be there under another word, and a report does not show that the medicine caused it.

The 25 most reported reactions

  • Drug Ineffective (a use or a product term, not a reaction)29
  • Fatigue (named in the label)22
  • Drug Hypersensitivity17
  • Nausea (named in the label)17
  • Dyspnoea16
  • Headache (named in the label)16
  • Toxicity To Various Agents15
  • Off Label Use (a use or a product term, not a reaction)14
  • Confusional State (named in the label)13
  • Dizziness (named in the label)13
  • Vomiting (named in the label)12
  • Depression (a use or a product term, not a reaction)11
  • Gastrooesophageal Reflux Disease11
  • Anxiety (named in the label)10
  • Fall10
  • Hypertension (named in the label)10
  • Loss Of Consciousness10
  • Product Dose Omission Issue (a use or a product term, not a reaction)10
  • Completed Suicide (an outcome recorded in the report)9
  • Drug Interaction (a use or a product term, not a reaction)9
  • Malaise9
  • Weight Decreased9
  • Constipation (named in the label)8
  • Pain8
  • Anaemia7

Source: FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) via openFDA, reports through July 30, 2026; reactions as MedDRA preferred terms

What next?

Desipramine: the full record
label, generics, price, shortages, recalls
Side effects hub
the most reported medicines and reactions