What the FDA labels say about taking them together
Buspirone and desipramine
Desipramine's FDA label of July 9, 2025 names buspirone in its warnings section; the buspirone label PlainMeds reads does not name desipramine. The desipramine label: “Serotonin Syndrome: The development of a potentially life-threatening serotonin syndrome has been reported with serotonin norepinephrine re-uptake inhibitors (SNRIs) and SSRIs, including desipramine hydrochloride …”
Check it at the source: the buspirone FDA label on DailyMed (effective December 22, 2023, Unichem Pharmaceuticals (USA), Inc.); the desipramine FDA label on DailyMed (effective July 9, 2025, Alembic Pharmaceuticals Inc.).
What does the buspirone label say about desipramine?
Buspirone's label (effective December 22, 2023) does not name desipramine in these sections. A label lists what its studies and reports found; it is not a complete list.
Source: FDA drug label (Buspirone Hydrochloride), Unichem Pharmaceuticals (USA), Inc., effective December 22, 2023 (SPL set a6bdf140-075e-445e-a62d-633a4b97f3a8), via openFDA; the full label on DailyMed
What does the desipramine label say about buspirone?
Desipramine label, warningsSerotonin Syndrome: The development of a potentially life-threatening serotonin syndrome has been reported with serotonin norepinephrine re-uptake inhibitors (SNRIs) and SSRIs, including desipramine hydrochloride tablets, alone but particularly with concomitant use of other serotonergic drugs (including triptans, tricyclic antidepressants, fentanyl, lithium, tramadol, tryptophan, buspirone, and St. John’s Wort) and with drugs that impair metabolism of serotonin (in particular, MAOIs both those intended to treat psychiatric disorders and also others, such as linezolid and intravenous methylene blue).
Source: FDA drug label (DESIPRAMINE HYDROCHLORIDE), Alembic Pharmaceuticals Inc., effective July 9, 2025 (SPL set cad14805-64d8-4257-b5f1-d56e0063f0e2), via openFDA; the full label on DailyMed
These are the labels' own sentences. PlainMeds does not grade interactions; a pharmacist or prescriber can say what they mean for one person's medicines.
Both medicines on the record
| Buspirone | Desipramine | |
|---|---|---|
| Labeled for | Anxiety | Depression |
| Boxed warning | No | Yes |
| Pharmacy cost (NADAC) | $0.043 per tablet 15 mg tablet | $0.276 per tablet 75 mg tablet |
| Shortage now | No current entry | No current entry |
Source: FDA NDC Directory, CMS NADAC of October 7, 2026 and the FDA Drug Shortage Database (FDA files October 8, 2026)
What next?
- Check more medicines together
- up to five at once