Desipramine and Duloxetine Interaction
Drug interaction information between Desipramine and Duloxetine.
Desipramine and Duloxetine have a documented minor interaction in FDA labeling.
FDA drug labeling documents a minor-severity interaction between Desipramine and Duloxetine. Major interactions are generally avoided, moderate ones may need monitoring or a dose adjustment, and minor ones are usually low-risk. This page shows the documented mechanism and guidance. Label-documented interactions are not a complete safety review, so always confirm your own medications with a pharmacist or doctor. Educational information, not medical advice.
How They Interact
Duloxetine slows down the body's ability to process desipramine. This can cause desipramine levels to increase by about three times the normal amount.
What To Do
Your doctor may need to lower your dose of desipramine and monitor your response to the medication closely.
FDA Label Information
When duloxetine was administered (at a dose of 60 mg twice daily) in conjunction with a single 50 mg dose of desipramine, a CYP2D6 substrate, the AUC of desipramine increased 3-fold [see Warnings and Precautions (5.12) ].
Desipramine Also Interacts With
- Atomoxetine minor
- Bupropion minor
- Darunavir minor
- Desvenlafaxine minor
- Dopamine minor
Duloxetine Also Interacts With
- Aspirin moderate
- Fluoxetine minor
- Famotidine minor
- Buspirone minor
- Paroxetine minor
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I take Desipramine and Duloxetine together?
This is a minor interaction. Your doctor may need to lower your dose of desipramine and monitor your response to the medication closely.
How serious is the interaction between Desipramine and Duloxetine?
This interaction is classified as "minor" severity by the FDA. Minor interactions are unlikely to cause significant problems but should still be mentioned to your healthcare provider.
Why do Desipramine and Duloxetine interact?
Duloxetine slows down the body's ability to process desipramine. This can cause desipramine levels to increase by about three times the normal amount.
Understanding the Desipramine and Duloxetine Interaction
FDA-approved prescribing information for these two drugs flags their combination as a minor-severity interaction. Desipramine belongs to the Tricyclic Antidepressant (TCA) class and Duloxetine belongs to the Serotonin-Norepinephrine Reuptake Inhibitor (SNRI) class - two categories that can collide when co-prescribed. The mechanism described in FDA labeling is: Duloxetine slows down the body's ability to process desipramine. Severity tiers matter: major flags generally advise avoidance, moderate flags often require monitoring or dose adjustment, and minor flags may only call for awareness.
Context around a specific patient determines real-world impact. Desipramine has 18 total documented interactions on file in this dataset, and Duloxetine has 18. Each additional medication compounds the interaction surface, which is why pharmacists run full-profile checks rather than evaluating one pair at a time. FDA-derived guidance for this pair is: Your doctor may need to lower your dose of desipramine and monitor your response to the medication closely. Timing of doses, renal and hepatic function, age, and other concurrent prescriptions all shape whether a labeled interaction matters clinically.
An interaction flag is not a verdict. A large share of labeled interactions are managed routinely in clinical practice, the fix may be as simple as spacing doses or adding a monitoring test. Others require the prescriber to choose a different medication entirely. This page surfaces FDA-sourced labeling and openFDA data for educational purposes only; it is not medical advice and cannot account for your full clinical picture. Never start, stop, or adjust either Desipramine or Duloxetine based on a web page, speak with your prescriber or pharmacist before making any change.
Sources: FDA Drug Labels (SPL) via openFDA (2026). This is for informational purposes only and is not medical advice. Always consult your healthcare provider about drug interactions.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.