Metaxalone and Linezolid Interaction
Drug interaction information between Metaxalone and Linezolid.
Metaxalone and Linezolid have a documented minor interaction in FDA labeling.
FDA drug labeling documents a minor-severity interaction between Metaxalone and Linezolid. 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
Linezolid acts as a monoamine oxidase inhibitor, which can cause serotonin levels to rise when taken with metaxalone. This combination increases the risk of a serious reaction called serotonin syndrome.
What To Do
Talk to your healthcare provider about the risks, as they may need to adjust your treatment or watch for side effects.
FDA Label Information
Examples of serotonergic drugs include: selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs), tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs), triptans, 5-HT3 receptor antagonists, opioids (particularly fentanyl, meperidine, and methadone), drugs that affect the serotonin neurotransmitter system (e.g., mirtazapine, trazodone, tramadol), monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitors (those intended to treat psychiatric disorders and also others, such as linezolid and intravenous methylene blue).
Metaxalone Also Interacts With
- Tapentadol moderate
- Trazodone minor
- Mirtazapine minor
- Norepinephrine minor
- Acetaminophen/Oxycodone minor
Linezolid Also Interacts With
- Citalopram major
- Escitalopram major
- Mirtazapine major
- Paroxetine major
- Safinamide major
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I take Metaxalone and Linezolid together?
This is a minor interaction. Talk to your healthcare provider about the risks, as they may need to adjust your treatment or watch for side effects.
How serious is the interaction between Metaxalone and Linezolid?
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 Metaxalone and Linezolid interact?
Linezolid acts as a monoamine oxidase inhibitor, which can cause serotonin levels to rise when taken with metaxalone. This combination increases the risk of a serious reaction called serotonin syndrome.
Understanding the Metaxalone and Linezolid Interaction
FDA-approved prescribing information for these two drugs flags their combination as a minor-severity interaction. Metaxalone belongs to the Muscle Relaxant class and Linezolid belongs to the Oxazolidinone Antibiotic class - two categories that can collide when co-prescribed. The mechanism described in FDA labeling is: Linezolid acts as a monoamine oxidase inhibitor, which can cause serotonin levels to rise when taken with metaxalone. 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. Metaxalone has 18 total documented interactions on file in this dataset, and Linezolid has 29. 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: Talk to your healthcare provider about the risks, as they may need to adjust your treatment or watch for side effects. 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 Metaxalone or Linezolid 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.