Nalbuphine and Phenelzine Interaction
Drug interaction information between Nalbuphine and Phenelzine.
Nalbuphine and Phenelzine have a documented minor interaction in FDA labeling.
FDA drug labeling documents a minor-severity interaction between Nalbuphine and Phenelzine. 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
Combining these drugs can cause serotonin levels to become dangerously high or make the opioid effects much stronger. This can lead to serious breathing problems or a condition called serotonin syndrome.
What To Do
Use this combination with extreme caution. Your doctor will need to watch you closely for signs of breathing trouble or confusion.
FDA Label Information
Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors (MAOIs) MAOI (e.g., phenelzine, tranylcypromine, linezolid) interactions with opioids may manifest as serotonin syndrome [see Drug Interactions ] or opioid toxicity (e.g., respiratory depression, coma [see WARNINGS ]).
Nalbuphine Also Interacts With
- Oxycodone moderate
- Trazodone minor
- Cyclobenzaprine minor
- Mirtazapine minor
- Linezolid minor
Phenelzine Also Interacts With
- Sertraline moderate
- Fluoxetine moderate
- Citalopram moderate
- Venlafaxine moderate
- Fluvoxamine moderate
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I take Nalbuphine and Phenelzine together?
This is a minor interaction. Use this combination with extreme caution. Your doctor will need to watch you closely for signs of breathing trouble or confusion.
How serious is the interaction between Nalbuphine and Phenelzine?
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 Nalbuphine and Phenelzine interact?
Combining these drugs can cause serotonin levels to become dangerously high or make the opioid effects much stronger. This can lead to serious breathing problems or a condition called serotonin syndrome.
Understanding the Nalbuphine and Phenelzine Interaction
FDA-approved prescribing information for these two drugs flags their combination as a minor-severity interaction. Nalbuphine belongs to the Opioid Agonist-Antagonist class and Phenelzine belongs to the Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitor (MAOI) class - two categories that can collide when co-prescribed. The mechanism described in FDA labeling is: Combining these drugs can cause serotonin levels to become dangerously high or make the opioid effects much stronger. 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. Nalbuphine has 19 total documented interactions on file in this dataset, and Phenelzine has 27. 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: Use this combination with extreme caution. 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 Nalbuphine or Phenelzine 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.