Sertraline and Phenelzine Interaction
Drug interaction information between Sertraline and Phenelzine.
Sertraline and Phenelzine have a documented moderate interaction in FDA labeling.
FDA drug labeling documents a moderate-severity interaction between Sertraline 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
Both of these drugs increase a chemical in your brain called serotonin. Taking them together can cause dangerously high levels of serotonin, which can be life-threatening.
What To Do
Do not take these two medications together. You must wait a specific amount of time when switching between them to avoid a serious reaction.
FDA Label Information
Drug Interactions In patients receiving nonselective monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitors in combination with serotoninergic agents (e.g., dexfenfluramine, fluoxetine, fluvoxamine, paroxetine, sertraline, citalopram, venlafaxine) there have been reports of serious, sometimes fatal, reactions.
Sertraline Also Interacts With
- Clonazepam major
- Aspirin moderate
- Fluoxetine minor
- Citalopram minor
- Paroxetine minor
Phenelzine Also Interacts With
- Fluoxetine moderate
- Citalopram moderate
- Venlafaxine moderate
- Fluvoxamine moderate
- Desvenlafaxine moderate
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I take Sertraline and Phenelzine together?
This is a moderate interaction. Do not take these two medications together. You must wait a specific amount of time when switching between them to avoid a serious reaction.
How serious is the interaction between Sertraline and Phenelzine?
This interaction is classified as "moderate" severity by the FDA. Moderate interactions may worsen your condition or change how your medications work.
Why do Sertraline and Phenelzine interact?
Both of these drugs increase a chemical in your brain called serotonin. Taking them together can cause dangerously high levels of serotonin, which can be life-threatening.
Understanding the Sertraline and Phenelzine Interaction
FDA-approved prescribing information for these two drugs flags their combination as a moderate-severity interaction. Sertraline belongs to the Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor (SSRI) 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: Both of these drugs increase a chemical in your brain called serotonin. 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. Sertraline has 34 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: Do not take these two medications together. 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 Sertraline 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.