Desipramine Side Effects

Medically reviewed by Drugs.com. Last updated on Apr 1, 2025.

Applies to desipramine: oral tablet.

Precautions

It is very important that your doctor check your progress at regular visits to allow your doctor to see if the medicine is working properly and to decide if you should continue to take it. Blood tests may be needed to check for unwanted effects.

For some teenagers and young adults, this medicine can increase thoughts of suicide. Tell your doctor right away if you start to feel more depressed and have thoughts about hurting yourself. Report any unusual thoughts or behaviors that trouble you, especially if they are new or are getting worse quickly. Make sure the doctor knows if you have trouble sleeping, get upset easily, have a big increase in energy, or start to act reckless. Tell the doctor if you have sudden or strong feelings, such as feeling nervous, angry, restless, violent, or scared. Let the doctor know if you or anyone in your family has bipolar disorder (manic-depressive) or has tried to commit suicide.

Do not take desipramine with a monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitor (eg, isocarboxazid [Marplan®], phenelzine [Nardil®], selegiline [Eldepryl®], tranylcypromine [Parnate®]). Do not start taking desipramine during the 2 weeks after you stop a MAO inhibitor and wait 2 weeks after stopping desipramine before you start taking a MAO inhibitor. If you take them together or do not wait 2 weeks, you may develop confusion, agitation, restlessness, stomach or intestinal symptoms, a sudden high body temperature, an extremely high blood pressure, or severe convulsions.

Desipramine may cause a serious condition called serotonin syndrome if taken together with some medicines. Do not use desipramine with buspirone (Buspar®), fentanyl (Abstral®, Duragesic®), linezolid (Zyvox®), lithium (Eskalith®, Lithobid®), methylene blue, tryptophan, St. John's wort, or some pain or migraine medicines (eg, sumatriptan, tramadol, Frova®, Maxalt®, Relpax®, Zomig®). Check with your doctor first before taking any other medicines with desipramine.

Do not Stop taking desipramine without first checking with your doctor. Your doctor may want you to reduce gradually the amount you are using before stopping completely. This may help prevent a possible worsening of your condition and reduce the possibility of withdrawal symptoms such as headache, nausea, or a general feeling of discomfort or illness.

This medicine will add to the effects of alcohol and other central nervous system (CNS) depressants (medicines that cause drowsiness). Some examples of CNS depressants are antihistamines or medicine for hay fever, other allergies or colds, sedatives, tranquilizers, or sleeping medicines, prescription pain medicine or narcotics, medicine for seizures or barbiturates, muscle relaxants, or anesthetics, including some dental anesthetics. Check with your doctor before taking any of the above while you are using this medicine.

This medicine may raise or lower your blood sugar. If you are diabetic and notice a change in the results of your blood or urine sugar tests, check with your doctor.

Before having any kind of surgery, tell the medical doctor in charge that you are using this medicine. Taking desipramine together with medicines used during surgery may increase the risk of side effects.

Check with your doctor immediately if you have vision changes, such as blurred vision, difficulty reading, or eye pain, during or after treatment. This could be a sign of a serious eye problem.

This medicine may cause some people to become drowsy or less alert than they are normally. Make sure you know how you react to this medicine before you drive, use machines, or do anything else that could be dangerous if you are drowsy or not alert.

Do not take other medicines unless they have been discussed with your doctor. This includes prescription or nonprescription (over-the-counter [OTC]) medicines and herbal (eg, St. John's wort) or vitamin supplements.

Serious side effects of desipramine

Along with its needed effects, desipramine may cause some unwanted effects. Although not all of these side effects may occur, if they do occur they may need medical attention.

Check with your doctor immediately if any of the following side effects occur while taking desipramine:

Other side effects of desipramine

Some side effects of desipramine may occur that usually do not need medical attention. These side effects may go away during treatment as your body adjusts to the medicine. Also, your health care professional may be able to tell you about ways to prevent or reduce some of these side effects.

Check with your health care professional if any of the following side effects continue or are bothersome or if you have any questions about them:

For healthcare professionals

Applies to desipramine: compounding powder, oral tablet.

General adverse events

The most commonly reported side effects were tremor, dizziness, headache, dry mouth, constipation, and nausea.^[Ref]

Psychiatric

• Frequency not reported: Agitation, anxiety, confusional states (especially in the elderly) with hallucinations, disorientation, exacerbation of psychosis, hypomania, increased or decreased libido, insomnia, nightmares, restlessness, suicidal behaviors^[Ref]

Nervous system

• Frequency not reported: Alterations in EEG patterns, ataxia, dizziness, drowsiness, extrapyramidal symptoms, headache, incoordination, mydriasis, numbness, paresthesias of extremities, peculiar taste, peripheral neuropathy, seizures, serotonin syndrome, stroke, symptoms attributed to neuroleptic malignant syndrome, tingling, tremors^[Ref]

Cardiovascular

• Frequency not reported: Acute collapse, arrhythmias, edema, flushing, general edema, hypertension, hypotension, myocardial infarction, palpitations, premature ventricular contractions, tachycardia, ventricular tachycardia, ventricular fibrillation^[Ref]

Endocrine

• Frequency not reported: Gynecomastia, syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone secretion (SIADH)^[Ref]

Genitourinary

• Frequency not reported: Breast enlargement, delayed micturition, dilation of urinary tract, galactorrhea, impotence, nocturia, painful ejaculation, testicular swelling, urinary frequency, urinary retention^[Ref]

Ocular

• Frequency not reported: Blurred vision, disturbance of accommodation, increased intraocular pressure^[Ref]

Hepatic

• Frequency not reported: Altered liver function, elevated liver function tests, hepatitis, jaundice (simulating obstructive)^[Ref]

Hematologic

• Frequency not reported: Agranulocytosis, bone marrow depression, eosinophilia, purpura, thrombocytopenia^[Ref]

Other

• Frequency not reported: Drug fever, fatigue, fever, malaise, proneness to falling, sudden death, tinnitus, weakness^[Ref]

Gastrointestinal

• Frequency not reported: Abdominal cramps, black tongue, constipation, diarrhea, dry mouth (rarely associated with sublingual adenitis), epigastric distress, increased pancreatic enzymes, nausea, paralytic ileus, parotid swelling, stomatitis, vomiting^[Ref]

Hypersensitivity

• Frequency not reported: Cross-sensitivity with other tricyclic drugs^[Ref]

Dermatologic

• Frequency not reported: Alopecia, face edema, itching, perspiration, petechia, photosensitization, skin rash, urticaria^[Ref]

Metabolic

• Frequency not reported: Anorexia, elevated alkaline phosphatase, elevation/depression of blood sugar levels, weight gain or loss^[Ref]

See also:

Further information

Desipramine side effects can vary depending on the individual. Always consult your healthcare provider to ensure the information displayed on this page applies to your personal circumstances.

Note: Medication side effects may be underreported. If you are experiencing side effects that are not listed, submit a report to the FDA by following this guide.

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