Before taking desipramine,
tell your doctor and pharmacist if you are allergic to desipramine, clomipramine (Anafranil), imipramine (Tofranil), trimipramine (Surmontil), any other medications, or any of the ingredients in desipramine tablets. Ask your doctor or pharmacist for a list of the ingredients.
tell your doctor if you are taking a monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitor such as isocarboxazid (Marplan), linezolid (Zyvox), methylene blue, phenelzine (Nardil), selegiline (Eldepryl, Emsam, Zelapar), and tranylcypromine (Parnate), or if you have stopped taking an MAO inhibitor within the past 14 days. Your doctor will probably tell you not to take desipramine. If you stop taking desipramine, you should wait at least 14 days before you start to take an MAO inhibitor.
tell your doctor and pharmacist what prescription and nonprescription medications, vitamins, herbal products and nutritional supplements you are taking or plan to take. Be sure to mention any of the following: anticoagulants (blood thinners) such as warfarin (Coumadin); antihistamines; cimetidine (Tagamet); estrogens; flecainide (Tambocor); fluoxetine (Prozac); guanethidine (Ismelin); levodopa (Sinemet, Larodopa); lithium (Eskalith, Lithobid); medication for high blood pressure, seizures, Parkinson's disease, diabetes, mental illness, nausea, asthma, colds, or allergies; methylphenidate (Ritalin); muscle relaxants; oral contraceptives; phenobarbital; propafenone (Rythmol); quinidine; sedatives; selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) such as citalopram (Celexa), escitalopram (Lexapro), fluoxetine (Prozac, Sarafem), fluvoxamine (Luvox), paroxetine (Paxil), and sertraline (Zoloft); sleeping pills; thyroid medications; and tranquilizers. Your doctor may need to change the doses of your medications or monitor you carefully for side effects. Your doctor may tell you not to take desipramine if you have stopped taking fluoxetine during the past 5 weeks.
tell your doctor if you have recently had a heart attack. Your doctor may tell you that you should not take desipramine.
tell your doctor if anyone in your family has or has ever had an irregular heartbeat or has died suddenly. Also tell your doctor if you have or have ever had heart or blood vessel disease such as high blood pressure, atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries), angina (chest pain), irregular heartbeat, or a heart attack; an enlarged prostate (a male reproductive gland) difficulty urinating; diabetes; seizures; an overactive thyroid gland; schizophrenia (a mental illness that causes disturbed or unusual thinking, loss of interest in life, and strong or inappropriate emotions); or liver or kidney disease.
tell your doctor if you are pregnant, plan to become pregnant, or are breast-feeding. If you become pregnant while taking desipramine, call your doctor.
if you are having surgery, including dental surgery, tell the doctor or dentist that you are taking desipramine.
you should know that this medication may make you drowsy. Do not drive a car or operate machinery until you know how this medication affects you.
ask your doctor about the safe use of alcohol while you are taking this medication.
tell your doctor if you use tobacco products. Cigarette smoking may decrease the effectiveness of this medication.
you should know that desipramine may cause angle-closure glaucoma (a condition where the fluid is suddenly blocked and unable to flow out of the eye causing a quick, severe increase in eye pressure which may lead to a loss of vision). Talk to your doctor about having an eye examination before you start taking this medication. If you have nausea, eye pain, changes in vision, such as seeing colored rings around lights, and swelling or redness in or around the eye, call your doctor or get emergency medical treatment right away.