Desipramine

The Basics

What is Desipramine?

Used to treat depression.

Brand names for Desipramine

Norpramin

How Desipramine is classified

Antidepressive Agents, Antidepressive Agents (Tricyclic)

Desipramine During Pregnancy

Desipramine pregnancy category

Category N/ANote that the FDA has deprecated the use of pregnancy categories, so for some medications, this information isn’t available. We still think it’s useful to list historical info, however, given what a common proxy this has been in the past.

What we know about taking Desipramine while pregnant

There is a pregnancy exposure registry that monitors pregnancy outcomes in women exposed to antidepressants, including NORPRAMIN, during pregnancy. Healthcare providers are encouraged to register patients by calling the National Pregnancy Registry for Antidepressants at 1-844-405-6185 or visiting online at http://womensmentalhealth.org/clinical-and-researchprograms/ pregnancyregistry/antidepressants Safe use of NORPRAMIN during pregnancy and lactation has not been established; therefore, if it is to be given to pregnant patients, nursing mothers, or women of childbearing potential, the possible benefits must be weighed against the possible hazards to mother and child. Animal reproductive studies have been inconclusive.

Taking Desipramine While Breastfeeding

What are recommendations for lactation if you're taking Desipramine?

Milk levels of desipramine and its metabolite are low and have not been detected in the serum of breastfed infants. Immediate side effects have not been reported and a limited amount of follow-up has found no adverse effects on infant growth and development. Desipramine use during breastfeeding would usually not be expected to cause any adverse effects in breastfed infants, especially if the infant is older than 2 months.

Maternal / infant drug levels

Milk levels of desipramine and its metabolite are low and have not been detected in the serum of breastfed infants. Immediate side effects have not been reported and a limited amount of follow-up has found no adverse effects on infant growth and development. Desipramine use during breastfeeding would usually not be expected to cause any adverse effects in breastfed infants, especially if the infant is older than 2 months.

Possible effects of Desipramine on milk supply

Desipramine has caused increased serum prolactin levels in some patients.[5] The clinical relevance of these findings in nursing mothers is not known. The prolactin level in a mother with established lactation may not affect her ability to breastfeed.

An observational study looked at outcomes of 2859 women who took an antidepressant during the 2 years prior to pregnancy. Compared to women who did not take an antidepressant during pregnancy, mothers who took an antidepressant during all 3 trimesters of pregnancy were 37% less likely to be breastfeeding upon hospital discharge. Mothers who took an antidepressant only during the third trimester were 75% less likely to be breastfeeding at discharge. Those who took an antidepressant only during the first and second trimesters did not have a reduced likelihood of breastfeeding at discharge.[6] The antidepressants used by the mothers were not specified.

A retrospective cohort study of hospital electronic medical records from 2001 to 2008 compared women who had been dispensed an antidepressant during late gestation (n = 575) to those who had a psychiatric illness but did not receive an antidepressant (n = 1552) and mothers who did not have a psychiatric diagnosis (n = 30,535). Women who received an antidepressant were 37% less likely to be breastfeeding at discharge than women without a psychiatric diagnosis, but no less likely to be breastfeeding than untreated mothers with a psychiatric diagnosis.[7] None of the mothers were taking desipramine.

Possible alternatives to Desipramine

Nortriptyline, Paroxetine, Sertraline.