Trimipramine

The Basics

What is Trimipramine?

Trimipramine is a tricyclic antidepressant.

Brand names for Trimipramine

Surmontil

How Trimipramine is classified

Antidepressive Agents, Antidepressive Agents (Tricyclic)

Trimipramine During Pregnancy

Trimipramine pregnancy category

Category CNote 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 Trimipramine while pregnant

SURMONTIL has shown evidence of embryotoxicity and/or increased incidence of major anomalies in rats or rabbits at doses 20 times the human dose. There are no adequate and well-controlled studies in pregnant women. SURMONTIL should be used during pregnancy only if the potential benefit justifies the potential risk to the fetus.

Taking Trimipramine While Breastfeeding

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

Because there is no published experience with trimipramine during breastfeeding, other agents may be preferred, especially while nursing a newborn or preterm infant.

Maternal / infant drug levels

Because there is no published experience with trimipramine during breastfeeding, other agents may be preferred, especially while nursing a newborn or preterm infant.

Possible effects of Trimipramine on milk supply

Trimipramine increases serum prolactin levels[5] and has caused at least one case of galactorrhea.[6] The maternal 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.[7] 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.[8] None of the mothers were taking trimipramine.

Possible alternatives to Trimipramine

Nortriptyline, Paroxetine, Sertraline.