[Daisy Pepita]

I think I saw somewhere that Zelnorm interacts with serotonin in some way and that,for this reason,one should not take anti - depressants at the same time.Is this true?I think I need medication for my depression but I also need my Zelnorm !!What should I do ?

 

[Kathleen M.]

I think it varies.Zelnorm effects the 5HT4 receptor and generally antidepressants that are serotonin uptake inhibitors effect the 5HT1 receptor. So they do not effect the same thing so how much they interact may be less than taking lets say two antidepressants at the same time.There is a thing called serotonin syndrome which occurs when too much medication (either singly or in combination)are taken, but it is dose dependant and you should be able to be monitored for those issues.I'll see what the Zelnorm information says...be back soon.

 

[Kathleen M.]

The PDR information doesn't indicate any drug interactions with antidepressants...so there isn't a general rule that you can't take both.I would still keep an eye on serotonin syndrome type problems, just to be safe, but like I said they interact with different receptors, so there may be a low risk.Now MAOI inhibitors maybe different, but it seems that they usually keep you off just about everything else when on those drugs for depression because so many things interact (decongestants food additives, etc).K.

 

[Tiss]

Hi Guts, What time of the day are you taking your meds? I take my thyroid med about 5:30am and go back to sleep. Then, I take the Zelnorm about 2 hours later when I get up. That doesn't seem to be a problem. Maybe you could figure out a way to get at least a few hours in between so you don't worry about it. Tiss

 

[Daisy Pepita]

What is Serotonin syndrome - I mean what should I look out for as symptoms?Thanks for your trouble,kmottus.Tiss,I haven't been prescribed an anti -dep. yet.Hope to get something today.

 

[Tiss]

The pamphlet on Zelnorm states it does not interfere with other meds so you should be OK. But, if you're worried try to figure out how to take them a couple of hours apart. Good luck! Tiss