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Drug Interactions With Buprenorphine
Because buprenorphine is known to cause drowsiness, taking it with other medications that also cause drowsiness could lead to problems such as low blood pressure, confusion, and breathing problems. Buprenorphine can interact with a number of other drugs, including alcohol, phenytoin, and carbamazepine. To reduce your risk of dangerous complications, tell your healthcare provider about all of your current medications.
Buprenorphine (Buprenex®, Butrans®, Subutex®, Suboxone®) may interact with a number of other products. Some of the medications that may lead to drug interactions with buprenorphine include but are not limited to:
- Alcohol
- Benzodiazepines, such as:
- Alprazolam (Xanax®)
- Chlordiazepoxide (Librium®, Limbitrol®, Librax®)
- Clobazam (Onfi™)
- Clonazepam (Klonopin®)
- Clorazepate (Tranxene®)
- Diazepam (Valium®)
- Estazolam (ProSom®)
- Flurazepam (Dalmane®)
- Lorazepam (Ativan®)
- Midazolam (Versed®)
- Oxazepam (Serax®)
- Quazepam (Doral®)
- Temazepam (Restoril®)
- Triazolam (Halcion®)
- CYP 3A4 inducer medications, such as:
- Aminoglutethimide (Cytadren®)
- Bosentan (Tracleer®)
- Carbamazepine (Carbatrol®, Epitol®, Equetro®, Tegretol®)
- Dexamethasone (Decadron®, Dexpak®, Maxidex®)
- Efavirenz (Sustiva®)
- Efavirenz, emtricitabine, and tenofovir (Atripla®)
- Etravirine (Intelence™)
- Fosphenytoin (Cerebyx®)
- Nafcillin
- Nevirapine (Viramune®)
- Oxcarbazepine (Trileptal®)
- Pentobarbital (Nembutal®)
- Phenobarbital (Luminal®)
- Phenytoin (Dilantin®, Phenytek®)
- Primidone (Mysoline®)
- Rifabutin (Mycobutin®)
- Rifampin (Rifadin®)
- Rifapentine (Priftin®)
- St. John's wort
- CYP 3A4 inhibitor medications, such as:
- Amprenavir (Agenerase®)
- Atazanavir (Reyataz®)
- Clarithromycin (Biaxin®)
- Conivaptan (Vaprisol®)
- Darunavir (Prezista®)
- Delavirdine (Rescriptor®)
- Erythromycin
- Fosamprenavir (Lexiva®)
- Imatinib (Gleevec®)
- Indinavir (Crixivan®)
- Isoniazid
- Itraconazole (Sporanox®)
- Ketoconazole (Nizoral®)
- Lopinavir and ritonavir (Kaletra®)
- Miconazole
- Nefazodone (Serzone®)
- Nelfinavir (Viracept®)
- Nicardipine (Cardene®)
- Posaconazole (Noxafil®)
- Quinidine
- Ritonavir (Norvir®)
- Saquinavir (Fortovase®, Invirase®)
- Telithromycin (Ketek®)
- Voriconazole (VFEND®)
- Medications that cause drowsiness, such as:
- Antipsychotic medications
- Anxiety medications
- Most antidepressants
- Muscle relaxants
- Narcotic pain relievers
- Sleep medications
- Some antihistamines
- Medications that cause a heart rhythm change known as QT prolongation (see QT-Prolonging Medications)
- Monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs), such as:
- Isocarboxazid (Marplan®)
- Phenelzine (Nardil®)
- Rasagiline (Azilect®)
- Selegiline (Eldepryl®, Emsam®, Zelapar®)
- Tranylcypromine (Parnate®).
Written by/reviewed by: Kristi Monson, PharmD
Last reviewed by: Kristi Monson, PharmD