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.

An Overview of Buprenorphine Interactions

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