Drug Interactions
It is possible for quetiapine to interact with other drugs, herbs or vitamins you may be taking. Drug interactions can be dangerous because they may prevent the drug from working in its full capacity.
To prevent these drug interactions from happening, tell your doctor about the other drugs or medications you are taking. This will help your doctor when prescribing drugs for you.
There are a lot of drugs that can cause interactions with quetiapine and they are listed below.
- Some drugs cause heart problems when taken with quetiapine: You should not take these drugs with quetiapine because it can cause heart problems that can be fatal. Examples include; Antiarrhythmic drugs e.g. Sotalol, Quinidine and Procainamide, Pentamidine, Methadone, and Antibiotics such as Gatifloxacin or Moxifloxacin.
- Interactions can increase your risk of side effects from some drugs; the risk of getting side effects from certain drugs can be heightened when combined with quetiapine. Examples of these drugs are; Tramadol, Alprazolam, Diazepam, Codeine, Phenobarbital, hydroxyzine, Anti-hypertensives such as Losartan (it can lead to low blood pressure).
- Interactions can reduce the efficiency of quetiapine: some drugs can reduce its efficiency by decreasing the amount of quetiapine in the body. Examples of such drugs include; Rifampin, St. John’s wort and Phenytoin.