This site is intended for healthcare professionals

Go to /sign-in page

You can view 5 more pages before signing in

Switching antidepressant (SSRIs to agomelatine) in adults

Authoring team

SSRIs to agomelatine

From all except fluvoxamine

Cross-taper

  • cross-tapering can usually be undertaken cautiously over 2 to 4 weeks, the speed is determined by individual tolerability

  • is limited experience with this switch so extra caution is required. Although interactions are not expected, agomelatine is not expected to mitigate discontinuation reactions from stopping the SSRI

  • additional caution when switching from fluoxetine
    • fluoxetine may still cause medicine interactions 5 or 6 weeks after stopping as fluoxetine and its active metabolite have a long half-life

From fluvoxamine

Taper, washout and switch

  • gradually reduce the dose of fluvoxamine and stop; wait 4 days before starting agomelatine.
  • cross-tapering is not appropriate with this switch because fluvoxamine is a potent inhibitor of the liver enzyme CYP1A2 which is involved in the metabolism of agomelatine. There is therefore a risk of raised agomelatine levels in the body when they are administered together

Reference:


Create an account to add page annotations

Annotations allow you to add information to this page that would be handy to have on hand during a consultation. E.g. a website or number. This information will always show when you visit this page.

The content herein is provided for informational purposes and does not replace the need to apply professional clinical judgement when diagnosing or treating any medical condition. A licensed medical practitioner should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions.

Connect

Copyright 2024 Oxbridge Solutions Limited, a subsidiary of OmniaMed Communications Limited. All rights reserved. Any distribution or duplication of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited. Oxbridge Solutions receives funding from advertising but maintains editorial independence.