Taking aripiprazole with other medicines and herbal supplements - Brand name: Abilify

Cautions with other medicines

There are many medicines that can affect the way aripiprazole works, or that increase the risk of side effects.

It's very important to check a medicine is safe to take with aripiprazole before you start taking it.

Tell your doctor or pharmacist if you're taking any other medicines, including:

• medicines for problems with your heart rhythm, such as quinidine, amiodarone or flecainide
• medicines to lower your blood pressure
• medicines that make you feel sleepy, including benzodiazepines such as diazepam, opioid painkillers such as morphine, pethidine or tramadol, or drowsy antihistamines such as chlorphenamine – aripiprazole can increase the effects of these medicines and make you feel more sleepy
• ketoconazole or itraconazole, medicines for fungal infections
• medicines for depression such as fluoxetine, paroxetine or venlafaxine
• some medicines to treat HIV infection such as efavirenz, nevirapine, indinavir or ritonavir
• rifabutin or rifampicin, medicines for tuberculosis (TB)
• carbamazepine, phenytoin or phenobarbital, medicines for epilepsy
• triptans such as sumatriptan or zolmitriptan, for migraines

Mixing aripiprazole with herbal remedies and supplements

There might be a problem taking some herbal remedies and supplements with aripiprazole, especially ones that make you feel sleepy or dizzy. Ask a pharmacist for advice.

Do not take St John's wort, a herbal remedy for depression. It may stop aripiprazole working as well as it should.

There's not enough information to say that other complementary medicines, herbal remedies and supplements are safe to take with aripiprazole. They're not tested in the same way as pharmacy and prescription medicines. They're generally not tested for the effect they have on other medicines.