Tricyclic Antidepressants

The tricyclic antidepressants are an older class of medicines that work on many chemical systems in the brain including the serotonergic, adrenergic and cholinergic systems. Together these chemicals impact mood, and when they become unbalanced mood, sleep, appetite, energy, motivation and pleasure all suffer. These include medicines like Tofranil^® (imipranine), Norpramin^® (desipranine) and Pamelor^® (nortryptiline).

These medications are considered safe in pregnancy and lactation. They may cause dry mouth, agitation or sleepiness, difficulty with urination, blurred vision, and irregular heartbeat. Your health care provider may wish to draw blood levels to make sure that there is adequate medication to treat your depression.