Co-administration of fluoxetine and sumatriptan: the Canadian experience

Major depression and migraine are commonly comorbid. Therefore, there is considerable opportunity for serotonin reuptake inhibitors, which are commonly prescribed for the treatment of depression, to be used at the same time as sumatriptan, an anti-migraine treatment. As both of these drugs increase serotonin transmission, the potential for drug interaction is considerable. Adverse event reports were obtained from the post-marketing surveillance of fluoxetine in Canada. Of 22 adverse event reports obtained six showed varying degrees of evidence of a drug interaction between fluoxetine and sumatriptan, suggesting that this combination is not entirely free of side-effects and should be used with caution when indicated.