Fluconazole (Diflucan) can interact with other medications and some supplements. For example, fluconazole can interact with certain antidepressants and antibiotics.
Fluconazole is a generic prescription drug used in adults and some children to treat certain fungal infections, including:
- vaginal yeast infections
- oral thrush
- esophageal thrush
- invasive candidiasis (yeast infection of the blood or other parts of the body, such as the heart, bones, brain, or lungs)
- cryptococcal meningitis
Fluconazole is also used to help prevent fungal infections in people receiving a bone marrow transplant.
Fluconazole is available as the brand-name drug Diflucan.
An interaction can occur because one substance causes another substance to have a different effect than expected. Interactions can also occur if you have certain health conditions.
Note: This article covers the oral tablet form of fluconazole. It also comes as an oral suspension and an injection. Your doctor can give you more information about these forms of fluconazole.
Before you start taking fluconazole, tell your doctor and pharmacist about any prescription, over-the-counter, or other drugs you take. Sharing this information with them may help prevent possible interactions. (To learn whether fluconazole interacts with herbs, vitamins, or supplements, see the “Are there other interactions with fluconazole?” section.)
If you have questions about drug interactions that may affect you, talk with your doctor or pharmacist.
The following table lists drugs that may interact with fluconazole. Keep in mind that this table does not include all drugs that may interact with fluconazole. For more information about some of these interactions, see the “Drug interactions explained” section.
| Drug group or drug name | Drug examples | What can happen |
|---|---|---|
| certain antibiotics | • azithromycin (Zithromax) • clarithromycin • erythromycin (Ery-Tab, others) | can increase the risk of irregular heart rhythms |
| certain antidepressants | • citalopram (Celexa) • escitalopram (Lexapro) • trazodone | can increase the risk of irregular heart rhythms |
| certain diabetes medications | • glimepiride (Amaryl) • glipizide (Glucotrol XL) • glyburide (Diabeta) | can increase the risk of side effects from certain diabetes medications |
| drugs for irregular heartbeats | • amiodarone (Pacerone) • procainamide • quinidine | can increase the risk of irregular heart rhythms |
| certain antipsychotics | • clozapine (Clozaril) • haloperidol (Haldol) • quetiapine (Seroquel) | can increase the risk of irregular heart rhythms |
| certain immunosuppressants | • cyclosporine (Neoral, others) • sirolimus (Rapamune, others) • tacrolimus (Prograf, others) | can increase the risk of side effects from certain immunosuppressants |
| certain statins | • atorvastatin (Lipitor) • fluvastatin (Lescol XL) • simvastatin (Zocor) | can increase the risk of side effects from certain statins |
| certain seizure medications | • carbamazepine (Tegretol, others) • phenytoin (Dilantin, Phenytek) | can increase the risk of side effects from certain seizure medications |
| certain calcium channel blockers | • amlodipine (Norvasc, others) • nifedipine (Procardia) • verapamil (Verelan) | can increase the risk of side effects from certain calcium channel blockers |
| certain opioids | • fentanyl • hydrocodone • methadone (Methadose) | can increase the risk of side effects from certain opioids |
| nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) | • celecoxib (Celebrex) • ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin) • naproxen (Aleve, Naprosyn) | can increase the risk of side effects from NSAIDs |
| theophylline (Theo-24) | — | can increase the risk of side effects from theophylline |
| warfarin (Jantoven) | — | can increase the risk of bleeding |
Certain health conditions or other factors could raise your risk of harm if you take fluconazole. In such cases, your doctor may not prescribe fluconazole for you. These are known as contraindications. The following list includes contraindications of fluconazole.
If you take certain interacting drugs: If you take certain drugs that can interact with fluconazole, your doctor likely won’t prescribe fluconazole for you. Examples include:
- antibiotics, such as erythromycin (Ery-Tab, others) and clarithromycin
- antidepressants, such as citalopram (Celexa) and trazodone
- antipsychotics, such as quetiapine (Seroquel), haloperidol (Haldol), and clozapine (Clozaril)
- heart rhythm drugs, such as amiodarone (Pacerone) and quinidine
This is because taking fluconazole with these drugs could cause serious irregular heart rhythms. You can ask your doctor about other treatments that may be better options for you.
If you’ve had an allergic reaction: If you’ve had an allergic reaction to fluconazole or any of its ingredients, your doctor likely won’t prescribe fluconazole for you. This is because taking the drug could cause another allergic reaction. You can ask your doctor about other treatments that may be better options for you.
Before starting fluconazole treatment, talk with your doctor if any of the factors above apply to you. Your doctor can determine whether fluconazole is safe for you.
Fluconazole is not known to interact with alcohol. But fluconazole and alcohol can cause some similar side effects, such as headache, nausea, and dizziness. So you may be more likely to experience these side effects if you drink alcohol during your fluconazole treatment.
Drinking large amounts of alcohol can damage your liver. In rare cases, fluconazole can also cause liver damage. You may have a higher risk of liver damage if you drink alcohol with fluconazole.
If you have questions about consuming alcohol while taking fluconazole, talk with your doctor or pharmacist.
Learn more about certain drug interactions that can occur with fluconazole.
Interaction with certain antidepressants
Fluconazole can interact with certain antidepressants, which are used to treat depression and anxiety disorders.
Fluconazole slows the action of certain enzymes that help clear some antidepressants from your body. Taking fluconazole with one of these antidepressants can make the antidepressant build up in your body. This can raise your risk of side effects from the antidepressant.
Although rare, fluconazole can cause abnormal heart rhythms. Some antidepressants can also cause this side effect. Taking fluconazole with one of these antidepressants can raise your risk of this side effect.
Here are some antidepressants that may interact with fluconazole:
- amitriptyline
- citalopram (Celexa)
- escitalopram (Lexapro)
- nortriptyline
- trazodone
Note: Your doctor likely will not prescribe fluconazole with citalopram or trazodone.
What you can do
If you take fluconazole and certain antidepressants together, your doctor may monitor you more closely. For example, they may order blood tests to check your electrolyte levels and electrocardiograms (EKGs) to monitor your heart rhythm.
Tell your doctor right away if you have symptoms of abnormal heart rhythms. These may include heart palpitations, dizziness, and fainting.
If you have questions about taking fluconazole with an antidepressant, talk with your doctor or pharmacist.
Interaction with certain antibiotics
Fluconazole can interact with certain antibiotics, which are used to treat bacterial infections.
Fluconazole slows the action of certain enzymes that help clear antibiotics from your body. Taking fluconazole with one of these antibiotics can cause the antibiotic to build up in your body. This can raise your risk of side effects from the antibiotic.
Although rare, fluconazole can cause abnormal heart rhythms. Some antibiotics can also cause this side effect. Taking fluconazole with one of these antibiotics can raise your risk of this side effect.
Here are some antibiotics that may interact with fluconazole:
- azithromycin (Zithromax)
- ciprofloxacin (Cipro)
- clarithromycin
- erythromycin (Ery-Tab, others)
- ofloxacin
Note: Your doctor likely will not prescribe fluconazole with clarithromycin or erythromycin.
What you can do
If you take fluconazole and certain antibiotics together, your doctor may monitor you more closely. For example, they may order blood tests to check your electrolyte levels and electrocardiograms (EKGs) to monitor your heart rhythm.
Tell your doctor right away if you have symptoms of abnormal heart rhythms. These may include heart palpitations, dizziness, and fainting.
If you have questions about taking fluconazole with an antibiotic, talk with your doctor or pharmacist.
Interaction with certain statins
Fluconazole can interact with certain statins, which are used to lower high cholesterol.
Fluconazole slows the action of certain enzymes that help clear certain statins from your body. Taking fluconazole with one of these statins can cause the statin to build up in your body. This can raise your risk of side effects from the statin, such as muscle problems.
Here are some statins that may interact with fluconazole:
- atorvastatin (Lipitor)
- fluvastatin (Lescol XL)
- lovastatin (Altoprev)
- simvastatin (Zocor)
What you can do
If you take fluconazole with a statin drug, your doctor may temporarily lower your statin dosage. You should not take a higher dose of either medication than your doctor prescribes.
If you take fluconazole and a statin drug together, tell your doctor right away if you have symptoms of muscle problems. These may include muscle pain and weakness.
If you have questions about taking fluconazole with a statin, talk with your doctor or pharmacist.
Fluconazole may have other interactions. They could occur with supplements, foods, vaccines, or lab tests.
Here are additional interactions that may occur with fluconazole. Note that this information does not include all other possible interactions with fluconazole.
Does fluconazole interact with supplements?
Before you start taking fluconazole, talk with your doctor and pharmacist about any herbs, vitamins, or supplements you take. Sharing this information with them may help you avoid possible interactions.
If you have questions about interactions that may affect you, talk with your doctor or pharmacist.
Fluconazole and herbs
There are currently no reports of fluconazole interacting with herbs. But this doesn’t mean that interactions with herbs won’t be recognized in the future.
For this reason, it’s important to check with your doctor or pharmacist before taking any of these products while taking fluconazole.
Fluconazole and vitamins
There are currently no reports of fluconazole interacting with vitamins. But this doesn’t mean that vitamin interactions won’t be recognized in the future.
For this reason, it’s important to check with your doctor or pharmacist before taking any of these products while taking fluconazole.
Does fluconazole interact with food?
There are currently no reports of fluconazole interacting with food. If you have questions about eating certain foods during your treatment with fluconazole, talk with your doctor.
Does fluconazole interact with vaccines?
There are currently no reports of fluconazole interacting with vaccines. If you have questions about getting certain vaccines during your fluconazole treatment, talk with your doctor.
Does fluconazole interact with lab tests?
There are currently no reports of fluconazole interacting with lab tests. If you have questions about having certain lab tests during your treatment with fluconazole, talk with the healthcare professional ordering the test.
Does fluconazole interact with cannabis or CBD?Cannabis (commonly called marijuana) and cannabis products, such as cannabidiol (CBD), have been specifically reported to interact with fluconazole.
Fluconazole slows the action of certain enzymes that help clear cannabis and cannabis products from your body. So if you use cannabis while taking fluconazole, your body may not clear the cannabis as usual. This can raise your risk of cannabis-related side effects.
Before you start treatment with fluconazole, tell your doctor and pharmacist if you use cannabis. By sharing this information with them, you may help prevent possible interactions.
Note: Cannabis is illegal at a federal level but is legal in many states to varying degrees.
Certain medical conditions or other health factors may raise the risk of interactions with fluconazole. Before taking fluconazole, talk with your doctor about your health history. They’ll determine whether fluconazole is right for you.
Health conditions or other factors that might interact with fluconazole include:
Heart problems: Fluconazole can cause abnormal heart rhythms in some people. If you have certain heart problems, such as heart failure or an irregular heartbeat, you may have a higher risk of this side effect. Talk with your doctor about whether fluconazole is right for you.
Liver problems: Fluconazole can rarely cause serious liver problems. If you already have a liver problem, talk with your doctor about whether fluconazole is right for you.
Kidney problems: Your kidneys help clear fluconazole from your system. If you have a kidney problem, fluconazole can build up in your body. This can raise your risk of side effects from fluconazole. Your doctor will likely prescribe a dosage of fluconazole that’s lower than usual.
Adrenal gland problems: Fluconazole can cause the development of adrenal gland problems. Your adrenal gland produces hormones that affect many usual bodily functions. Stopping the drug may help reverse the problem. Your doctor will determine whether fluconazole is right for you.
Pregnancy: Fluconazole may cause fetal harm if taken during pregnancy. Due to the possible risk, doctors typically only prescribe fluconazole to treat serious fungal infections in people who are pregnant. If you’re pregnant or planning a pregnancy, talk with your doctor before taking fluconazole.
Breastfeeding: It’s not known whether it’s safe to take fluconazole while breastfeeding. The drug passes into breast milk, but it isn’t known whether the drug may cause side effects in a child who is breastfed. If you’re breastfeeding or planning to breastfeed, talk with your doctor about your options.
Allergic reaction: If you’ve had an allergic reaction to fluconazole or any of its ingredients, your doctor will likely not prescribe fluconazole. This is because taking the drug could cause another allergic reaction. You can ask your doctor about other treatments that may be better for you.
If you’ve had an allergic reaction to similar antifungal drugs, such as ketoconazole or itraconazole (Sporanox), it’s not known if taking fluconazole may cause an allergic reaction. Talk with your doctor about whether fluconazole is right for you.
Taking certain steps can help you avoid interactions with fluconazole. Before starting treatment, talk with your doctor and pharmacist. Things to discuss with them include:
- whether you drink alcohol or use cannabis
- the
list of medications you take, as well as any vitamins, supplements, and herbs - what to do if you start taking a new drug during your fluconazole treatment
It’s also important to understand fluconazole’s
If you did not get paperwork with fluconazole, ask your pharmacist to print a copy for you. If you have difficulty reading or understanding this information, your doctor or pharmacist can help.
Taking fluconazole exactly as prescribed can also help prevent interactions.
Disclaimer: Healthline has made every effort to make certain that all information is factually correct, comprehensive, and up to date. However, this article should not be used as a substitute for the knowledge and expertise of a licensed healthcare professional. You should always consult your doctor or another healthcare professional before taking any medication. The drug information contained herein is subject to change and is not intended to cover all possible uses, directions, precautions, warnings, drug interactions, allergic reactions, or adverse effects. The absence of warnings or other information for a given drug does not indicate that the drug or drug combination is safe, effective, or appropriate for all patients or all specific uses.