Antidep (imipramine) is a tricyclic antidepressant medication, predominantly used to treat depression. Less commonly it is used to help manage bedwetting in children, and rarely it may be used to treat other conditions.

Antidep is administered by tablets, which can be taken with or without food. At lower doses it's often taken once a day, at higher doses it may be divided into 2 to 4 smaller doses taken throughout the day.

Children under 6 years of age should not be given this medication. Young and elderly patients may require modified dosing.

Depression & Related Disorders

Antidep is by far most often prescribed to treat depression, but may also be prescribed to help with anxiety, ADHD, panic attacks, OCD, and so forth. In most cases, however, more recently-developed SSRIs or SNRIs are preferred.

Like most antidepressants Antidep is thought to work by influencing levels of neurochemicals in the brain.

Interestingly, Antidep is among more useful treatments for endogenous depression, also known as melancholia. This type of depression is defined as depression without the presence of stress, trauma, or other outside factors; its cause is thought to be genetic or biological.

Treating depression and other psychiatric disorders is typically similar, though personal variables such as weight and patient response will cause some variance in dosage:

• Start with 75 mg per day, increased up to 200 mg per day after two weeks of treatment if 75 mg proves insufficient.
• Once symptoms are under control, a lower daily maintenance dose of 50 to 150 mg may be established.
• Patients should not exceed 200 mg per outside of hospital or inpatient settings.

Smaller doses are usually taken just once per day; larger doses are often divided into 2, 3, or 4 smaller doses taken throughout the day.

Treatment usually lasts at least 6 to 9 months. When it is time for treatment to end, especially if higher doses were taken, dosage should be gradually tapered down over several weeks. Abruptly ending treatment can cause unpleasant side effects. A doctor can help with a discontinuation plan.

Childhood Bedwetting

Antidep is used to treat bedwetting in children age 6 and up. In children under age 6 bedwetting is usually not considered a problem that warrants medical treatment. Other causes, such as physical abnormalities, should be ruled out before starting treatment.

Treatment is typically:

• Start with 25 mg once per day, administered an hour before bedtime.
• If needed dosage may be increased in weekly intervals by 2.5 mg.
• Patients age 6 to 11 should not exceed 50 mg per day.
• Patients age 12 and up should not exceed 75 mg per day.

Some parents find that splitting the daily dose into two doses, one given in the afternoon and the other an hour before bedtime, produces better results.

If bedwetting stops, treatment should periodically end to see if it's still needed.

Results using this medication for bedwetting are mixed. Most parents find it does reduce bedwetting, but it may not stop it altogether. If Antidep doesn't help significantly, a doctor may be able to suggest alternative therapies.

Other Uses

Antidep is used in a wide range of other, often unrelated, conditions, including chronic pain, migraines, night terrors, and so forth.

In these conditions conditions treatment can vary widely, but typically involves lower doses of 25 to 75 mg per day. Treatment usually lasts for a few weeks or a few months. In some conditions, such as migraines, treatment may continue for considerably longer, even indefinitely, provided doses are low and no persistent side effects are experienced.

These are all off-label uses. Off-label use is legal provided a doctor prescribed the medication, but it can be difficult or impossible to find widely-accepted treatment guidelines. Patients wanting to use Antidep for off-label purposes are advised to find a doctor or organization familiar with using the medication for a given purpose. Doctor instructions should always be followed.