One thing you miss by only reading.... is that the actual clinical use does not always match what you read.

Clonidine is not easy to tolerate, so it is not used as much as you would think. My son took .05mg daily with his Ritalin...it really was hard on him! That treatment didn't last long. I discovered that Omega-3 supplements completely removed his need for ADHD drugs.

Clonidine is also not used much anymore for hypertension. It has a nasty side effect of causing mania and insomnia in some people.
It is also seriously dangerous in hypertensive people who may run out of medication or skip doses. For a while it was also used as an adjunct for addiction to drugs. Cocaine especially. So popular on the street at one time we'd get forgeries for it.

Flexeril works mainly centrally in the brain ...so I don't know how effective it would be topically transdermally.

But many of the topical compounded creams do work.

You should try the new Morton Epsom Lotion! It is fantastic on the feet, or cramping areas, or swelling. Available at WalMart, Walgreen's and online at Amazon. Many people on the NT forums are using it successfully now including me.

Some of the transdermal compounded creams have magnesium added. This you can do yourself.

http://www.amazon.com/Morton-Epsom-L.../dp/B008X365AU

Magnesium is a NMDA pain receptor antagonist and will reduce nerve pain. It relaxes muscle tension and improves circulation to the small vessels in the feet and lower legs and hands.