Clonidine?
 

I saw my pdoc today and she prescribed 0.1mg of clonidine for my anxiety disorders. I'm thinking of trying 1/2 pill since I'm home for the day now.

I was wondering if anyone has had experience with it?

I have not used it.

I hope it helps you.



M

no experience sorry
bizi good luck!
keep us posted.

Yeah, I had not even heard of it. I guess it's primary purpose is to treat high blood pressure. I didn't want to tweak any meds or start taking anything new so close to surgery, but I was really left with no choice.

I had to call the people at the hospital to let them know I'm taking a new med and left a message. Because it effects blood pressure, I'm sure I'll be given some kind of instructions such as withholding it prior to surgery.

Did your doctor actually say to you the name of your new medication?

I ask because clonidine can be given by mistake, either by a doctor or pharmacy. Clonidine can be mixed up for Clonazepam...they are next to each other on the pharmacy shelf. Clonazepam is used for anxiety. Pharmacies that keep the generic next to the brand name, this is not likely. But the trend today is to put all the drugs alphabetically on the shelf...so these two generics may be next to each other on the shelf and the wrong one grabbed.

Clonidine or Klonopin? A small mixup in the name is a big problem - Chronicle-Telegram

https://www.downstate.edu/patientsaf..._drug_list.pdf

Clonidine is not commonly used for blood pressure today, except for hard to treat patients as a last resort. This is because it has an undesirable effect of causing rebound hypertension when stopped suddenly. Rebound meaning higher readings that when the patient started the drug.

It has been used to treat some ADHD kids, but that is not so common anymore either.

It may be used in some pain management treatments, but its sedative effects are often a reason that the patients tend to reject it.

Just to be safe, do double check that an error mixup has not been made.

Thanks mrsD, but she specifically said "clonidine." I take klonopin already, and have some drug knowledge.

My pdoc mentioned it may be worth trying because my problems with anxiety extend much farther than GAD, and it's been used quite a bit in the treatment of PTSD.

My GYN told me today at my pre-op that she prescribes it in conjunction with SSRIs to treat hot flashes in some patients.

Yes, some hot flashes do respond to clonidine. But its side effect profile can be difficult for some people.

I was just checking because errors can happen. Before Zantac went OTC, the big error confusions were about Xanax/Zantac.
Over the phone they sound very much alike. Doctors even mixed that duo up in their minds! And on the Pharmacy end, they were mixed up too during transcription. Today many doctors send emails for their medications for patients. That is really a nice feature.

My son took clonidine when he used ADHD meds. He took it for a year, and even 1/2 of a 0.1 mg was too much for him. Cutting the 0.1's was difficult too to get the 0.05 dose. You'll just have to see how it goes for you.

Prilosec was renamed from Losec because it was confused with Lasix. ( in the USA).

Thanks Mrs D for all the information about medicine mix-ups . Hoping it helps Kay.

Donna :hug::grouphug:

I don't know what they do in pharmacies, but institutions that dispense medications directly to patients in the US use tall man lettering for certain meds in an effort to reduce errors with easily confused medications... parts of the names that help distinguish one med from another are capitalized. I wish I could remember an example, but I only dispensed meds in nursing school so nothing really stuck. MS got me before I graduated.

I've seen the handwriting on some of scripts I've submitted to the pharmacy in the past... many of them are illegible. I wonder how many times pharmacists have to call to make clarifications on a daily basis? All my MDs electronically submit my scripts now, but klonopin has to be written because it's a controlled substance.


I tried the clonipine for the first time Wednesday afternoon. I took 1/2 pill, which made me a little fuzzy headed and a bit relaxed, but it was around my usual nap time. I didn't dare take any on Thursday because I knew I would be driving, and was already really pushing my limits. I only took 1/2mg of klonopin yesterday morning, and after checking to make sure there weren't any drug interaction between Allegra-D and clonidine, I decided to take a whole pill around noon. I felt a little more relaxed than I did prior to taking it.

I napped pretty close to when I took it on both occasions, but I was awake long enough to notice that I didn't have any intrusive thoughts after taking it :)

I don't have any appointments this week until my surgery on Friday. Unless the hospital tells me I have to hold the medication for several days prior to surgery, I can conduct some tolerance tests and see whether it's effective at treating some of my other anxiety-based symptoms.

Glad that this new med might be working for you. Sounds great!
bizi