Clonidine for Insomnia, Stimulant-Associated User Reviews

• heather
• April 24, 2020

"I was diagnosed with ADHD about a year ago, right before my 21st birthday. My life itself was extremely hard, so the reason I went to see a psychiatrist was because I had severe sleeping problems, mostly as a result of my PTSD from a sexual assault that happened to me as a child repetitively. Anyways, Clonidine has literally been a MIRACLE WORKER. I used to go days without sleeping, simply because my mind wouldn't turn itself off -- it couldn't... Immediately after I ran out of my first prescription, I couldn't sleep. Fortunately for my ADHD and PTSD, Clonidine worked like aspirin to a headache -- it just knew where the pain was and how to make it go away. Now I've been on it for a little over 6 months, and I never wanna remember what it used to be like again. I take it about an hour to 2 hours before bed because it does take a minute to kick in, and as soon as I feel it, I am met with tranquility. Might make you get a full 8 to 9 hours of sleep though, so don't take it if it's only a nap."

• Tippy
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• June 16, 2020

"I have had insomnia in such a severe degree, it could not be worse. For nearly a decade, I was only able to get 10-12 hours of sleep every 7 days. There's not a sleep remedy the doctors haven't thrown at me (unsuccessfully). If I take 2-3 clonidine tabs, I sleep like a baby. I've recently discovered this. A little morning grogginess, but I'll take it. It's been awesome the last week getting some sleep! Thank you Lord!"

• Anonymous
• February 15, 2012

"I was put on this medication after I was injured in an IED blast in Afghanistan. I have been using it for almost a year now, and I could not be happier with its results. It helps me fall asleep but does not make me feel groggy even when I need to wake up in the middle of the night. It also helps me to avoid nightmares and other anxiety-related symptoms. If you want a sleep aid that does not have the side effects of others like Lunesta or Ambien, I would strongly recommend talking to your doctor about clonidine."

• katerD
• February 27, 2020

"I have been taking clonidine at a .2 mg dose for over 10 years, originally prescribed for sleep disturbances caused by ADHD at a young age. At this point, I am dependent on it to sleep and suffer terrible withdrawal symptoms and brain zaps should I not take it, and the longest I have stayed awake is roughly between 3 to 4 days. I am 22 years old now and have begun the tapering process with hopes to quit taking it altogether (this is what was recommended by my doctor). For what it was prescribed for, it worked wonders helping me sleep soundly at night. At this stage, I do take a supplemental medication to help me stay asleep (I recently switched from Trazodone to Mirtazapine, natural sleep aids do not work for me personally) as clonidine primarily helps me fall asleep. However, I would not recommend long-term use (in my case, 10+ years) if possible to prevent developing a dependency."

• adwar...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• July 8, 2016

"I absolutely have to say this drug is a miracle. I have severe insomnia and clonidine helps me greatly. I mean it completely knocks me out at night, and I do not wake until the next morning. Which is just a wonderful thing for me and my long journey of struggles with insomnia."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• September 26, 2020

"I have horrible insomnia. I usually get 16 hours of sleep a week. Since starting this medication 2 months ago, I can finally sleep! I'm so impressed, I have tried so many other medications, and nothing."

• jennie
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• February 20, 2016

"I had most of the listed side effects before I was put on Clonidine, 0.1 as needed. I have found them to work blissfully well as a sleep aid. My major chronic depression, muscle pain, arthritis, fibromyalgia, anxiety, PTSD, all remain in place. I've tried many meds for these conditions. Usually I end up scrapping them for ineffectiveness. Clonidine is one of the rare drugs that works properly."

• RAVEN...
• March 1, 2016

"This medication is actually a blood pressure medication. In order to stop taking it without huge side effects, you have to wean off of it. Consult your doctor, and they should understand that. Also, if you have been taking it for a long time, your body may now be dependent on it to regulate your blood pressure. When you forget to take a pill at night, you suffer from the symptoms of high blood pressure. Also, if you have normal blood pressure, this can drop it dangerously low. If you stop taking the medication, consult your doctor to see if you can titrate off of it and get a regular sleeping pill if you need."

• cheer...
• November 3, 2014

"I was prescribed clonidine due to delayed sleep phase disorder. At first, it did absolutely nothing for me, so they upped my dosage, and now it works like a charm. Shuts your brain off and puts you right to bed. The only thing I don't like about it is that the next day I still feel like it's fully in my system."

• Energ...
• September 25, 2017

"My daughter was using melatonin for many years to help her fall asleep due to ADHD issues. But recently it stopped working, and she was up for three nights straight. Her doctor prescribed clonidine, and it has been wonderful. She is no longer drowsy during the day and is doing better in school and falls asleep at night within 1/2 hour after taking the clonidine."

• Cheya...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• January 4, 2015

"I began taking clonidine a few years back for hypertension and ADHD. For roughly 2 and a half years, it worked well with one 0.1 mg a night. I have had insomnia since I was 6, and I still do at 17. Although this medicine helped to decrease my heart rate, the body will begin to develop immunity towards a medicine after extended use. After 2 and a half years, my dosage had to increase to one 0.2 mg a night. Be careful when increasing dosage, ever since I increased to 0.2, I began to feel extremely anxious, moody, indifferent after sleep, and fatigued. Also, I have had awful vivid nightmares almost every night now. Good medicine overall, but extended use could pose problems."

• Just...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• January 5, 2020

"I've been taking this for about a year. It helps me sleep, but my mouth stays dry all the time and it makes me dream weird stuff. Also, I ran out and missed a dose last night, and my blood pressure has been high all day and my hands shaking terribly."

• Anonymous
• January 23, 2021

"I've tried everything for my sleep problems, even Xanax and medical marijuana. I have severe anxiety at bedtime and can't sleep at all. But clonidine knocks me out till I start drooling. It's great minus the drooling, lol. But it's a miracle medication for me. I have severe anxiety every day, but at night it is the worst! I take all 3 because of how severe my mental health is."

• Bubbas...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• January 29, 2013

"My 5-year-old has been on clonidine since he was 2 1/2 to help him go to sleep. He's been diagnosed with autism, and I don't know what I would have done if his doctor hadn't put him on clonidine. When he first started on it, he was on the 0.1 mg, but as he grew, it wasn't working as well, so now he's on the 0.2 mg, and it works wonderfully, and he sleeps through the night again. This is the only medication I have let the doctors put him on simply because I'm scared of the side effects of the medicines that the doctor uses to treat autism."

• Darian
• Taken for 10 years or more
• January 23, 2016

"I began taking Clonidine when I was 10 years old (now 20) because I had ADHD and the medication for that kept me up at night. I started on .1 mg, and over the first year I was moved up to .3 mg, and ever since then I've just been on the same .3 mg. It has always helped me sleep well, and that was never a problem after I began taking it. Although, I quit taking the medication for ADHD many years ago, but I am still dependent on the Clonidine. It isn't because I necessarily cannot sleep without it. I often don't have any problems sleeping without it, but if I forget to take it one night, I am extremely sick the next day; very dizzy, and I just feel off the entire day."

• Kjbr
• May 26, 2016

"I've been on this medication for about a year. I personally like to take short breaks from the medication and switch to melatonin, as I've found that in just non-stressful situations, such as holidays, I prefer to take melatonin over clonidine because I'm not stressed or I don't have to wake up early. I suffer from EXTREME restless legs (my whole body) all day and night, it never stops. And extreme insomnia. When I sleep without medication, it normally takes me about 3 hours to fall asleep, and I wake up every 10-20 minutes, and it takes me about 5-10 minutes to fall back asleep. So obviously, I don't get much sleep. But with melatonin and clonidine, it has helped manage the majority of my nighttime problems (daytime we haven't found a solution)."

• daysa...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• September 1, 2018

"Been on Clonidine for 2 years. Sometimes it takes 30 mins to activate, other times it take 5. I use it mostly for ADD and anxiety. I went 14 years without getting a proper nights sleep. I failed many classes because of it. Doctor gave me this, now I sleep like a champ. It is good at falling asleep not staying. Wayyyy better for you than melatonin (which is fake news anyway)."

• Mom
• August 30, 2019

"My son, who is living with autism, was prescribed clonidine for insomnia. At first, it seemed to work (going to sleep before 3 a.m. was a success), but it seemed that within two hours of taking this medication, he became obsessive and had compulsive thoughts. For example, he would be at a park on the swings at 2 a.m. because he was that fixated. We stopped him from the 0.2 clonidine daily, and he is taking 5 mg of melatonin. He is sleeping much better, still groggy though, and his obsessiveness has declined. Best of luck, everyone."

• Jerrycz
• December 3, 2015

"Clonidine works great for me, but for me it is also really dangerous: it brings down my blood pressure to dangerously low levels, like 65/42 if I am not careful with the dosage. Then I drink quadruple-strong coffee and the blood pressure slowly recovers. I believe that using Clonidine absolutely requires having a blood pressure meter at home and using it, especially if you wake up in the middle of the night. These pills are soft and so the dosage can be easily adjusted. I am aware of the delayed disturbances in blood pressure if Clonidine dosage is not steady, but for me that is secondary compared to the potentially deadly pressure drops while asleep. In any case, using a blood pressure monitor is a must."

• CodyL...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• January 11, 2014

"My son (8 yrs old) takes this to be able to go to sleep at night. He is so hyper that without this medication, his brain won't slow down for him to rest. He is also ADHD, so he's constantly going from the time he wakes up until he drops! But it allows him to actually get some real rest. He will tell you if you ask him that he feels better when he takes it."

• Deter...
• June 30, 2020

"We have a 7 year old son with Autism. We have tried Risperidone and Abilify they worked but the side effects out weighed the pros. Now we are trying Clonidine. With this drug and really all medication you have to be patient to get the full effect. You do see some changes in the beginning but not all as their body gets used to it, it gets more effective. He takes 1/2 in morning and 1/2 before bed total of .1mg of Clonidine Hcl. My son cannot swallow pills so you are able to crush the pill to put in yogurt. In the beginning he fell asleep now he is better with that. It does calm you and helps with aggressive behavior. It does help with sleep but again every night is not perfect but we have more better nights than not. The one thing we notice is when that dose wears off you can see the change behavior wise sometimes the medication burns faster on more active days. Our son had no weight gain, no increase in eating just the small nap in the beginning of first dose."

• Jax
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• November 17, 2019

"Was prescribed this drug for insomnia. Does absolutely nothing to help me sleep and I get so dizzy about 3hrs after I take this medication I cannot even get out of bed. This drug causes me to wake up soaked in sweat and extremely tired and dizzy throughout the day. When I wake up I have to sit on the ledge of my bed for at least ten minutes otherwise I will fall. This drug is terrible. Never take it."

• Beth
• October 7, 2020

"I have suffered from insomnia all my life until my doc prescribed me clonidine! She originally prescribed it for night sweats due to antidepressants, which it didn’t help at all, but now I can sleep and it’s great."

• Chic...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• June 28, 2013

Catapres (clonidine) "The first few days, 0.3 mg did put me to sleep, but I had to wake up and take another dose four hours later. The orthostatic hypotension was so bad, the next morning I felt like I was dragging and fatigued much easier. Working out was impossible!"

• bloop...
• August 14, 2016

"Best medicine ever! My insomnia is so bad mixed with my bipolar it's terrible! One night I'm up till the next day, and it's like when I close my eyes I'm right back up, but not with clonidine! VERY well sleeping aid, and also helps with ADHD."