Clonidine and Dizziness: What Users Say (Page 2)

• MrM...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• October 19, 2019

For Anxiety "I was given 0.1 mg twice per day to control anxiety, but it made me so tired and dizzy, it was difficult to stand up. Many years later, after seeing dozens of doctors, it was determined I had adrenal insufficiency and needed hydrocortisone. This drug will decrease cortisol production and make you feel even worse, so be advised."

• man...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• December 24, 2016

For High Blood Pressure "I take it at night because my doc said it could cause drowsiness, but I have taken it during the day if I have a BP spike, and I've never had drowsiness or dizziness. Guess I'm lucky considering what I have read here. I also take amlodipine in the morning and don't have any side effects with that."

• Jul...
• April 13, 2009

Clonidine for Migraine Prevention "Clonidine will prevent a migraine for me if I take it as soon as the headache is starting, and sometimes even helps after it's underway. Of course, the drug does cause wooziness, so I have to be careful about standing up or making other sudden moves. It's very effective and cheap. Give it a 10."

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

For Insomnia, Stimulant-Associated "Was prescribed this drug for insomnia. Does absolutely nothing to help me sleep, and I get so dizzy about 3 hrs 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."

• Ann...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• April 8, 2022

For Anxiety "I have not experienced any good effects with this drug for my panic attacks. It seems it makes them worse. It makes my head feel heavy, like dizzy and like I will pass out. It made my restless leg worse. I pee all night, like up to 10 times when I take this. My sleep is terrible when I take it. It is in 15-40 minute increments where I am waking up. I will have waking dreams where I am talking aloud and doing motions with my body. I feel like this drug is not for me. Hoping the doctor can find me something else that works."

• Mar...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• September 7, 2019

For Insomnia, Stimulant-Associated "I was given clonidine to help my insomnia due to anxiety. The first time I took it, I fell asleep in 15 minutes, and the next day I had to stay home from classes because of the side effects. I had a pounding headache, I couldn't walk or stand without almost fainting, I was too anxious to eat, and I was so dizzy. After that, I didn't take it for about a week, then began to take half of it. Now, I worked back up to taking 0.3 mcg, but every time I stand up or walk, I lose my vision and hearing and almost faint. I think it's due to the drug being meant to lower blood pressure, and I have a hard time eating."

• Anonymous
• February 4, 2009

For Opiate Withdrawal "Works great for the withdrawal from Dilaudid and OxyContin, which I have been on for at least 2 years. The sweats were awful part of the withdrawal, and this patch has taken all that away. Just a little dizzy and drowsy, hoping that will pass. It's only been 2 weeks."

• NEa...
• November 16, 2019

For Insomnia, Stimulant-Associated "This medication is terrible. Clonidine causes me to become so dizzy that I cannot stand without falling. Taking 0.25 mg every night for insomnia. Does not work and only makes me dizzy and weak instead. I have headaches every night around 30 minutes after I take this. Every day at school, I am dizzy and disoriented, even though this medication is supposed to make me fall asleep without side effects. Instead, this has terrible side effects and does not help me fall asleep at all. Most nights, I cannot even fall asleep at all. Could not recommend not ever taking Clonidine enough. I regret being forced to take this medication."

• DPa...
• September 15, 2020

For Insomnia, Stimulant-Associated "My 7-year-old ADHD-diagnosed son was prescribed clonidine 0.1 mg to help with sleep issues. He doesn't sleep well or pretty much ever for a long enough period of time. This medication was a nightmare. The first night I gave him the prescribed 0.1 mg, he fell asleep within 30 minutes and then woke up and was very noticeably dizzy, drunk-like walking, head rolling, eyes kind of rolling around, nauseous, and crying because he felt weird. He could barely put a sentence together. He was in and out for hours that night, he would fall right asleep, then wake up scared of the way he was feeling until well into the morning. The next night, his pediatrician recommended taking 1/2 a pill. The side effects weren't as drastic, but it was still bad, he woke up maybe 5 times throughout the night, again dizzy and having a bad reaction. We called his pediatrician again, and she basically said he was having some kind of adverse reaction and to stop the meds."

• Bee...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 16, 2017

For Opiate Withdrawal "Recently went to a cut-rate, low-cost detox. They basically gave me a bed and Tylenol, Benadryl, clonidine. Nurse swore by it. I was very scared and had detoxed 24 hours before entering, so I was on the second day. My withdrawals got to be more than I could endure. The pain was horrific! Clonidine had done nothing for me but make me a little dizzy. I ditched the place after I realized the pain wasn't easing up. I contemplated death as an option versus the withdrawals. It varies person to person. I had no luck, and maybe the amount of dope I had been using played a factor, as well as the amount of clonidine they gave me."

• Jol...
• March 1, 2016

For Perimenopausal Symptoms "I started taking clonidine for hot flushes and anxiety, it's definitely not helped at all and made me feel ten times worse. I've suffered with hot flushes, dizziness to the extent I nearly fainted, shaky hands 3 to 4 times a day, shortness of breath, and feeling totally disorientated every single day. It's been absolutely awful, and I have not been able to go about my daily life. I'm now trying to wean myself off them."

• Ash...
• December 21, 2015

For Tourette's Syndrome "After 3 days of taking clonidine (50 mcg twice a day), I can't bear to continue. I've had little to no relief from my tics, and the side effects surely outweigh any minor benefit. Side effects have included: dry mouth, increased thirst, irritability, mood swings, extreme feelings of anger, constipation, nausea, drowsiness, nightmares, feeling like I'm in a constant, almost disassociated state, and dizziness. My vocal tics before starting this medication were generally only at a normal speaking level of voice, and I could usually tell when I was about to tic, but they have increased to loud yelling with little or no premonitory urge. I would like to have tried this drug for longer, but due to the side effects, I will not be continuing it."

• Tir...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• July 18, 2019

For Insomnia, Stimulant-Associated "Struggling to remain asleep after 3 or 4 hours. I used to take Benadryl but started having bladder issues because of it. Doctor prescribed clonidine 0.1. It did nothing. I felt dizzy, and got a dry mouth but never fell asleep."

• Ran...
• July 14, 2021

For High Blood Pressure "Helps with blood pressure but not for very long. Also, it affects my diastolic pressure but not my systolic. And it will make you very dizzy and sometimes nauseous when first started or dosage is changed. Will also make you feel like you haven’t slept."

• Don...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• June 21, 2022

For High Blood Pressure "In a nutshell, my experience was horrible. Extreme fatigue to the point of not being able to get up from the couch for several days. The fatigue was coupled with dizziness. Also, I would fall asleep while doing things, like in the middle of a conversation. It really didn’t help me much in lowering my BP."

• Amb...
• January 16, 2017

For Opiate Withdrawal "Ok, don't want to discourage anyone or step on any toes, but it didn't work for me. It really did nothing for my withdrawals or help to ease the anxiety at all, and if it did, it was so minimal that I didn't notice. Took one tablet the first few days, nothing. Took two tablets in a second attempt to see if it could benefit me, and all it made me feel really weird. I had to lay down, but not because it had a calming effect, just because it made me feel really weak and dizzy. It also gave me a dry mouth and gave me a really weird taste in my mouth. I'm glad people find them so helpful, but definitely not for me at all."

• SJa...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• March 7, 2020

Clonidine "I was put on 0.1 mg Catapres for both my ADHD and the insomnia I got from my stimulants. While it did help me sleep, I had rapid weight gain over the course of the first week of treatment. I had no diet or exercise changes, and I gained 5 lbs. I stopped taking it, and it took around a month to get down to my previous weight. I also got severe vertigo in the mornings, but I feel like that would have stopped if I stayed on it."

• Clo...
• May 28, 2021

For ADHD "At first, it was fantastic. I actually was able to sleep well, and nothing could wake me up. About a year ago, though, I began having one notable side effect that was so hard to shake, and it occurred daily: morning sickness, but I am not pregnant. Every morning when I wake up, I am greeted back to reality by bouts of nausea, dizziness, vomiting, and exhaustion. It goes away in the afternoon, and then I’m fine at night, but it can get bad. I want to try to get off of clonidine as well, but I'm still in the final stages of discontinuing Seroquel, so it would be too hard on me. The withdrawals aren’t that bad if you miss a dose until you realize your blood pressure has spiked through the roof. My blood pressure on both Seroquel and clonidine was so low, and I have a feeling it’s not a great idea to prescribe neurodivergent and mentally ill patients with a medication. It’s not the worst med I’ve ever been on, but there are some side effects that have never gotten easier to shake."

• Riv...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• May 26, 2022

For High Blood Pressure "Was recently at the doctor, and my BP had spiked, so he tried adding clonidine twice a day. After the 1st dose, just before going to bed, I was initially a little dizzy (not bad), and I slept well. However, later, when I was driving home from an appointment, I nearly passed out. Not good! After the next dose, same dizziness and drowsiness and later followed by again almost passing out. The 1st 2 symptoms can be handled, but the risk of passing out while driving is not worth it."

• TDP...
• October 8, 2015

For Opiate Withdrawal "I got this clonidine for opiate withdrawal until I could get on buprenorphine. Although I didn't suffer the severe side effects that come with opiate withdrawal, I didn't feel upbeat either. I felt very dehydrated, exhausted, hard to stand up, dizzy, bad taste in mouth (garlic), depressed... all the things you would expect from a lower blood pressure type med. I personally wish I would have gone another route on this one. Won't take it again. Not good for me. I need real opiates/opioid meds for taper."

• Liz...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• January 22, 2022

For Perimenopausal Symptoms "I have been taking clonidine for 10 years now. I am 63 this year, yes I started hot flushes when I was 32, which seem to be a family thing. I used to take two at night for a number of years, then just one the past 3 years, then went down to just half of the 25 mg, and I have been doing this for around 6 weeks now. Hot flushes are hitting me bad now, needed to come off them because I only got around 3-4 hours of sleep a night due to nightmares all the time. I feel so strange trying to come off due to the dizziness and strange feeling that keeps passing through my body, which is horrible and causing a lot of anxiety now. I feel so strange in myself."

• Anonymous
• May 17, 2024

For Perimenopausal Symptoms "I've been suffering for 20 years with the most horrible of menopausal symptoms. I've been through the mill and back after sterilization. My pharmacist recommended minograin. I've been taking it for 2 days now and for the first time, I'm feeling normal, no flushes. Just dry mouth and dizziness, sometimes numb fingers. Great product. I would recommend it."

• Red...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 18, 2020

For High Blood Pressure "I have been on the clonidine patch for 5 days, and my blood pressure readings are still 177 / 152. I am also dizzy and headachy. I have been wearing the first patch for 5 days."

• Anonymous
• March 18, 2011

For High Blood Pressure "It worked great to lower my blood pressure, but I was extremely dizzy, awful dry mouth, and a very low heart rate, so my doctor took me off clonidine right away."

• Anonymous
• June 15, 2008

Clonidine for Opiate Withdrawal "I take clonidine to lower the sweaty feeling that comes with taking methadone, and it works well for me. Only side effect is I get dizzy sometimes when I stand up too fast."