Clonidine and Fatigue: What Users Say

• Zac...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• October 22, 2020

For Anxiety "A word of advice: do not take the full 0.1 mg clonidine pill. Most of the people here complaining about the medication making them drowsy and fatigued are likely sensitive to clonidine and are taking a much higher dose than they should. Chances are, your doctor will prescribe 0.1 mg since there is no lower dose for this med. If after taking the full 0.1 mg pill it makes you tired, cut it in half, if it still makes you tired, cut it into a quarter, and if it still does, cut it into an eighth. I recommend buying a pill cutter. When I first took it, I felt terrible at the full dose, but then I cut it like I just instructed and at an eighth of a 0.1 mg pill I felt way better. Anxiety almost completely gone and it worked even better than benzos. Plus, this med, unlike benzos, is not associated with any kind of brain damage or addiction."

• OHS...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 5, 2023

For Anxiety "Started 4 days ago. 0.1 mg at bedtime. Female, 37, diagnosed with ADHD, PTSD, trauma, in chaos mode aka crisis mode by highly trained professionals/psychologist and psychiatrist. Conditions: irregular sleeping pattern, insomnia, heart beating out of chest feeling, fatigue, lack of interest in everything, fearful, anxious, mind spinning, loop patterns within thoughts, inability to concentrate. My psychologist is an angel. Since starting the medication: full night's sleep, no running thoughts, heart rate is perfect, can feel fingers and toes again, relaxed, happy, active in life, smiling. Highly recommend."

• Mar...
• March 10, 2016

For Opiate Withdrawal "Been on Opiates for 14 years for numerous health issues: lupus, fibromyalgia, neck and back surgery, gastric bypass surgery just to name some. Tried tapering, tried cold turkey, tried suboxone, didn't work. Went back to using more each time, was up to 35 Norco 10 a day in increments, of course, for the last 3 years. However, went in last week and got clonidine for the worst part of the withdrawals. Was given trazodone for sleep and Robaxin for RLS and back pain from the withdrawals. I also read about Elimidrol, a natural herb product. I haven't taken any Robaxin. I take 0.1 mg of clonidine every 8 hours, trazodone at night only, just 150 mg, and I only took Imodium the first day. I feel awesome, just energy a little low. Don't give up!"

• Now...
• February 11, 2017

For Opiate Withdrawal "Wow, never thought I would be typing this. I am on day one taking Clonidine and hoping. Please pray for me. I just want to go back to my normal self. I clean homes for a living. Does anyone know how long before I will have enough energy to go back to cleaning homes? I hate that I got myself here. I have a very bad back and have been taking 100mg of oxycodone for at least a year and a half. I'm ready, just want to know it gets better. I forget and miss the normal me. Thanks everyone and God bless."

• abe...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• January 20, 2015

For Opiate Withdrawal "I am on day 2 of clonidine and so far so good. It has been a godsend. It hasn't fixed everything. I still find myself slightly fatigued and getting headaches if I do too much too fast. Having some lightheadedness and slight dry mouth. But overall, I finally feel I can beat this demon we call addiction. I have an appointment to get the Vivitrol shot next week, and for the first time in years, the future looks bright."

• Jon...
• October 5, 2016

For Opiate Withdrawal "After being on Suboxone for 7 years, Clonidine was truly what helped me get off. I was at 1-1.5 mg for a year and pretty comfortably tapered down to 0.25 mg every other day before jumping 10 days ago. I've taken 0.1 mg at night and spread 0.05 mg through the day if feeling any mild withdrawal. My only real problem at times was some trouble sleeping days 2-5 and low energy towards the end of the work day, but dragging myself to the gym went a long way. I'm prescribed and take Adderall so I can't say for sure how much it's helped as well, but been super motivated nonetheless to the point of getting new job interviews DURING my first 10 days. Don't let the terror stories online scare you. Taper appropriately and stay active and things will be OK."

• Anonymous
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 10, 2014

For High Blood Pressure "Experienced sudden dizzy spells and lightheadedness with this medicine. Also irregular heartbeats and fatigue. Quit in 2 weeks and felt much better. Blood pressure was still on the high side 150/100 while taking it also."

• Shm...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• September 3, 2017

For Opiate Withdrawal "I was shocked having been through awful withdrawals before how much of a difference it was. I was easily taking 100 mg/day of oxy. I tapered down too fast in 5 days to 15 mg then was out. Couldn't get subs because I was also taking Xanax. Clonidine is very underestimated. I took it after my last dose of oxy and at 24/48 hours, I was groggy and weak but no stomach cramping, muscle tension, or nausea. It took a few days, but today on day 3, I'm just fatigued. Still no withdrawal. Doesn't stop cravings and renders me lazy as hell but better than full withdrawal."

• Anonymous
• July 24, 2012

For High Blood Pressure "I love the transdermal patches. Very convenient weekly application and virtually eliminates the ups and downs I experienced with the pill form of clonidine. Tiredness, fatigue, dry eyes are a small price to pay for good blood pressure control."

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

For Insomnia, Stimulant-Associated "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."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• January 14, 2019

For High Blood Pressure "Prescribed 0.1 mg for hypertension at my annual physical. Being unaware of this condition, I did not know that I actually had white coat syndrome and that BP was not nearly as bad as the office reading. This drug causes dry mouth and fatigue in addition to orthostatic hypotension, which makes you lightheaded upon standing. Check your BP at home. It might be lower than you think. Overall, not a good experience. Change your diet and exercise. BP will normalize, and you won’t have to deal with side effects."

• Jan...
• May 17, 2016

For High Blood Pressure "I was taking Amlodipine for high blood pressure (about 160/85). I had to stop taking it because I could get diarrhea 10 minutes after being constipated. My vision was blurry. My PCP prescribed 0.1 mg twice a day. The medicine hardly made a change, so my PCP increased it to two pills twice a day: no change at all. The side effects were horrible: a desert-dry mouth, fatigue, sleepiness, assorted muscle pains, a limp in my right leg. I stopped taking it, and within 24 hours, those symptoms disappeared."

• DHa...
• January 15, 2017

For Perimenopausal Symptoms "Clonidine has been very effective in reducing both the intensity and frequency of my hot flushes and night sweats. At first, I thought the drug would not work for me. It took a full month to see an effect as it is very subtle at first. Initial fatigue and dry mouth were troubling, but both have resolved themselves. Nice to get a proper night's rest again."

• mar...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• May 26, 2021

For Anxiety "Take 0.1 mg Clonidine for anxiety when I am feeling anxious. It does not totally take the anxiety away, but makes it more tolerable. Not my first go-to for anxiety. I use Clonidine or Gabapentin to avoid taking too much Ativan. Side effects are pronounced daytime drowsiness and fatigue. Oddly, if I take it at night, my sleep is horrible."

• Gab...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• February 13, 2020

For Anxiety "I hate taking this medication, it makes me extremely sick. I also get extremely groggy, weak feelings, fatigue, mood swings, and anxiety. I do not recommend it for anyone unless you're having trouble sleeping."

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

Clonidine for Insomnia, Stimulant-Associated "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!"

• Aus...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• January 16, 2016

Clonidine for Anxiety "Was diagnosed with bipolar 1 (mixed episodes w/ psychotic features) as well as unspecified anxiety disorder. My anxiety gets so bad to the point it makes me vomit. I took 1 mg in the morning and 1 mg at night. It made me extremely sleepy and fatigued to the point I couldn't function. I work and am in college full-time, so I couldn't handle that at all. Would not recommend this medication."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• October 21, 2022

For High Blood Pressure "Like many other reviewers here, I had a bad experience. It does lower blood pressure, but at the expense of numerous side effects. The active ingredient has a significant effect on adrenaline and cortisol. Cortisol is the feel-good hormone, so when it is deficient, you will have symptoms of fatigue, nausea, orthostatic intolerance, etc."

• Sku...
• May 12, 2021

For Opiate Withdrawal "5-year heavy opiate addict (2007 - 2012) used clonidine for the first 24 hours of opiate withdrawal so I could take Suboxone. Eliminated all withdrawal symptoms. 1 year heavy Kratom use (2020 - 2021 (4 days ago)) using clonidine @ .2 - .3 mg every 5-6 hours for withdrawal. Completely eliminates all withdrawal symptoms of the following: Restless Leg Syndrome, abdominal pain, diarrhea, sweating profusely, chills, hot/cold temperature fluctuations, insomnia, sneezing profusely, sensitivity to light, yawning. Unfortunately, this drug makes you very tired, and your body will feel very heavy and fatigued, but I think that's a fair trade-off for the above. Please, please be safe with this medication. Do not take too much. This is a drug that can dangerously lower your blood pressure if you take too much."

• los...
• June 26, 2015

For Opiate Withdrawal "I have been abusing opiates for the past two or so years, taking about 130 mg of hydrocodone a day. Today I went to a medical doctor and told him what's going on. I was too scared to tell my doctor because I didn't want the information in my chart. I broke down and told him the reason I was there because withdrawals suck. For me, the restless legs at night, not able to sleep, fatigued during the day. Anyway, he prescribed clonidine and Vistaril and signed me up for a psych appointment for Suboxone next week. I'm deathly afraid to come off. Tomorrow will be my first day trying this to see if I can before work Monday."

• And...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• December 4, 2021

For ADHD "I had been on Vyvanse and Dexedrine for about 5 years. However, I developed an alcohol problem and ended up in long-term treatment because of it. The treatment center took me off of my stimulants to pursue non-stimulant medications, one of which was clonidine. Even on the starting dose, I noticed extreme fatigue, though when the dosage was upped after a week, I became full-on narcoleptic. Falling asleep randomly throughout the day, fatigue so extreme all you can do is sleep and think about sleep every waking moment. YMMV, but everyone else at the treatment center I was at had the same issue as me. Back on Vyvanse now, will never consider non-stimulants again."

• 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."

• Wor...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• September 1, 2014

For Alcohol Withdrawal "I guess I'm the party-pooper here, but I find clonidine didn't do anything for withdrawal. It just made me feel cold (ice cold), weak, totally drained of energy. Like a sick, anemic feeling. Yeah, it'd make me tired but not in a good way like Librium or Ativan. I haven't drank any alcohol in 12 years now, and as I recall it was Ativan that brought me down easy that last time."

• jo ...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• February 27, 2021

For Tourette's Syndrome "I’ve had a flare-up of vocal tics for several years now. I had tried about 8 meds with no luck. A neurologist put me on 0.1 mg clonidine (final dose). I struggled to stay awake all day, and my system dried out. I didn’t notice any benefit. Also, I have ADD-Inattentive. The drug didn’t help for that either. I already have low BP, so that might have added to the fatigue. I'm getting to the point where I might try the older antipsychotic drugs that carry the risk of permanent movement disorder. Don’t understand why some drugs work for some and not others."

• Anonymous
• Taken for less than 1 month
• April 10, 2022

For Perimenopausal Symptoms "Taking 0.025 x 2 early morning, late afternoon, and before bed. Hot flashes gone during the day and only once a night. So grateful for this medicine. No side effects except a bit less energy. The hot flashes were severe and very frequent, every 40 or 50 mins. Medicine is free under my insurance in the Netherlands."