Brand Names: Catapres, Catapres TTS (patch)
What is it?
Clonidine is a medication that helps lower blood pressure. It works by telling your brain to send out less adrenaline.
What’s In It For Me?
Clonidine can help lower your blood pressure. Lowering your blood pressure SHOULD decrease your chance of having a stroke, heart attack, or having your heart fail, among other things.
The Good
The most common side effects experienced with clonidine are getting a dry mouth, stuffy nose or feeling drowsy. It can also cause constipation and blurry vision. Like all other mediations for blood pressure, clonidine can lower your blood pressure too much, which would make you feel light-headed. You should not stop clonidine suddenly as this can cause your blood pressure to go up very high. This drug must be tapered slowly off. With the patch, some people find that the patch is irritating to their skin. There is a special caution about using clonidine with a beta blocker (example: atenolol, metoprolol or carvedilol). The increase in blood pressure if a dose or two of clonidine is missed will be greatly exagerrated.
The Bad
The most common side effects experienced with clonidine are getting a dry mouth, stuffy nose or feeling drowsy. It can also cause constipation and blurry vision. Like all other mediations for blood pressure, clonidine can lower your blood pressure too much, which would make you feel light-headed. You should not stop clonidine suddenly as this can cause your blood pressure to go up very high. This drug must be tapered slowly off. With the patch, some people find that the patch is irritating to their skin. There is a special caution about using clonidine with a beta blocker (example: atenolol, metoprolol or carvedilol). The increase in blood pressure if a dose or two of clonidine is missed will be greatly exagerrated.
The Controversial
It may not make sense, but not all medications that lower blood pressure actually lower your chance of having a stroke or a heart attack. Clonidine is one of the medications that has NOT been proven to prevent these events. That is why it should be used only for people with very high blood pressure despite 2 or 3 medications.
Fact Boxes
This is an older drug and there are not studies looking at outcomes like strokes and heart attacks.
For The Cynic
Not really for the cynic, just an FYI< this drug is also used for ADHD , post traumatic stress and drug and alcohol withdrawl and other things.
For The Cost
This drug is available as a generic and is on the $4 list at some pharmacies
The Bottom Line
Clonidine should be reserved for very high blood pressure that is uncontrolled with 2 to 4 other medications.
written by ProfJameson and edited by ProfJameson
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