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What is clonidine?
Clonidine lowers blood pressure by decreasing the levels of certain chemicals in your blood. This allows your blood vessels (veins and arteries) to relax (widen) and your heart to beat more slowly and easily. Clonidine is used to treat hypertension (high blood pressure). Clonidine may also be used for purposes other than those listed in this medication guide.

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What is the price of this medication and similar alternatives?

This pricing information is subject to change at the sole discretion of DS Pharmacy. For the most current and up-to-date pricing information, please visit drugstore.com.

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What are the possible side effects of clonidine?

If you experience any of the following serious side effects, stop taking clonidine and seek emergency medical attention:

• an allergic reaction (difficulty breathing; closing of your throat; swelling of your lips, tongue, or face; or hives);

• a very slow heart rate (fewer than 60 beats per minute); or

• unusually high or low blood pressure (severe headache, redness of the face, neck, and chest, dizziness, and fainting).

Other, less serious side effects may be more likely to occur. Continue to take clonidine and talk to your doctor if you experience any of the following:

• unusual fatigue, dizziness, or tiredness;

• headache;

• constipation, nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea;

• insomnia; or

• a dry mouth (sucking on ice chips or sugarless hard candy may relieve this side effect).

Side effects other than those listed here may also occur. Talk to your doctor about any side effect that seems unusual or that is especially bothersome.

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How should I take clonidine?
Take clonidine exactly as directed by your doctor. If you do not understand these directions, ask your pharmacist, nurse, or doctor to explain them to you. Take each tablet with a full glass of water. Take clonidine at bedtime unless otherwise directed by your doctor. Clonidine may make you drowsy and may cause some dizziness. Taking it at bedtime may prevent falls and injuries. Do not stop taking this medication suddenly even if you feel better. You may need to take clonidine for the rest of your life to control your condition.

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What is the most important information I should know about clonidine?
Do not stop taking clonidine suddenly. This could cause severely high blood pressure, nervousness, and anxiety. Use caution when driving, operating machinery, or performing other hazardous activities. Clonidine may cause dizziness or drowsiness. If you experience dizziness or drowsiness, avoid these activities. Use caution when rising from a sitting or lying position, especially first thing in the morning. You may become dizzy while taking clonidine and you may fall and injure yourself if you get up quickly.

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What happens if I miss a dose?
Take the missed dose as soon as you remember. However, if it is almost time for your next dose, skip the dose you missed and take only your next regularly scheduled dose. Do not take a double dose of this medication.

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What other drugs will affect clonidine?
Clonidine may increase the effects of other drugs that cause drowsiness, including antidepressants, alcohol, antihistamines, sedatives (used to treat insomnia), pain relievers, anxiety medicines, and muscle relaxants. Tell your doctor about all medicines that you are taking, and do not take any medicine unless your doctor approves. Before taking clonidine, tell your doctor if you are taking any of the following medicines: a beta-blocker such as atenolol (Tenormin), acebutolol (Sectral), propranolol (Inderal), metoprolol (Lopressor), carvedilol (Coreg), carteolol (Cartrol), labetalol (Normodyne, Trandate), or nadolol (Corgard);

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Can I take this if I am pregnant or trying to get pregnant or if I am breastfeeding?

Clonidine has been assigned to pregnancy category C by the FDA. Animal studies have failed to reveal evidence of teratogenicity although an increased incidence of fetal resorption has been demonstrated in some species. While there are no controlled data from human pregnancy studies, clonidine has been used safely during all three trimesters of human pregnancy (1st trimester exposure has been limited). Clonidine should only be given during pregnancy when benefit outweighs risk.

Clonidine crosses the placenta. Limited data from 10 pregnant women have shown that the average umbilical cord to maternal clonidine concentration ratio averages 0.9. No adverse fetal effects in human pregnancy have been observed, but data are limited. Data from the Michigan Medicaid Birth Defects Study (MMBDS) has revealed an unexpectedly high incidence of birth defects associated with the use of clonidine (written communication, Franz Rosa, MD, Food and Drug Administration, 1994). The MMBDS is a retrospective study of 229,101 pregnancies from 1985 to 1992, of which 59 were exposed to clonidine during the first trimester of pregnancy. Of the 59 pregnancies that were exposed to clonidine, there were 3 total and 2 cardiovascular defects observed (2.0 and 0.5 were expected, respectively). Cleft palate, spina bifida, polydactyly, limb reduction/syndactyly, or hypospadia were not observed. Because of the low numbers of exposures, no definite conclusions regarding an association or lack of association between clonidine and birth defects may be made.

Clonidine is secreted into human milk. Limited data have failed to reveal evidence of adverse effects among nursing infants even though milk concentrations have shown to be double the concentration of clonidine compared with maternal serum concentrations. The manufacturer recommends that caution be used when administering clonidine to nursing women.

Limited data have shown that the average concentration of clonidine in human milk is approximately twice that observed in the maternal plasma. In one case, in which the mother was taking clonidine 37.5 mcg twice a day, the milk and maternal plasma clonidine levels were 0.60 and 0.33 ng per mL, respectively, while the infant's plasma level was undetectable. No adverse effects were observed in the nursing infant. The authors calculated that, if the nursing infant consumed 150 mL per kg, the infant would have ingested clonidine 90 ng per kg per day, compared to the maternal drug dosage of 1,320 ng per kg per day (maternal weight 57 kg). Therefore, the infant's relative clonidine dosage would have been 6.8% of the mother's. Two other reports of the use of clonidine during breast-feeding have shown that the infant's plasma clonidine levels averaged 60% to 80% of the maternal plasma levels. Prenatal exposure to clonidine has been associated with transitory hypertension during the first three days of life and with hyperactivity and sleep disturbances in six-year-old children. While hypotension has not been observed in nursing infants whose mothers were taking up to 0.4 mg of clonidine per day, data from long-term exposure to nursing infants are unavailable.

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Who should NOT use this medication?

• Epidural drug administration is contraindicated in patients receiving anticoagulant therapy, in those with a bleeding diathesis, and in the presence of an injection site infection.
• Epidural administration above the C4 dermatome is contraindicated because of inadequate safety data supporting such use.
• Known hypersensitivity to the drug or any ingredient or component in the formulation.
• Epidural administration also is not recommended in most patients with severe cardiovascular disease or in patients who are hemodynamically unstable.

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What does my medication look like?
Clonidine is available with a prescription under the brand name Catapres. Other brand or generic formulations may also be available. Ask your pharmacist any questions you have about this medication, especially if it is new to you. Catapres 0.1 mg--round, rose-colored tablets Catapres 0.2 mg--round, orange-colored tablets Catapres 0.3 mg--round, peach-colored tablets

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What happens if I overdose?
Seek emergency medical attention. Symptoms of a clonidine overdose include drowsiness, lethargy, weakness, lightheadedness, a slow heart rate, nausea, vomiting, and possibly seizures.

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Who should not take clonidine?
Before taking this medication, tell your doctor if you have any type of heart disease, have had a heart attack or a stroke, have liver disease, or have kidney disease. You may need a lower dose or special monitoring during treatment with clonidine if you have any of the conditions listed above. Clonidine is in the FDA pregnancy category C. This means that it is not known whether clonidine will harm an unborn baby. Do not take this medication without first talking to your doctor if you are pregnant.

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Can I stop taking the medication if I feel better?
Even though you may feel better you should not stop taking your high blood pressure medication without first checking with your healthcare provider.

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I am on so many medications; do I have to take them all?
This is called polypharmacy—many different medications being used at the same time by one person. Sometimes, being on multiple medications is acceptable and appropriate but at other times it may be problematic. If you are receiving your medications from multiple physicians you need to ensure that they all know what medications you are taking. The best way to do this is to make a list of all the medications you are currently using, including all nutritional supplements, homeopathic remedies, vitamins and over-the-counter drugs (if possible, also include all the diseases you have been diagnosed with). Give a copy to every doctor who takes care of you so they have it on file, this way they can avoid duplicating medications and perhaps even try to consolidate some. After every doctor's visit remember to update the list accordingly. Also, as much as you possibly can, try to use the same pharmacy to fill all your prescriptions, this way any potential drug interactions can be caught and averted.

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Where can I get more information?
More Information

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