CATAPRES Reviews (CLONIDINE HYDROCHLORIDE)

Average Rating: 2.2 (77 Ratings)

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 CENTRAL AGONISTS ANTIHYPERTENSIVES

 Type: Rx Drug

  

CATAPRES  (CLONIDINE HYDROCHLORIDE):  This medication is used alone or with other medications to treat high blood pressure (hypertension). Lowering high blood pressure helps prevent strokes, heart attacks, and kidney problems. Clonidine belongs to a class of drugs (central alpha agonists) that act in the brain to lower blood pressure. It works by relaxing blood vessels so blood can flow more easily.    (Sources: U.S. Centers for Medicare Services, FDA)

  

Results are sorted by Date from oldest to newest.

Key to Ratings: 1=LOW (I would not recommend taking this medicine.)
5=HIGH (this medicine cured me or helped me a great deal.)

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More on CATAPRES: Reviews Summary  |  Drug Safety Information

RATING  REASONSIDE EFFECTS FOR CATAPRESCOMMENTSSEXAGEDURATION/
DOSAGE
DATE ADDED
 
 1  High Blood Pressure Extreme fatigue, immediate and severe contipation, paranoia, nightmares This drug made me feel so bad, it was not worth living. I could not function properly. I was so physically tired and could not think straight. The worst was the last day when I became paranoid. That night I kept my husband awake, as I had numerous nightmares. I can't believe it is on the market. Unbelievable that I just read this drug is being prescribed for hyperactive children. Is the medical community crazy? F 52 7 days
5/3/2007
 1  hot flushes and high blood pressure Severe headache on waking, severe loss of vision for several hours, nausea, and dizziness this happened 2 times within 1 week . resulting in hospital treatment. constant tiredness i think this medication is very dangerous and should not be given to anyone F 55 20 days
6/23/2007
 1  high blood pressure extreme constipation and immediate/extreme weight gain-difficulty getting off this medication due to high blood pressure spiking-I wish there was a cure for this drug. Severe and extreme side effects this is not the end all cure all medication. It never should have been approved by the FDA. F 31 4 years
7/15/2007
 1  hypertension terrible lethergy, weakness I haev been taking this for 10 years along with Cardura for hypertension. As I have gotten older, the side effects have gotten worse. I'm suppose to take this 2xday, but I cannot take the first dose until about 2pm because of the sedation side effects. It is now about ruining my life, and I'm a very active person and tennis player. Trying to get off it is hell, as you cannot just stop it due to rebound hypertension. I now wish I had never started on this medication and I'm working with my MD to get the hell off it. I can't imagine anyone being able to take this med at greater than .1 mg. per day due to the side effects, unless all they do is sleep all day. Just terrible. F 50 10 years
7/16/2007
 2  high blood pressure I've been on catapres patch1,patch2,then patch3 till the Doc finally got results wanted. However, I am fatigued and depressed.Can hardly do anything.Also constipated,bloated,and LOTS of hair loss.Anytime I try to decrease,rebound effect hits. I finally told my Doc to help me wean off this and find something else.Only thing is, everything else sounds bad too. F 47 2 years
9/25/2007
 3  Hypertension 150/90+ Major Fatigue, Dizziness upon standing too quickly, Bowel issues, constipation, slower reaction times. Catapres work too well. It took my BP from 150/100 to 100/50. It is a serious medicine that works very well. The problem: The Side Effects. Wow, of all the medicines I have tried, which is well into the 30's, this by far has the WORST discontinuation syndrome, and hard to fatigue levels. I would recommend another drug over Clonidine, but if you need to get you BP down quickly then this is it. M 22 2 months
10/4/2007
 1  CFS/FMS Everything under the blue moon. Especially nausea. This medicine sucks. Horrible. Do not take because it is harder to detox off this stuff than it is off opiates. No joke. And they give Clonidine to those coming off opiates. I know. They give it to young ADHD children. The FDA is inherently corrupt. M 29 7 weeks
10/10/2007
 1  To Lower Blood Pressure Anxiety, depression, and constant fatigue were a constant with this drug. I have NEVER been so paranoid in my life. Slurred speech was another side effect. Sure my BP lowered, but who wants to live when your quality of life is diminished so much? The only thing worse than the side effects of taking the drug were the side-effects coming OFF of the drug. Insomnia and hypo-tension (a couple of fainting spells) occurred. This was absolutely the WORST experience I ever had while taking a drug. I dumped my general physician and went to a nephrologist that specialized in blood pressure. He has prescribed a combination of a beta blocker, diuretic, and a vascular dilator, and my BP has never been better. PLUS, I have my quality of life back. Catapres/Clonodine is the WORST. I cannot believe this sh#t is on the market. M 29 13 days
11/29/2007
 1  high blood pressure We each sound like we are putting our last entries into a nightmare journal, and we have. First, the side effects are serious dry mouth, severe constipation, weight gain, muscle aches and incredible lethargy. I finally realized that this medication is also responsible for my severe hair loss, hair dryness, and hair thinning. Finally, the withdrawal symtoms are worser than any withdrawal sypmtoms that I can imagine. I spent a night in the hospital due to rebound high blood pressure, headaches, insomnia, and terrible anxiety (due to trying to get off this medication). Yes, you do have nightmares . There are other combinations of high blood pressure medications that you can get on, but this is not one of them. I started taking it about 4 years ago. I wished my primary doctor(at the time) would have never put me on it. I have been to several doctors and nephrologists to help me get off of it. I also have finally found a good nephrologist that feels the same as I do about it. Currently, I am down from taking 6mg a day to about 1 or 2mg a day. I know that one day I will be completely off of this drug. It really does take time (weeks/months) to get off of it, and I'm still trying to. F 31 4 years
12/23/2007
 1  Hypertension severe leg and joint pain, major fatigue and sleepiness, eye infection for 3 months and is still hanging on, anxiety attacks, numbness in hands and feet, slight depression, palpitations or tachycardia,insomnia,constipation, vision problems I wish I had never been put on this medicine and my doctor doesn't believe that this medicine is causing all these things and does not want to change it. F 71 7 months
12/26/2007
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 2  menopausal hot flushes dry mouth, depression, fatigue will not continue taking, fatigue and depression too great, no improvement in flushes F 50 3 days
2/2/2008
 1  BP irregular heartbeat, poor circulations, dizziness/faintness M 61 14 days
2/25/2008
 2  Hypertension I use to love it...it caused a little dizziness, sleepiness, memory loss, fuzzy eyes, headaches but all slight, went away as the months progressed but now I have severe Withdraw symptoms like a junkie, Im addicted to this med, short lasting meds, I feel I have to take it sooner every day.it feels like ur dying when ur dose overlaps, I hate it and wish I could wing myself off from it. was on 1mg a year ago, now up to 4 to 6 mg do not take...........do not take M 38 1 years
6/13/2008
 1  High Blood Pressure Insomnia, listlessness, eventual paranoia, loss of appetite, daily headaches. This might have been alright taken alone, but I was also taking Coreg and Spironolactone. The Clonidine was the only thing that actually did lower my blood pressure, but it was fighting the other 2 meds. My body was storing the Clonidine in my organs (couldn't pass it through because of the Spiro). When I quit taking the Spiro, the Clonodine started to come out, and of course I was in overdose mode. I might as well have been taking illegal drugs or something. Yes, it is a full-blown withdrawal. Be mindful of what you are taking with this drug! F 60 4 weeks
8/2/2008
 3  HBP First month using TTS-1 patch, very good. Next few months, successively redder site rash and tons of itching, also skin peeled after each patch was removed. It took me five months before I could say my hot sweats and hot flashes were at a minimum, or gone. So don't despair - if you can tolerate thepatch, stay with it - it will eventually be VERY GOOD for menopausal symptoms. But in my particular case, the allergic reaction to the adhesive on the TTS-1 patch was so bad, very red, itching, etc. my MD took me off it, and I just started on the Catapres Oral 0.1 to replace it. F 57 6 months
10/6/2008
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 3  Rosacea/flushing Though it did help stop the flushing, I experienced insomnia, hair thinning/loss, heart palpitations, fatigue, blurred vision. M 42 2 years
11/10/2008
 3  Hypertension Severe leg cramps, fatigue, lack of focus, dry eyes, depression, dry itchy skin, loss of sex drive, crave for next dosage,dizziness Oh it lowered my blood pressure, but wrecked what life I had left after changing my eating habits and such. I am currently weaning off, and it is horrible. I am hot and cold, the top of my head feels like it is going to fly off, the fatigue is horrible. Stay away from this drug, it is horrible. The hospital put me on it because my bp was 240/102, it has lowered the bp, but the cons outway the pros. My family doctor describes this drug as old and outdated and didn't hesitate to pull me off of it. F 42 3 months
11/12/2008
 1  Hypertension from kidney disease Severe constipation,severe dryness everywhere hallucinations,depression, paranoia,anxiety,lethargy. DO NOT take this drug!!! I hallucinated at least 4 times. This morning I suffered from depression and an emotional breakdown,followed by anxiety. Never had this problem in my life! I have also had severe constipation. Doctor took me off of it today. If you have Hallucinations you need to tell your DR. right away as this is a SEVERE side effect. I was taking .1mg then .2mg back to.1mg. M 55 2 weeks
7/7/2009
 4  Hypertension Dry mouth, Vivid dreams, slight fatigue Have been taking medication for a week now. I am hoping the side effects will diminish after a longer time on medication. I have vivid dreams. I woke up hitting my husband with the pillow last night. I have never done anything like that in my life. I dream about doing violent things. I don't feel ragey in a waking state. I am depressed, but that occurred before this medication. My anxiety level is better, but I feel disconnected from the world at times. This does lower bp. I take .1 before bedtime. M 36 7 days
9/22/2009
 1  Hypertension Lethargic and could not stay awake. Would nod off in the middle of a sentence. Was not getting any exercise because I was too drowsy. Sugar level got dangerously low (even to passing out) several times because I could not WAKE UP to eat the next meal. In the hospital they gave me this drug in a patch. When I got out of the hospital I changed doctors and refused to take it in pill or patch form. There are alternatives. F 82 1 years
11/11/2009

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