CATAPRES Reviews (CLONIDINE HYDROCHLORIDE)Average Rating: 2.2 (77 Ratings)Filter ResultsCompare CATAPRES with similar:
Type: Rx Drug
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Results are sorted by Date added. Key to Ratings: 1=LOW (I would not recommend taking this medicine.) |
More on CATAPRES: Reviews Summary | Drug Safety Information
| RATING | REASON | SIDE EFFECTS FOR CATAPRES | COMMENTS | SEX | AGE | DURATION/ DOSAGE | DATE ADDED |
| 4 | High Blood Pressure | Light dizziness. With the patch severe itching after a year and had to discontinue and use the tablets. | I was put on the 1 mg patch at first, then moved to the 2mg patch shortly thereafter which I tolerated for a year and 2 months. I say tolerated because it was hell living with the itching but the benefits were worth it to me. I felt 100% better until one evening I had to go to the ER room because my BP had gone up suddenly (210/110). I was put on the 3mg patch then and only tolerated it for 4 days. I had to get off the patch because I just couldn't tolerate the itching any more. I am now on tablets and so far (1 week) I've had only minor side effects (light dizzeness, etc.). Overall this drug has worked for me in keeping my BP lowered. | M | 63 | 1 years | 8/7/2006 | 1 | blood pressure | I get hives in the back of my throat with nagging cough within 10 minutes of taking a catapres pill. Then fatigue hits so overwhelming it can be difficult to focus. I gained weight on this medicine. There are several classes of blood pressure medicines I cannot take. Hytrin sent me to the emergency room looking like Garfield the cat. That was scary. The emergency room doctor lowered my blood pressure with catapres. Then my family doctor kept writing scrips for the medicine even though it never adequately controlled my blood pressure. Just before it is time to take a does of catapres, my blood pressure spikes. My doctor took me off of the catapres and put me on benicor which put me in the emergency room. The doctor said NEVER ABRUPTLY STOP TAKING CATAPRES. Your pressure will rebound spike. It is a withdrawal symptom. I decided to go to a heart doctor who is weaning me off of catapress instead of relying on my family doctor to lower my blood pressure. | Why are they selling a blood pressure pill that actually raises your blood pressure just before it is time to take your next pill? | F | 51 | 5 months | 7/27/2006 | 1 | High BP | I LOVED the idea of a once a week patch! Less to remember, steady dosage of drug. And it worked great for the first two years! But now I have developed severe itching and pustules at site of patch. I have to keep switching the site of the patch. I took a break of several months from the patch, then returned to it two months ago. Now, in addition to the pustules and itchiness under the patch, I have also developed itchy scalp and unbearable itching on my earlobes, esp. the left one (I wear the patch on my left arm). I am off it, permanently. I will not use it again. | I have read that switching to Clonidine pills after developing an allergy to the patch could trigger a whole body allergic reaction. | F | 59 | 3 years | 7/5/2006 | 5 | Blood Pressure Surges/High BP | I first took clonidine/catapres for uncontrolled blood pressure surges, and it worked fantastically, very fast control. They also used it on me in the ER. Extreme tiredness is a side effect---this caused me to take 1/4 to 1/2 tab of .1mg on a regular basis, and it still works perfectly. BUT, YOU MUST NOT CONSUME ANY ALCOHOL WITH CLONIDINE. Alcohol, even one drink, reverses the effect of clonidine. Moderate alcohol (a few glasses of wine for several days) will completely stop clonidine from working for 24 hours--you will need ER and a different drug to bring down BP. Once I realized this, I found many research papers on the alcohol effect in animals. I now have no side effects from clonidine, because I quit drinking. | YOU MUST NOT CONSUME ANY ALCOHOL WITH CLONIDINE. If you need to drink, find a different medication. The "Avoid Alcohol" warning is a joke--you can't drink at all without diminishing the effectiveness of this drug. | F | 49 | 3 months | 6/5/2006 | 4 | Orthostatic intolerance & tourettes | Weight gain. | I've used the patch for several years with no skin problems. I take this to raise my blood pressure, not lower it, and it works great for that. It seems to help ticks some but not great. I am searching for causes of insomnia which brought me to this site. They say the % is low. | F | 42 | 5 years | 5/24/2006 | 3 | Severe Hypertension | Exreme fatigue and dry mouth, dry skin, hair, eyes. | Is working better than anything else I've tried in lowering BP from 160/106 to 129/89 or so, but that fluctuates due to the short life of the drug. Don't know if I can continue to take at least during the day-I am falling asleep at my desk, meetings, etc. Cannot shake the pure lethargy and fatigue | F | 46 | 6 days | 5/3/2006 | 3 | High blood pressure | At first the patch was wonderful because of the lack of side effects and the excellent control of very high blood pressure. After a couple of months on the patch, the itching and skin rash were/are almost intolerable. The other side effect that began thereafter three is anxiety and depression. I wish there were another drug that could control my BP without all the side effects. I wrote to the manufacturer in Germany without any response. That is disappointing. | F | 66 | 6 months | 3/30/2006 | 2 | High Blood pressure | Extreme dry mouth--even though it says the drug has a half life of 6hours, dry mouth lasts for over 24hours after discontinuation. Fatigue. Minimal eye dryness. Sleepy, not good while driving at all; very dangerous. Dose taken 300mcg/day. Changes in mood, slight depression, loss of sex drive. This drug has the most side effects of anthying else and the list goes on. Whoever approved this should be put to death. | Useless drug for reducing blood pressure and should be pulled off the market. All it does is give side effects. I also noticed while taking this drug that I would move my arms while sleeping at night, kinda of like sleepwalking motions. I'd actually wake up and see myself doing that. Once I woke up and I was sleeping in a "muslim praying" position. | M | 7 days | 10/29/2005 | 2 | Migraine Headaches | Elevated Blood Pressure, weight gain, muscle cramps, aches and pains, dry eyes, change in taste, heart palpitations - over time, benefit for headaches ceased. | After starting Catapres, I put on weight and my blood pressure became elevated - I thought BP elevation was due to weight gain - After I developed rash from patch and switched to oral (same dosage) -side effects were worse - slowly discontinued medication and side effects diminished AND blood pressure returned to normal! I don't understand this! | F | 60 | 700 days | 9/19/2005 | 2 | menopausal - hot flashes | I was on only a 0.1 mg tablet daily for about 3 months. Now I am taking a 0.2 mg tablet daily and still find no relief of hot flashes. I understand this is a very low dose but am apprehensive about taking the patch or a higher dose. Doctor cautions about possible dizziness with increased doses. | Flashes are so bad, I am willing to give this a shot for a longer time period. So far, I am having no side effects positive or negative. | F | 56 | 4 months | 2/26/2005 | 4 | blood pressure | when taking a patch, the adhesive caused skin irritation. the drug works adequately. I have to make sure I take doses on time, as it clears the system quickly. | It keeps my menopausal hot flashes at a minimum. | F | 54 | 3 years | 2/20/2005 | 4 | high blood pressure | lowers bp for 16 hrs | F | 52 | 7 days | 2/10/2005 | 3 | high blood pressure | F | 52 | 5 days | 2/4/2005 | 1 | pain | depression and constant fatigue, drowsiness, frequent urination | F | 69 | 2 weeks | 1/11/2005 | 1 | high blood pressure | depression, anxiety, vivid dreams that lasted a few seconds after waking and nightmares, shakiness | There are better medications available without such serious, potential side effects. | F | 34 | 15 days | 11/26/2004 | 2 | Menopause - hot flushes | Extreme fatigue. | I stopped taking catapres as it did not relieve the hot flushes and the extreme fatigue was too debilitating | F | 52 | 1 months | 3/30/2004 | 2 | Menopause - hot flushes | Extreme fatigue. | I stopped taking catapres as it did not relieve the hot flushes and the extreme fatigue was too debilitating | F | 52 | 1 months | 3/30/2004 |