Clonidine question | ADHD Information

My son takes Metadate 20mg and if we have afternoon activities I give it to him 2 times a day . One at 7am and the other at 1pm.

When I do this he has trouble falling asleep.  When he only takes it one time before 12n, he is fine.

My question is....I Have clonidine that we tried in the past to see if it would help impulsiveness, aggresion.  It did not. But it did make him very very sleepy and he just to fall asleep in 15 minutes.    Can I give this medicine to him as needed of it has to be an every day treatment.?

Thanks

You need to ask your doctor about using Clonidine PRN.  My 13-year-old son takes 0.1 mg Clonidine every evening, and it does help him fall asleep at a reasonable hour (prior to that, he was staying up until 1 or 2 am).As I remember about clonidine, it works by lowering the blood pressure.  When used to help sleep problems, there is a "small window of opportunity" during which they can fall asleep.  Because it changes the blood pressure, starting and stopping it should be gradual. I don't believe it is to be used as needed.  The package insert may have said not to suddenly discontinue.  The doc may have said , but I'm not sure that unlike Ritalin it is not out of your body in a certain number of hours.  I think it is a med to be very careful with and definately talk to your doctor before using.

Ds used to use clonidine to help him getr to sleep, but I really didn't like him taking it. We switched to Melatonin for awhile and then to Gabba Calm which he prefered. He hasn't used them for quite awhile, but asked to have it around in case he can't get to sleep the nights before AP exams.  
He said that he thinks the placebo effect may be helpful! 
No, it is not a good idea to use it as needed. Like was mentioned before it is a blood pressure medication and when you take it your blood pressure will drop. If you are going on and off of it you risk rebound hypertension as well. It is really something that your doctor needs to monitor as well, you need to make sure the blood pressure is at an okay level. If you need something on an as needed thing maybe melatonin would be a better choice. Or maybe trying to adjust the timing of his medication would also work. Good luck!My daughter took clonidine. I switched her to melatonin because with melatonin you CAN give as needed! Plus, I was really uncomfortable with the blood pressure med being used as a sleep aid. 

Hi from a newbie

 

My 6 year old has been on .2mg of clonidine for about 2 years to help him sleep at night. He was recently taken off of metadate, but did take the clonidine while he was on it.

It has helped us a lot. So I would reccomend it, if you are looking for a daily medication.

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