insomnia--clonidine | ADHD Information

My son takes Clonidine and it has been very helpfu to him.
He takes 1 full tablet (.1 mg each) in the morning and at bedtime. He
takes
1/2 tablet at 4 p.m.

He also takes Ritalin LA in the morning.

The clonidine worked better at bedtime when he was taking Focalin XR in
the morning, but because he had some anxiety issues on Focalin, we
switched.

Clonidine is a medicine that you would want to titrate doses while
increasing
and decreasing, and hopefully you have a doctor who will be glad to do
so. My son started on 1/2 tab twice a day.... then 1/2 tab THREE times a
day.... then a full tab THREE times a day.... then backed down to the full
tab TWICE a day and just a 1/2 tab at 4 p.m.

Once you're on the higher doses, do NOT quit abrubtly.

Good luck!

We had sleep issues before meds. Then we had trouble when we first started the meds with them wearing off late so then falling asleep late. I have never given DS anything to sleep. He eventually just started sleeping normal.

The meds wear off, evenings are fine, then he goes to be.

Our hardest part of the day is the morning, before the meds kick in.

I was just about to post the exact same thing!  My 6 YO takes 1 mg. Tenex, 2.5 mg. regular Focalin and 5 mg of Focalin XR in the mornings, 2.5 mg. short-acting Focalin at lunchtime and .1 mg Clonidine at night.  Her sleeping has gotten awful.  She wakes up every few hours and comes into my room, crying.  She is wide awake when she does it and has a miserable time going back to sleep. 

I just sent her psychiatrist an email, and I really, really hope he has some answers.  I would be glad to use Benadryl like the suggestion, but Benadryl makes her crazy rather than sleep. 

I hope there is an answer to this, because the meds are really helping her behavior, concentration and moods. 

Anyone use Clonidine?  My son just started clonidine...1/2 of a .1 mg tablet.  It does not seem to be helping yet.  He has a hard time sleeping all summer.  Any successes? what doseages?...thanks...I also posted under the meds board.I took Clonidine for a little while when I was younger. I would like to sing it's praises, but I will tell you the truth about my experience with it. It gave me horrible nightmares. I started getting scared of going to sleep, so my mom took me off of it. I truly hope that I was a rare case with this medicine, for your child's sake. I'm not a doctor, so I won't go into this too much, but what really worked for me wasn't even a prescription! Benadryl Allergy worked miracles for me. I took two of the little pink pills (make sure that they are NOT the non-drowsy kind) 2 hours before bedtime. I started sleeping all the way through the night with no nightmares. Like I said, I really hope the Clonidine works.


Sincerely,


                 Evan

Hello,

My child uses clonidine along with Concerta.  How old is your son?  My child takes 1 tablet (.1) milligram at night and in the morning. 1/2 tablet if needed during the day.  For my child, it hasn't been a problem, as with all medications there bodies will get used to it, and they grow so the dosage may be "upped"

It is good for sleeping and in the morning for th hyperactivity/aggressiveness.  How long have your son been taking it?  For me, it has been helpful. YOu may need to administer 1 whole tablet...speak it over with the doctor.

My son took it at different doses and it did not help.  His doctor prescribed Seroquel and, while it has taken awhile to find the right dosage, he is finally sleeping at night!

 

Good luck!

Cindyann

Thank you to all for the informative posts.  I upped the meds to 1 tablet.  We will see how that goes.

Hi!

I'm a newbie.

My son was taking Remeron for the past few years to go to sleep.  My husb. talked to the psy. at the last visit and talked about our concerns about his mood swings (he's almost 12, puberty is starting)  He recommended that we try Melotonin.  We've just started at 2mg. and it seems to working a bit better.

Good luck, the sleeping problems drive me crazy.

 

My son was prescribed clonidine for insomnia related to his ADD. He could not wind down and "the voices in his head" would not stop. It has been a life saver. He is able to relax and fall asleep.


Yeah, it works well.  I take a full pill.  Knocks me out, and I sleep hard.