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  • BDD Moderators: Keif’ Richards | negrogesic

How long can you take clonidine without having withdrawals

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Outsider31

Bluelighter
Joined
Mar 26, 2014
Messages
88
Hi guys, I've been taking clonidine for 2 days to help relieve some anxiety during my gabpentin withdrawal. Any guesses as to long how many consecutive days this can be taken without withdrawing from clonidine as well.

My Dr gave me 0.2 pills, 2 days ago I took .1 and .1, yesterday I only took 1/4 of a 0.2 pill. Would using this medication for a week or so cause any withdrawals? Thanks.
 
Using it at that dose for a week won't cause any problems. Just be careful, medications that have a powerful effect on your BP like clonidine can be tricky. When you stop taking it in a week just keep some on hand if you BP get out of whack. If you have never had issues with controlling your blood pressure and if you haven't used medication to control your blood pressure before (like propranolol, a beta blocker also used to treat performance anxiety), there is very little chance you'll run into any problems whatsoever.
 
Thanks TPD, Ive never had any blood pressure issues nor have I ever taken any meds for it. Only plan on using it for a week, with doses ranging from 1/4 of 0.2 up to 0.2 per day depending how much anxiety I have n racing heart.
 
toothpastedog said:
Using it at that dose for a week won't cause any problems. Just be careful, medications that have a powerful effect on your BP like clonidine can be tricky. When you stop taking it in a week just keep some on hand if you BP get out of whack. If you have never had issues with controlling your blood pressure and if you haven't used medication to control your blood pressure before (like propranolol, a beta blocker also used to treat performance anxiety), there is very little chance you'll run into any problems whatsoever.
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I didn't know that. Great information!
 
Outsider31 said:
Thanks TPD, Ive never had any blood pressure issues nor have I ever taken any meds for it. Only plan on using it for a week, with doses ranging from 1/4 of 0.2 up to 0.2 per day depending how much anxiety I have n racing heart.
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In that case, you have nothing to worry about.
 
I took Indural (beta blocker) two days on, one day off, for two years straight going through benzo withdrawal without repercussions. I am only sharing because Indural is a BP med.
 
Thanks Moreaux, good to know. If I'm having some mild anxiety I will take 1/4 of a 0.2 pill. If my anxiety gets bad and my heart is beating fast I will take either 0.1 or a whole 0.2 pill.

I've never had such bad anxiety before taking the gabapentin and baclofen. I figure it's gotta be the withdrawals, the only thing keeping me sane is I keep telling myself it's temporary and will pass with time.
 
I take a related medication tenex 3 mg (roughly 0.3 mg) sublingual if I accidently take too much stimulants and have no issue not taking it after. I think if you regually take it you can get rebound hypertension but I dont think its like benzos where your like crazy.
 
OP, you should be totally fine. These things are very hard to pinpoint, "When will I...; How much will it take to...; How severe will...?" so we generally don't like to waste people's time, but in a very general sense, it should take weeks of daily dosing to produce a significant withdrawal syndrome from Clonidine. It's really more like a "rebound" than a full withdrawal syndrome with multiple symptoms. Your blood pressure rises back up and can make you feel more tense and anxious, but for a healthy person, it shouldn't be a big deal.

If you're taking Clonidine to manage withdrawal symptoms, it's a lot different than someone who actually requires Clonidine to regulate their blood pressure. For folks like this, abrupt withdrawal of the drug could be devastating. I've taken up to .5 - .6 per day when I've been really bad off. I've done it for weeks at a time and generally, when I run out of Clonidine, there's some mild discomfort, but nothing serious.
 
Thanks guys, and Keif I am using clonidine for gabapentin withdrawal. Trying to use on an as needed basis. I've never had a problem with my blood pressure before so I'm hoping when I stop the clonidine it won't mess me up too much.

I've made it to 5 days free of gabapentin and baclofen before but then stupid me I keep going on these 2 day binges when I'm off work. I keep setting myself back and putting myself through withdrawals, can be so depressing.
 
Outsider31 said:
Thanks guys, and Keif I am using clonidine for gabapentin withdrawal. Trying to use on an as needed basis. I've never had a problem with my blood pressure before so I'm hoping when I stop the clonidine it won't mess me up too much.

I've made it to 5 days free of gabapentin and baclofen before but then stupid me I keep going on these 2 day binges when I'm off work. I keep setting myself back and putting myself through withdrawals, can be so depressing.
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Like I said, it really shouldn't be a problem for you. What I might recommend to be safe; something I've done before; would be to do a short taper once you're finished with your primary goal, which is the Gabapentinoid withdrawal. Cutting a pill in half for 3-4 nights should guarantee you a smooth transition.
 
Thanks Keif, I'm currently on day 3 off gabapentin. Maybe I will just take the clonidine as normal for about 2 weeks, then do as u suggest, take half of a pill for 4 days.

My anxiety literally just got to me bad, had to take an entire 0.2 pill a half hour ago, hoping it provides relief soon. I felt decent all day, mild anxiety on and off but all of a sudden it hit me bad.
 
Do you know your blood pressure? My blood pressure is 100-120/50-80 so im unlikely to have a issue if i stopped but if you have a bp of 140/100 and stop it yu could go into hypertension. You can check it at a pharmacyy
 
No I'm not sure, I told my primary dr who prescribed me the gabapentin that I had bad withdrawals and she gave me clonidine 0.2 to use as needed.
 
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