Hello all - I've been taking suboxone for the last 7 weeks...working towards getting off oxycodone. Currently I'm on 2mg of suboxone once per day. My doctor prescribed clonidine to me to help with anxiety/withdrawals in the transition. They are .1mg pills ( I think thats the dose...or it might be .01...I cant remember). I was taking 1 1/2 per day. For the last few weeks I've been taking 1 at bedtime to help sleep. I've since discovered that its not great to take this regularly for sleep. Is taking 1 pill of this per day dangerous? (Its only been a few weeks...I took it when I first made the switch to suboxone but only for a week then and then stopped for a few weeks). I don't think my doctor knows I'm still taking it...it really helps me to relax and sleep at night...I have major anxiety/stress issues as it is and now combined with tapering off opiates. Is this dose ok to just stop cold? Or should I take 1/2 a pill for a few nights? Anyone have experience with this? A little worried about the blood pressure/rebound hypertension thing. Any advice would be great.
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OD Moderators: Keif’ Richards | negrogesic
Misc Clonidine question/tapering
- Thread starter outoftown
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Lucas23
Bluelighter
My suggestion would be to taper for a week or two.
I was also presrcibed clonidine by my doctor as part of treatment to get off oxycodone. My dose was .1 mg, a very small amount. It was part of a program that included suboxone, lorazepam, and zolpidem. I took it for about 5 weeks. First three times a day, then twice a day, then half a dose twice a day, then half a dose once a day. I haven't taken it for a couple weeks now.
My doctor insisted that it was a very small amount, that it was not physically addictive, that it would help the painful withdrawal symptoms, and that I could stop taking it at any time after the first month. I had no issues when I stopped taking it. But then again I have no anxiety issues and I'm using the lorazepam/zolpidem combo to aid with sleep. I'm also taking significantly more sub than you are, 12mg per day.
I'm hard pressed to say how the clonidine exactly helped me get off oxys but I'm sure it did as I was dosing closing to 800mg per day by the end and my withdrawal symptons were minor. That's not a typo. I was eating 80 pills a day. Sometimes 100.
I was also presrcibed clonidine by my doctor as part of treatment to get off oxycodone. My dose was .1 mg, a very small amount. It was part of a program that included suboxone, lorazepam, and zolpidem. I took it for about 5 weeks. First three times a day, then twice a day, then half a dose twice a day, then half a dose once a day. I haven't taken it for a couple weeks now.
My doctor insisted that it was a very small amount, that it was not physically addictive, that it would help the painful withdrawal symptoms, and that I could stop taking it at any time after the first month. I had no issues when I stopped taking it. But then again I have no anxiety issues and I'm using the lorazepam/zolpidem combo to aid with sleep. I'm also taking significantly more sub than you are, 12mg per day.
I'm hard pressed to say how the clonidine exactly helped me get off oxys but I'm sure it did as I was dosing closing to 800mg per day by the end and my withdrawal symptons were minor. That's not a typo. I was eating 80 pills a day. Sometimes 100.
I would taper off it over just a few days. I experienced sleep problems after stopping clonidine after a week and after skipping a day I just took half my dose and was fine after that.
You should save the clonidine for when you are getting off of the suboxone.
You should save the clonidine for when you are getting off of the suboxone.
bayhead415
Bluelighter
- Joined
- Aug 24, 2012
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You want to use this drug for withdrawal symptoms that arise from ceasing opiate use such as temperature fluctuation, raises heart rate, dilated eyes, profuse sweating, and other issues. It is supposed to block activation in the adrenal area. I would recommend not getting used to it while your on opiates so that it is useful when you stop.
Thanks everyone! I appreciate - your thoughts is pretty much what i was thinking. I'm going to take a 1/2 a pill for a few days...then stop. I have several and a couple refills so I should be ok. But you are right...I want to have them and have them be effective once I completely stop the suboxone. I shouldnt be off the suboxone for another month or so...the clonidine should be effective if I stop it now.
jambabomba
Bluelighter
I have been using clonidine on/off for sleep and to promote GH (I train). I usually use it 1-3 weeks at a time and then stop it and my mood gets usually a great lift (supposedly because increased noradrenaline production). Because clonidine causes depression by inhibiting noradrenaline secretion at least in my case. And when I stop it I get kind of rush like if I have took a tiny amount of amphetamine.
Sometimes I wonder why people here get stressed about these kind of things when on the other hand people here might use amphetamine/cocaine or other stimulants big amounts without thinking blood pressure or these kind of health issues.
Anyway I think that abrupt stopping of clonidine carries about same amount of risks than taking amphetamine or some other stimulant. So if you are healthy person without heart failure or very high blood pressure to start with it isn't very risky IMO. Different thing might be if you have been eaten it for years to treat blood pressure disease (hypertension). Then you might get dangerously high blood pressures.
Edit: If you want to play safe and by the "rules" and are using also beta antagonists in your detox you should first taper beta antagonists and after that clonidine. Otherwise your blood pressure could rise. But in healthy person that shouldn't be a big issue.
Sometimes I wonder why people here get stressed about these kind of things when on the other hand people here might use amphetamine/cocaine or other stimulants big amounts without thinking blood pressure or these kind of health issues.
Anyway I think that abrupt stopping of clonidine carries about same amount of risks than taking amphetamine or some other stimulant. So if you are healthy person without heart failure or very high blood pressure to start with it isn't very risky IMO. Different thing might be if you have been eaten it for years to treat blood pressure disease (hypertension). Then you might get dangerously high blood pressures.
Edit: If you want to play safe and by the "rules" and are using also beta antagonists in your detox you should first taper beta antagonists and after that clonidine. Otherwise your blood pressure could rise. But in healthy person that shouldn't be a big issue.
Thank you Jamba! I'm a healthy person, I've had no heart or BP issues in my life. I read some stuff about Clonidine that got me a little concerned and wanted to make sure I wasn't ignorantly doing something that could hurt me down the line. My suboxone switch and subsequent taper has not been a total walk in the park...so anything added concerns me. I did start taking 1/2 a clonidine yesterday - and will taper off this in 3 or 4 more days. I had much more of an issue with the Tizanidine, which I was switched to for a short time.
Thanks again for your feedback!
Thanks again for your feedback!