Clonidine for autism?

In my case Clonidine didnt work for my child with autism,while on the Clonidine he kept his sleep routine of up one hour down one up one hour down one hour he was zombied out and walked into everything i was afraid he was going to hurt himself and then went all day without a nap. good luck to the rest of you

Hi my daughter is four and been on clonidine for six months to help her wind down and sleep. There is a world of difference in her now. It was like a light went off in her-her speech is better, she is able to put things together more-awesome! however, she has night terrors. It's seems like she is screaming, wreching and scratching at her face and neck when it happens. If I catch it on her camera in time, a few sips of orange soda will "reset" her, if not it takes her a long time to come around and calm down. Does anyone have any similar issues with the clonidine? How do you get your night terror child to wake up enough to console them back into reality? Thank you all

I have to laugh when I see people who think that they have the answer for every autistic child.  Meds vs. no meds.  My personal favorite "This is the miracle drug".  Clonidine is no miracle drug for autism.  My daughter's been taking this because the doctors just want to throw everything at her.  It's how some of them make their living - medication management.  Having said that, my autistic daughter is on a cocktail of meds.  Some help, some don't.  The ones that help also have side effects that can be serious.  My daughter has tested as having borderline long-QT issues.  She has been tested, meds adjusted, and retested.  Doctors said that it was risperdal.  They lowered that, no change in QT.  In a few years since this has been going on, no one ever suggested that it might be the Clonidine but turns out that it shouldn't be prescribed at all for people with QT abnormalities so clonidine is slowly going away.  It was originally prescribed by a doctor who often spoke of the drugs he took himself, like adderall.  He was very pro-clonidine, I suspect because of some anecdotal info he'd gotten from other parents.  Since we've been lowering the clonidine, we've seen no negative changes. We carefully monitor her blood pressure.  No problems there.  No change in sleep patterns or eating issues.  We've actually seen improvements in her anxiety issues.  She's never agitated now. Her communication is much more appropriate and conversational.  Bottom line: parents should do their own research and do what's best for their own child.  Don't just blindly trust any doctor. Pharmaceuticals are big business.  Yes, they can help but drug companies and doctors are in business.  I've got friends who won't give meds to their kids and rely on special diets.  Sometimes, there are no drugs that will ever help their kids anyway so go ahead and believe that some stupid diet is going to cure autism.  Other kids that I know are aggressive and can't make any progress because their parents refuse to treat symptoms with meds that really do help.  My child will probably not "recover" from autism but she's very verbal and is able to learn.  This is because of meds AND therapy, at home and at school.  As for the person who said that teachers and aids should get harzardous duty pay.  They get paid to do their job, which they chose. I'm really tired of teachers and aids who work with autistic kids being shocked to find out that they can often have serious behavior issues and parents who support their feelings of victimization and "I could be a better parent to little Johnny" attitude usually get the karma payback when their kid acts up and the "professionals" start blaming them.

My son had a severe sleep disorder, and is autistic & non-verbal, which started around age 2 and 1/2. It lasted for a full, straight 18 months to get under control. He could go all day off of just a few hours of sleep, it was disturbing our entire household, family & marriage.  He started on Benadryl prescribed by his neurologist & pediatrician, which didn't do very well after about 2 months of use.  Then it was Melatonin which he was on for about a year and then also stopped working.  Finally his neurologist prescribed Clonidine 0.1mg per night 1 hour before bedtime and it is a GOD-SEND. He falls asleep-NOT "passes out", and he sustains sleep which I have found is they KEY to finding something that works. Sustaining sleep. He has been on Clonidine for almost a year, and it just recently stopped working as well. He is soon to be 5 years old and his dosage is going to go up to 1 and a quarter of the 0.1mg pills per night to see if that helps.  This medicine is the only thing that TRULY helped our family and my son to get restful, restorative sleep. Children NEED sleep, and if they need medicine then so be it. I am THANKFUL that we HAVE such medicines that are very well-researched, and safe that also work like a charm.

My son is almost 14 and has been on clonidine since he was about 2.5 years old.... At one point he was on 5 of the 0.2 mg tabs a day... That was A TON of clonidine for a 8 year old!!! I weaned him slowly over the next 9 months and he is currently taking just 0.1 mg at HS with 3 mg of melatonin..... I am about to start the process of getting him off the last of the media because I really belive at this age he will fall asleep in his own... ( I see him get tired in his own about 8:30 pm anyways ) I will consult his dr before I do this even though I know what I'm doing..... ( I happen to be a nurse, but that goes out the window when it comes to my kid) I think it has been a fabulous drug for us over the years , but we no longer really need it. My son has never had any behaviors per say, but did, and still does a bit if stimming, both physical and verbal, and it really helped when he was going through the worst of it.... I have used it for sleep only for the last 5 years.... Melatonin is also a great choice as well. I have made a choice to not do any other Meds since 2009, I tried all sorts, some made him vomit, some caused rashes, some made him not eat, or constipated, and one landed him in the hospital..... So I have gone the homeopathic route the last 7 months, and have gotten more results from that than any other therapy or drug out there.... It's been nothing short of a miracle.... All the things I thought Id never see him do, he is doing....all but talking, but I'll keep hoping!!!!

Hey mpage-you are another one who is uneducated and uninformed and spreading untruthfulness. Clonidine is NOT a narcotic or barbituate! It is an antihypertensive! Do your homework! smh

How low is to low for a 9 year boy? His Bp was 71/44 today

I know this is a very old post it is the very first one that explains exactly what I am dealing with with my daughter currently. She has been on the Clonidine for about a month now and her outbursts are so often now when they would be maybe once or twice a week to several times a day now. Also I sent her dev. ped. back some forms that she had my daughter's teacher and myself fill out to see if she may need a neurological exam to test for ADHD. I received a voicemail Friday saying there is definitely evidence of hyperactivity and mentioned giving my daughter some more meds. I haven't talked to them yet since I received the voicemail after they had already closed. I am just wondering what happened in your situation. I would greatly appreciate knowing what developed after you posted this. Thank you

Same here! my son will only sleep 2 to 4 hours a night. hes on clonidine. ive tried melatonin etc nothing seems to work

You are a pharmacist, your job is to neither care for the person receiving medication, or be concerned with why they are having it. I think the mother's opinion is far more valuable than yours regardless of technical terminology, whose job is to essentially fill prescriptions. You have no concern for "patients" except that they have the Doctor's signature to validate the medication. Your opinion is no better than the warnings label on the back of the pill bottle.

There are several medications that are used for multiple purposes. My son is autistic and this DOES help!

I have to disagree, my son was diagnosed with aspergers/autism doctors was literally using my son as a guinea pig trying every medication they could come up with when he was 3 years I changed his doctor and the first medication he tried him on clonidine, and he has been taking it for 5 years now and he no longer take any other medication it has been a lifesaver the only change they have made is in the dosage because of his size and weight he has no side effects and you wouldn't know him to have altism today because of the medication the medication makes him just like any other eight year old you can definitely tell if he skips a few or goes without it because all his old symptoms come right back this doesn't mean it works with every child but I will definitely say it works with my son and the chemistry in his body.when he was first put on it I question it just like any other medication ,but it was almost instant when I seen that it worked of course when he first started it he had some side effect which was a little sleepiness it made him very sleepy so we adjust the dosage and decided what times a day were convenient to take it now he takes and half of 0.2 milligram in the morning and in the afternoon and one whole pill before bed.he first started out as 0.1 a half and then a whole at night but as I said the older he got and the more weight he gained of course the dosage had to go up and I could tell in his behavior that he needed the dosage up. so definitely please reconsider this medication I will say it has a lot better results than all the other medication my son is who he is and I don't want to change who he is I don't want to change his personality I don't want to change his thoughts and all the other medication That he was put on before this medication took everything that made my son who he was away from him he was even having suicidal thoughts at 5 years old because of Ritalin and other strong medication this medication he is on now leaves him just the way God made him except for nail he's calm and more controllable no more bad days no more outburst and he can focus and understand everything to mE clonidine is been a lifesaver

Thank you for the clarification. I don't know where that parent came up with such an insanely incorrect description of the drug. Even if the drug was not ideal for her child, she must be truly ignorant if she can't understand the idea that different drugs have different effects on each individual. I become so enraged when people have strong opinions about something when they are so clearly ignorant and have no obvious desire to correct that.

My son who is 3 years and autistic got this medicine also Havent gave it to him just because i feel it will make him slower thru the day. And i like him happy and hyper. But dr gave it to me since he has trouble sleeping. Does thos medicine really work for just sleeping. Dr says it will improve his speech since he doesnt talk yet. Idk im undecided and a spetic when it comes to this!. Would really like your feedback as to how long u gave it to you daughter and how long u got results. And the side effects i know every child is different but just really curious on to what it does! Thanks

Hi
I have a 5 year old son autism and ADHD and he has been prescribed this, starting 1/4 tab in the am and 1/2 a tab at night initially and work up to 1/2 AM and 1 PM if needed. This is to help his violent outbursts that hurt his brother and sister and me, teachers aids etc. I have only heard of it being used at night? Are your results for AM and PM dosages? He is not on ritalin etc yet as we were hoping to not have to start that until he was 6 or 7 it's just the violent outbursts that do not respond to the recommended discipline techniques and he destroys property, head bangs etc
Thanks