From: Jim Clary
Date: Sat Jul 15, 2000 6:05 am
Subject: Re: Clonidine
Hi,
I’ve been using clonidine for three years and tolerate it very well. The first time I took a dose, it was .1mg and made me extremely drowsy. I took it in the evening for the first few days; as I continued using it the drowsiness gradually went away. There was some initial dizziness when I would stand up suddenly after sitting; this too went away over time. Later on my GP upped my dosage to .2mg since I was still having fairly severe flushing episodes. I found that clonidine helped my symptoms somewhat but was not a panacea. I use it as one measure in a larger arsenal which includes drinking lots of cold water, using aspirin, avoiding obvious triggers such as spicy foods, heat etc, and always using sunscreen with both chemical and physical components. My flushing has been reduced substantially by photoderm so I have cut my dosage back to .1mg. Bottom line is, I didn’t have much trouble with clonidine. I don’t drink alcoholic beverages (alcohol is a trigger for me) so can’t answer that question. An occasional glass of wine might not hurt. I suggest you check with your doctor about that and any other questions you might have.
Jim
