Clonidine Patch or Pills?

[oxy kid]

Doc asked what would I prefer? Is either/or any better?

Has anybody had any experience with the patches?

[jo-jo]

I've never heard of the patches but I've had the pills. I suppose that if you're having trouble keeping anything down then the patches would be a good idea. Luckily, I don't have vomiting (knock on wood!) when I'm in w/d's.

[oxy kid]

No problems vomiting or anything, I was just wondering if there were any advantages to using the patch over taking the pill (wow, sounds like birth control). I have to opportunity to have either, so I'm just trying to figure out what the best is.

[barbiegal]

I prefer the patch although i had a horrible skin reaction to it. My arm (at the patch site) got very itchy, red and inflamed. The pills work too though, I just preferred the patch at the time.

[EleusisII]

Never had either of them... Does that shit really help on wds? And more to the point: Which one of the symptoms does it specifically help with?

[port rhombus]

Originally Posted by EleusisII

Never had either of them... Does that shit really help on wds? And more to the point: Which one of the symptoms does it specifically help with?

It's supposed to address sympathetic nervous system dysfunction; sweating, blood pressure, etc. It's sedating, too, but I don't know to what degree it would actually help with w/d insomnia.

I haven't tired clonidine, but I've tried another alpha-2 adrenergic agonist, tizanidine, which did approximately nothing for me. It was a long time ago and I only tried withdrawing for a day before I gave in, so who knows.

[JonnyMohawk]

Some people swear by it, it supposedly helps with the cold sweats and shivering a lot... then again I have never got the chance to use it in withdrawal, So I don't really know.

[LongKissGoodNite]

Yea its hard to tell if its working when you feel like you ate 6 xanax bars. That shit weighs me down like you wouldn't believe. If you're gonna take that shit make sure you start way waaay slow.

[hovadagod]

Does it stop the RLS?

[HandMeSomeOpiates]

Yes clonodine helps immensely with W/D's. Mainly insomnia, RLS, sweats, anxiety, and of course blood-pressure. Definitely a great addition to the W/D kit.

[God_Albino]

to anyone using it for the first time, be careful; i've taken too much or had really bad rebound blood pressure (ie standing up, my ears sounded like they were made of brass, felt like heart exploding, stroking out with every step), had to go to er (i wasnt in w/ds, it helps come down from psychotic breaks or bad trips too).

it didnt help with sleep the two nights/days i took it while cold turkeying, but i didn't puke and couldn't shit at all, and the chills werent as bad as they normally get even 8 hours without a shot. pills worked fine, but yeah i didn't puke. so yeah, i think it helps

[chopstix]

Originally Posted by EleusisII

Never had either of them... Does that shit really help on wds? And more to the point: Which one of the symptoms does it specifically help with?

YES, it does help, and it's good to know about, as it's easier to get than about anything that helps as much, at least here in the US..

Helps with overall anxiety, hot/cold flashes, blood pressure & heart rate, sweats.. Helps with a lot.

Dosage is key - I'd start with HALF of a 1mg tab, and work up by .5mg from there - start feeling lightheaded or like your blood pressure is low and you've had too much; it's a blood pressure med and being dopesick with really low blood-pressure sucks ass, everytime you stand up you headrush out and feel like you're gonna fall over. No fun.

Clonidine is the only drug I've been able to get in jail for wd, and it's common in detox and in prescribed "kick kits." It works on the primary part of your brain that is affected by dope and dopesickness, the hypothalamus, which regulates blood pressure, body temp, certain CNS functions like anxiety and "fight-or-flight" anxiety and panic type responses..

To me it's extremely useful in WD, but you have to be careful and not take too much. I've used it with some success to help sleep too..

I'd consider clonidine, benzos and loperamide to be probably the three most helpful drugs for wd that I've ever known, aside from obvious shit like unlimited seconal or GHB or something..

And yeah, don't take it around the clock because you can rebound hard from it.

Oh and I meant to say PILLS not patches, clonidine is definitely something you want to wear off soon if you decide you don't want it anymore.. I'd imagine the patches wear off a lot slower.

[hydro chris]

i have used the pills during w/d, they work well as everyone mention. i mostly only took
them to get some sleep but, they would only last it seamed for like 3 to 4 hours.
i used to wake up with this sorta numb feeling throughout my body for the first couple minutes.
which wasnt a bad feelin at all. sorry never tried the patches tho.

[achybones]

I am a CP patient, Since long before I have been on opiates I have been prescribed clonidine for hypertension (high blood pressure). The brand name is Catapres and I am prescribed 0.2 mg 2x/day, I wonder if it would still help me if I were to go into WD? Thankfully I have not, but sometimes I have to cut way back on my dosage of pain meds to make it last for the month. In those instances, besides the horrific pain, I feel slight WDs including bad cold sweats accompanied by the chills. I hope I never have to go through it full-blown as it I fear that the usefulness of clonidine will be lost on me as I have been using it daily for 5+ years

[EleusisII]

Originally Posted by achybones

I fear that the usefulness of clonidine will be lost on me as I have been using it daily for 5+ years

Heh, honestly I really doubt that clonidine is so effective that "losing its usefulness" is something to be even remotely worried about.

I've never tried it, but I always figured that it was sort of a "Here you go, now beat it junkie" kinda drug.