Complete adverse effect profile including incidence rates and management
Important Safety Information
This is not a complete list of all possible side effects. Contact your healthcare provider if you experience any unexpected symptoms. For serious or life-threatening side effects, seek emergency medical attention immediately.
ADVERSE REACTIONS Most adverse effects are mild and tend to diminish with continued therapy.
The most frequent (which appear to be dose-related) are dry mouth, occurring in about 40 of 100 patients;
drowsiness, about 33 in 100;
dizziness, about 16 in 100;
constipation and sedation, each about 10 in
The following less frequent adverse experiences have also been reported in patients receiving clonidine hydrochloride tablets, but in many cases patients were receiving concomitant medication and a causal relationship has not been established.
Body as a Whole: Fatigue, fever, headache, pallor, weakness, and withdrawal syndrome.
Also reported were a weakly positive Coombs’ test and increased sensitivity to alcohol.
Cardiovascular: Bradycardia, congestive heart failure, electrocardiographic abnormalities (i.e., sinus node arrest, junctional bradycardia, high degree AV block and arrhythmias), orthostatic symptoms, palpitations, Raynaud’s phenomenon, syncope, and tachycardia.
Cases of sinus bradycardia and atrioventricular block have been reported, both with and without the use of concomitant digitalis.
WARNINGS Withdrawal Patients should be instructed not to discontinue therapy without consulting their physician.
Sudden cessation of clonidine treatment has, in some cases, resulted in symptoms such as nervousness, agitation, headache, and tremor accompanied or followed by a rapid rise in blood pressure and elevated catecholamine concentrations in the plasma.
The likelihood of such reactions to discontinuation of clonidine therapy appears to be greater after administration of higher doses or continuation of concomitant beta-blocker treatment and special caution is therefore advised in these situations.
Rare instances of hypertensive encephalopathy, cerebrovascular accidents and death have been reported after clonidine withdrawal.
When discontinuing therapy with clonidine hydrochloride tablets, the physician should reduce the dose gradually over 2 to 4 days to avoid withdrawal symptomatology.
Like all medications, Clonidine Hydrochloride can cause side effects. However, not everyone who takes this medication will experience them. Many side effects are dose-dependent and may improve as your body adjusts to the medication. Others may require dose adjustment or medical attention.
Contact your healthcare provider promptly if you experience:
Seek immediate emergency medical care if you experience signs of: