Clonodine for ADHD

My son is 7 yrs old and is currently taking Clonidine to help I'm sleep at night, but I've been having problems keeping him asleep. I give him the meds at about 7pm nightly and seems to be able to easily fall asleep. However wakes up out of a dead sleep in the middle of the night crying and doing bizarre things that when I ask him the next day he claims not to "Remember" I need help, has anyone encounter something similar to this? Because of this problem my son is now truant from school and we were even assigned a social worker smh... Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[SylvieS]

If there is a pediatric sleep specialist in your area it may be worth having a consultation. My son took intuniv(clonidine) for. A little while and experienced some emotional problems and sleep issues with it so we did not continue it. He also sees a sleep specialist and that has been very helpful. Good luck!

[elnora44]

Clonidine has been reported to cause nightmares as a known side effect for some kids- that could be what is happening with your son. Might be worth discussing with his provider. We also saw this with our 5 year old and switched to a different med for sleep. It took a little while for the clonidine to get out of his system but he is sleeping better now.

[Hidden]

I don’t have any experience with Clonidine, only Quanfacine/Intuniv. I think there are the same kind of non-stimulate medicine. You are supposed to take it at night but my daughter had trouble falling asleep. She now takes it in the morning and is just fine. Your Dr should be able to guide you if he needs to be taken off or if you can play with when you give it to him. A change is needed for sure. Sleep interruption is not an ok side effect. Good luck!

[Mudpies]

My son takes clonidine and amantadine and we have not experienced anything like this. My son is a good sleeper though and always has been. Not sure if that has anything to do with it though. So sorry.

[Overhere23]

Have you tried melatonin in lieu of clonodine?

I’m a big ol’ hippy at heart and do my best to find natural alternatives first before using medications for our sons needs (severe adhd).

We were having serious sleep issues, and had heard about melatonin. I did a search for a food that had the highest amount of naturally occurring melatonin, and it turns out it’s pistachios.

I give him a pile of pistachios every night, (supposedly six is equal to .5mg of melatonin ) and it definitely seems to help him considerably. At that time he is sleepy and ready to fall asleep.

The recommended dose is anywhere between .5 - .75 mg

Most supplements have way over that amount, so please be aware. We cut a melatonin chewable from Trader Joe’s into 1/4 to give it to him on occasion when we know the night is going to be rough.

Best of luck to you!

[Murphish]

My son had frequent awakening and increased anxiety on guanficine, which is similar to clonidine. We ended up having to discontinue this med. it’s a matter of weighing the benefits vs. side effects. So hard.

[Sunbreaks]

The nighttime behavior you’re talking about sounds like a night terror. Your child is still asleep in these times, even though his eyes are open. It’s natural for him to not remember or to remember it as an especially creepy or vivid dream. It sounds like this particular drug is not a good fit. I second the suggestion for melatonin (although this too can cause nightmares in some) and possibly even a sleep study. Sleep disorders are significantly higher in those with ADHD. In any case, keep his doctor informed of his struggles and any changes you make. Try to make sure it’s all sent via email or written down at your appointments. This way there is a record of what’s been going on and how you’re trying to solve the problem. Good luck to you both ❤️

[Testarossa1975]

I would recommend letting the prescribing doctor know about the problem. Perhaps the dosage could be adjusted or if it is also used for ADHD symptoms it could be taken in the morning. As others have suggested, melatonin might help. There is also an antihistamine called cyproheptadine that causes drowsiness. My son takes this to increase his appetite. He started out taking it in the morning and before bed, but it made it him too sleepy to take in the morning, so our pediatrician said to just take it at night. He also takes clonodine at night for ADHD symptoms primarily. Both of these medications help him to settle down so he can go to sleep.

[Terrilynn04]

We do aderall XR at 7am for our 6 yr old and 2mg of guanfacin at 5pm with 2mg of melatonin...it’s been working like a champ without any goofiness.

[reg2018]

We didn't have any problems with memory loss, but we did have problems with our son getting to sleep and staying asleep. His doctor added melatonin as well as over the counter unisom. Check with your child's doctor for medication changes and dose recommendations.

[Pennywink]

It does sound like a night terror - my son never remembers his, though they initially scared the crap outta me!

My son took guanfacine, similar to clonidine. he didn't have night terrors on it, though he claims it did wake him up in the middle of the night.

I would discuss it with your prescribing physician - perhaps a change in dose or timing could help.

[BaylorFan]

We do it and haven’t experienced any of those side effects. It’s been a life saver he went from 4-5 hours a night to sleeping through the night he doesn’t seem to drag at all in the morning. I would call DR maybe they can try a different medication.

[Jen1973]

I have also had very good luck with melatonin for my son. It’s a natural occurring hormone in our bodies that helps regulate sleep.

[MelissaJo76]

My daughter has taken Clonidine since she was 2. She was about that age when her night terrors started. She is 9 now and doesn’t have them anymore. Her neurologist told us that the Clonidine only last for about 7 hours, so by 1:00am her meds wore off and she was up. They had us add time released melatonin at bedtime. It has helped.

[Schmoopy15]

I was on clonidine and had the same thing happen. As soon as they took me off of it and put me on Zyprexa it all stopped.

[hope111]

My though reading your post was night terrors too. My son (unmedicated) had these for years until he outgrew then around age 6. Earlier bedtime can help, and I’ve read about tracking the timing of when they wake and then trying to wake them right before that time to reprogram body clock, but haven’t tried it. We noticed a huge difference buying a weighted blanket for our son - he sleeps through the night with it and never was a good sleeper before, he’s 8 now. We got the brookstone blanket at bed and bath on the recommendation of a friend with similar challenges, it’s 12 lbs I think. I call it his cozy blanket and he loves it! Purposely never mentioned it was for sleeping better so he wouldn’t feel anxious about that. Good luck!