Clonidine

[junik53]

Hi ,I was given Clonidine to help with hot flushes, has anyone found that they work and do you get any side effects. I have many illnesses inc PsRA . Fybro,T2D, heart problems are just a few , went into menopause as result of hysterectomy in my 40s had Hrt until heart attack in my 60s I am now 70 and am suffering horrendous sweats night and day . Will they ever stop? Will try another tablet with vile side effects listed. Sometimes , we’ll a lot of the time I feel like giving up.

[vonniesims]

I had it once for hot flushes, but my blood pressure dropped so low I felt ill and had to stop it

[junik53 in reply to vonniesims]

Thanks for your reply , I am worried about that as I already take tabs to lower bp

[J1707-]

I have PsA/ fibro also a hysterectomy in my late 30s. 3 years ago I was put on clonidine for night sweats and hot flushes. My Gp refused HRT. Side effects were horrendous for me. I had cold fingers heart palpitations and extreme hair loss ( had to wear a wig .I called her dolly). I was told you do not loose hair on this drug after research found others suffered this too. I went private and got HRT and never looked back. Hair grew back. There are many forms of hrt available privately.Not saying you can take these but worth investigating if you can afford it . As I said to Gp suffering with everything else this was one to many .

[junik53 in reply to J1707-]

Thankyou

[LinaM]

I was on it for a while and it definitely helped with the hot flushes and sleep . Unusually for me I didn’t have any unpleasant side effects at all. Then for some reason it stopped working . I also had some relief from sage tablets for a while. Both these experiences were early on in my menopause so it’s hard to say if they would work for you . Like all these drugs it seems to be trial and error. I really wish you luck and I know how awful these symptoms are . x

[junik53 in reply to LinaM]

Thankyou

[Libluce8]

I was given it for hot flushes but it made my blood pressure so low I felt dizzy each time I stood up - I was eventually taken off it and put on HRT (I had a hysterectomy like you in my 40s) when I passed out getting off a train and injured myself - beware with this medication!

[junik53 in reply to Libluce8]

Thankyou

[JCSWAG]

Hello this tablet helped me tremendously. I had terrible hot flushes and night sweats which started when I was 59 yrs however because of my age my GP refused to prescribe HRT, what he did do was to prescribe this drug, it changed my life completely, the symptons didn't just disappear overnight but they were dramatically reduced! The symptons became less frequent and shorter in time, I did however have to start on a low dose and build up the dosage, I now take in total 125, I take 75 in the morning and 50 at 6pm. I noticed you mentioned you have fibromyalgia, I also have this condition too and unfortunately this can cause excess flushes, this is caused because our internal body system which is regulated by the brain can cause flushing and sweats. I do hope this helps my friend and I wish you all the best. X

[junik53 in reply to JCSWAG]

Thankyou I will stick with it for now and see what happens , your reply has made me hopeful

[WillowsMother]

The only thing that's really helped me with hot flushes and night sweats (with no nasty side effects like lowering blood pressure) is estrogen gel. You rub it into your inner thigh daily, or you can have a patch. It's body identical so simply replaces the estrogen lost through menopause. There are far lower risks with transdermal hrt than with the tablets that you may have been taken off when you had a heart attack - so it may be worth discussing it as a possibility with your GP, or a specialist nurse practitioner. My GP was reluctant at first, because of my RA but I went privately, got established on the right dose, then went back to the GP, who agreed to add it to my repeat prescriptions. Best of luck! x

[junik53]

I tried the gel but dose was so low it didn’t help, thanks for your reply

[WillowsMother in reply to junik53]

I believe you can increase the number of pumps of the gel until you reach the right dose for you. I've not had any hot flushes for several months since being on 2 pumps of gel per day. It may seem like there's nothing to it, but the amount of estrogen on the gel is plenty to replace what's lost through menopause. I wonder if your night and day sweats are caused by something else, as there are other causes? Might it be a good idea to have some more investigations done if estrogen doesn't work?

[oldtimer2]

Menopause: UK approves daily pill for hot flushes

BMJ 2023; 383 doi: doi.org/10.1136/bmj.p2969 (Published 19 December 2023)Cite this as: BMJ 2023;383:p2969

A new once daily, non-hormonal pill that reduces hot flushes and night sweats caused by menopause has been approved by the UK’s drugs regulator.12

Fezolinetant, marketed as Veoza, has been approved by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) for moderate to severe vasomotor symptoms associated with menopause.

Clonidine seems effective for a few people, but lowering the blood pressure may cause problems.

[junik53]

Update , I have decided to stop Clonidine as made me feel quite ill.Its like I traded one side effect for another , not a lot of point to that! Have I done the right thing ?

[J1707- in reply to junik53]

Personally I don’t think we need to suffer to help one thing