Clonidine in autism
Common Questions and Answers about Clonidine in autism
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My five year old son has high functioning autism and ADHD. He is now potty trained but can be quite hyperactive before bedtime and has a hard time winding down at night. We have tried everything to calm him down and have a good bedtime routine. He gets plenty of fresh air and exercise. He is on 20 mg of ritilan during the day. His psychiatrist prescribed 1 tablet of clonidine before bedtime to help him fall asleep and stay asleep. The medication has worked for this.
Thank you for your comments. The psychiatrist is supposed to be an autism specialist, and there are not too many in our city who claim that. My daughter is getting her masters in Pub Admin and is researching insurance coverage for autism--it is such a fight between insurers and schools as to who should pay for services, and meanwhile our kids are the ones suffering.
Not sure what country you are in but basically clonidine is a drug to slow kids down. It will not really deal with the attention problems caused by ADHD. It definitely will not help with the lack of speech. At his age, the lack of speech is a very serious issue. I don't think a hospital is the correct place for help. Especially if all the say is he is ADHD. That does not explain the lack of speech. You definitely need to find better professional help. Or go back to the hospital.
My son turned 5 in March, his doctor told me he might have ADHD. He barely sleeps, and he gets up all different hours of the night or early morning. He doesn't just get up he tears up everything. Sometimes it is bread spread through the house, baby powder, flour, basically anything he can get his hands on. He is hyper all day long, I dont know why he doesn't sleep at night. I dont know what to do to get him to stop making a huge mess every morning. Has anyone else had this problem?
clonidine can also be used for anxiety, i recently found this out because my friends son who is in our aspers group, just got put on clonidine for autism induced anxiety, i even looked into it for my son
but i am not sure about putting him on bp meds, he's so little
i am trying non-medicinal methods for anxiety
he gets massages, takes long baths, when we do homework i light an aroma therapy candle, i am looking into kid friendly meditation, i know sounds silly, but i had to do something
xo
The body uses glucose in muscles, for energy, and in the brain, to support basic functions. Insulin is the protein that takes that glucose and delivers it to the cells that use it. When the pancreas stops producing insulin, the body doesn't have the ability to get that energy it needs from it's normal routes, and that creates the symptoms that people see.
Here are a list of the symptoms:
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000305.
She has been diagnosed with Autism, ADHD, Insomnia, Central hypotonia and a genetic mutation on the RAI1 gene.
She started taking sedatives at 19 months old (Ambien) and a benzodiazipene (Klonipen) for aggression and self harming (head banging, biting, hair pulling [hers], pulling her nails off completely and inserted things in anus and vagina). These seemed to help but she grew a tolerance within 6 months (maxxed out Ambien @ 10mgs and Klonipen at 0.5 mgs).
If I may offer help, I know how your daughter feels I was in that situation 5 years ago with my 1st son. The doctors offerd me no help and a very late diagnosis which slowed things down. I did alot of research and still do alot. Please tell your daughter to get very very well informed about autism and options for help. There are huge breakthroughs on treatments the earlier the better the results. NO doctor will offer anything they never do just therapy. Please go to Autism one.
He has a IEP at school, also has had least 1/2 a dozen throats scopes as he has EEG, also a gastro dr. The meds he has been on over the years we are pretty sure helped but one issue in particiular has not only stayed the same but has gotten worse.
He is 16 now and soils his pants everyday. We get calls from school saying he had an accident in a school. He has a change of clothes at school. The school is aware and his IEP says he is allowed to go to the bathroom every 2 hours.
t say how old your daughter is. Autism does run in families, so if your son does have autism it is very possible that your daughter could be on the spectrum as well. I would reccomend the same thing for both children, a child psychologist or pediatric neurologist. Preferably one who specializes in autism.
I took Clonidine for several days during detox. It really did make a difference in helping with my withdrawl symptoms. Helped to keep me calmer and in my skin. I also had a few tranzene that I took ( I cut them in halves ) . These two things along with the Immodium and otc pain meds were a hugh help for me.
Be careful not to think more is better because you will just drop your blood pressure and end up in the ER or worse. Clonidine is a blood pressure medication but is known to ease WD in very small dosages. Ok if prescribed by your doctor. I like patch better because you will not try to take more to make you feel better, Good luck..
Does make eye contact but sometimes I feel like he is looking past me and not actually at me. He does smile at me when I smile at him. He has just started to giggle when I play the "Im gonna get you" game. He LOVES his older brother and giggles until he is out of breath when they play. He goo's and is starting to baby talk. He likes to be held for the most part. Sometimes when he is over tired or doesn't want to be held he arches his back and gets mad.
My doc sent it in to the pharmacy to help with the WDs I am now having. I am reluctant to dd in any other pills, but I need some relief. Any experience with this drug? Side effects? Does it actually do anything? Thanks.
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