My 3 year old son was just recently diagnosed with autism, the doctor put him on the drug clonidine. Is there any one that has advice about this kind of thing? He is normally so hyper but now is just alittle less... Any one else going through this?
Answer:
My son was also put on Clonidine..he was a walking zombie.
He was dazed!! .... (His own teacher called me ...extremely concerned!) I spoke w/ his drs. and was told to lower it...yet it didn't even make a difference. So, I completely stopped giving him clonidine.
But....every child is different. In the long run...it is the parent's choice. He or she knows what is best for his or her child.
I'm not a doctor, so I wouldnt know.
But good luck. I'm sorry about that... But look on the bright side, most children with autisms are geniouses on a specific subject. Introduce your child to new things, you may be impressed... (sorry I couldnt answer your question though)
My son is bipolar and ADHD and they put him on clonodine for a short period I didnt see that it worked but for the most part clonodine is used for many different treatments when it comes to mental disorders and if I am not mistaken it is also used for seizures...Just leave him on it for about two months if you are not satisfied with the way that it is working then tell his doctors and have them try something else...
My son has been taking Clonidine for yrs for his hyperness due to autism. It will make him sleepy but Clonidine is short acting. Over time I have found that my son who is 10 now has gotten somewhat immune to it and so his doses had to be increased. He now takes it 3 times a day. He has never had any harmful side effects from it at all, just sleepiness.
Clonidine is an antihypertensive used to help people with high blood pressure. However, it is also commonly used in the mental health field. Most psychiatrists prescribe it to kids with ADHD. Generally, a child might be started on a stimulant but, often, initiating sleep becomes difficult so, clonidine is added due to its sedating qualities. For children in the autistic spectrum, I have seen it used in conjuction with other medications (very rarely as monotherapy). It is usually used, again, for its sedation, to help with sleep or, to help calm some of the stormy behaviors of the many mental illnesses. Overall, I have found it to be quite safe and helpful. I am a child, adolescent, and adult psychiatrist, (in case you were wondering).
You mention he is normally "so hyper" so, I'm assuming that is the symptom your Dr. is targeting for treatment with clonidine. That would ceratinly be appropriate in my experience. I also tend to use a few of the atypical antipsychotics for "hyper" behavior in children with autisic disorders. Medications like Seroquel, Risperdal, and Abilify are common. Good luck with your very special child.
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