Medical Editor: Charles Patrick Davis, MD, PhD
What Is Catapres?
Catapres (clonidine hydrochloride) is a centrally acting alpha-agonist hypotensive agent used to treat hypertension. Catapres is available as a generic named clonidine (tablets and patches).
What Are Side Effects of Catapres?
Common side effects of Catapres include:
- dry mouth,
- drowsiness,
- dizziness,
- lightheadedness,
- irritability,
- tiredness,
- mood changes,
- sleep problems (insomnia or nightmares),
- headache,
- ear pain,
- fever,
- feeling hot,
- constipation,
- diarrhea,
- stomach pain,
- increased thirst,
- loss of interest in sex,
- impotence,
- difficulty having an orgasm, or
- cold symptoms such as runny or stuffy nose,
- sneezing,
- cough, or
- sore throat.
Catapres may interact with other drugs that make you sleepy or slow your breathing (sleeping pills, narcotics, muscle relaxers, or medicines for anxiety, depression, or seizures), clonidine transdermal skin patches, digoxin, digitalis, antidepressants, beta-blockers, heart or blood pressure medicines, medicines to treat psychiatric disorders, or other drugs to treat high blood pressure or heart problems.
Dosage for Catapres
Catapres (clonidine hydrochloride, USP and TTS) is available in strengths of 0.1, 0.2 and 0.3 mg tablets and patches for transdermal administration (TTS form).
Catapres During Pregnancy and Breastfeeding
No adequate, well-controlled studies have been conducted in pregnant or breastfeeding women; this drug may be used during pregnancy only if clearly needed. Safety and effectiveness in pediatric patients has not been established although some pediatric physicians have used the drug to treat hypertensive children. Sudden cessation of clonidine treatment has, in some patients, can result in symptoms such as nervousness, agitation, headache, and tremor accompanied or followed by a rapid rise in blood pressure and elevated catecholamine concentrations.
Additional Information
Our Catapres (clonidine hydrochloride, USP and TTS) Side Effects Drug Center provides a comprehensive view of available drug information on the potential side effects when taking this medication.
This is not a complete list of side effects and others may occur. Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.
QUESTION
Salt and sodium are the same. See AnswerGet emergency medical help if you have signs of an allergic reaction: hives; difficult breathing; swelling of your face, lips, tongue, or throat.
Call your doctor at once if you have:
- severe chest pain, shortness of breath, irregular heartbeats;
- a very slow heart rate; or
- a light-headed feeling, like you might pass out.
Common side effects may include:
- drowsiness, dizziness;
- feeling tired or irritable;
- dry mouth;
- constipation, loss of appetite; or
- sleep problems (insomnia), nightmares.
This is not a complete list of side effects and others may occur. Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.
SLIDESHOW
How to Lower Blood Pressure: Exercise Tips See SlideshowSIDE EFFECTS
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 100.
The following less frequent adverse experiences have also been reported in patients receiving CATAPRES 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.
Central Nervous System: Agitation, anxiety, delirium, delusional perception, hallucinations (including visual and auditory), insomnia, mental depression, nervousness, other behavioral changes, paresthesia, restlessness, sleep disorder, and vivid dreams or nightmares.
Dermatological: Alopecia, angioneurotic edema, hives, pruritus, rash, and urticaria.
Gastrointestinal: Abdominal pain, anorexia, constipation, hepatitis, malaise, mild transient abnormalities in liver function tests, nausea, parotitis, pseudo-obstruction (including colonic pseudo-obstruction), salivary gland pain, and vomiting.
Genitourinary: Decreased sexual activity, difficulty in micturition, erectile dysfunction, loss of libido, nocturia, and urinary retention.
Hematologic: Thrombocytopenia.
Metabolic: Gynecomastia, transient elevation of blood glucose or serum creatine phosphokinase, and weight gain.
Musculoskeletal: Leg cramps and muscle or joint pain.
Oro-otolaryngeal: Dryness of the nasal mucosa.
Ophthalmological: Accommodation disorder, blurred vision, burning of the eyes, decreased lacrimation, and dryness of eyes.
Read the entire FDA prescribing information for Catapres (Clonidine)
© Catapres Patient Information is supplied by Cerner Multum, Inc. and Catapres Consumer information is supplied by First Databank, Inc., used under license and subject to their respective copyrights.
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