Clonidine...

[KeeperOfTheIceRN]

...used as a sleep aid in a child. This was my first experience with this and I was curious if anyone else has had this run in before???

[ICUtoSchoolNSG]

I used clonidine in the hospital, like you, for HTN, but both my kids take it for anxiety. They tolerate it well, their BPs are solid but I can see why the kid wouldn't want to take his sleeping med in the morning.

[audreysmagic, RN]

Really? In the two hospitals I worked at, we did not have to count clonidine (I do NOT miss Pyxis counts). I find it interesting that different drugs are treated differently depending on where you work. We didn't count clonidine, but I think we had to start counting Flexeril at one hospital.

There was a period of time when my hospital had to count loratadine (yes, Claritin) because the staff kept helping themselves to it. I, too, find it kind of fascinating how different hospitals decide what they're going to count that's not Schedule II-IV.

[Julius Seizure]

Clonidine was treated like at schedule II when I worked at the hospital.

Phenobarb was treated that way where I worked, too.

[KeeperOfTheIceRN, ADN]

We used to give it all the time when I worked in child/adolescant psych. One word of caution - If this is an older kid, and they have depression/SI, this could be a lethal drug if taken as an intentional overdose.

Thanks for that info! This particular student doesn't present with any s/s of depression or SI but I will for sure remember to keep that in mind for the future!

[KeeperOfTheIceRN, ADN]

My patients are significantly below school age, but just throwing it out there that we also use clonidine po q6h for our opiate withdrawal newborns. It helps A LOT with their sleep. And when they sleep better they do everything else better (grow, eat, not freak out from withdrawal).

Another reason why I love the many facets of our profession! This is very interesting to me!! Thanks for the info!!

[MSschoolRN, ASN, BSN, RN]

I give a 10:30am dose of clonidine to one of my middle schoolers. In this case, it's to help with symptoms of Tourette's. Several months ago they d/c'd the 10:30am dose (was prescribed TID) but after two months he asked his doctor to go back to the previous dosing because he was getting frustrated and distracted by the increase in his tics at school.

[Neats, BSN]

In the prison system we use Clonidine at bed time...last med pass as it promotes sleep and reduces anxiety...99% of the inmates are on this medication.