How To Taper Clonidine And Move To Amlodipine

What is the best way to taper Clonidine and move to my doctors preferred high Blood Pressure medicine, Amlodipine (5MG 1 pill once a day)? I have been on Clonidine (0.1 MG 1 pill twice a day) for 6 days.

Should I taper? How should I taper. Pharmacist thought I could drop Clonidine immediately and move to Amlodipine since I have been on Clonidine for only 6 days. I think my DR said to take one Clonidine and then later in the day one Amlodipine (or vice versa). For how many days I do not know. I will call the office in the morning for more instructions.

I worry because I do not know if it was the Amlodipine that made my blood pressure spike so high and I do not want the same thing to happen when I drop Clonidine for Amlodipine

Worrisome. I have purchased my own blood pressure machine.

What do you think?

Here is the full story:

My blood pressure was 150 so my Dr started me on Amlodipine and asked me to monitor my blood pressure. 4 or 5 days later I dropped by the local pharmacy that has a Blood Pressure machine to check my BP and the readings were 195/125 with a pulse rate of 93! I was shocked. I was not having a stressful day. I retuned home from work after a few hours and checked my BP again with a different machine at a different Pharmacy. Similar readings. I went to the ER where they checked my BP again and got the same high readings.

I was admitted to the ER and was given 2 Clonidine pills to quickly lower my BP. My Blood pressure went down to 116 and they released me with a small prescription of Clonidine. I have taken Clonidine (0.1 MG 1 pill twice a day) for 6 days.

At my follow-up visit to my DR she wants me to get off of Clonidine and move back to Amlodipine (5MG 1 pill once a day).

My question what is the best way to taper so I do not have a spike in blood pressure?

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Hello, Sue! How are you?

After only 6 days, you likely don't have to taper it, you should be able to just cleanly switch from one to the other.

The spikes usually occur, when you abruptly stop such a medication, without being on others or switching to a different one, unless your doctor tells you otherwise, if you're unsure, don't be afraid to call her and double check. When I first started taking blood pressure and cardiac medications, I had to switch quite a few times, due to the fact that I am very sensitive to side effects and my cardiologist just always had me do a clean switch.

The FDA lists the typical side effects of Amlodipine as possibly including nausea, dizziness, headache, increased urination and hypotension.

As to the elevation you experienced, sometimes there doesn't have to be any stressing factors, it just happens, some of us develop high blood pressure. It may be genetic, due to other medical conditions, or idiopathic. Mine soared so high that I developed severe edema and experienced congestive heart failure at only 38 years old.

Have you started the Amlodipine, yet?

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Read your post, and I want to relate to you what had happened to me. I had bad spiking blood pressure, and it was caused by my adrenal glands. If I listened to all 3 cardiologists I would have either stents or bypass. Found alternative doctor that found adrenal hyperplasia. Had a hard time finding a med that would control BP. After trying about 10 different meds, t used Amlodipine , and to make a long story short was on it for 6 months and it made me horribly depressed. It was almost a year for me to get to feeling better. I am on a clondine patch .01, and monitor myBP. I would rather be on clonidine any day than some of those BP drugs that fog your mind, etc. Just learn what your own body can tolerate and try to get on the less chemicals you can. Be careful. There are side effects from every RX out there and some of them are devestating. Do research on anything your DR. prescribes, the pharmaceutical companies in the US are terrible, and are killing a lot of people.

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