Answers to Everyday Questions : Has anyone used clonidine for stopping smoking and if so was it helpful or not?

Has anyone used clonidine for stopping smoking and if so was it helpful or not?

One Response to “Has anyone used clonidine for stopping smoking and if so was it helpful or not?”

1. VeeBee said :
   February 5th, 2011 at 8:33 pm

   How It Works
   Doctors normally use clonidine to treat high blood pressure. In some people, it reduces the craving for cigarettes. It is not entirely understood how clonidine does this.

   Although clonidine is not normally used as a first-choice medication for smoking cessation, some people find it calms them when they are dealing with tobacco withdrawal symptoms.2

   Why It Is Used
   Doctors prescribe clonidine for people who want to quit smoking but cannot take the first-choice medications (bupropion and nicotine replacement therapy) or have not been able to quit smoking by using those medications.1

   How Well It Works
   People using clonidine were twice as likely to be successful at quitting smoking as people who were not using any medication.1

   Side Effects
   The most common side effects of clonidine include:

   Dry mouth (occurs in 40% of users).
   Drowsiness (33%).
   Dizziness (16%).
   Sleepiness (10%).
   Constipation (10%).
   The clonidine patch may irritate the skin.

   Clonidine lowers blood pressure, so monitor your blood pressure while you are taking this medication. Low blood pressure may occur if you sit or stand up quickly (postural or orthostatic hypotension).

   See Drug Reference for a full list of side effects. (Drug Reference is not available in all systems.)

   What To Think About
   Side effects can limit clonidine’s usefulness for helping people quit smoking. It often has more side effects than bupropion or nicotine replacement therapy.2

   You begin using clonidine 3 to 4 days before your quit date to build up the level of medication in your body. You use the patch for up to 10 weeks.

   You will change the clonidine patch weekly.

   Suddenly stopping the use of clonidine can cause side effects. These effects include nervousness, agitation, headache, confusion, and tremor along with a sudden rise in blood pressure (rebound hypertension). You can avoid this by slowly decreasing clonidine over 2 to 4 days.