Hypertension and the Effects of Catapres Overdose

I've been diagnosed as hypertensive and I'm taking my regular medicine. My normal blood pressure is 110/70 to 120/80. I need to maintain normal blood pressure to lessen the risk of having serious attacks such as Stroke or TIAs (Transcient Ischemic Attack). Just recently, while I was in the office, my head felt very heavy and my body started to feel weak and heavy as well. I was certain that I was having high blood pressure and I went straight to the office clinic. Sure enough, my blood pressure was 160/120. They let me rest for about 30 minutes and my blood pressure remained at 160/120. It was then that I was given a 75 mcg tablet of Catapres (Clonidine) which is taken orally and I was instructed to keep it sub-lingual (keep the tablet under my tongue).

Catapres is known to control hypertension. It doesn't necessarily cure the condition. It lowers the blood pressure gradually. For some people who are hypertensive, Catapres is taken depending on the condition of the person and the doctor's instruction. Some need to takes it daily and some, just like me, only takes it as needed. I do have one on hand though, just in case I suffer from hypertension on the road.

Going back to what happened, after 40 minutes or so from the first tablet, my blood pressure was at 150/110. The company doctor instructed me to take another 75 mcg of Catapres since it's not going down fast enough. They let me rest for another 45 minutes to an hour. I started to feel very tired from dealing with the high blood pressure. I even thought that there might be something wrong with the sphygmomanometer (the one they use to check blood pressure) but I was proven wrong as some of my officemates had normal blood pressure and a few of them even had low blood pressure. After resting, my blood pressure remained nearly the same at 140/120. The doctor suddenly asked the nurse to prepare an injection to lower my blood pressure. I was stunned at that moment and didn't know if it's necessary or not.

Then, the doctor discounted the use of the injection (I didn't understand the name of the injection) and instructed me to take another Catapres and this time, at 150 mcg dosage. Sure enough, after about an hour or so, my blood pressure went down to 120/90 and the doctor asked me to go home, get some rest, and visit my family physician who is a Cardiologist. I went home since my blood pressure was stable enough for me to travel. It takes an average of 20-30 minutes of travel time between my house and the office using public transportation.

As soon as I got home, I told my mom what happened and I immediately slept. When I woke up hours after, I felt strange. I felt light-headed and I felt really weak but calm. I checked my blood pressure and it was 100/70. A bit low but still ok. After around an hour or two, I got worried since my blood pressure dropped to 95/60. My weakness got worse and I noticed that I am not walking normally and I can't lift slightly heavy objects. In the late afternoon, my blood pressure plummeted down to 80/45. I sent a text message to my Cardiologist and told me to lie down with both my legs up. It did the trick and blood pressure went up to 110/70 after around 2-3 hours.

I went to my Cardiologist the next day and he told me that I should have been given the extra dosage of Catapres. The blood pressure already went down by a bit after the 1st dosage and it was supposed to be gradual. I had an overdose of Catapres and if the injection was given to me, I would have been in the emergency room or God forbid, in a coma. That day, my blood pressure remained at 90/60 and I was even tired at that time from walking under the searing heat of the sun (it was 12:30 PM). I had to rest for another 3 days as I felt very weak and merely walking around made me pant. When I got back in the office, I immediately told my supervisor what happened and that I will inform our employee relations department about what happened. I am thankful though that I'm ok now. I won't complain that much but I want to least give human resources a heads up on what happened and what could have happened. I told the same doctor in the clinic that my blood pressure went almost dangerously down. The only comment I got was, "There's a slight delay in my reaction to Catapres". To me, that comment was misplaced since my blood pressure went down that day and I even got to go home by myself. My Cardiologist told me that a single dose would work and the effect takes time especially if the blood pressure is really high.

We just have to be always careful of what medicines we take. If you are not familiar with the medication your doctor is giving you, take note of it and remember the dosage. It won't hurt to get a second opinion especially if there are uncomfortable side effects. The reaction to the medication may differ from person to person as well. Take care and stay healthy everyone.