Patient/caregiver was educated on precautions to be exercised while taking Catapres as follows:
- Try changing the positions very slowly while using Catapres, as sudden change of positions can deteriorate the hypotensive episodes, make the dizziness even worse and precipitate accidents and falls.
- Catapres can induce some nausea and vomiting, when taken on empty stomach. Taking the medication with a glass of water and some food or snack can help avoid these unpleasant gastrointestinal symptoms.
- Avoid using Catapres along with any other medications that can cause slowdown of heart rate, such as, beta-blockers and calcium channel blockers. Using them together can result in extreme slowdown of heart rate and can present an emergency.
- Take a blood pressure and heart rate reading always before you take the pill. Maintain a log of every day blood pressure and heart rate readings, for an easy follow-up of the response to the medication intake. If the blood pressure and/or heart rate are too low, you can defer taking the medication for that dose. Notify your doctor regarding the same. Notify your doctor, if more of such occurrences are happening, so that, your medication dose could be revised.
