DOSAGE AND ADMINISTRATION The recommended dose of midodrine hydrochloride tablets is 10 mg, 3 times daily. Dosing should take place during the daytime hours when the patient needs to be upright, pursuing the activities of daily living. A suggested dosing schedule of approximately 4-hour intervals is as follows: shortly before, or upon arising in the morning, midday and late afternoon (not later than 6 P.M.). Doses may be given in 3-hour intervals, if required, to control symptoms, but not more frequently. Single doses as high as 20 mg have been given to patients, but severe and persistent systolic supine hypertension occurs at a high rate (about 45%) at this dose. In order to reduce the potential for supine hypertension during sleep, midodrine hydrochloride tablets should not be given after the evening meal or less than 4 hours before bedtime. Total daily doses greater than 30 mg have been tolerated by some patients, but their safety and usefulness have not been studied systematically or established. Because of the risk of supine hypertension, midodrine hydrochloride tablets should be continued only in patients who appear to attain symptomatic improvement during initial treatment. The supine and standing blood pressure should be monitored regularly, and the administration of midodrine hydrochloride tablets should be stopped if supine blood pressure increases excessively. Because desglymidodrine is excreted renally, dosing in patients with abnormal renal function should be cautious; although this has not been systematically studied, it is recommended that treatment of these patients be initiated using 2.5 mg doses. Dosing in children has not been adequately studied. Blood levels of midodrine and desglymidodrine were similar when comparing levels in patients 65 or older vs. younger than 65 and when comparing males vs. females, suggesting dose modifications for these groups are not necessary.