prazosin for nightmares

[erika]

I wanted to post a quick blurb here to mention that my psychiatrist put me on prazosin for PTSD-nightmares.

I went from waking up every [attempt at sleep] after sleeping for less than two hours to being able to get my normal 9-12 hours again. I highly encourage checking it out and considering bringing this up with your doctor if nightmares are a problem for you, especially ones related to PTSD.

I haven't had any problems with hangovers, which I think can be attributed to the fact that prazosin has a very short halflife. It does kick in REALLY QUICKLY so my psychiatrist recommended taking the first dose while already literally in bed, but it's been such a relief!

Comments

[dylan_cherry]

Thanks for the heads up. I am tapering off some of my meds and am having a hard time sleeping. Mostly anxiety related. I'll bring this up to my doctor as a possible help.

[erika]

It's definitely helped my sleep related anxiety as well. Prazosin (I may be wrong, I'm not a medical professional!) blocks the alpha receptors that create the adrenaline surge that my psychiatrist says are so common in anxiety related insomnia or PTSD nightmares. You could still, in case of real emergency, be able to override that*, but in general it's relaxing and calming.

*For instance, I took my meds before I went to sleep and less than 6 hours later my dog was whining to go outside. I woke up with no problems, put him outside, etc. I'm sure if it had been a MAJOR emergency, the massive amounts of adrenaline would've overriden that, if that makes sense, considering that a dog needing to go outside is only a minor emergency really. :)

[dylan_cherry]

That sounds great. I have a 5yo, so there are times that I NEED to be awake in the middle of the night and not be totally fuzzy. I will definitely look into it.

[erika]

It hasn't made me fuzzy at all, but it definitely is pretty calming, so if you anticipate major medical needs that are the type of "maybe go to the ER tonight or not?", this might not be the best thing. I don't know that I'd feel comfortable driving while still affected unless the roads were pretty damn clear. On the other hand, if it's not like that and more normal family stuff, I can't imagine this would be harmful at all.

It's certainly nothing like the z-meds (ambien, etc) that seem to zonk you out. This wears off pretty quickly and I don't have any sleep hangover.

[dylan_cherry]

I don't drive, so that isn't a problem. I really need something calming right now. Coming off Cymbalta is rough.