Prazosin for nightmares

A nightmare is also labelled as bad dreams. Some bad dreams can also create a feeling of panic or restlessness in you. It is a common thing to wake up in a stressful condition; you may need a few hours to come back to a normal frame of mind. If you are witnessing frequent episodes of nightmares, you are advised to see a doctor. Your doctor is likely to administer meds like prazosin for nightmares. How long does it take for prazosin to work for nightmares? It helps to have more details.

Bad dreams or nightmares are essentially unpleasant thoughts capable of triggering a strong feeling. Often times, you may feel a sense of fear, disgust, anxiety or an emotional pain. Getting nightmares more often during nights can leave your sleepless. These can change your sleep-patterns and may also lead to disorders like insomnia or sleep apnea.

Nightmares can also occur due to physical reasons like living with anxieties, not sleeping in a proper position. Your metabolism or body temperature – prior to going to bed – can also possibly trigger nightmares. Children are more likely to get nightmares more often than adults. Repeated episodes of nightmares may need medical assistance. There are indeed drugs available to treat such disorders.

What is prazosin?

This med is an alpha-1 blocking drug. It is used for treating spells of hypertension i.e., high level of blood pressure, nightmares as well as post-trauma-linked stress-related disorders. Your doctor may prescribe prazosin if you are experiencing trauma-linked nightmares more frequently, disturbed sleeping patterns, etc.

Being an alpha-1 blocker, this med promotes a drop in blood pressure level. It further makes you dizzy and sleepy. This is one of the reasons for its use as an anti-nightmare med. Active chemicals of prazosin prevent activities of alpha-1 receptor-agents. This action prevents the narrowing of your blood vessels.

Once your arteries and veins are enlarged, an added amount of blood passes through your system. This causes a calming effect and thus allays your fears / anxieties nightmares cause.

Prazosin dose for nightmares

The typical dose of prazosin is between 2 to 10 milligrams (mg) on a daily basis. The starting dose in usually maintained at a lesser strength, of say – 1 mg. Your treating team observes if these dosages are triggering any adverse outcomes.

Prazosin – like other alpha-1 blockers – may cause a few adverse effects. These include migraines, turning weak and tired, palpitations accompanied by sweating, becoming drowsy, etc. These effects can occur in some 9% of users. But these may go away once your system gets used to the drug’s active components.

Once of the serious side effects of prazosin is a marked drop in blood pressure – especially, hypotension of the orthostatic genre. This occurs when you are shifting postures or positions. A drop in pressure shows up when you change from a sitting to a lying posture. It may occur when you are moving from a lying position to a standing posture.

How long does it take for prazosin to work for nightmares?

The maximum dosage strength of prazosin for treating nightmare is 10 mg. In a few remote instances – wherein patients did not respond well to this maximum dosage – strength was increased to 2 mg more. The effects of prazosin start showing up within a week’s time into the dosage plan. As the essential chemicals of prazosin are readily absorbed to your system, it takes less than 2 hours for this drug to start working.

Oral dose attains a peak in less than 3 hours’ time. Depending on the severity of nightmares, the dosage frequency and duration of dosage plan are changed. Half-life period of prazosin is about 2.5 hours, and the effects of each dose may last for 12 – 14 hours. In order to know more about prazosin for nightmares, consult with your caregiver before you start taking this drug.

Disclaimer

Information provided here are only of supplementary nature. Information shared here does not substitute a qualified doctor’s advice. This website is not suggesting intake of this drug as safe or appropriate. Hence it is advised to talk to your doctor before consuming this med or any other drug.