Prazosin for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder User Reviews (Page 3)

• Jun...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• September 24, 2019

"Suffered years of PTSD post-defense and then paramedic career, tried to manage medication-free - poorly. Problems getting to sleep and staying asleep would wake regularly in a distressed state that would wake my wife and kids. Commenced on a 1 mg dose and also mirtazapine 15 mg, after a few months of adjusting, I am now on 2 mg nightly and 30 mg mirtazapine. On taking, I am asleep within 30 mins and am sleeping through for 6 hours. Can’t remember when I last slept like this. Wake a little wonky but no thrashing, kicking, talking, or shouting in my sleep, the wife tells me. So it’s working for me when others didn’t."

• Mou...
• April 4, 2016

"PTSD trauma nightmares & BPH. As dosage was slowly increased from 1 mg to 4 mg before bedtime, I went from 3-5 nightmares per night (triggering panic attacks that made it impossible to go back to sleep) to none. I now have weird dreams. I can deal with weird. Upped to 5 mg to help with BPH. It worked for me."

• Mis...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• May 3, 2013

"I have had horrible, gory nightmares for years and years. With the first dose of prazosin 2 mg, they are gone. I know I have been dreaming but don't remember the content. Lately, the dreams are back, so I increased to 4 mg, but I have total urinary incontinence in the morning, so I will have to go back to 2 mg. This is a miracle for me."

• Ste...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• February 3, 2020

"I'm finding that Minipress 2 mg at bedtime helps me get a better night's sleep and reduces my nightmares and anxiety in my dreams. I'm considering requesting a higher dose and possibly getting a better result. But, I can say that the 2 mg OPD has made a measurable improvement/reduction in my PTSD/nightmares."

• Wil...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• June 4, 2019

"Took prazosin for PTSD, 1 mg. First night, I actually had a restful sleep, ZERO dreams, super strange. But I woke up not knowing what day it was. Anxiety kicked in pretty hard, and my heart has been beating like a drum. Not the most comfortable feeling, as I have had issues with my heart racing in the past, which required surgery. I suffer from GAD, panic disorder, illness anxiety, PTSD, OCPD, mild depression, and some physical illnesses. So, I am hoping these feelings pass. I'd like to continue sleeping comfortably and wake up knowing what day it is. Hahaha. Will update once I've been on this longer. Take good care, everyone!"

• epi...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• December 8, 2015

"Yikes! I took this medication for PTSD nightmares. It increased my pulse rate from 80 to 116. I had to stop taking it after a week of using it. It did not work well for me at all, and I was still having nightmares."

• the...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• September 20, 2017

"I take prazosin for PTSD-induced nightmares. It works for me. Everyone is different, but this medication has prevented nightmares and waking up in a panic for me. I have not had any side effects whatsoever."

• PTS...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• December 13, 2014

"I started taking this medication and was finally able to sleep. Prazosin has little side effects and makes a huge difference with my nightmares and sleep disturbances. I find the nasal congestion difficult to manage. I started taking nasal decongestant spray against doctors' recommendations (due to the risk of dependence), but it is the only thing that has helped me."

• Kit...
• September 24, 2016

"After being diagnosed with PTSD, I was put on prazosin to help with horrible nightmares. I take a cocktail of other drugs which help with anxiety, hyper-alertness, and other symptoms. Even though I'm taking all this stuff, I still have trouble sleeping and many times wake up punching, kicking, and fighting. Prazosin has taken the edge off, though I still have really bizarre dreams. Plus, I recall everything. No side effects."

• V2V...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• April 3, 2018

"I've been prescribed (thankfully) a pretty low dose. It gives me migraines and a stuffy nose. My suspicions were correct: I'm within that 1-10% of people who are affected by this sinus blockage problem every time I take this pill. Of course, this is counterintuitive to my sleeping issues since not being able to breathe wakes me up from sleep."

• pts...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 28, 2016

"Went on this because I was looking for something non-habit forming to replace Ativan to help with my bad anxiety and flashbacks/nightmares at night. Sadly, it did absolutely nothing to reduce the severity of any of my symptoms and also messed with my blood pressure, which made me dizzy and almost pass out when I'd wake up. :( I was taken off of it pretty quickly because of what it did to my blood pressure."

• Cin...
• November 26, 2017

"I have had PTSD since childhood. I have had so many different remedies and prescriptions. None of them have ever stopped the screaming and fighting completely. This has done the most, instead of every night, now it’s just once in a while. I agree with others: alcohol will only make your PTSD worse. Exercise is well helping with this pill. Don’t take if you need to get up in a few hours...."

• So...
• December 23, 2015

"I've had ongoing PTSD for the past 15 years, including nightmares almost every night. My neurologist finally started me on prazosin to see if it would help me get any sleep. I had to go up to 4 mg to make the nightmares stop. I tried to go back down to 3 mg but had nightmares, so went back to 4 mg. After 2 months at 4 mg, I'm back to not sleeping well and having nightmares 4-5 nights a week. I'm concerned that I will continue to build up a tolerance and it will become less effective. I did have one incident where I got up in the middle of the night and passed out, remaining unconscious for over 40 minutes. I have to really watch out for low blood pressure when taking any BP-altering meds like this. A salty snack before bed seems to help."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• August 26, 2012

"I used to have terrifying, gory nightmares. Now I sleep through the night with very few times having to deal with horrible dreams. It does make me pretty dizzy, though, which in the middle of the day at work does not help."

• Lis...
• July 26, 2016

"It really did help with my nightmares. (And lowered my blood pressure haha). I used to have nightmares almost every night, and I have only had three in the seven months I've been on it. My boyfriend thinks this is the best medicine ever created because now we can sleep peacefully. Didn't really help me fall asleep, but didn't keep me awake either. And when I slept, I would sleep through the night with no nightmares. Just really weird dreams."

• tri...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• April 9, 2020

"I was on Prazosin a couple of years ago, and it works great at low doses, but when the doctor upped the dose to 50 mg, I had a strange experience that landed me in the hospital. Felt like I was asleep in dreamland and dialed 911, not knowing what was happening, and then when the police car showed up, he left the driver's door open, and I sat in the front seat of the cruiser as I did on the job many times before, but this time was not a dream. I was dreaming, but I was actually doing what I was dreaming in real life. I didn't realize this until about 3 a.m. in the morning when I woke up handcuffed to a stretcher in my local ED. Prazosin works great for PTSD flashbacks at low doses but careful when they try and bump the dose up."

• jay...
• July 17, 2013

"I have been on the prazosin for 4 weeks. I started on 1 mg, and after the first week, I went to 2 mg. I'm still having nightmares, and I'm exhausted during the day. I've also gained 9 lbs since starting it. I'm very frustrated. I haven't had any other side effects, like dizziness."

• 4Go...
• March 11, 2021

"I’ve had PTSD since 9/11. I’d wake several times a night in a jump scare state, or as soon as I’d begin to relax, my mind would wander back to that day and my heart would be racing. It was hard trying some sleep tablets, Valium, even Ambien, which puts everyone to sleep! Years of night terrors went on until I couldn’t even work anymore. My psychiatrist suggested Minipress, it was a wonder drug! In hindsight, I now feel the name brand Minipress was a bit too heavy for me in the daytime, or maybe I should’ve taken a lower dosage. But when my pharmacy told me that TEVA began manufacturing a generic under the name prazosin, it's amazing, it’s changed my life. I’m still able to think and function without feeling weak and sad. I can sleep at night, and I had even begun having pleasant dreams. Only now, my insurance won’t cover it, and I’ve been forced to get the Mylan brand. The headaches and weight gain, nausea, and dizziness are so bad that after 3 months, I just started paying out of pocket."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• September 5, 2021

"I was prescribed prazosin for PTSD-induced anxiety, insomnia, and nightmares (daily dose: 4 mg). It completely took care of my symptoms. But I developed cardiac symptoms (dangerously low heart rate and irregular heartbeat) that remained after I stopped prazosin and that are still an issue that requires medical supervision years later. Also, when I discontinued prazosin (using the recommended gradual protocol), I experienced horrible withdrawal symptoms (sky-high anxiety, severe daily panic attacks, intense insomnia, and nightmare rebound) that lasted for three weeks. Because of my heart symptoms, it was not safe to use alternate medications to ease my symptoms during that period. I went through hell. Bottom line: using prazosin to treat PTSD is a new trend (it's conventionally used to treat high blood pressure), and it has risks for people with healthy hearts, which are still mostly unknown. As I learned at my cost, anxiety is awful, but those risks are not worth it."

• Hea...
• August 14, 2016

"I've been on prazosin since the beginning of March 2016. I have CPTSD, anxiety, depression, ADHD, insomnia, and a number of physical problems (such as nerve damage, etc.). Anyhow, this prazosin worked great for the first 2 months, I'd say. I started at 1 mg at night, I'm now up to 4 mg at night, and it does nothing! Absolutely nothing that I can tell! I had a nice little PTSD flashback two days while driving, and last night it was nightmare after nightmare! My doctor only seems to want to up my dosage instead of trying other things, too! I don't like it anymore, though, and don't find it very useful. I have absolutely no side effects from it, other than it doesn't work."

• Dmh...
• October 10, 2015

"I was diagnosed with PTSD and anxiety five years ago, been on many meds for it, trying to find one that works for me better than Valium because of its addictive behavior. This prazosin didn't work at all, I got severe headaches, dizziness, nausea, and still couldn't sleep."

• Luk...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• November 20, 2023

"I have PTSD from law enforcement, retired now. Like most LEOs, I've seen & experienced unspeakable horrors. Prazosin helped me with the nightmares. I could sleep without waking in a panic. Sadly, they have stopped working, but I'm only on a 2 mg dose, so I think that's the problem. I love not being terrorized by dreams. This has been a good drug. If you suffer from PTSD, it can really help. Just be careful with your blood pressure, mine is naturally low, so I have to keep track because this can lower it."

• My ...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• June 19, 2019

"This is the first medication in several years that I’ve actually taken. At this point, I figure there’s really not much to lose. Started last week on 1 mg. This week I am bumping up to 2 mg. Last week, almost instantly, my dreams changed. I’m still dreaming. It seems I can remember more details once I awake. But the way I wake up... AMAZING. Last week I didn’t awake once in a murderous rage ready to fight. I also haven’t woken in pain. Which I’m not sure if it’s the meds or just coincidence. This week, however, after bumping up to 2 mg, I can’t wake up! And I’m not staying asleep. Holy crap, it’s either stay up until 0330 or fall asleep before 2200 and open my eyes, seemingly every 20 minutes. I do hope this passes. Good thing I have nowhere to be during the day."

• Mis...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• November 17, 2024

"So, I’ve always known that I have PTSD due to severe childhood trauma. Physical, verbal, mental, and sexual abuse that went on for a long time. But I was only recently (2 years ago) diagnosed with it, officially. I had no idea at the time that there were medications that could help nightmares. And I have chronic nightmares that always follow the theme of me being helpless. My primary brought up prazosin and that it has shown great efficacy at preventing PTSD-related nightmares, so I started taking it. I honestly can’t put into words how amazing it is to not have nightmares anymore. I went from having them almost every night to almost never having them. And when I do, they’re just kind of silly ones. Like dreaming that I overslept for something important, etc. It’s been life-changing, and my sleep is so much more restful now."

• JJa...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• October 5, 2020

"Prazosin is a great medication for PTSD. I take it once or twice a week, and it helps me process PTSD flashbacks/thoughts/feelings much more easily. They still occur for me, but I'm able to work through them in a more manageable way. Works great in conjunction with talk therapy. I take it an hour before starting therapy sessions."