Prazosin and Increased Heart Rate: What Users Say

• Lit...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• January 15, 2018

For Anxiety and Stress "Vivid nightmares-I awaken soaked through my clothes even though the house is less than 68 degrees. My heart races, and the dreams have shaken me to flight. Now on Prazosin, 2 mg, I sleep through most nights. Sometimes I wake and have had a dream, but it only woke me; it didn't send me into a panic. Losing a father to Vietnam and all the childhood issues of being with a widowed mother-trying to raise five children on her own has come to haunt me in my dreams. The Prazosin has given me my sleep back."

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

For Post Traumatic Stress Disorder "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

For Post Traumatic Stress Disorder "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."

• Sex...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 30, 2015

For High Blood Pressure "Ugh, I took this med, and it made my heart race so fast. My pulse rate went up to 116. This medication might work for some people who have PTSD, but it definitely is no good for blood pressure, unfortunately."

• meo...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• November 12, 2022

For Anxiety and Stress "The first dose made me feel pins and needles all over, heart pounding, lightheaded mess, etc. I started taking it because I was only sleeping a few hours a night on and off, nightmares, etc., and I was tired all the time. It helped, and if I forget to take it now, I get severe anxiety and can’t sleep."

• R J...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• September 24, 2022

For Post Traumatic Stress Disorder "Excitedly reading positive reviews, I felt sure prazosin was just the thing for my chronic PTSD - nightmares making me dread sleep, anxiety, depression, paranoia - and it would improve my BPH and hypertension! “Silver bullet” (as someone wrote) for ailments ruining my life! But I was badly mistaken - for me, more a “wrecking ball”! Took 1 mg prazosin before bed for a week, and every time, an hour or so after dozing off, I'd wake up gasping for breath, hot prickling all over my body, loud tinnitus, heart pounding out of my chest, with nausea and blurred vision. Blood pressure would then be around 160/100, HR 75 (before prazosin, only about 135/85, HR 55). Couldn’t go back to sleep until I took lots of acetaminophen, amlodipine, and Xanax (really trying to taper off, but prazosin ruined it). I'd get up in the morning with bad swelling in calves and ankles (much worse than usual, only amlodipine). Truly happy for people for whom prazosin is a great help, but it’s definitely not for some of us!"

• joe...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• April 29, 2022

For Post Traumatic Stress Disorder "The first time I took this med, I experienced very odd dreams, which woke me up questioning, what the heck is this all about? Also, I woke up several times during the night with a crazy rapid heartbeat. No way I will ever take this med again."

• Anonymous
• December 2, 2022

For Nightmares "I have been taking prazosin for two months now. I’ve taken it in the past, over a year ago, and I will warn you, I could not use this while being on birth control! When I was on birth control, I tried this to relieve my nightmares at that time. It gave me adverse effects, and my nightmares were so vivid, I was scared to fall asleep some nights. But a year later, I was waking up 3-5 times a night from bad dreams or just in general, for months on end. I decided to try prazosin without being on birth control, and what a difference! I now barely have dreams that I can recall, and I take 2 mg. It is a drug you have to keep taking because I missed two days one time, and my old nightmares/waking up 4 times a night came back. The only side effect I noticed, sometimes, is my heart rate is a tad bit faster. So I always try to take it as soon as I’m going to bed."

• ssr...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• July 9, 2022

For Post Traumatic Stress Disorder "It helps. I’m on 2 mg, and it helps me not remember the dreams in the morning, so I’m not stuck thinking the dream was real and in psychosis in the morning. It makes me less scared while I sleep and helps reduce the nightmares. I still have them, but not terrible, and I have more regular dreams now. But it makes me horrifically tired in the morning. I take a lot of naps. It’s hard to wake up. I shake a lot, and my heart beats faster, it feels. Worth it for the nightmare relief compared to when I forget to take it."

• Svt...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• May 20, 2022

For Post Traumatic Stress Disorder "Makes my heart race, which feels terrible, as I already have a racing heart. Kept me up all night, even on the lowest dose."