Posted by SLS on February 16, 2012, at 15:37:17
In reply to Re: parnate agitation » SLS, posted by sigismund on February 16, 2012, at 12:20:22
> >If you intend to try prazosin, let me know and I will pass along a few observations.
>
> I'm thinking of trying it. Pass them along anyway.
>
> (I don't sleep well enough for much in the way of dreams or nightmares. Trimipramine gave me dreams but I felt so zapped on awakening.)How many consecutive nights did you try taking trimipramine? How much did you take?
With prazosin, one should start at taking 1 mg three times a day. Prazosin has a short half-life, so the divided dosing is necessary. I suppose twice-a-day dosing would work, too. For me 6 mg/day (2 mg t.i.d.) is working very well. One can go as high as 40 mg/day, so there is quite a bit of room to work with.
Prazosin may cause the following side effects:
Dizziness
Orthostatic hypotension
Headache
Giddiness
Sleep disturbances
Muscle & joint pains
Fatigue
Weakness
Somnolence
Diarrhea
Nausea
Weight gain
Decrease in sexual interest
Tingling and numbness in both the limbs
Increased urination
Nasal congestionMany of these are really startup side effects that tend to disappear. Dizziness is to be expected, of course, as prazosin has been used to treat hypertension. For me, postural hypotension has persisted, perhaps because I am taking Parnate.
Early in treatment, fatigue, weakness, tiredness, somnolence, reduced libido, and amotivation appeared in me. I was actually fooled into thinking that prazosin was making my depression worse at the higher dosage, so I reduced it. Well, reducing the dosage allowed these effects to dissipate, but I also lost the improvement in mood that I had been experiencing. Of course, I then returned to the higher dosage. Within a week, all of these side effects disappeared with the notable exception of decreased libido. I remain clear-headed. There is no evidence of "brain-fog" or a mood-flattening effect. I am no longer fatigued and sleepy. My libido has increased somewhat over the past two weeks, but I don't know how to interpret this. This increase might be the result of my depression remitting rather than a dissipation of a side effect.
When taking prazosin, one should expect dizziness, fatigue, weakness, tiredness, sleepiness, and even a decrease in motivation to appear as side effects, and are not to be confused for a worsening of depression. These things are likely to disappear within two weeks.
From RxList:
"Clinical trials were conducted on more than 900 patients. During these trials and subsequent marketing experience, the most frequent reactions associated with MINIPRESS (prazosin hcl) therapy are: dizziness 10.3%, headache 7.8%, drowsiness 7.6%, lack of energy 6.9%, weakness 6.5%, palpitations 5.3%, and nausea 4.9%. In most instances, side effects have disappeared with continued therapy or have been tolerated with no decrease in dose of drug."
- Scott
Some see things as they are and ask why.
I dream of things that never were and ask why not.- George Bernard Shaw
poster:SLS
thread:1009862
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20120212/msgs/1010464.html