Drugs That Make Nightmares Go Away

[Ashli]

A friend of a friend told me that she was on meds to make her nightmares go away. I've never heard of this before! My Dr has not brought it up even once! Does anybody know what medications do this? Has anybody tried these before? What did it do to you? Thanks!

 

[tphillips117]

There are 2. One is called prozasin and the other propranolol. They are both blood pressure meds that are used off label for PTSD nightmares. I have tried them both and they didn't do a thing for me--all different dosages and no effect. But they may work for you. Worth asking about.

 

[Ashli]

Thank you for replying! Your feedback is much appreciated! :)
I'll have to make a Dr's appointment and ask about them. I'm just happy I have something to try now! I get depressed when I run out of things to try. So thank you!

 

[Cannottakethis]

I've been taking prazosin for a few years. It really helps with my nightmares. When I don't take it they are back full force so I know it's working.

 

[Panda Bear]

I also take prazosin, and it works well for me too.

 

[Ashli]

I've been taking prazosin for a few years. It really helps with my nightmares. When I don't take it they...

Does it take away regular dreams too? Or just the nightmares?

 

[Cannottakethis]

Does it take away regular dreams too? Or just the nightmares?

I don't usually recall having any dreams, although according to my husband I talk in my sleep a lot.

 

[barefoot]

Sorry to hijack the thread but does anyone know whether these two drugs can help with stopping night terrors? Or is it only nightmares?

 

[Panda Bear]

The lower I went down on my dose, the more I would have 'normal dreams'. I was at 6mg and now I'm down to 2mg. At the higher dose, I wasn't have any dreams at all.

I still have a nightmare every so often. But not nightly like I used too.

@barefoot. It's with a try, at least in my opinion.

 

[Friday]

@barefoot... Since my understanding is that the only difference between the two is whether one is awake or asleep (you wake up from nightmares & can recall them; cannot be awoken from night terrors & usually possess no memory of it upon awakening) I would posit that as a general rule of thumb that IF it works for you, it would probably work for both. By removing the dream, it wouldn't matter if a person awoke after terrified, or couldn't be awoken during and woke up feeling fine. If it doesn't happen to begin with? Neither eventuality would follow.

Real world application, though, I'd lay money that some people it works on both, some on one but not the other, and some it works on neither.

If I'm remembering rightly, though, your nightmares/night terrors both trigger panic attacks? So you bolt awake in flight mode (sometimes halfway across the house before coming truly awake)? Seems like if it worked on either, even if not both, it would at the very least reduce the number of panic attacks. AKA if not contraindicicated due to cardiac or BP problems, or other medication interactions, that it would be worth a shot.

 

[Psychomamatisme]

I take Seroquel for my dreams. Takes almost all good and bad dreams. Seroquel is normally prescribed for seizures which I do not have. My psyche got the idea from my numerologist on a way to treat migraines. Hope you find something to soothe your night

 

[joeylittle]

Prazosin doesn't eliminate nightmares or dreams; it affects your sleep cycle so that you don't remember your dreams/nightmares.

This is how all drugs (including cannabis) work, for managing nightmares and the stress and sleep disruption that accompany them.

Night terrors are different - but I'd need to go do some reading to see if there are any indicators on whether a drug like prazosin would help them. Off the top of my head, I'm really not sure: it's possible the night terrors would become harder to manage.