For anyone whos on prazosin

[Deleted member 47600]

The UK may operate under an entirely different paradigm, though.

Ahh I only just saw the end bit of this message - it should be roughly the same principle though?

 

[Deleted member 47600]

I wish you well and i want to also share what my pdoc told me...something called nightmare rescripting but it has to be done by a specialist.

OooO I'll mention this to T

 

[EveHarrington]

Since you’re a minor, I recommend staying away from CBD, ESPECIALLY since you are on other psych meds.

 

[shatter eyes]

Since you’re a minor, I recommend staying away from CBD, ESPECIALLY since you are on other psych meds.

Yes. Please avoid cannabis and i am again sorry i did not think about your age.

 

[joeylittle]

@Lilbean123 - I don't know if this will help - but nightmare reduction with any medication only has to do with increased quality of sleep. Whether or not we remember our dreams (good ones or bad ones) is a result of how we transition from sleep into waking. If your overall quality of sleep is better - deeper, more consistent - then your ability to remember your dreams or nightmares will decrease significantly.

Essentially, prazosin works by keeping your heart rate down, which mimics the deeper stages of sleep, and helps ensure that you don't cycle all the way back up to wakefulness earlier than your body is meant to.

I'd strongly suggest you try a combination of better sleep hygiene and some kind of aural cueing before sleep - a guided meditation could work, or binaural music (which some people swear by), or even podcasts on a low volume. That last one is essentially the same as drifting off to Netflix, but it eliminates the blue-light problem that screen use has.

The most annoying but effective thing to help sleep quality (specifically, depth and cycling) is elimination of screen use at least 2 hours before bed, and preferably more. It's a variable that affects everyone differently, so you need to experiment to find your sweet spot - but most studies are geared around the 2-hour concept. You have to commit to giving it about 10-14 days, to see if you're getting any benefits - but it could help a lot.

If you haven't tried melatonin yet, you could use it in conjunction with the eliminated screen use. You want to take it a few hours before bed also. Melatonin all by itself isn't really enough to help with major sleep problems, but it can be the thing that tips the scales when working with other sleep hygiene practices.

A drug you could investigate is Gabapentin. That ended up being my sleep aid; I take a very low dose on nights I'm excessively stressed, and it helps a lot - and is much more effective for me than prazosin (or trazadone, or seroquel - two other go-to drugs for sleep problems in psych patients).

 

[Deleted member 47600]

If your overall quality of sleep is better - deeper, more consistent - then your ability to remember your dreams or nightmares will decrease significantly.

I didn't know this, definately going to bare this in mind

a guided meditation could work, or binaural music (which some people swear by), or even podcasts on a low volume

I'm home for the first night tonight, (so I can have headphones (yay)) I'm gonna try binaural music, me thinks. Mainly because I like the name of it xD
I've also been meaning to listen to podcasts for agess- killing two birds with one stone also sounds like a good idea ((:

elimination of screen use at least 2 hours before bed

Ive heard of this before, but never knew it could have an effect on my dreams - I'll do it now, happily.

Melatonin all by itself isn't really enough to help with major sleep problems

I've tried melatonin in the past, I dont remember being on it but there must have been a reason for the pdoc at the time taking me off it. I've heard most people need a lot more of it then have an affect then what they'll prescribe.

A drug you could investigate is Gabapentin.

I'll look into this.

I don't know if this will help

It did, a lot. Thankyou (:

 

[Alli D87]

stumbled upon this: Prazosin - an overview | ScienceDirect Topics
The first heading talks about ptsd nightmares and sleep

 

[Vox]

Prazosin works wonders for me, but i'm a big fat does of 12 mg. As well as other sleep meds. But I will say it's really nice having that deep black dreamless sleep it causes.