Forgot my sleep meds

[gcj07a]

Hey everyone,

My psychiatrist has me on Prazozin to help me sleep through the night (I often wake up at 2 or 3 in the morning in a rush of adrenaline; sometimes I remember the nightmares). It has worked SUPER well. I sleep through the night now and I am having fewer nightmares. Last night I forgot to take my prazozin and was wide awake at 1:30 unable to return to sleep. I have been sitting bolt upright in a chair in my living room for the past several hours dissociating to YouTube videos trying to relax. This seems worse than before I got on the Prazozin. I will talk about it with my psychiatrist at my next appointment, but wondered for now about other people's experiences (whether with Prazozin or not). 

[Blueberry]

Hi gcj,

Just to say I saw your post and plea. I don't know much about medication, especially not sleep medication but my immediate response (correctly or incorrectly) is: don't sweat it! You forgot, totally human mistake. It's OK. If you're prone to self-criticise, there's no need. (Easier said than done.) Maybe, now that you've had a row of good nights with the meds, a sleepless night from 1:30 on seems worse than it used to?? Just a thought.

I get sitting bolt upright in bed though. Wishing      for the nights to come.

[Chaos rains]

Hi gcj -- it could be a little rebound, or you could be less tolerant of insomnia now you are experiencing good sleep, or a little of both. My husband and I have both experienced such things. It's an unpleasant experience, for sure. But I try to not let myself go to the "I shouldn't be taking this drug!" place because really, it's working. The meds are working. I always overthink these things. But yeah, you're not alone with this experience.

[gcj07a]

Thanks! I hopped back on the next night and all was fine.

[DD]

I'm so happy to hear that. 

I used sleep meds every night for some time while getting help through therapy etc. Now I am in a situation where mostly melatonin or just tiredness is enough. But still if something happens that triggers me, sleep is the first to go. And then I still use meds to get sleep.

Sleep is vital to staying safe, to having ability to manage c-PTSD symptoms. I'm so glad you have something that helps.

[blue_sky]

I am on prazosin as well and it has been quite helpful in reducing (almost eliminating) my nightmares and it helps me sleep well too. But forgetting one night doesn't necessarily hamper it too much for me, although it might depend on the dosage too(?)

I think talking to the psychiatrist about the meds would be the best option if the problem persists.

But good to hear your sleep pattern is back to normal now