Prazosin is a medication used to treat hypertension (high blood pressure). It belongs to a class of medications called alpha-blockers, and it relaxes your blood vessels, subsequently promoting blood flow. Drugs.com says that prazosin can also relax the muscles of your bladder and prostate to allow better urinary flow. Prazosin's starting dose is 1mg, two to three times daily. Prazosin can cause a number of side effects.
Common Side Effects
In a clinical trial of 900 patients receiving prazosin, the National Library of Medicine found that 10.3 percent of patients had dizziness, 7.8 percent developed a headache, 7.6 percent experienced drowsiness and 6.9 percent had fatigue. In this same study, 6.5 percent developed weakness, 5.3 percent had palpitations (irregular heartbeat) and 4.9 percent had nausea. Drugs.com says that prazosin can also cause dry mouth, blurry vision and numbness or tingling. Call your doctor when these side effects last for more than two days.
Dangerous Side Effects
Prazosin's dangerous side effects include hives, trouble breathing, tachycardia (fast heartbeat), palpitations and chest pain, says Drugs.com. It can also cause itching, skin rashes and priapism (a condition in which your erection remains for four hours). Drugs.com says prazosin can also cause swelling of your hands, feet and ankles. Contact your doctor right away when you have these symptoms.
Miscellaneous Side Effects
According to the National Library of Medicine, prazosin can also cause orthostatic hypotension (low blood pressure with positional changes), depression, vertigo, nervousness, frequent urination and nose bleeds. It can also cause dry mouth, nasal congestion, tachycardia (fast heartbeat), hallucinations, incontinence, impotence, ringing of your ears, fever, sweating and muscle pain.
Other Concerns
You should not take prazosin if you are allergic to it. You can develop harmful side effects such as difficulty breathing, hives and swelling of your face, throat or lips. Get medical help fast.
The National Library of Medicine recommends that you avoid combining prazosin with digoxin, tranquilizers, phenobarbital, colchicine, probenecid, procainamide, aspirin and quinidine. These combinations can cause the aforementioned side effects.
Prazosin can pass into human milk, says the National Library of Medicine. Tell your doctor if you plan on nursing. It is unclear whether prazosin can harm your unborn child, but it is best to tell your doctor if you are pregnant.
You should avoid drinking alcohol while taking prazosin. The combination can make prazosin's aforementioned side effects worse.
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