Minipress

Minipress is a prescription medication used to treat high blood pressure. Minipress belongs to a group of drugs called alpha-blockers. It lowers blood pressure by relaxing veins and arteries so that blood can more easily pass through them.

This medication comes in capsule form and is usually taken 2 or 3 times a day.

Common side effects include dizziness, headache, and weakness. Minipress can cause drowsiness. Do not drive or operate heavy machinery until you know how it will affect you.

Minipress is a prescription medication used to treat high blood pressure.

This medication may be prescribed for other uses. Ask your doctor or pharmacist for more information.

Take Minipress exactly as prescribed. Follow the directions on your prescription label carefully. Your doctor will likely start you on a low dose and gradually increase the dose as necessary.

The recommended starting Minipress dose is 1 mg two or three times a day. Your doctor may gradually increase your dose until your maintenance dose is reached.

Daily doses commonly range between 6 mg and 15 mg.

Serious side effects have been reported including:

• Extremely rarely, Minipress and similar medications have caused painful erection of the penis, sustained for hours and unrelieved by sexual intercourse or masturbation. This condition, known medically as priapism, is serious, and if untreated it can be followed by permanent inability to have an erection. If you have a prolonged abnormal erection, call your doctor or go to an emergency room as soon as possible.
• Tell your surgeon if you take or have taken Minipress and plan to have surgery for cataracts (clouding of the eye). During cataract surgery, a condition called Intraoperative Floppy Iris Syndrome (IFIS) can happen if you take or have taken Minipress.
• Minipress lowers blood pressure and may cause dizziness or fainting, especially when you first start taking it, or when you start taking it again. Call your doctor if you have severe dizziness or feel like you might pass out.

Minipress can cause drowsiness. Do not drive or operate heavy machinery until you know how Minipress affects you.

Do not take Minipress if you:

• are allergic to Minipress or any inactive ingredient in Minipress 
• are allergic to any of the medications related to Minipress such as alfuzosin (Uroxatral), doxazosin (Cardura), and terazosin (Hytrin)

Serious side effects have been reported. See "Drug Precautions" section.

Common side effects include:

• dizziness
• headache
• drowsiness
• lack of energy
• weakness
• palpitations
• nausea

This is not a complete list of Minipress side effects. Ask your doctor or pharmacist for more information.

Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to the FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.

Tell your doctor about all the medicines you take including prescription and non-prescription medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements. Especially tell your doctor if you take:

• avanafil (Stendra)
• sildenafil (Viagra, Revatio)
• tadalafil (Cialis, Adcirca)
• vardenafil (Levitra, Staxyn)
• verapamil (Calan, Covera, Isoptin, Verelan)

This is not a complete list of Minipress drug interactions. Ask your doctor or pharmacist for more information.

Tell your doctor if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant.

The FDA categorizes medications based on safety for use during pregnancy. Five categories - A, B, C, D, and X, are used to classify the possible risks to an unborn baby when a medication is taken during pregnancy.

Minipress falls into category C. There are no good studies in pregnant women. Minipress should be used during pregnancy only if the possible benefit outweighs the possible risk to the unborn baby.

Tell your doctor if you are breastfeeding or plan to breastfeed.

Minipress has been detected in human breast milk. Because of the possibility for adverse reactions in nursing infants from Minipress, a choice should be made whether to stop nursing or to stop use of Minipress. Determining the importance of the drug to the mother should be considered.

Dizziness or drowsiness may occur after the first dose of this medicine. Avoid driving or performing hazardous tasks for the first 24 hours after taking Minipress or when the dose is increased.

Dizziness, lightheadedness, or fainting may occur, especially when rising from a lying or sitting position. Getting up slowly may help lessen the problem.

• These effects may also occur if you drink alcohol, stand for long periods of time, exercise, or if the weather is hot.
• While taking Minipress, be careful in the amount of alcohol you drink.

 Use extra care during exercise or hot weather, or if standing for long periods.