Doxazosin Tablets

Doxazosin is a medication that's used to treat two different conditions:

• High blood pressure (hypertension) is normally diagnosed from a range of blood pressure readings taken at home or by your GP
• Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is a non-cancerous enlargement of the prostate gland. It’s a normal part of ageing. This condition can cause symptoms such as needing to pass urine more frequently, difficulty starting to pass urine, or a urine stream that stops and starts

Zava doctors are only able to prescribe this treatment for people who are taking it to control high blood pressure.

Doxazosin has a number of effects on the body:

• When treating high blood pressure, doxazosin relaxes blood vessels around the body that allows blood to flow through them more easily. This helps to reduce blood pressure
• Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) – in BPH, as the prostate gland becomes larger certain muscles can become tight and block the passage of urine. Doxazosin relaxes the muscles of the prostate so that urine can flow more easily

How to reorder online – if you’ve previously been prescribed doxazosin by your GP for your blood pressure, you can reorder using our online consultation service. To do this, follow these steps:

• Fill in our short online questionnaire about your previous prescription of doxazosin. This makes sure that doxazosin continues to be safe and effective for you
• A doctor will then review your questionnaire. If you’re eligible, they will prescribe you with your supply of doxazosin
• Your supply of doxazosin will be sent to you by post

About our service – our online consultation service is easy to use and convenient as you can simply fit the service around your schedule. Or, it’s a good alternative if you simply would prefer not to make a face-to-face appointment. However, you can’t currently order doxazosin from our online consultation service if you’ve been prescribed the medicine for benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). It’s also important that you still continue to have regular follow-up appointments and blood test monitoring by your GP. This will make sure that your blood pressure treatment is still right for you.

Getting started on treatment – if you’ve never been prescribed doxazosin in the past, you can get your prescription by making an appointment with your regular GP. In your consultation, you can discuss whether doxazosin is the most suitable medication for you. It’s important to bear in mind that doxazosin is not normally the first medication that a doctor would trial if you had recently been diagnosed with hypertension. So, you may end up with a different medicine to treat your high blood pressure.

It will be if a doctor agrees it is – if you’ve been prescribed doxazosin by your doctor, then this medicine is the right one for you. Your doctor will take many factors into account, including other medical conditions, other medications, and how your body has reacted to blood pressure medications in the past.

Who shouldn't use it? – your doctor will also make sure that doxazosin is safe for you to use. You should not take doxazosin if you:

• Are allergic to doxazosin or any of the ingredients that the tablets contain
• Are breastfeeding
• Have a condition called postural hypotension, a form of low blood pressure where you feel faint or dizzy when sitting up or standing too quickly
• Have benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and low blood pressure
• Have BPH and any of the following: congestion or blockage of flow of urine, a longstanding water infection, or stones in your bladder

Doxazosin and erectile dysfunction treatment – if you’re currently also taking Spedra (avanafil), Viagra (sildenafil, Viagra Connect), Cialis (tadalafil), or Levitra (vardenafil), it’s important that you let your doctor know. Taking doxazosin in combination with these medications can cause your blood pressure to drop very low, which can make you feel faint, dizzy, or collapse. They may advise you to change the medication that you’re taking or give advice about when to take each of these tablets.

The risk of side effects – like with any other medication, some people may experience side effects when they are taking doxazosin. The possible side effects of doxazosin are listed under the 'side effects of doxazosin’ section of this page.

Waiting out your side effects – if you find that you do experience side effects whilst taking doxazosin, you may wish to continue with the medication for a few months. The side effects may well settle as your body becomes used to the medicine.

What to do if you can't put up with your side effects – if you can’t tolerate the side effects of doxazosin, or if they do not settle after a few months of using it, we recommend that you make an appointment with your doctor to discuss this. They may suggest things that you can do to minimise the side effects or offer an alternative form of treatment.

Other long-term effects of doxazosin are actually positive – there are long term effects of taking doxazosin, but these seem to be positive. Taking doxazosin long term lowers cholesterol levels in the blood and slows the enlargement of the prostate gland.

Emergency advice – taking doxazosin carries a very small but serious risk of having a heart attack. Call 999 immediately if you experience sudden chest pain, possibly along with shortness of breath, sweating, weakness, or anxiety.

Checking your own blood pressure – if you’re taking doxazosin for high blood pressure, your GP may suggest that you monitor your blood pressure readings at home. Your doctor will tell you what your individual blood pressure target is, but the aim for most patients is to get their blood pressure to below 140/90mmHg. This may be different for some patients: for example, if you have diabetes.

You may not feel any different so it’s important not to miss doses of doxazosin, even if you feel well. You might not notice any changes, but keeping good control of your blood pressure is important in the long term for your heart health.

Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) symptoms should improve – if you are taking doxazosin because of symptoms of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), you should notice that your symptoms start to improve on Doxazosin.

It’s important to talk to a doctor before stopping or switching treatment, for instance if you can’t tolerate the side effects. It’s a good idea for your doctor to be up to date with your medications because medications can affect each other as well as other conditions that you may have.

Alternative treatments for high blood pressure include:

• Ramipril
• Amlodipine

Alternative treatments for BPH include:

• alfuzosin
• terazosin
• finasteride