Quote:
Originally Posted by bluebicycle
@ BirdDancer: Yes, that's correct. I don't know if this is true or not, but I've heard that Provigil is "milder" than stimulants, FWIW. It is also sometimes used in patients with bipolar to improve depression -- although with close observation. So it can help with @ childofchaos831 with depression, too. (See here: Adjunctive use of modafinil in bipolar patients: just another stimulant or not? - PubMed - NCBI)
In one case, a patient developed psychosis within 2 days of taking it (See here: Modafinil Induced Psychosis in a Patient with Bipolar 1 Depression). So, I guess the uptick in mood can happen pretty rapidly, if it does happen. Though the article does go on to state that the patient's psychosis had abated within a few days of cessation, so I guess the good news is that if it *does* happen, it seems to go away quickly? The unfortunate thing about the article, though, is that it doesn't really say what happened after the psychosis wore off (e.g., if he became depressed again, etc.). |
Hi bluebicycle. The "milder" aspect was what I was originally told, too. However, I was one of the group of people with bipolar disorder where Provigil caused a switch to mania. I was trialed on Provigil three times. The first time, the doctor gave me free samples. It worked, as was intended, within about five days, but then the samples (and IOP) ended. Not too long after, a hospital doctor put me on it again. Shortly after, I started to get manic, so was taken off. Then not too long after, my own private psychiatrist put me on it, reluctantly. I hadn't told him what had happened previously. It was a hassle med because it required prior authorizations.
The third time I was put on it, I got manic again. Unfortunately, the mania really escalated during a trip to Maine. My behavior became out of control. I remember people on a boat making remarks about it, as did people at the hotel. It was November. The hotel had a pool. I remember having insomnia where I got zero sleep, and started having visual hallucinations and delusions. I got up at about 6 am and went to the hotel's outdoor swimming pool and started to swim. Yes, 6 am in November in Maine! Hubby yelled at me to get out. Others noticed, so hours later a big sign went up at the pool and a chain was put up. Hubby threatened to take me to the hospital there. Maine is a little hike from New Jersey. The vacation was cut short because of my mania.
Hubby forced me to stop the Provigil and called my psychiatrist, who told me to get off of it immediately. Hubby urged me to call the pharmacy to cancel refills. My mania did quickly ease after stopping Provigil, as you referenced. That's a bit different than other manias, I've had. However, as my mood leveled, I missed the high. I started to abuse Provigil for a bit. This was not the only time I've taken a stimulant against medical advice. There was a time in the past that I abused pseudophedrine (Sudafed) for the same reason. My regular pharmacist started refusing to sell it to me (it requires purchase at the pharmacy desk, with a license presented). For a bit, I went to other pharmacies where they didn't know me, to get it.