Anyone take provigil? I'm going to ask the pdoc at the IOP to let me give it a try. Last night I slept from 9pm to 11am, and have little energy during the day. I'm sick of sleeping over half the day. I can't live like this.

[bioChE]

Yep, used to take Provigil. Good for awake/alert for 12+ hours. Now I use a stimulant, but probably wouldn’t have an issue going back to Provigil or Nuvigil.

[Laurenbean]

This is just the forum I needed right now! I just started Provigil about a month ago (100mg) just moved up to 200 mg about a week ago. I personally don't see why people are so hyped over this drug, I don't find it all that "great." It's like a weak cup of coffee without the jitters. Provigil just isn't really doing much for me it seems and I'm frustrated because of all the rave reviews. I take it about 7am but by 3pm I'm whooped again. I was thinking of asking my doc on Tuesday if I can up the dose, taking 200mg in the morning and 200mg in the afternoon to see if it helps. Anyone been on a higher dose than 200mg? Anyone with suggestions?

[BeyondtheRainbow]

It (and nuvigil) helped a lot when I was working. I haven't tried it with clozapine because I know my Med D plan won't cover it once I run out of what I have (I use it occasionally when I have to be up although I haven't tried that in a long time since last time the clozapine won)..

I'm sorry you struggle with this. So do I and it's really bad since my dose was increased over the summer. I've not been stable enough to bring it back down so I"m stuck sleeping 13 hours or so and since I got depressed adding a nap to that. I feel like I do nothing but sleep, yet there aren't any other meds to try. It's hard.

[Sunflower123]

I’ve used Provigil in the past. It was ok but I do better on a stimulant. Good luck with it. I hope it works well for you.

[bioChE]

I agree with Laurenbean to some extent. Provigil is not “great” or “fun.” Not like the standard stimulants, at least.

It basically sits in the background and does its thing. It’s a “wakefulness promoting agent,” if that makes any sense. It doesn’t get your heart rate up, or throw you into a frenzy of activity and thought.

It’s original use was for narcolepsy, and I think it is very effective in treating that disease. Whether or not it helps you is a very individual thing.

[bioChE]

<this is in response to Laurenbean. For some reason my reply function didn’t work>

I used to do that dosing regimen. I’d take 200mg in the AM and 200mg at noon. Seemed to cover the day reasonably well.

That being said, if it’s not doing it for you you might want to try one of the other stimulants. Adderall is pretty decent, though you have to dose the IR version multiple times a day. I take Vyvanse which I like, but since all long-acting stimulants don’t last all day for me, I also dose that in the AM and at noon.

Best of luck in your search.

[Laurenbean]

Originally Posted by bioChE

<this is in response to Laurenbean. For some reason my reply function didn’t work>

I used to do that dosing regimen. I’d take 200mg in the AM and 200mg at noon. Seemed to cover the day reasonably well.

That being said, if it’s not doing it for you you might want to try one of the other stimulants. Adderall is pretty decent, though you have to dose the IR version multiple times a day. I take Vyvanse which I like, but since all long-acting stimulants don’t last all day for me, I also dose that in the AM and at noon.

Best of luck in your search.

Thanks for your insight. Did you tell your doctor that 200mg in the morning just didn't last for you the entire day, then they upped it to dosing in the afternoon? I did get diagnosed for ADD by my gp years ago and I tried adderall and vyvanse. I liked vyvanse a little better, but they were both a little too stimulating for me but they definitely didn't fail me in keeping me awake! I haven't tried Ritalin which I'm curious about too if you or anyone has experience. Is it milder than, say, adderall and vyvanse?

[bioChE]

Originally Posted by Laurenbean

Thanks for your insight. Did you tell your doctor that 200mg in the morning just didn't last for you the entire day, then they upped it to dosing in the afternoon? I did get diagnosed for ADD by my gp years ago and I tried adderall and vyvanse. I liked vyvanse a little better, but they were both a little too stimulating for me but they definitely didn't fail me in keeping me awake! I haven't tried Ritalin which I'm curious about too if you or anyone has experience. Is it milder than, say, adderall and vyvanse?

Yes to both questions. I️ told my doctor that Provigil didn’t last all day, and I️ consider Ritalin to be less stimulating than Adderall. Since I️ love stimulants, I️ prefer Adderall to Ritalin. But I️ take Vyvanse so I️ can’t abuse it.

I was put on Provigil 3 times in the past. All times when I complained of excess fatigue and sleeping too many hours.

The first time I was put on it was in an Intensive Outpatient Program (maybe 10 years ago). The pdoc gave me a sample pack of 7 days or something like that. By about the fifth day I was much much improved and wanted to get a prescription for it, but my insurance company flat out wouldn't cover it. The price back then was way too high. The IOP pdoc considered rxing Ritalin (I do not have ADHD), but decided against it because my mood suddenly shifted and I wasn't sleeping as much anymore. I think I ended up in the hospital with a mixed state only a couple of weeks later.

The second time I was rxd Provigil was by my regular pdoc. He put me on it. It was a major hassle because it required prior authorization to be covered by my insurance (a different insurance than the above), but my pdoc went to the trouble. It was only a short time before my mood switched to hypomanic, so my pdoc told me to discontinue it.

The third time I was in IOP again, then soon after I went back to my regular pdoc. My regular pdoc thought it was a horrible idea, but I insisted it was helping so he did the prior authorization. Then my husband and I left for a vacation in Maine. During the course of the vacation I decided on my own to double my dose of Provigil. Soon after I started getting manic. Poor hubby had to put up with listening to strangers yelling comments about my behavior. I stopping sleeping more than a couple of hours per night. In the wee hours of the morning hubby found me swimming in the outdoor hotel swimming pool (not heated) at the end of November. He coerced me out and then threatened to take me to the hospital, which happened to be right next door. Hubby made me stop the Provigil. The hotel then finally locked the gate to the pool and put up a big sign. I started to sleep a little more and managed to get through the last couple of days of the vacation without hospitalization. When I came home hubby made me call the pharmacy to cancel the rest of the refills. I did. Then a couple of days later when my mood started to stabilize again I called the pharmacy for a refill hoping they had never cancelled them. But they did. When I finally saw my pdoc I had to tell him what all happened on the vacation, but I neglected to mention the pharmacy situation. Pdoc said he'd never prescribe Provigil for me again.

It's funny, antidepressants made me manic in the past, but I never abused them in any way. Most of the time I'd just stop taking them, and the mania would go on. With the Provigil, I actually started to abuse it and then crave it once I was off. I was lucky that the mania eased when I stopped taking the Provigil.