modafinil/provigil

[jahoolie]

i went to see my doctor on tuesday and told him that i'd read some positive comments about some people taking modafinil and asked id he'd consider putting me on it.he seemed quite happy to try me on them but said he needed to speak to a pharmaceutical adviser first to check there woudlnt be a problem with me taking them along with 150mg of trazadone that i take at night for sleep.i'm still waiting for my doctor to call back with some news.i was wondering if anyone knows if there would be a problem taking both? and also,if anyone here is taking modafinil and if its been helpful? thanks

 

[Alesh]

I have quite mixed experience with modafinil. Sometimes it worked great even for several months but sometimes it probably caused a pronounced deterioration. Now I am thinking about combining it with the neuroprotective clenbuterol. Or combining clenbuterol with memantine.

 

[Alesh]

I think the problem with modafinil and CFS is its quite long half-life. I would like if this drug had a half-life of about 3 hours. Modafinil has so long half-life that it markedly interferes with the sleep.

 

[*GG*]

Not sure of what Modafinil would be in the US, if available. I had increased my dosage of Trazadone to 150mg, tried Doxepin and that did not work at all for sleep. But I have been on Mirtazapine for a short while now and that is putting me out very well and I am feeling better.

Best of luck in your search of sleep!!

 

[faith.hope.love]

I only take this drug for "emergencies." Like if I've had no sleep, and have to drive for long periods of time. Or staying awake in class. Or when I've had no sleep, and have to work 12 hr shifts at night. It will definitely perk you up, makes you feel alert and productive. HOWEVER, it CAN suppress your immune system. The package insert even lists "fevers, flu-like symptoms, and cold sores" as a side effect -- that's because your immune defenses are down, either from lack of sleep, or a direct effect on the immune system itself. Just because you feel awake doesn't mean your body doesn't need rest. The downside is that you can't fall asleep, your body KNOWS you haven't slept, and you feel like complete crap when the drug wears off, and it can trigger a flare from overexertion. It also makes me nauseated about 10-12 hrs after I've taken the drug. (Every time, like clockwork.) It kills your appetite, which some people see as a plus, but when you lack nutrition, you will feel ill. It ALWAYS gives me a fever, not sure if it's from the effects on my immune system, or from the overstimulation of the thyroid. I've also had major drug interactions with it. So if I ever feel I NEED to stay awake and caffeine just won't cut it, then I will take half a tab (100mg) with a full meal. Make sure you check the side effects because they're common. And it can be addictive -- in lab studies, monkeys preferred Provigil over cocaine! That always freaked me out a little.

http://www.drugs.com/sfx/provigil-side-effects.html

http://www.askapatient.com/viewrating.asp?drug=20717&name=PROVIGIL

Not something I could take every day! But everyone's different, so of course, follow your gut and your doctor's recommendations. It can be a miracle drug for many people, I just wasn't one of them!

 

[Alesh]

About a year and a half ago I was taking 1 gram-1.2 grams of modafinil daily (max. recommended dose being 400mg) for the whole 3 months. During these 3 months of this stimulant's (ab)use I always took 200mg of quetiapine in bedtime and I had a long sleep. I did even more dangerous experiments with my physiology but nothing so far led to recovery. Many times it seemed that with some particular drug, exercise or some kind of physical therapy I am on a way to recovery or even very close to recovery but so far ME/CFS always won.

 

[Sing]

I tried it just a few times and did not like, or really benefit from, the unsupported buzz I got. Caffeine works better, and of course that isn't ideal either.

Sing

 

[Alesh]

It's a precise description

I only take this drug for "emergencies." Like if I've had no sleep, and have to drive for long periods of time. Or staying awake in class. Or when I've had no sleep, and have to work 12 hr shifts at night. It will definitely perk you up, makes you feel alert and productive. HOWEVER, it CAN suppress your immune system. The package insert even lists "fevers, flu-like symptoms, and cold sores" as a side effect -- that's because your immune defenses are down, either from lack of sleep, or a direct effect on the immune system itself. Just because you feel awake doesn't mean your body doesn't need rest. The downside is that you can't fall asleep, your body KNOWS you haven't slept, and you feel like complete crap when the drug wears off, and it can trigger a flare from overexertion. It also makes me nauseated about 10-12 hrs after I've taken the drug. (Every time, like clockwork.) It kills your appetite, which some people see as a plus, but when you lack nutrition, you will feel ill. It ALWAYS gives me a fever, not sure if it's from the effects on my immune system, or from the overstimulation of the thyroid. I've also had major drug interactions with it. So if I ever feel I NEED to stay awake and caffeine just won't cut it, then I will take half a tab (100mg) with a full meal. Make sure you check the side effects because they're common. And it can be addictive -- in lab studies, monkeys preferred Provigil over cocaine! That always freaked me out a little.

http://www.drugs.com/sfx/provigil-side-effects.html

http://www.askapatient.com/viewrating.asp?drug=20717&name=PROVIGIL

Not something I could take every day! But everyone's different, so of course, follow your gut and your doctor's recommendations. It can be a miracle drug for many people, I just wasn't one of them!

After my modafinil "binge" I felt something like a blood dyscrasia: constant sore throat even if it was in the midst of summer. But I think modafinil has some curative property besides being a stimulant, it has some neuroprotective effects. If it only weren't for its such a long half life. If I want to temporarily abate my ME/CFS associated pseudodementia I prefer Ritalin. But these are all "nonrenewable sources" so to speak.

 

[andreamarie]

It made me severely nauseated at a small dose. I now have Nuvigil, which docs say is the same, but has fewer side effects. I haven't taken it yet. Doc I saw recently says it's the only thing that has helped some of his patients with PEM.

 

[Alesh]

Actually Nuvigil isn't same as Provigil if I remember well it should be the only one active stereoisomer of modafinil. There is one generally acknowledged problem with modafinil and it is the particular size of the microgranules of which modafinil consists and probably only Cephalon knows the details. Since one of my friends works on experimental models of various brain diseases I had an opportunity to try pure crystalic modafinil and it isn't effective at all. Modafinil is quite exceptional in that it isn't at all soluble in watter. As far as I know it is soluble only in DMSO.

 

[Bob]

I had a very bad experience with Modafinil...
I only took a tiny daily dose for a couple of weeks (a fraction of a tablet), but I experienced some nasty side effects.
I tried it out when i had mild ME, so I don't know how it would have effected me if I'd have had moderate/severe ME at the time.
I don't remember suffering from any pay-back from the increased energy, but like i said, i had mild ME at the time.

It gave me a little extra energy and woke up my brain a bit, but it wasn't a pleasant increase in energy... it put me in a bad mood.
The side effects were: prolonged anger attacks which just wouldn't go away (and usually I have quite a laid back sort of character).
And also, my joints started clicking and hurting, esp my knuckles and fingers. It was like having a sudden attack of severe arthritis.
(i looked it up and this is one of the side effects listed)
I was really worried that I'd suffered some permanent damage, but luckily the joints healed up gradually after stopping the Modafinil.

If taking Modafinil, you need to have your blood tested regularly by your doctor to check for a potentially fatal build up of toxins in the blood.
I really wouldn't recommend taking Modafinil after my experiences, and because of its toxicity and potentially fatal side-effects.

 

[Dainty]

I'm considering asking my doctor about the possibility of trying provigil. I probably wouldn't want to take it every day, but if it could make me more alert and able to concentrate with increased mental energy then taking it just a single day a week would significantly improve my life. But since I have a long history of reacting badly to pharmeceuticals, I'm not sure it'd be worth it to try it.