Provigil

[rfactor]

I have suffered with depression ,ADD,  low self-esteem, and resorted to abusing narcs ( opiates) and in my younger days any mood altering drug! have been on every antidepressant, mood stabilizers, etc. btw i am 52y.o and as u can see have been taking drugs pretty-much  most all my life. currently am taking suboxone for w/d from hydros, with GREAT results thus far(since 12/14)2006 . i have researched  and read many articles relating to meds and depression. been reading about provigil used for treating depression and ADD!! have any of you ever used this med for the above symptons!!! the antidep, meds makes one so tired and i find that most are not effective!!!! i am sick of being "sick" and being a guinea pig. have appt the 4th with p. doc. and think i am going 2 approach him with this question!! plz if anyone of you could give me some feed-back i thank you so much. and wiShing all a very HAPPY NEW YEAR.

[Healthadvisory]

i took provigil for shift work disorders and sleep apnea. unfortunately the side effects outweighed the pros. i developed cold ssores, i havent had a cold sore since childhood and i got 3 in one week span. cold sores is a side effect of provigil, i guess i cant take it anymore.

[ILADVOCATE]

Provigil was intended for narcolepsy and to keep people awake. Its most certainly not an amphetamine and not addictive but does make some people feel overly active ("speeded up"). But if people find their medications intolerable or that they don't work find out about more anti-depressents and mood stabilizers used experimentally but FDA approved for other purposes. Google "Depression Central" and this has a list as well:

http://www.psycheducation.org/depression/meds/moodstabilizers.htm

[AlethiaToo]

Speed is a central nervous drug, Provigil is NOT.  It works on a different part of the brain and it IS NOT SPEED.  I have taken it for 5 years to correct a serious sleep disorder secondary to a head injury.  I'm NOT addicted to it.  I can go for days w/o taking it, without wanting it.  If I must be alert first thing in the morning, I take it.  

Being able to stay awake during the entire day allowed me to begin to sleep all night.  Before Provigil, I would get sleep-deprivation migraines and have to take a couple naps in the day.  I'm not a narcoleptic.  I have a head injury.

I know my pharm pretty well, so get your drugs and your body systems correct.  It is one thing to take a central nervous system stimulant (and BTW, caffeine is a CNS stimulant--so you CAN call it 'speed' technically; like amphetamines), but Provigil is a whole other ball of wax.  If you got addicted, don't assume people who really need it will, too.  

Vicodin is physiologically impossible to become addicted to, but some fools still manage to do it.  See, it's a 'Designer pain killer.'  It only attaches to pain receptors.  When the pain is gone, a person will get no effect from Vicodin--unless they imagine it.  It was designed that way, and I have taken it a few times for pain, and knew when my pain was gone and put the bottle away.  Education is a wonderful thing.

But, some people are simply convinced they are getting something from Vicodin long after their pain is gone.  Every heard of the Placebo Effect?  Maybe because I knew the stuff doesn't work on anything but true pain receptors, I wasn't imagining any grandiose highs which Vicodin can't deliver.

As far as the first few weeks of taking any new medication, including Provigil, that's when side-effects usually occur and most often pass after 2 weeks.  Provigil is a very good med, helping a lot of people.  It's too bad when addictive-personality types try and mis-inform based on their own, limited experience.  Ask a professional before making decisions about medications.  Ask a couple of them.

AlethiaToo
R.N.

[norwayjanice]

my son has been treated and given every medication for sleep disorder and depression for 5 years. he was a college educated adult with 3 degrees and a special ed teacher, also a wonderful husband and father of three pre school aged children. now hehas not worked for 6 months, cries daily and has just been in the hospital for a week for depression. the last doctor prescrobed provegal , my daughter in law has seen some improvement and is always very suportive (even though my husband and i have told her we will sopport her and the babies if she has to leave him) this was NOT  easy to admitt. PLEASE GIVE US SOME HOPE  

[Grieco01]

The pill is a forum of speed. I have taken it to stay awake in classes at school for a bit, Though I had to get off the Med. It can get adictive if not careful.

Though it can also turn your issues into more,ect.

[emfgray]

My fiance was on provigil to counteract the sleepiness that lexapro (for depression) gave him.  He only took it for about a week and had to stop because it would put him up so high that he couldn't focus on anything and had a hard time sleeping (which  I suppose we preffered to him faling asleep while driving). But he has bi-polar disorder sprinkled throughout his family history, so that is a possible reason.  He got very poetic, and created a lot of beautiful things, but he didn't think it was worth making him feel outrageous and out of control. It also mad him angry a lot. (He's an otherwise docile empath.) I don't really have a positive mental conection with this one, it made my best friend disappear, and so imediately.

[peekawho]

I take it for shift work issues.  I've heard some docs use it off label for mood elevation.