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1088527 tn?1425313375

provigil

I started taking provigil yesterday and wow I cant believe the energy I scrubbed the shower down washed the cabinets down went food shopping then took dog to dog park for 4 hours then home and dinner usually just one of these activities wipes me out . I am glad that I have energy but I feel jittery my legs feel like they are going hundred miles and hour and I am stuttering badly in the am I think I am trying to talk faster then I can get it out. Usually I don't stutter till the evening when I am tired . So what do I do continue with the pills maybe the jittery feeling will go away  I do like that I am able to get more done and feel less fatigue but its embarrasing to hold a conversation , Has anyone been on this before and has it helped or not?


Thanks
Kat
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Avatar universal
I started taking Nuvigil. The first and second days that I look it, I had the same reaction as you did. I had never felt so happy and energetic in my life. And I was so happy because I thought "this is going to get and keep me out of my funk"  But after those two doses, I didn't get that. I have been taking it for two months now, I am on 150mg. And the only time I did feel more energized and super happy, was when I accidentally took two doses in one day.  Maybe i'll have to ask my Psychiatrist for a dosage increase? Another thing that I have noticed, is ever since I started taking it, after I drink any beverage with caffeine in it, I get a weird, uncomfortable feeling. I mostly feel it in my chest. It's hard to explain or describe. I can only liken it to a calm/anxious feeling. I know that makes no sense. But that's kinda what it feels like.
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Avatar universal
I agree with Mary, my neuro is too honest to fudge the coding and besides, my insurance company knows I am 70 and retired due to MS........

Have found a foundation that will help with cost of Provigil if you have no insurance.......have filled out the papers, will let everyone know if it works, sent the doctor his paper to fill out and am waiting......they mail the drug directly to you.....no pharmacy middleman
Helpful - 0
1045086 tn?1332126422
If a person doesn't really work off hour shifts, their doctor might not be willing to code anything that way.  Besides, scripts aren't normally coded the way office visits are.

False coding can be considered insurance fraud.  At the very least, an insurer could demand reimbursement upon discovery of intentional miscoding.  I suspect such practices will be easier to track as e-prescribing becomes standard practice and user knowledge expands.  These systems link physicians, pharmacies AND benefit providers.

Mary
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Kaiser sucked me into the Nuvigil last year and I am determined to make a stink about getting provigil back.  I don't like the Nuvigil at all.  I have to take 2x the dose and I don't think it does the same thing.  

Anyways..... enough of me an my whining. I just wanted to add....

----> Insurance will cover Provigil for "Shift Work" your doc just needs to code it that way.  
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Avatar universal
still classed as a "tier 4" drug
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Avatar universal
just an update, all excited that provigil was now generic I called my "darling" drug company and was told that generic is $866 a month and my share is 30% or $260...........sigh,, still out of reach for me.............darn and double darn.....
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Avatar universal
My insurance turned it down at first, so my doctor prescribed amantadine instead.  I felt horribly spacey and disconnected on it, so it promptly went in the medication disposal bag.  

My neuro appealed to my insurance and they actually approved it.  I don't know what the reason was, but I am grateful for it. This was last November and I don't think there was a generic available yet.  My insurance paid about $1500 and I paid a copay of $24. Since I am getting 3.5 - 4 months out of a bottle, i can make the 2 prescriptions plus two refills I have authorized so far last at least a year.

If I had to pay cash I definitely would have looked to another country to buy it.
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Avatar universal
Oops, forgot to add, they did tend to increase the tremors, especially the first couple of hours after hitting the system.
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Avatar universal
I had a great response to Provigil in the beginning. Then after quitting smoking it started making me anxious and irritable. Coffee did the same thing to me after quitting smoking, too. I ordered the generic version online, 200 mg tabs and cut them in half. After awhile, I could get by on a quarter tab. Now, I'm getting by just as well minus the smoking. The full 200mg tab was way too much for me.

The generic can be had from overseas online for about $60 plus shipping for a month's supply of 200mg tabs. I was happy with it and know it was authentic. Check your sources carefully.

There are times the fatigue is bad enough to sleep through a provigil. After going like this for a few days, you'll probably find that out. But they are great for relieving fatigue and brain fog.

I know quite a few energizer bunnies who are that way naturally. I used to be one myself. :-)
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Avatar universal
WOW
no wonder they call MS the expensive disease!
Helpful - 0
405614 tn?1329144114
I hope cutting them in half works for you!  I found Provigil to be the only thing for lift me out of the fatigue and even helps cut the mental fog.  You don't want to wear yourself out, but being able to accomplish more is a great thing.  Be kind to your body!

My insurance covered Provigil for me for a year, then denied me again.  A friend with sleep apnea got a prescription approved, but they filled it with the generic.  The receipt said: your insurance saved you $939.00.  Her copay was $50.  Wow.  Before my insurance covered it, I payed close to $800 for 30 200 mg. tablets; now the generic costs more.  Not sure what I'm going to do; I don't accomplish much without it.  Sigh.

Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
does your insurance cover it?  just curious?  am going to ask my neuro in the fall for the new generic, I detest fatigue days, I get so nonproductive
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Avatar universal
I take Provigil. I got a prescription from my neuro when he thought I had MS.  Later I figured out I had Lyme, but I stayed on the Provigil because it helped me so much with fatigue and brain fog.

The first day I took a 200mg pill and within an hour I felt soooo much better!  I thought it was a wonder drug.  (My Rx said to take 1 in the morning for 7 days, then take 1 in the morning and another 1 midday.)   Then I noticed that my heart rate went up noticeably and stayed up for most of the day.  The next day I cut it in half.  The next day I got a pill cutter and cut it in thirds.  After a couple days of a third, I upped it back to a half.  A body does take a little while to get used to it.

Here I am over 4 months later still taking only 1/2 pill in the morning. Occasionally, on a day I feel really tired, I'll take another half about 1pm.  On those days, it does help in the afternoon, but then I have trouble getting to sleep before 11pm.
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Avatar universal
I'd sure cut the dose in half.  I agree with Mary, that is way too much energy and worry about you "crashing" on the other end.  At the very least bounce it off your pharmacist and doctor to be on the safe side.

can I pencil you in to do my housework this week?  snicker
Helpful - 0
1088527 tn?1425313375
I will continue taking it this week and see how I feel I just cant get over the energy I have now its like 6 years ago before I was sick and I could handle a 8 hr work day then come home and go dancing 4-5 nights a week . I was thinking the same thing last night that if I was going to wake up in pain because of pushing myself I didnt get the pain but like you said I cant push myself too much , I told DH that I felt like I am on speed though i never tried it and he said yes you sound like you are with the slurring and stuttering. I will take half a pill tommrow and see if it makes any difference but thanks everyone for your insights and suggestions

Kat
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
so true Mary.  I found it very helpful to keep my eyes open, particularly as I was a shift worker, now its approved for shift workers and I am not a worker,
can't win for losing but will ask neuro for some next fall when I come back.
Usually in summer in cooler climate I am ok, plus too much to do!
Helpful - 0
1045086 tn?1332126422
I believe this is an abnormal reaction to Provigil.  What you describe is what people who take speed experience.  Provigil and Nuvigil are meant to have a selective action on the sleep/wake centers of the brain.  They are not supposed to act as general stimulants.

I doubt this hyperactivity is good for people in general.  In those of us with MS it could be downright dangerous.  You are likely to push yourself beyond safe limits and could end up totally collapsed in a flare - and we never know how long or incomplete any given recovery from a flare will be.

I have taken one or the other of these drugs since 2006.  It was prescribed for sleep apnea then (three years before my official MS diagnosis) as it is now.  It has never made me feel energetic.  It simply keeps me from falling flat-on-my-face asleep during the day.  Maybe I should mention that coffee has no stimulant effect on me either.

Others have described various degrees of the stimulation you are experiencing.  They have stopped the drug, switched to a different drug or tried a lower dose.  FWIW, 200mg seems to be a rather high starting dose.  

I would certainly suggest you NOT take the Provigil EVERY day.  Your body needs rest and sleep even though you feel full of energy and it sounds like you could have trouble getting enough of either while taking it.  Besides, it would be quite the downer if you get dependent on this over the limit amount of energy.  Do "normal" people have what it takes to maintain that type of energizer bunny schedule?

I've probably said too much now.  I'm actually glad you asked your question and hope this hasn't sounded judgmental.  I only want to alert you to the dangers and point you toward a safer solution.  I absolutely DO appreciate the problems fatigue brings to life.

Mary
Helpful - 0
1088527 tn?1425313375
hey Sarah provigil went generic now so maybe your insurance will cover it? I am taking 200mg I can half the pills . I do like the energy just dont like the creepy crawlies in my legs
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Avatar universal
perhaps dosage too high?  can those be halved?  anyone know?
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Avatar universal
its like being on a caffeine high isn't it!  (grin)
I miss it but my ins co won't pay for it for MS
enjoy!

I'd just take it when you need it
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