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Avatar universal

Persistent Fatigue... Provigil not working

I am a 22 year old male and am in good physical and cardiovascular condition, yet I am plagued by severe daytime sleepiness.

I am currently taking Provigil, once a day at 100mg dosage and find that somewhat helpful yet I cannot seem to overcome the drowsiness.  I am not depressed, have had a full blood work-up, STI testing, thyroid, C-spot, CMV titer, and have sought conselling.

I am sometimes plagued by sleep paralysis and hypnagogic hallucinations, yet since taking Trazodone once a night before bed, these have virtually ceased and my sleep has been uninterupted.  However, despite 8 or more hours, I still feel extremely drained, and concentration is very labored during these times.

I am also having chronic neck pain that is sometimes joined by shoulder and left arm aching, as well as left hemisphere headache starting behind the left eye. When drowsiness hits, my left eye feel so tired that it hurts and feels sore.

Another symptom I've had is heart palpitatons, but this as have all testing listed above, have come back negative and the test show me to be very healthy.

What should I do?  Are these symptoms related?

symptoms: left side headache starting at left eye in conjunction with left neck pain and dull left arm aching.  Severe daytime fatigue and drowsiness.  heart palpitations. sleep paralysis, disturbed sleep and hypnagogic hallucinations

current meds: provigil (100 mg moring)  Trazodone (50 mg evening)

meds: past 6 months: bupropion (300 mg daily)
                     zoloft

Again, all tests have returned normal. Sleep study pending.

Thanks for any help!

4 Responses
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Avatar universal
As bad as it sounds, I also had tons of blood work done, and I'm a healthy 18 year old, not even obese, but quite slender.  The sleep apnea diagnosis caught me by surprise.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I think you have sleep apnea.  I was diagnosed recently, and it's a huge difference.  Before I was diagnosed, I took provil 200 mg 1x daily for a week.  The medication caused all kinds of side effects, like clumsiness, major headaches, abdominal cramping, made me more tired - strange enough it's supposed to wake you up.  It also caused my limbs to feel weak, especially my legs felt like giving out.  Since I was diagnosed with sleep apnea, and given a CPAP machine, it just forces the oxygen you breath into your body while you're asleep.  It sounds harsh, but It took me a week, and I refuse to sleep without it.  I'm more alert now with the diagnosis, than I was before while taking provigil.  They say provigil is supposed to naturally wake you, it feels like you drank a 100 cups of coffee, while you downed a sleeping pill, nothing natural about that.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I don't know how long you've been on Trazodone, and it may certainly be the best medication to help you, but it always left me with an AWFUL hangover that I could not shake.

After fighting it for about a year, I finally insisted on trying something different and tried first Ambien - NO HANGOVER - BUT I was one of the unlucky few who had the problem with eating and not remembering eating and now take Lunesta. (Sonata did leave me with a hangover even tho it's not supposed to)

My understanding is that Ambien, Sonata and Lunesta all three are short acting so that you don't have that morning hangover.

So, it might be something worth asking about.  Good luck
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I'm sorry you're going through so much. I checked drugdigest interactions: http://www.drugdigest.org/DD/Interaction/ChooseDrugs   and there are 3 possible int's with the medicines you listed. It's a very good website that you can type in your medicines, including Ibuprofen, and it will tell you if there are any possible interactions between the med's you list and also food interactions with those med's. Out of the 3 listed possible interactions, the most important one was this (Quote taken from website)

"TRAZODONE may interact with SERTRALINE HYDROCHLORIDE (in Zoloft)

Both sertraline and trazodone have an effect on serotonin, a chemical that is found in the brain. Excess levels of serotonin in the brain may cause serious or potentially life-threatening side effects. Early signs of this problem include increased confusion and restlessness. Other possible symptoms may include weakness, fever, nausea, and anxiety. In rare cases, high levels of serotonin in the brain may cause severe complications like seizures, stroke, and even death. If sertraline and trazodone are used together, it may be best to start with very low doses of each drug under the careful supervision of your doctor. Ask your healthcare provider about these drugs and this potential interaction as soon as possible.

This interaction is poorly documented and is considered major in severity."

Check the website out and check with your doctor about this. It could possibly be an answer. Keep us posted!
Helpful - 0
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