Anyone tried provigil or LDN

[uk2]

Hi All

Posted a few days ago maybe a week about fatiuge alot of you advised to go my GP which i will and i have a rheumy and consultant appoinment in august so will bring it up there i have researched what is out there and the most popular seem to be this provigil but it is a has something to do with the neurotransmitter dopamine in the brain and i have been on requip and other dopamine meds as my rheumy seems to think these are greast but my body hates them i go mad on them!! so i dont really want to try it but if it has had good results for others and not had them up for days as i've heard this about them too then i'll give it ago.

I've heard the low does naxolrole (cant spell) can help improve sx like fatuige has anyone been on this and found this true? i am also on fenntanal patches (an opiate) can i take this drug with this.

sam

[Khiba]

Hi All,

I don't take Provigil (have in the past but it didn't do much for me) but do take an amino acid called Tyrosine and found it helps a lot with fatigue and mental sharpness. Plus its really inexpensive. I am a dopamine type and found tyrosine is my friend. LOL Its good for mood too. Tyrosine doesn't hype you up like some of the ADD drugs, just gives a steady energized alert feeling.

Sam, you HAVE to be off all opiates, for 2 weeks, including your patch, to start taking LDN. I am happily taking it and have since March with no side effects and generally overall am feeling better. I got off Lyrica and Tramadol and take just 2 mg Valium AM and PM for muscle spasms, the LDN 3 mg at night and 500 mg Tyrosine in the morning. MS is surely not cured but the symptoms are at least tolerable.

I feel the less meds the the better. I also try very very hard to exercise what body parts I can by lifting weights and doing stretching and Pilates (low level) to keep my stiff and recalcitrant muscles in as good a shape as possible. I have found by the exercise routine that I can now walk for 30 minutes without falling, staggering, stumbling or dragging my foot along for the walk. Since its over 95 every day here, I only get to try walking when the temps fall under 86, so that happens only at night usually around 7:30 or 8 PM, and only once in a while :)

I hope you get to feeling better enough to ramp up your exercise, because you will most likely feel better overall when you can move around more.

Cheers,
Jessica

[Lulu54]

We just had both of those discussions recently - here is the link for the LDN chat

http://www.medhelp.org/posts/Multiple-Sclerosis/LDN/show/1003242


here is the link to the provigil/nuvigil discussion

http://www.medhelp.org/posts/Multiple-Sclerosis/Provigil---generic-form-or-Nuvigil/show/1002045

I think as consumers it is important to understand the switch and the marketing and costs associated with the nuvigil - --- it all has to do with the big pharma company protecting their profits through the use of patents.  Provigil is going to be the cheaper drug in the very near future when its patent expires.

I hope these posts help,
Lulu

[meregoddess]

Hi Sam,

I have such fatigue that I actually take two provigil a day.  It's a life saver.  I don't believe I could get up  and make it through the day without it.  

My insurance co. wouldn't approve it at first and I had to go through their hoops  (luckily I used to limbo so it wasn't too hard) and take OTHER STUPID stuff first before they approved it.  I took Ritalin, Adderall, and one other "ADD medicine"  before they approved the Provigil.  

I haven't tried the nuvigil since the provigil works, and the neuro hasn't suggested it.  I imagine my insurance company would be appreciative of a lower cost medicine if I asked for it, but since they won't pay for my Tysabri under the prescription plan (which makes taking the medicine VERY expensive) I think I'll stay on the Provigil and get even.......

But give Provigil a try.  If it doesn't work, fine.  Try something else.  But almost everyone I've known that went on the Provigil had great success with it.

Good luck to you!

mere

[JulesL5S1]

I've just started on Nuvigil which is the 2nd generation of Provigil.  I like Nuvigil alot.

I've been unable to tolerate other medications as they made me too jumpy.  On Provigil I could only tolerate a small dose (had to cut the pill down - with permission from my doc).

Provigil is more expensive than Nuvigil and many insurance companies won't cover Provigil.  The drug company lowered the cost of Nuvigil to get people to switch.

My week long testing of Nuvigil has been fantastic.  It has greatly improved my mental cognition.  I thought I was "fine" on Provigil but on day one of Nuvigil I immediately saw a difference.  My only downside is that my stamina has decreased so much over the last 18 months of decline that it is going to take me a while to get my stamina back.  Mentally I feel like the old me.  This is great.

Keep in mind that what works for one person may not work for the other.  It is a trial and error process that you need to work with your doctor on.  For me, Nuvigil (2nd generation of Provigil) is working ... and working well!

Good luck, Jules