Went to the Dr. today...........

Kelly · Post by **Kelly** » Tue Mar 20, 2007 1:30 pm

Went to the doc today and told him of my struggles of not feeling better. I have been on cpap for 2 months. He put me on Provigil and said that I should feel better soon. Anyone have any experiences with the med? He started me out at 50mg 2x's a day over 2 wks then up to 100 2x day for 2 wks then 200mg 2x's a day.

Wulfman · Post by **Wulfman** » Tue Mar 20, 2007 1:43 pm

My opinion.......he's a pill-pushing quack!
Instead of helping you get decent sleep, he's going to help you stay awake.
Dump him!

Den

http://www.provigil.com/

PROVIGIL is indicated to improve wakefulness in patients with excessive sleepiness associated with narcolepsy, obstructive sleep apnea/hypopnea syndrome and shift work sleep disorder.

PROVIGIL is a medication to treat excessive sleepiness caused by certain sleep disorders. These sleep disorders are narcolepsy, obstructive sleep apnea/hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS), and shift work sleep disorder (SWSD).

And, you NEED to read this:

http://www.drugs.com/provigil.html

and this:

http://www.medicinenet.com/modafinil/article.htm
.
.

Nitro Dan · Post by **Nitro Dan** » Tue Mar 20, 2007 2:06 pm

I could not have said it any better Wulfman! Seems they just can't wait to get someone started on meds.....

NightHawkeye · Post by **NightHawkeye** » Tue Mar 20, 2007 2:16 pm

Ummm . . ., what does M.D. stand for?

Doctor of Medicine That's what they do. That's their training. That's their industry. It's called the drug industry. It is a huge industry, by the way . . .

Regards,
Bill

Wulfman · Post by **Wulfman** » Tue Mar 20, 2007 2:19 pm

Kelly,

My other words of advice would be: DON'T START taking the Provigil, either. (in case you got the prescription filled)

Den

SleepGuy · Post by **SleepGuy** » Tue Mar 20, 2007 2:32 pm

Wulfman wrote:Kelly,

My other words of advice would be: DON'T START taking the Provigil, either. (in case you got the prescription filled)

Den

I second that--and even more important, find a NEW DOCTOR!

One that specializes in sleep medicine.

This doctor is doing you no favors. He should be very concerned about getting your cpap therapy working correctly (it can be very tricky!), not about keeping you drugged up during the day.

Provogil will do nothing to solve the very serious and scary effects of untreated OSA (like contracting diabetes).

WearyOne · Post by **WearyOne** » Tue Mar 20, 2007 3:34 pm

Kelly, what type of physician are you seeing about your sleeping problems? I looked through some of your posts and didn't see that anywhere (although I could have missed it). If it's not a physician who specializes and is certified in sleep medicine, you need to find one who is. (And didn't you mention something about narcolepsy in one of your posts, in addition to apnea?)

Even if the Provigil works at helping you stay awake during the day (and I've heard a lot of people say it doesn't help them at all), whatever is happening at night while you're asleep needs to be addressed.

I'm not suggesting you take or don't take Provigil, but whatever you do, please make sure your physician is a specialist/certified in sleep medicine and is treating your sleep problem(s), not just throwing a pill at you so maybe you will feel better during the day.

Keep us posted!

Pam

SleepySandy · Post by **SleepySandy** » Tue Mar 20, 2007 4:58 pm

Hi Kelly,

I've tried Provigil. It didn't work at all for me and at the higher doses it made me feel funny. It's hard to explain, but you know that feeling you get in your chest when you're REALLY nervous? That was the feeling. I wasn't nervous. Just that weird feeling in my chest. So, it didn't help and left me feeling bad.

I have been on CPAP for 2 1/2 months and don't feel any better. I've posted asking for suggestions and got some great feedback. Based on the advice I received, here are some suggestions for you:

Find a new sleep doc. Board Certified in Sleep Medicine is best. While you should start with a Board Certified doc, just because the doc is Board Certified doesn't mean they'll be perfect. My first sleep doc was Board Certified and I have nothing good to say about him. He left me feeling like there was nothing that could be done for my debilitating fatigue (after 6 weeks on CPAP). And, he didn't believe Provigil didn't work for me. Apparently, he thinks all meds work for all people. Here's the link to find the Board Certified sleep docs: http://www.absm.org/Diplomates/listing.htm Unfortunately, you can't search on state - you have to pull it up by the first letter of the last name. I got tired of doing that and copied the information into an Excel file so I could filter it by state (I know lots of people who need to find a board certified sleep doc). If you would like the list of Ohio docs, send me a PM.

Look at the meds you are taking. I was asked about this and was reluctant to post the info on the public forum so I handled it in PMs with one of the members here. One of the meds I'm taking is known to cause serious issues with sleep architecture. CPAP might be giving you the proper therapy but meds could be destroying your sleep.

Post your sleep study results. There are some very knowledgable folks on this forum who might be able to provide additional insight.

I really do know what it's like to be doing everything you're told and not feel better. I also know what it feels like to go from discouraged to hopeful. Please read these 2 threads - you'll see some of the great advice I got as well as how encouraged I am now that I have a new doc. If you don't want to read all of the details, skip to page 2 of the second thread. There's a long post from me about how my first appointment with the new sleep doc went. That's the very hopeful one:
viewtopic.php?t=17322&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0
viewtopic.php?t=17752&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

Nitro Dan · Post by **Nitro Dan** » Tue Mar 20, 2007 7:18 pm

NightHawkeye wrote:Ummm . . ., what does M.D. stand for?

Doctor of Medicine That's what they do. That's their training. That's their industry. It's called the drug industry. It is a huge industry, by the way . . .

Regards,
Bill

So Bill, Do you have a clue?

NightHawkeye · Post by **NightHawkeye** » Tue Mar 20, 2007 9:09 pm

Nitro Dan wrote:So Bill, Do you have a clue?

About what, Nitro Dan?

Kelly- · Post by **Kelly-** » Wed Mar 21, 2007 6:09 am

I do see a board certified sleep doc. He told me back in Jan. that I have narcolepsy and apnea, and to use cpap for a while and if I am still tired then add to my cpap treatment the provigil. I do feel that he is a good doc. and has many years of experience. People from all over the country go to see him.

Nitro Dan · Post by **Nitro Dan** » Wed Mar 21, 2007 9:41 am

NightHawkeye wrote:
Nitro Dan wrote:So Bill, Do you have a clue?
About what, Nitro Dan?

LOL, I had a chuckle when I read your "warning".

Wulfman · Post by **Wulfman** » Wed Mar 21, 2007 10:32 am

Kelly- wrote:I do see a board certified sleep doc. He told me back in Jan. that I have narcolepsy and apnea, and to use cpap for a while and if I am still tired then add to my cpap treatment the provigil. I do feel that he is a good doc. and has many years of experience. People from all over the country go to see him.

No offense, Kelly, but that still doesn't alter my perception of your situation. You've BARELY begun with your CPAP therapy......with a machine that doesn't record statistics or software capabilities to interpret it......a nasal mask which leaves you with the potential of mouth-leaking (unless you're taping your mouth shut). You're totally in the dark about how your therapy is or is not working.

There's been a lot of people who've been diagnosed with depression.....only to find out later that the root cause was the effects of sleep apnea was altering their moods.

But.....it's YOUR life and health.

Den

NightHawkeye · Post by **NightHawkeye** » Wed Mar 21, 2007 10:43 am

Wulfman wrote: You've BARELY begun with your CPAP therapy......with a machine that doesn't record statistics or software capabilities to interpret it......a nasal mask which leaves you with the potential of mouth-leaking (unless you're taping your mouth shut). You're totally in the dark about how your therapy is or is not working.

Kelly, I'd just like to add emphasis to what Den said.

You can have the best doc in the world, but it's up to you to make this therapy work. No one else can! A good doc can help, but you'd be far better off, since CPAP therapy isn't working for you, to invest a little time and money in order to understand why it's not working. Many problems can be easily fixed. You can find numerous examples here every day.

Regards,
Bill

WearyOne · Post by **WearyOne** » Wed Mar 21, 2007 11:09 am

Kelly,

It's good to hear you're going to a certified sleep doctor, but you still don't know what is causing you to feel so bad during the day. It could be the narcolepsy only; it could be that your apnea treatment isn't where it should be; or it could be both--but you won't know unless you have a xpap machine that records data.

I would suggest that you tell your sleep doctor that you need a machine that records your AHI, leaks, etc., so it can be determined whether or not your apnea treatment is truly working. If it is, you will feel better about concentrating on the narcolepsy; if it's not, you'll need to find out why and make changes. I think I read where you use an Ace bandage and that has stopped your mouth breathing? Are you sure it's stopped it? You have a high pressure, too, right? Maybe an APAP would be good for you.

In one of your posts, you said your sleep doctor wanted to treat the apnea first and then the narcolepsy. If he's serious about that, then he should be open to prescribing you a higher-end machine that records your sleep data. It can't be assumed the treatment is working (even if you're 100% compliant) without the data to back it up. If he won't do that, then I would agree that, no matter how good his reputation, that maybe you should look into finding another sleep doc.

It's difficult, I know, when you have more than one problem to figure out what's causing what.

Make sure to keep us posted on your progress!

Pam