Anyone using Provigil or Nuvigil?

Hello all,

I've been on xPAP for about 3 weeks now and I am not really feeling noticeably less tired. My sleep doc has written me a prescription for Nuvigil and given me a 7 pill sample as well. She made it very clear that this was not for daily use as it becomes less effective with extended use, it is rather expensive, and perhaps most importantly we need to see if xPAP will yield better results over time. She also instructed me to start using a chin strap. I'd reached the same conclusion as taping my mouth shut appears to be inadequate, but I dislike wearing a chin strap even more than I dislike wearing a mask. For now, I plan to leave the prescription unfilled and throw the sample in my desk drawer. I may use the Nuvigil if I have a really bad night ahead of a really important day. I probably should use it a least once before I go back to the doc on August 19th. However, I hope getting using the chin strap (I have a PAPCap) and sleeping longer will eliminate my tiredness. I usually get 6 - 7 hours of sleep. I'll aim for 8 or so now. My average AHI is about 6.5, but it has only hit 5 or less on two nights so far. My AHI during the untreated portion of my sleep study was in the high 50's, so this is still great compared to pre xPAP. My leak rate wasn't super bad before, but with the tape & chin strap it is spending much more time near 0. Unfortunately it seems my incidents don't seem to predominantly occur after a leak and drop in pressure. I am running at a range of 11 - 14 with most of the night spent between 11 - 12.

So, has anyone used these drugs? I am really reluctant to do so, but my tiredness is effecting my job performance.

Thanks,
Silence

Hi Silence;

I have been prescribed Nuvigil and have the 7 pill sample from Nuvigil. I'm reluctant to start this kind of drug, no matter how much daytime fatigue I am experiencing . . . I asked another doctor for his opinion. He said if you are really tired and want more energy and you take Nuvigil to get it . . . it is just like whipping a tired horse . .

The comparison wasn't flattering . . . but his statement sticks in my mind.

I hope someone with experience with either Provigil or Nuvigil will give their opinion.

Jan

I'm pretty sure the doctor was comparing Nuvigil to a whip and not you to a horse.

jmd

ya think so. . . I hope so . . . I saw too many cowboy movies as a kid, where they whipped the exhausted horse, and it dropped dead . . . that was the comparison that keeps me wondering 'bout the drug
Jan

Silence wrote: So, has anyone used these drugs? I am really reluctant to do so, but my tiredness is effecting my job performance.

I haven't, but a friend of mine has. He was prescribed Provigil (in addition to CPAP) for OSA, and found that the drug not only increased alertness but also made him more focused and productive at work. I've heard that some doctors use Provigil off-label to treat ADD; perhaps that's the beneficial side-effect he experienced.

I wonder how Nuvigil compares to Ritalin . . . An iil-informed doctor prescribed Ritalin for me after deciding my fatigue was due to Chronic Fatigue . . . it actually was sleep apnea that has not been diagnosed.

I took Ritalin 20 mg early each morning. Immediately I became Superwoman. I could clean windows, polish the floor with my feet, check the political views on TV, and pay bills simultaneously

Early each afternoon I had a different reaction - I crashed so hard I bounced . . I dragged my tired body the rest of the day.The next morning, After taking Ritalin I again became the Energizer Bunny.

I did not like the feeling of crashing to the bottom of my energy level and took myself off Ritalin. . . that's why I feel cautious 'bout "Feel Good" drugs. When you are chemically energized, does your body pay a price?

Jan

post tried to duplicate.
Jan

Hello all. I have used provigil for several months now, because even sleeping for 8 hrs. a night with my machine I am still tired. It keeps me awake during the day, without it I can't make it through the day without taking a nap and I do not "crash" at the end of the day. With my insurance, Aetna, I pay $50 for a 1 month supply.

I take Provigil on occasion. I try not to use it everyday as i don't want to become addicted or anything like that...but just for those days when no matter what it feels like I didn't get anywhere near enough sleep and I'm falling asleep in my office. So I take one at 200mg and it helps immensely. I'm not bouncing off the walls or anything like that, I'm just not tired any more. I don't crash in the afternoon or evening. I don't have a problem going to sleep at night. If taken properly and with the right dosage for you I don't see why it wouldn't be helpful for some of us still struggling with our CPAP's. I know I sure am!

~Heather

I have been using Provigil for nearly 8 years. I don't have Apnea but I have MS with extreme fatigue. it helps me make it through the day AND I really don't feel like I'm addicted at all! Also, as I said in my earlier post, My Son DOES have Apnea. and as I also said in my last post, he isn't able to keep the CPAP on at all through the night. SO....I started giving him my Provigil when he was really tired and he tells me that it is amazing! He is able to stay awake through the day and he is able to concentrate and do his job better! I know that there are people out there who would disagree with me giving him my medication which isn't perscribe to him.....but....Provigil is expensive! ($600.00 for 60 pills!) And he has no health insurance ( and I do)! And I am Happy to be able to help him in this small way I say, if you are tired during the day even after you slept for 8 hours with the CPAP machine....Take the Provigil! It is great! It's not an amphetamine (sp?) it doesn't cause you to be anxious or jittery and it Really Really helps! Good luck and God Bless!
Patti (ptgrvs8)

Hello,

I have access to the French brand of "Adrafinil" called Olmifon. Its made by the same manufacturer (Cephalon). Olmifon is not a controlled substance in America therefore, entirely unregulated. While Nuvigil is approx. $300 or so for 30 pills it is a great drug, but I can't afford that. Provigil was Cephalon's precursor to Nuvigil. When the patent runs out on a particular drug, the pharmaceutical company reengineers the drug so that others can not easily duplicate it. The produce an 'Instant release" or a "timed release" version usually. In this case there was an ingrediant in provigil they removed thus basically doubling the strength of Nuvigil.

On a personal note I can not tell the difference between the two. I do weigh approx 145 lbs though so every kind of drug has really effected me, and I've tried them all. (A long time ago...)

How I discovered these drugs is going to the family doc. and expressing a need to get on ritilan or some other black label drug for what I thought was ADD. I told him I would fall asleep at my desk if I didn't have about 1,000 mg of caffeine and he prescribed me the 14 day trial of Nuvigil. The trial was astonishing! I am in love with this drug! When the trial was over I had to wait a week for a 'preauth' that never came... I have great insurance but it still wont cover the 300/mo. perscription. (I wouldn't blame them)

Bottom line. This is a new type of stimulant that only impacts the mind, not the heart which is important for me. And Olmifon being about $2 per pill is a no brainer. (Compared to Nuvigil being $10 PER PILL)

Let me know if you need any- Maybe you can buy ten or so from me.

Thanks!

Those who need it, go to the website for Nuvigil, and download the coupon for one free week, and then up to $50 off the monthly prescription...I think it was for 6 months. Don't know when it expires, but it makes Nuvigil $27.00 for me for a month on my insurance co-pay and I was told by the druggist without the coupon it would be $77.00 for a month (30 pills). I had my Dr order the 250 mg so I could take 1/2 daily, effectively stretching each prescription refill out for more than 2 months. It does keep me more awake to work, and makes me more productive, but I ONLY take it on work days where I must work for 8 hours minimum. The other days(on the weekend), although I am still working, I work about a half day and then I can take a long nap. The Nuvigil and Provigil caused VERY dry mouth and sore tongue for me- I think I moved my tongue around more in my mouth to try to make more saliva and therefore sometimes got little sores on it- but it was worth it. Now that I have been diagnosed with severe OSA, my Dr will not prescribe it for me anymore! They are telling me that now that I am on CPAP I should not need the Nuvigil anymore as long as I am compliant. I am compliant, but I am on so many other drugs, I am not protesting that right now. My monthly pharmacy bill for co-pays is pretty high, even without the Nuvigil. Be advised that SOME insurance companies will not allow their insured to get Nuvigil unless they are on CPAP and compliant with treatment, and the Dr has to note that on the prescription for them or when the insurance company calls the Dr after it is presented at the pharmacy. My Dr told me this about a month ago when he told me he wrote an Rx for Nuvigil for someone else in his practice who is "probably an OSA sufferer", but he is waiting for his initial sleep study, which here in the Panhandle of FL, can take up to 3 months by the time the PCP refers patient to the sleep Dr and gets an appointment, and then the study and titration is ordered and scheduled, a lenghty process. There are only a few sleep study places in town and my Dr uses only ONE sleep specialist, who he feels is the best, for referrals. I am not convinced, am not too wild about my sleep Dr and plan to get a new one by next year before my annual visit, if I can find one on my insurance panel. I want a sleep Dr who pays more attention to the data my Resmed S9 Auto provides...he doesn't even glance at it when I bring him the downloaded data on my netbook. He said he didn't need to look at it, but I wanted some input about my AHI which was showing 0.7 to 1.3 in centrals, and I thought perhaps I needed my pressure tweaked a little. He poo-pooed me, told me my Auto-set S9 will take care of it, by itself! I thought I could get better control of those centrals by a little pressure hike. Anyway I am getting off-topic now.

I've used Provigil on an "as needed" basis for few years. It does make me more alert and better able to focus. I haven't seen any terrible side effects published and the only side effect I've noticed personally is that is makes me extremely talkative. Like you, I don't like to take medicines I don't need, so I haven't taken it regularly, but I would recommend for those times when the cpap hasn't given you the refreshing sleep you need and you want to be alert.
Jay

I take Modafinil (marketed as ProVigil) every day. I usually take a 100mg tablet in the morning and half the time take another at midday. Sometimes I take a 200mg pill in the morning.

I've been taking it for 6 months, it has completely turned my life around and makes me feel alive and alert after having been in a fog or cloud for so long I forgot what it was like to be awake. On the very rare day when I don't take a pill, it seems like I don't wake up and the day is sort of wasted because I never get my act together.

El Pap wrote:I haven't, but a friend of mine has. He was prescribed Provigil (in addition to CPAP) for OSA, and found that the drug not only increased alertness but also made him more focused and productive at work.

I've been prescribed it for excessive sleepiness not ameliorated by CPAP. This is the way I experience it. I'm afraid to take Nuvigil as it's so long acting.