Ritalin

[Nenative]

My doctor prescribed provigil for my fatigue. Insurance denied because my doctor had not tried amantadine or ritalin first.

I don't want to take the medication every day, just on the days when the fatigue really has me beat down so it looks like ritalin is my only option at the moment.

For anyone who has taken ritalin, how effective was it and what side effects did you notice? How well did it work by taking it only when fatigue was really bad?

[Justsayyes]

I switched from Provigil to Ritalin for a few months. Ritalin worked pretty well, I took two doses a day. I think it is worth a try. It was very inexpensive, the hassle was that I had to see my neuro every 3 months and pick up the prescription personally every month.

I went back on Provigil because they both worked similarly for me and I didn't have the above issue with prescriptions.

I didn't have any adverse side effects from Ritalin.

I was also on Amantadine for a few years, it was a subtle help with fatigue. The good thing about it was that it is an anti-viral and I never got sick while on it. The bad for me was constipation.

[Bob698]

Amantadine is cheap, fairly effective, and doesn't carry baggage like Ritalin.
Its pretty benign in terms of side effects. I only take it when I need it (there's no ramping up or weening off).
Maybe give it a shot first?

[Nenative]

Thanks -- my doctor told me that amantadine wouldn't work unless I took it consistantly but sounds like for you it does work on an as needed basis.

[wkikta]

Generally the effect of Amantadine is very slight, but for many that is all that is needed. It works much better to take it every day because of it's slight effect. I took it for about 5 years, but it just wasn't working enough anymore so I switched to Provigil and that works much better.

The Ritalin is an Amphetamine that should work pretty well on an as needed basis. Give it a try.

[jumpinjiminy]

My neuro prescribed Ritalin a couple of months ago for my fatigue and it works well, but keeps me from falling asleep, so I had to up my Xanax dose to get to sleep. That in turn made me feel hung over in the morning, requiring me to have to take a Ritalin the next day. I could do this through the week until Thursday or Friday rolled around. Thursday I forced myself through, but felt like a zombie. Then by Friday, I was sleeping through the Ritalin dose.

I now only take it when I absolutely have to, and know in advance I can't go more than two or three days without having to sleep off the effects of pushing through things for a couple of days.

Either way, I still end up sleeping to make up for doing. It just made the difference between sleeping more regularly, or sleeping all in one chunk. Lol.

Now I have a question about Provigil, because that is supposed to be easier on those of us with sleep issues.

[jumpinjiminy]

A little side note: I put in an order online for generic Provigil. The cost was $63 (including shipping) for 30 200mg tabs. I figure I can cut them in half or quarters if need be. I'm hoping for $63, I can get what the neuro wanted to prescribe but my insurance won't cover, at the same cost as a copay for most everything else. Fingers crossed.

[04blackcobra]

I tried the amantadine and saw no benefit. The provigil worked but gave me a dysphoric feeling and was expensive. I was given a trial of generic ritalin 10 mg and it has worked well. I take maybe 2-3 times a week. It cost mee $10 dollars for 90 tabs and it lasts @ a year. This is the short acting version and only lasts @ 6 hours. I do not have a problem falling asleep due to the short acting and the gabapentin and baclofen I take at night make me drowsy

[BigA]

Ritalin is cheap and works well. You can take it as-needed. It helps with cognitive skills as well. I think it's a winner and that it's worth a try. I love it.

[jumpinjiminy]

Heh. I had to take one today to force myself to move this morning. Went to school, took the midterm, came home and slept for 3 hours. How does that happen? And then other times it keeps me awake all day and half the night.



Must be the effects of the current mini flare.

[Justsayyes]

Add a little stress to the picture, like that midterm, and you find yourself exhausted no matter what you take. That's my theory

Looking at what my insurance covers and my copay, the cost is $28.00 for one 200 mg. provigil pill. Yep, per pill. Back when I first started taking it, cost was about $10 per pill. Crazy. I get 15 pills per month, my copay is $45, the insurance pays $384.59. Geez...

[jumpinjiminy]

Add a little stress to the picture, like that midterm, and you find yourself exhausted no matter what you take. That's my theory

Looking at what my insurance covers and my copay, the cost is $28.00 for one 200 mg. provigil pill. Yep, per pill. Back when I first started taking it, cost was about $10 per pill. Crazy. I get 15 pills per month, my copay is $45, the insurance pays $384.59. Geez...

LOL. Funny thing was I only studied the last three chapters, not knowing this week was the midterm. I walked in, sat down, saw the test was 125 questions with the first chapters included and said, "What the?"

It was easy. I've had this class before. I'm only repeating it because the college insists my credits are too old so they don't count. What's that giant sucking sound? Could it be the community college getting drunk on my bank account? Ayep.

The cost of Provigil is obscene, in my humble opinion. According to the news floating around, their patent expired two years ago and they paid off the generic companies to keep their cheaper versions off the market. The FTC has sued Cephalon, and is now allowing the generics back on in a stepwise manner. The reasoning behind that is beyond me. I didn't read into it that far. All I wanted to know was could I get some or not?

Hopefully, this works well without side effects. It would truly be a blessing. But in case it doesn't, I've got another ace up my sleeve.