Provigil - questions

[Faey]

Hello!

I am new to Provigil.

My dr prescribed 200 mg 2x a day (400 mg). I'm sensitive to medications so i started at 50mg 1x a day then moved to 100mg in the morning.

With the 100mg i feel GREAT. i love it but I start to get really crappy feeling about 6-8 hours later. I'm assuming that means that I should take the second pill at about that time.

So, my question is this:

Have any of you experienced this? a really yucky feeling crash as the pill wears off from your morning dose? and if you do, do you find that taking a second dose makes you feel better or worse? I feel SO bad (tired, really unfocused, shaky inside, not thinking well) that i'm not sure if taking more helps or will make it worse.

Of course I'll contact my dr about it and i suppose i'll just have to be brave and take the second dose like my dr told me to before i'll know either way but i was hoping maybe someone had experienced this and could help me feel a little less anxiety about moving my dose up to 2xs a day.

thank you for your input!

[SweetTart]

Hello Faey. I just started the Provigil yesterday, taking 200mg in the morning... and I felt awesome! I had no problem with jitters and such, and it worked all day for me. By the time I went to bed last night I was still feeling the effects a little ~ but I was still able to go to bed and get some good sleep. Took it again this morning, and again I am feeling great.
Since you know about how long the 100mg lasted, don't wait quite the 6 hours before taking another 50mg. If you think the 50 isn't enough in the afternoon, move it up to 100mg.
I hope this give you some peace of mind, and helps. Good luck with this and everything!

Stacey

[hallen42]

I was diagnosed with narcolepsy (non-cateplexy) in November 2008 and prescribed Provigil for it, and diagnosed with MS 9/9/10. It definitely helps with my exhaustion, although I know it doesn't work for everyone with MS.

When I first started, they had me taking 100mg in the morning. Then, I would take another 100mg around 11am - 1/2 hour or more before lunch.

It helped me to spread out the dose during the day. Definitely speak to your doctor about spreading the dosage out during the day. The effects of Provigil will last anywhere from 4-6 hours, depending on the person. It took me about a month to figure out my best dosage and when to take it.

Remember to take it either 30 minutes before eating or at least 30-60 minutes after eating. I have found it works way better for me if I get up and take it in the morning, go get ready for work, then eat my breakfast (for example).

[dolule]

on Provigil for 7 years

I took Provigil for seven years (my HMO recently switched me to Nuvigil, but it was an administrative decision; not because of any issues I was having). The only problem I ever had with it was that if I took the whole 200mg pill prescribed I couldn't get to sleep at night -- so I took only 3/4 of a pill most mornings (and told my doctor I was doing so). It really helped me avoid that sudden collapse in energy that one can get with MS and made me more productive. No jitters or anything like you get with caffeine.
I was surprised by the advice to not take it with a meal -- I always took it at breakfast. I checked the "patient information" from on the Provigil website and it says it may be taken with or without food.
I did find that I couldn't fall asleep during the day. Sometimes I felt that it kept me from napping when I really needed to. When that happened, I would skip or take a smaller dose the next day so I could get more rest. Similarly, I would take the full 200mg if I needed to be "up" for some special activity like a holiday party or a long car ride.
Best wishes -- I think you'll find you enjoy life more with the Provigil.

[Faey]

thank you all for your input.

i left a message with my dr and should hopefully hear back soon.

when i've taken the pill and it's active i feel GREAT. it's once i start to come down that i feel so so sick and almost drunk. it's scary because if i go somewhere at night then it's a scary scary drive home. i didn't take my pills today and i can feel my body being super jittery without it.

it just sucks. i'm tired without the pill and sick with it.

stupid ms

[wkikta]

I am prescribed 2x200 mg per day. I cut them in half and take 2x100 mg. First when I get up, the second just before lunch. Never take the second after 2 pm, it will keep me up. If I have something to go to in the evening I will take a third 100 mg around 3 pm, most times.

[Faey]

thank you so much for your reply.

can you give me an idea of how long you wait between doses? i've read anywhere from 4-8 hrs. that's a big window!

[Justsayyes]

I liked splitting my pills in half and staggering the two doses. I would take the second half anywhere between 4-6 hours after the first. I don't think it has to be so specific since I am splitting the dose anyway. I totally agree that taking it late afternoon might affect my sleep.

You have to judge for yourself how late is too late. For me it was about 4:00 p.m., but I go to bed at about 1 a.m.

[jankel]

I've been on Provigil for 9 years and it's the only thing that has allowed me to continue working.

My doctor said that you shouldn't take provigil after 1:00 PM otherwise you may not sleep at night.

For me, I take 1 1/2 (200mg pills - total of 300mg) around 7:30 / 8:00 AM, then somewhere between 12 noon and 1:00 PM I take another pill (200mg).

However I started out with only 1 pill a day then moved up as the years went on and with the way my MS is progressing, taking the medication as described above I still get fatigued somewhere between 2 & 4 in the afternoon. It doesn't matter what I do, I crash the same time frame everyday. When I'm not working I don't take as much and still the same time I become listless.