Provigil

[Ellanor]

Has anyone had a recent Provigil refill? I have been on Medicare for 3 years, and for the first time I fell into the donut hole with Provigil. It seems the price has gone from $990 (last year) to $2050 (this year). For me to get a refill will cost me $1028 out of pocket. This is not affordable for me, so I have gone without and can really feel the effects. I do not qualify for any of the drug companies assistance. I was just curious if anyone else noticed the HUGE increase and had any idea why. One friend said that it may be going generic and they are trying to get as much money as they can. I had heard it was going to be available in generic form several years ago. I'm tired of the drug companies making huge profits at our expense.

[Shashi]

I was on Provigil for awhile, but my insurance wouldn't pay for it, so I had to just take the samples that my doctor gave me. They ended up giving me severe chest pain, so I had to stop taking them. I also tried amantadine, which didn't do anything, and Focalin, which gave me energy, but hypered me up too much.

I read a post on here back in September 2009 about two anti-oxidant substances, alpha lipoic acid and acetyl L-carnitine, which had been shown in university studies to help alleviate the fatigue of MS, chronic fatigue syndrome, lupus, cancer, etc. I decided to try them and have had great results with them. They have given me my life back. Before I started taking them, I was so fatigued that just combing my hair was exhausting. I could only go shopping in one store and I'd be wiped out. I used to have to ride a motorized cart through the store to shop because I would get so worn out by walking, but now I can go shopping in multiple stores with no problem. I can go hiking with my family, and have even climbed a half mile vertical trail to the top of a mountain with no problem.

If you haven't already tried these supplements, you may want to consider it, as they are much less expensive than any of the prescription meds used for fatigue. They're also natural substances which your body needs anyway.

The usual dosage is 1,000 to 2,000 mg of acetyl L-carnitine and 200 - 400 mg of alpha lipoic acid every morning on an empty stomach. (Start off with the lower dosage at first and if you need to, you can later increase it.) It also helps to take them with a good vitamin B complex. It can take up to a month to see full results, though most people can tell a difference within a few days. (There are also some people, who for whatever reason, do not get any results. I don't know if they need to increase their dosage or what, but there are a few like that.)

Also, if you are taking any type of thyroid or diabetes medications, be sure to check with your doctor before taking these supplements, as they can increase the effectiveness of these medications and may cause you to need a dosage adjustment.

Do a search for them both here and on Google. You'll find a lot of great information on them.

Hugs,

Lisa

[Ellanor]

Thanks Lisa! I will check them out. I am on thyroid medicine, so thanks for that too! I have been on Provigil for 10 years and it has been my life saver. It has not caused me any problems and I'm angry at Cephalon for raising the costs. I am interested in learning about your suggestions.

[maximumlite]

I'm on medicare and my Rebif made me jump right over the doughnut hole to catostropic so I still have to pay 5% so I have been pricing and for 30 of 200mg is $750 and $1500 for 60 at Costco so I did talk to my doc about adderal xr because of cost and he said the big difference was it was a stimulant unlike provigil that just keeps you awake, I was also looking for something that gave me a little energy. He also told me I did'nt need a membership to go to pharmacy or any of the pay places that have a pharmacy