Posted by Sunnely on March 6, 2001, at 20:10:40
In reply to provigil for sedation?, posted by Kingfish on March 6, 2001, at 10:57:54
Hi KingFish,
Modafinil (Provigil) is a stimulant approved for the treatment of excessive daytime sleepiness associated with narcolepsy. This is not to say that it can't be used in other conditions (off-label indications). Among its advantages over other stimulants are a longer half-life (once-a-day dosing) and an apparent lack of dopaminergic activity. It has been shown that Provigil does not induce dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens, which may explain why, unlike other stimulants, it has no association with euphoria and apparently little abuse potential. The "high" with Provigil is comparable to that of a couple cups of coffee.
Drug-induced sleepines (e.g., antipsychotics, anti-anxiety drugs, antidepressants) is prominent among its "off-label" indications. Usually, a dose of 100-200 mg/day (maximum 400 mg/day) is sufficient to alleviate the sleepiness from psychotropics. Provigil has also been found to be effective as an "augmenter" to standard antidepressants, treatment of daytime sleepiness due to sleep apnea (should continue using CPAP machine), in adult ADHD (attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. Anecdotal reports suggest that the drug also may be useful in treating chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS).
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
> I was wondering if anyone has taken Provigil (a medication prescribed for Narcolepsy) to offset sedation caused by another medication?
>
> If so, what were the side effects, etc.? Did you have to take every day, or only when you felt tired?
>
> I take 40 mg Celexa and am trying to up my dose of Topamax to at least 200 mg. It was very helpful at that dose but the sedation was so bad that I had to drop it back down to 50 mg. My pdoc prescribed Wellbutrin to offset it, but that is causing irritability, anxiety and racing thoughts, so I want to go off it.
>
> Thanks, as always, for any input!
>
> P.S. To SalArmy4me - thank you so mcuh for your suggestion to switch to Lamictal - since I responded really well to Topamax, except for the sedation, my pdoc asked me to try to offset the sedation before switching. Since I we have a good relationship, I agreed to try.
poster:Sunnely
thread:55708
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010302/msgs/55776.html