Posted by zeugma on August 27, 2004, at 19:26:19
In reply to Re: um.....interesting dialog on PROVIGIL--sls, posted by alesta on August 27, 2004, at 7:05:14
Well, I made it through a full day with this dreaded drug. I skipped the Ritalin and took 100 mg Provigil at 5:15 a.m., on an empty stomach. About 45 minutes later I had breakfast, and in preparation for this great experiment, I had made a small pot of half-caffeinated coffee. The level of stimulation from Provigil was perceptible, and I actually didn't waste the entire morning; I performed such minor but commendable actions as opening the week's mail and paying a bill that was about to go past due. (You can't believe how hard it is for me to get myself to do these things under ordinary circumstances.) And I took my run in the morning, about 9 a.m., instead of waiting till dusk to leave my apartment.
Other minor but commendable actions performed: getting my refill of Provigil (ha), depositing my paycheck, reading part of a magazine I've been asked to review. And I got to work on time. (You see? Provigil isn't that bad.)
Now for the downsides: I felt a crash about 4 p.m., cognitively and physically. So the duration of action is about 10 hours. The crash is very unpleasant. It is worse than I experienced on Ritalin LA, but I wonder if that is due to the fact that the dosage of Ritalin was too low to get me too far above baseline- my Provigil crash returned me to baseline, which means that it must have had a powerful energizing effect to produce such a contrast. Some gastrointestinal distress, which seems to come with the territory.
I think I may need more than 100 mg, if I were going to use this med as stimulant monotherapy. The crash is bad, and the peak, while definitely better than I was getting from the 10 mg Ritalin formulation, is still too modest. Its effect is different from ritalin. I would describe it as a very 'self-conscious' kind of effect, in which I'm strongly aware of where my attention is at any given moment. And when the crash comes, it's like things start getting blurry again. And the fatigue is awful.
I dealt with the crash (luckily only had to work a couple of hours) by eating chocolate and some decaf iced coffee. As the crash was coming on I was getting cravings for caffeine but from my previous experience with this dosage of Provigil I know that's a surefire recipe for insomnia. The good thing was that I was highly aware that I was only feeling that way because of the crash, and I was able to resist the urge to compensate with caffeine. That's better than I did my last go-around with Provigil.
OK, that seems like enough civilized discourse for one day ;) Tomorrow I'll repeat this experiment then try adding the Ritalin LA on Sunday.
-z
poster:zeugma
thread:382548
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040825/msgs/383134.html