Posted by ronaldo on November 30, 2006, at 8:55:32
http://www.mywayout.org/blog/2006/10/25/medications-and-research/the-skinny-on-smart-pills/
Wednesday, October 25th, 2006
The skinny on smart pills
Posted by Roberta Jewell
Categories: Medications and researchOkay, first of all: insert your favorite industrial strength medical disclaimer here. You know the drill. Nothing you read on my website, discussion board or blog constitutes, replaces or in any way represents medical advice. Please consult a qualified health care professional yadda yadda yadda yadda.
I’m fessing up. Here’s my experience with smart pills. I am asked about this continually. Calls, emails, and questions to the message board. I certainly understand why, I would ask the same. In fact someone recently posted a question on our board about my vague reference to it in the book. Her characterization was correct. I dodged it. But like many of you, I incorporated Topamax into my program and I faced the same cognitive side effects some of you are now dealing with.
To be honest, I thought I’d found the holy grail when I came upon the smart pills. I was doing tons of research at the time and, and as always, quite a bit of self experimentation. I had been desperate to fix the drinking problem and by that point the program was working great. But the cognitive fog was a killer. I had learned about these new “eugeroics” and they had been helping immensely, but they seemed to offer more to me than enhanced brain power. I wasn’t sure if I should keep this to myself or include it in the book so I consulted one of the MDs with whom I was working. I said I was apprehensive about sharing the info. My experience seemed almost too good to be true and I had relatively little feedback about these smart pills’ use within the context of the program. But I was urged to include the info if it could be helpful to others, who were advised repeatedly in the book to work with their docs.
Brenda, my MWO partner in crime, didn’t like the smart pills at all, btw - they made her jittery and anxious and she quit taking them shortly after starting. I’ve since learned that’s not unusual.
But for me, holy cow. They made me alert and happy and thin. They knocked my brain back into gear after being turned into toast by Topamax. I no longer drove past my house at the end of the day or used my fingers to add simple math. And the weight, my God. I thought it had dropped quickly with Topa - it seemed to melt in my sleep with these two pills from France that I took every morning. So much so that one of the leading women’s weeklies I’d pitched MWO to agreed to run the story if I focused on my weight loss rather than the alcohol program. I refused and so did they.
Smart drugs, also known as nootropics, are a relatively new class of meds. The two I refer to in the book are adrafinil (Olmifon) and modafinil (Provigil). Adrafinil usually makes its way to the US via online stores and costs about $30 for a 20 day supply. A doctor friend who reads French was pretty impressed after translating the info in the package once it arrived and assured me it was legit. Adrafinil is a central nervous stimulant, but like other eugregorics, it doesn’t behave the same way as conventional stimulants. It has a unique ability to affect specific brain receptors and works only when needed. And boy, did I need it. It’s gentle in its action and helps sharpen mental acuity without affecting heart rate or pressure. It’s not like caffeine or speed, either. In fact, as much as I love coffee, I can’t drink it mid-day or it keeps me up at night. But not this stuff.
While I was taking my two 300 mg. tablets each day, I noted a significant improvement in my short term memory, concentration and energy level. But I was also exercising regularly, which may very well have contributed to my improved state of mind. However, much of this change did seem to coincide with the several weeks I took the adrafinil.
People who use adrafinil and Topamax together and who don’t wish to lose weight have to be careful. Because adrafinil can also act as an anorectic (appetite suppressant). It’s really important when you start this program you nourish your body with a healthy, well rounded diet. Otherwise you can crash and burn.
By the way, adrafinil was first used experimentally by French researchers in the 70’s to treat narcolepsy. They later turned to modafinil because of adrafinil’s potential side effects: feelings of tension, heightened liver enzymes, and stomach pain. Modafinil has recently been approved by the FDA for a number of sleep disorders. Interestingly, it’s also been found helpful for recovering cocaine and speed addicts. Some docs say it improves cognitive function, and I gave it a test drive a while back. I don’t like it as much as the other. In fact, I had sorta the same response to modafinil as Brenda did to adrafinil - it made me feel wired and speedy. But I can sure see why the military uses it to keep their pilots up all night.
If you decide to use adrafinil, be sure to get a baseline liver test before and several weeks after you start taking it. It is known to potentially increase liver enzyme levels, and that’s not good. I didn’t have any problem with it, but remember that your liver’s been on double duty with all the drinking.
I wouldn’t recommend tinkering with any of this stuff unless you find yourself crippled with a cognitive crisis. And I absolutely wouldn’t do it without the support of a trusted doc - you must make sure your liver is up for the gig. Consider it a short term solution. Eat well, even if you eat less. One of the things they don’t tell you about Topamax is that anorexia is a potential side effect. You don’t need another medication mucking with your head.
So there’s the skinny on the smart pill, once and for all. Please use the info wisely.
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