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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 2 of 2. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by eugenia on April 6, 2004, at 17:04:37
Hi--I am just a little concerned about Provigil, because I find I like it a bit too much and find it hard to take just the prescribed amount. Anyone else have similar experience? I am begining to feel--or perhaps wish--that I am imagining this.
Posted by PsychoSage on April 7, 2004, at 2:29:29
In reply to anybody find Provigil addictive?, posted by eugenia on April 6, 2004, at 17:04:37
> Hi--I am just a little concerned about Provigil, because I find I like it a bit too much and find it hard to take just the prescribed amount. Anyone else have similar experience? I am begining to feel--or perhaps wish--that I am imagining this.
>have you posted on this before or is this someone else?
anyhow, how helpful do you think it is in your life?
The more you kind of exalt the drug or believe it's working miracles and you have no brain without it, the more you will psychologically make it something you desire.
You need to see all angles of this and really think about what the drug's subjective effects mean to you. Do you worry about psychosis or rage caused by excessive provigil {depends on the brain/person involved}? This could inhibit you.
Do you realize that alert and awake don't always mean smart and productive? Do you realize you don't need to be amped up that much all the time or at all?
Do you think about the fact that you think about how it feels is part of the problem? It should be something that you may note, but it should be working in the background of your life and mind.
Do you realize that the euphoric effects will dissipate not long after you dose up?
Do you take note of the side effects or symptoms that are negative and common to stimulating meds?
Do you worry about the insanity of mania/hypomania and realize that racing thoughts create hasty decisions and more errors?
Provigil is reinforcing. This is admitted by Cephalon. Even though there are a lot of claims about its superior profile in relation to amphetamines, they are exaggerations or misleading statements. Provigil has megative amphetamine-type side effects, causes euphoria, and does cause sleep problems. Now the severity may be less than amphetamines, but they are possible.
The complex of just thinking you need it all the time will cause emotional distress and anxiety. You should be as unexcited about it as an antidepressant. Just think about how many ADD people are indifferent about their stimulants. They need them to alleviate their symptoms, but they don't seek them like abusers.
Don't become emotionally connected. It's a tool for a better life.
Sometimes I tell myself "Drugs for life" and not "Drugs for fun", so I remember why I take a anti-anxiety medication or provigil.
I also tell myself that I'll lose the assistance of a powerful and efficient med such as provigil if I screw around with it. My pdoc will not prescribe it to me if I end up loading up on the pills.
I've done the more potent substances, so it's a psychological issue when I start feeling like provigil can actually make some kind of happy fantasy out of me.
If you are still unsure about why you like provigil so much, then you may be self-medicating in a sense. You may be in a lot more pain than you realize. The issue though is are you actively and consciously seeking immediate onset of action?
Even if you can still use and need the drug you may need to do some other work for your mental health as it may reveal that you have some more empty space inside to fill.
Provigil won't fill up all of you.
This is the end of the thread.
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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
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