Modafinil for Narcolepsy User Reviews (Page 3)

• rues
• February 7, 2014

Provigil (modafinil) "I tried to write a lot more, but the space is limited. I'd tried ADHD medicines and loading up with caffeine, but nothing seemed to work to manage my excessive sleep cycles. I stumbled across information on Provigil, and asked my doctor if I could try it. I was skeptical because I have eczema, and I have to be careful about the medications, foods, and external allergens I'm exposed to. I began at the lowest dose once/day, and increased to that twice a day after a year and a half, because it seemed the effectiveness was decreasing. I do take breaks from the meds, usually for a day or two, but I've had to for months (cost) and haven't experienced noticeable withdrawal symptoms, like with all the other chemicals."

• Sleepy...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• February 28, 2013

Provigil (modafinil) "For the past few years, my friends all made fun of me for how many naps I took. Eventually, I was not able to leave very far from my house lest I get a sleep attack and need to lay down immediately. I've slept everywhere - from the bathroom floor at my work (before I was fired for leaving early so many times to sleep) to friends' cars during the middle of the day. After FINALLY getting a narcolepsy diagnosis (good luck getting insurance to pay without it - even the Patient Assist Program won't send you meds unless your diagnosis is documented), I am now experiencing how normal people must live. As long as I take the Provigil at the exact times I need to (100mg at 8am, noon, 4pm), I can work, making me feel like an asset to society again."

• awake...
• January 23, 2013

Provigil (modafinil) "I've had delayed sleep phase syndrome, mood disorder, and ADHD all my life, due to a brain injury at birth and a family pattern of delayed sleep phase syndrome. I managed a successful professional career, but with great difficulty and struggles with different medications. I way overused caffeine, with mixed results and side effects. Provigil has been wonderful, and I wish it had been available when I was a child, in school, and working. I feel normal, alert, and not constantly fighting sleepiness, inattention, and depression. I can't help wondering how much better I might have done with this medicine. It is helping me with my second career as an artist."

• betty...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• January 9, 2013

Provigil (modafinil) "I took Provigil for about 7 years. When I was working, my insurance covered it. I had no idea of the price. It is a wonderful medicine but way too expensive if you have to pay for it. Without any discounts, it's approximately $1,300 per prescription. I am on Medicare now and they will not cover it, so I am no longer taking it. It was great at keeping me from sleeping all the time and helped a lot with my depression. Perhaps the price will come down someday and I can start it again. Highly recommended."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• October 11, 2012

Provigil (modafinil) "For over 5 years Provigil worked very well. It would appear I have developed a tolerance as within the past 6 months I have had an extreme decrease in efficacy. "

• Anonymous
• September 27, 2010

Provigil (modafinil) "Ever since I was age 13, I would have sleep attacks almost everyday; about 5 days out of a week. It really affected my school work, because I just couldn't force myself to stay awake. Two years ago, when I age 18, I finally investigated of why I was having these sleep attacks. I was eventually diagnosed with Narcolepsy from a Neurologist. He put me on Provigil, 200mg in the morning and 100mg in the afternoon. Within a week I noticed a huge difference. I've never felt so awake and refreshed in years. Now I'll only have around 10 sleep attacks per year. The only flaw this drug has is its price. MAKE SURE your insurance covers it. They may not at first, but give them documentation on your condition and they will."

• Miche...
• January 24, 2010

Provigil (modafinil) "Effective, yet EXTREMELY EXPENSIVE for folks like me who don't have prescription coverage (insurance). Wish there was a generic form of this. This medicine has the least amount of side-effects and is very effective for me."

• Anonymous
• October 1, 2009

Provigil (modafinil) "I was diagnosed with Sleep Apnea, for that I got a CPAP. But I also had trouble with zombie episodes and uncontrollable sleepiness (at work, while driving, very scary). I was diagnosed with Narcolepsy several years ago (not formally tested though). I have all the symptoms (night terrors, sleep paralysis.), but I have not been tested for it. Anyway, my Sleep Doctor put me on it primarily because of several driving issues. It seems to work well, I have not dozed off or had a zombie episode since I have been on it. I still feel tired, and I can sleep if I want to, so I feel a little more in control. I also don't feel like a speed freak, like Adderal. I am on 200 mg in the morning for the past 2 weeks. So far I am pleased with it."

• teek
• August 8, 2009

Provigil (modafinil) "For several years, I have been on Provigil, with a small dosage of Ritalin as a supplement. The Provigil was not enough for me, but it was much better than being on Ritalin alone. Ritalin had a tendency to make me anxious and talk constantly. Life is good now as a narcoleptic."

• Anonymous
• July 17, 2009

Provigil (modafinil) "Pros: Works well keeping me alert, no significant downer when drug wears off, can be used on an as needed basis. Cons: EXPENSIVE!"

• Celti...
• June 1, 2009

"This is the first and only drug I've ever taken for narcolepsy and my standard of life, work, etc. has improved incredibly since then. I do get the side effects (dry eyes, dry mouth, crawling skin, headaches, tummy problems and ironically enough: sometimes tiredness too) but these are subsets of one main side effect - massive dehydration. So I just drink lots of water and am mindful of it. Once you get over the main onset headache (which admittedly took me a few weeks), the benefits far out way the cons. I'm lucky with the costs as I live in the UK so 6 boxes x 30 tabs(200mg) only costs the price of a prescription (about "

• lazyl...
• May 1, 2009

Provigil (modafinil) "I have been taking Provigil for 1 year now. I take 200mgs 3 x daily. It has helped me more than any other drug I have been prescribed, however I do get headaches and find myself dehydrated."

• Anonymous
• January 6, 2009

Provigil (modafinil) "I have used Provigil for about 4 years now and I really like it. I feel completely normal when I take it. In fact the only time I notice the drug is when I forget to take it. However, it is costly but I did find a substantial discount in my insurance's mail order program. Also, for someone who asked earlier, I stopped taking Progivil as soon as I found out I was pregnant. There is too little known yet and my kid was not going to be the Gineau Pig. Surprisingly, something changed because of being pregnant and I did surprisingly well for thoes 8 months. I just made sure to take regular naps."

• jbiven
• March 31, 2008

"Great medication for narcolepsy. I would recommend it to anyone. No side effects, and most importantly, I have no problem falling asleep at night when I should be sleeping."

• Sleepy...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 11, 2024

Provigil (modafinil) "I take it first thing in the morning. It has definitely solved my problem of excessive sleepiness during the day! One side effect that I'm dealing with is a daily headache. If that goes away, this drug has been a lifesaver for me."

• NotCo...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• September 7, 2020

"I was diagnosed with Narcolepsy, specifically excessive daytime sleepiness in the 90's. I was prescribed Ritalin twice a day for more than a decade. After moving and changing doctor's was switched to Pemoline, which was the closest I ever felt to "normal", until it was pulled off the market for being linked with liver failure. By then Modafinil had been approved by the FDA for use in treating excessive daytime sleepiness in Narcolepsy. It has been very helpful for daytime, though I can still fall asleep (nap) during the day and I notice that if I forget my 2nd (afternoon) dose, I'm not able to stay asleep through the night."

• Lazzz...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• February 15, 2020

Provigil (modafinil) "This med has been very helpful for my excessive daytime sleepiness (Idiopathic Hypersomnia). Probably saved me from ending my career as a therapist altogether, although I’m limited to seeing half the usual number of clients. First 100 mg dose at 8 am and I’m good to go for about 4 hours—and quite talkative and energetic. By noon or 1 I’m getting quite tired and, even though I take my afternoon dose of 100 mg, the rest of the day I typically feel quite tense and often irritable. Tight knot in upper back. Seeing clients is a real challenge. My life remains pretty limited by my idiopathic hypersomnia but I’m so relieved to at least be able to work enough to support my family. Losing that capacity altogether would have been devastating, so I’m very grateful for Provigil."

• James
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• May 7, 2018

"I have had very little side effect on this medication and it helps a lot. There is stronger drugs out there but I cannot stand their side effects. So this is good for me and maybe others that dislike the side effects of other medications."

• Doxy...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• November 13, 2016

"Was diagnosed with narcolepsy 30 years ago at age of 40 years old. For the last 10 years have been on Adderall ( 2 x 20 mg at 8am, 2x 20 mg and 2x 20mg at 1 pm.) & Ritalin ( 2 x 10 mg at 9am, 12pm &2pm) Reason for Ritalin was to augment the Adderall "peak and fall off". I had tried Provigil when it first came on the but it didn't work, Now at 70 yrs old it seemed that I had developed a tolerance Adderall. After a lengthy discussion with health care provider, I agreed to give Provigil another try ( 200 mg once daily). At next doctor's appointment, I complained of the "afternoon fall off" and the dose was changed to 200mg twice daily ( morning and early afternoon), Issue solved and Provigil is working GREAT!!!"

• Geeec...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• February 27, 2016

Provigil (modafinil) "IMHO, modafinil is a good medication. I was originally diagnosed with EDS. Couple years later, MSLT showed REM, blablabla, narcolepsy. I've tried it ALL. best was Dexedrine which is no longer manufactured (as far as I understand). Adderral dropped me down to about 95lbs (even tho I'm a small girl). Ritalin made me super anxious and mute and slow. And provigil was... Just ok and VERY expensive. Stopped the provigil because it cost $500 a month, 60tabs BID 100 mg. I just can't keep paying for it. I went back to Ritalin which is the cheapest of them all cause I thought I was better. Never been more wrong! Not being on the provigil has shown me, I DO HAVE NARCOLEPSY. W/o provigil, I can barely function :-/. But how can I carve out $500 for it?!"

• lola
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• May 5, 2015

Provigil (modafinil) "I'm in the navy and it was very hard fighting my sleep for the first 5 years of being in I finally got a sleep study an they diagnosed me with narcolepsy. I don't really like taking medication for anything but my doctor introduced me to Provigil. I finally feel like a normal person, although the first month I had very bad headaches it slowly went away and I went from taking 1 100mg pill a day to 2 100mg pills. My body got used to it within the first 2mths. Overall I love this medicine. works pretty good for me."

• Free...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• October 15, 2014

"I was diagnosed with Narcolepsy while ago and have been started on Modafinil. This does work, but with some side effects, which I tend to find only if I take the whole 100mcg at one go, rather than have it in two's. By separating the whole dose it has helped with the headaches and increased heart rate. I don't take it on a daily basis, but only when I am at work or at Uni. Another brownie point for this medicine is that it definitely curbs my appetite for hours."

• GodHe...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• November 28, 2012

Provigil (modafinil) "Had no life at all except pain and overwhelming fatigue for 10 years. I visited many doctors with no help at all. I am a scientist and began tracking medicines that were in the pipeline - I came across Provigil, and it looked like it was the one for me. When it became available, I was first in line. It changed my life completely; I was normal again; I could produce again and did so to a stunning degree. Three weeks ago, after 8 years, Provigil completely stopped working. I know all the obvious reasons, but it makes no sense; I am again existing with no quality to go forward. I am manically changing to Adderall while I try to figure this out."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• August 7, 2012

"Useful for narcolepsy, gives you more awakening and alert. Recommended low dose with a little caffeine for use in several years. Not useful for long term depression if you have problems modafinil. It makes you more alert and awake. "

• signs
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• May 22, 2012

Provigil (modafinil) "Provigil (Modafinil) has been a good addition to my regimen for dealing with the symptoms of narcolepsy. I take different doses depending on severity of symptoms. I take 50 mg. twice a day most of the time. Or 100 mg. twice a day. I have tried 200 mg. once or twice a day and that's where the side effects kick in (very dry mouth and headaches). It does keep me awake during the day most of the time, but sometimes I feel as if I never took it. But that's where adding coffee or caffeine pills really helps. I feel safe taking this med and I'm happy to have discovered it."