The following information is NOT intended to endorse drugs or recommend therapy. While these reviews might be helpful, they are not a substitute for the expertise, skill, knowledge and judgement of healthcare practitioners in patient care.
I was prescribed Provigil about 3 years ago to counteract excessive daytime sleepiness resulting from chronic insomnia. The dosage was set at 400 mg/day; 200 mg in the morning and 200 mg after lunch. Over the course of a normal work day I would experience a significant rush and crash cycle with each pill, and had the odd feeling of being anxious and tired at the same time. The effectiveness of the last pill would fade away well before the end of the work shift.
I was recently prescribed Nuvigil and have taken it for about a week. So far I haven't experienced the rush/crash cycle associated with Provigil and it seems to last much longer. I take a single dose of 250 mg in the morning and usually feel the effect within an hour. Okay so far.
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I have found it to be very smooth, have needed to take two per day, one early am and second one about noon to make it all day. No more trouble sleeping than normal. No shakiness or jitters, appetite seems normal. One tablet (150mg) was no help. I seem to be more productive during the day. No nausea or headaches, dizziness. I feel like I get along with it just fine.
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I struggle daily with falling asleep no matter where I am because of my Multiple Sclerosis related fatigue. Nuvigil helped me stay awake and didn't change my sleep patterns at night. TOO BAD MY INSURANCE WON'T PAY FOR IT! See I don't have a sleep disorder. No instead, I have a CHRONIC ILLNESS!
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I have used Provigil for about 6 years for daytime sleepiness/fatigue. About 2 weeks ago I began taking Nuvigil instead. The effect is definitely longer-lasting by several hours, and initially it seemed more potent yet "cleaner" in terms of side effects than Provigil. However, more recently when I've taken it after a night of poor sleep I've had to increase the dose and I get a lot of tension headaches, as with Provigil. 150 mg lasted all day at first, now I've had to take a little more. Still, I'd rate it an improvement over Provigil - how much so, time will tell.
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I had undiagnosed Lyme Disease (and Babesia) for years which created all manner of complications for me. The fatigue is crippling and I can sleep 16 hours on a bad day, 10-12 average. I took Provigil 200mg twice a day and feel a small effect 3 hours after taking it but it would only last a few hours if it was working at all. I tried Nuvigil a few days ago. I know the drug is largely the same with just the delivery system slightly different but it has an enormously different and positive effect on me. It provides much greater relief from fatigue and much sooner (no more waiting 3 hours to see how Provigil will do for me on any given day). Unfortunately, Nuvigil hasn't let me sleep much... only about 3 out of the last 38 hours.
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paula walker said: 
