Armodafinil and Headaches: What Users Say (Page 3)

• tir...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• July 29, 2012

Armodafinil for Drowsiness "I suppose I am in the first stages of figuring out what causes me to be tired all the time. I am frustrated, and memories are flooding in of the onset of my tiredness. I remember falling asleep in every class in 9th grade at the age of 14. I always assumed my tiredness was from one reason or another. With that said, recently I have been back and forth to the doctor for four months now. This last time, he prescribed Nuvigil, and wants to order a sleep study. I was so excited at the prospect of feeling awake, and to my dismay, I have not felt anything good. Headaches mainly, tiredness, anxiety, emotional, spaciness, and even on 200 mg took a 2-hour nap. Been on 150 mg dose, still tired and don't feel as much anxiety and spaciness."

• Anonymous
• September 22, 2010

Armodafinil for Narcolepsy "After looking over the sleep study results, my doctor concluded I have narcolepsy. He has put me on Nuvigil (1x-150mg). I will say, the first 2-3 days felt great. After that, it went and still continues to go downhill. I feel tired and am weak, but my eyes aren't closing like they used to. I kind of wish I would just fall asleep. I have this extreme dull headache that won't subside and dry mouth. I meet with the doctor next week, hopefully, we can change things up."

• Ech...
• September 26, 2011

Armodafinil for Narcolepsy "Nuvigil worked great at 150 mg for a few months, then I needed to supplement with a quart of coffee in the mornings to keep me going until 1 pm. Bumped up to 225 mg. Not much better. Very expensive, $90 per month ($3 per pill). Aggressiveness, headaches, and thirst until I got used to it. No side effects now."

• Anonymous
• February 11, 2010

Armodafinil for Drowsiness "I took a full pill the first day, which was stupid, as I'm very sensitive to medication. I felt like I was on speed. I was talking really fast, my hands were shaking, my heart was beating a million miles an hour, it felt like an anxiety attack. I also got a horrible headache and nausea later in the day. I didn't take it again for a month, and then I cut the pill into quarters. For a week, I took 37.5 mg a day. I got a few headaches, dizziness, and nausea throughout the day, but it was tolerable. Three days ago, I upped it to 75 mg. I still don't feel any help with sleepiness! I am still dizzy, have headaches, nausea, and a lack of appetite. But I'm going to wait it out and keep upping it to 150 and see if it ever starts working. Hopefully, the side effects go away soon!"

• Kev...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• August 15, 2018

For Shift Work Sleep Disorder "Brand name Nuvigil works great to keep me awake and alert while working a busy and long night shift in a position (paramedic) where I must be alert. Energy drinks just don’t cut it. I was also switched to generic (Sandoz) and was drowsy throughout the entire nights and had a very distracting headache. I stopped them all and plan to get back on the real stuff if it doesn’t break me. I can still perform as I have for 20 years, but it takes a good bit of effort to keep my brain kicking at 3 a.m. Thanks for listening."

• NJR...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• January 9, 2016

For Drowsiness "I was diagnosed with idiopathic hypersomnia and was prescribed Nuvigil. I started with 150 mg. The 1st week was great, I felt like I had my life back and was enjoying it. The 2nd week wasn't as good but was better than what it was before. The 3rd week, I was fatigued around 2 pm, and the 4th week I was back to fatigue all day. The Dr. increased my dosage to 200 mg. I've been on that for the past 5 days, and I am now back to how I was before. Side effects have been headaches and slight nausea on the 150 mg, however, on 200 mg, I get extremely nauseous about 12 hours after taking the pill. Waiting for the Dr. to call me back."

• Ano...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 10, 2015

"Armodafinil is great for getting you awake and focused for the entire day. The side effects for me included nausea, headache, and tiredness (weird, I know). I lowered my dose to 75 mg only on days I need it, and I have energy all day without the side effects. With this drug, more is actually less. Keep your dose low enough to skip the side effects, and Armodafinil will help you through challenging work/study days."

• Jay...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• January 30, 2021

For Obstructive Sleep Apnea/Hypopnea Syndrome "I was on Provigil first, but it wasn't helping me, so I was switched to Nuvigil. Yesterday, I took it for the first time around 8:30 a.m. Around noon, I got this horrible headache, took some Excedrin, and it stopped. Then around 4:30, it came back. I didn't take anything, I just laid down and eventually ate because I had no appetite. I've been up since yesterday, and it's now 1 p.m. I'm trying to make myself go to sleep, and I can't. My mind is running! I was able to clean up and study and do some things I never get to do around the house, but now I really want to sleep! I'm going to notify my doctor on Monday and maybe see if I should go to half a pill, it's 250 mg, so it should still work."

• jlg...
• February 24, 2011

Armodafinil "This is my first day taking Nuvigil 200 mg. I felt jittery for the first 4 hours after taking it. Got a pretty severe headache around that 4-hour mark. Took some Tylenol, which relieved the headache, and I felt great the rest of the day. Worked a 10-hour shift in a physically demanding job, and I still was able to come home and stay up a few hours before going to sleep. I will keep posting my continued experience with this medication. It really helped me out to get on here and see what I could expect with this medication. Thanks to everyone. Oh yeah, I take this medication to help with the fatigue caused by MS. I was taking amantadine, which kept me awake but didn't help my body from feeling completely exhausted."

• JLH...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• June 21, 2022

Armodafinil for Shift Work Sleep Disorder "Been taking Adderall to get me through my long days and just did not like the crash and pounding headache to follow. It also seemed no two days were ever the same, one day just lots of energy and no headache the next day just really tired, jittery, and massive headache. My doctor put me on Nuvigil 250 mg, I always start lower than he wants so I started at 150 mg in the morning to ease into it. I planned a couple of low-key days at home to get my body used to it, and my brain could focus on work and not the drug. About the third day, I got off early to stop by Kroger to grab food for dinner that night. Got back to my truck and had to literally sit there for hours, I could not even get the truck into gear. My mind had checked out, I knew what I was doing, but I was not going to do it. The act of driving scared the crap out of me. I called my sister and spoke with her for several hours, drank lots of water, I finally got my courage up to try and make my way back home. I was so jittery, paranoid to the bone."

• Del...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• September 18, 2022

Armodafinil "I have multiple sclerosis, and fatigue is one of my most challenging symptoms to manage. In November 2021, my neurologist gave me samples of Nuvigil 150 mg and 250 mg. We worked out pretty quickly I needed 250 mg a day at about 8 a.m., and I could last till about 8:30 p.m. It was life-changing! I can have a social life and go out for dinner. I can still have really fatigue days, but not as debilitating as previous ones, and I can work 30 hours a week in a fast-paced work environment. I do get a lot of headaches, but it’s difficult to know if it is Nuvigil or one of the other medications I’m on."

• Aut...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• January 1, 2019

For Shift Work Sleep Disorder "I work 8:30pm-6:30am 4 nights a week, with 3 days off. I have a hard time sleeping during the day, which means I have a hard time staying awake when I’m working all night. I started armodafinil 150 mg today before my night shift. I only slept 2-4 hours today, but I feel like I slept 10 hours. I’m wide awake and super productive at work. I usually drink 200-300 mg of caffeine at work, but I won’t be drinking any caffeine tonight because I don’t feel like I need it. I recommend drinking lots of water and eating with the pill. My side effects: headache (probably from lack of caffeine), racing heart, nausea, hot (feels like I took a thermogenic). I also don’t like that it can cause birth control to be ineffective, but the benefits outweigh the side effects for me. I would definitely recommend!"

• Wor...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• December 13, 2021

For Narcolepsy "I get mine filled at Costco because of insurance issues. It’s really changed my life, and now I can actually start living instead of being in a coma-like state. Some side effects that never went away: dry mouth, sweating a lot, headache when I don’t drink enough, jittery for the first hour, hungrier. All of this is worth it. I’m used to side effects from other meds, but this is the only one that worked."

• Ivo...
• February 5, 2017

For Narcolepsy "I'm on the second day of armodafinil 150 mg and kind of feeling wired, feeling like off balance more than before, can't stay focused and having light headaches. Is this a normal reaction when you first start the medication?"

• Sky...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• July 14, 2022

For Obstructive Sleep Apnea/Hypopnea Syndrome "I have chronic OSA/hypopnea with daytime drowsiness. I'm on CPAP therapy and 150 mg of Nuvigil once per day. I've always had difficulty staying awake during the day; even when I was an adolescent in grade school and later in high school. I was finally diagnosed when I was 40 years old, after falling asleep while driving to work. I was also having chest pain and horrible headaches when I woke up in the morning prior to starting therapy. After starting on Nuvigil, it was like a day and night difference. I was wide awake, full of energy, and no jittery side effects. This was great for about the first year. I've now been on Nuvigil for 7 years, and while it does still help me stay awake and focused during the day, the effects are greatly minimized. I no longer have that surge of positive energy and super sharp focus. And I mostly feel in a fog most of the day. I've tried increasing my dose per my doctor, and that did nothing but give me a horrible headache. But it's been a lifesaver."

• Str...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• June 5, 2024

For Narcolepsy "I am diagnosed with narcolepsy, and I have also had problems with focusing and depression episodes since I was young. This medication worked perfectly for me. I don't have my severe depression, I am able to focus and plan for my day, and most importantly, I am awake. The only thing is, sometimes it can give me headaches."

• Sha...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• October 9, 2024

Armodafinil for Obstructive Sleep Apnea/Hypopnea Syndrome "Have had positive results in using the medication. A couple of times had headaches but stopped. No other problems experienced."

• Sle...
• August 3, 2016

For Narcolepsy "Horrible, horrible headaches. Have taken Nuvigil for years, insurance would only cover armodafinil, so tried it. The headache was debilitating, and I was still sleepy. Back to Nuvigil, thank the Lord."

• Lau...
• January 21, 2011

Armodafinil for Drowsiness "Significantly improved my quality of life, with the only side effect being a minor, occasional headache."

• Anonymous
• February 11, 2012

Armodafinil for Narcolepsy "I get headaches from the medicine. It worked well for the first month, and now I'm back to having sleep attacks."

• Stu...
• August 9, 2011

Armodafinil for Drowsiness "Keeps me awake somewhat, but gives me terribly terrible headaches."

• Anonymous
• Taken for less than 1 month
• September 24, 2021

For Obstructive Sleep Apnea/Hypopnea Syndrome "Doesn't work for me, makes me extremely sleepy and tired. Causes headaches."

• 420...
• February 26, 2023

Armodafinil "Took this medicine for two days. Gave me the worst pressure headache of my life. Also gave me insomnia. I will never take this medicine again. I’d rather be sleepy all the time than take this."