Armodafinil and Increased Heart Rate: What Users Say

• Lyn...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• March 2, 2018

Armodafinil for Narcolepsy "I have been on Nuvigil for almost a year now. This has been the only stimulant to work for me. I have narcolepsy and ADHD, so Adderall and its related medicines actually make me more of a zombie, albeit a very focused zombie. Nuvigil does not cause my heart to race (I also have mitral valve prolapse), and it does not negatively affect my anxiety. This medicine has been a lifesaver for me! It does affect my ability to feel hunger. I don’t get hungry until around 2 p.m., but honestly, this is a good thing because when I eat, I become very tired. This is due to the nature of narcolepsy. We are low on orexin, so when we eat, what little orexin we have gets ‘turned off.’ Orexin is the chemical in the brain that helps regulate wakefulness and sleep. Orexin on means awake, and orexin off means asleep. Orexin is directly affected by food intake."

• Anonymous
• November 19, 2010

Armodafinil for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome "I have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and was prescribed Provigil, insurance denied coverage. Doctor then gave me samples of Nuvigil 150mg. WOW! What a difference, first couple of days a few heart racing minutes but then after that, it was great. Ran out so asked doctor to order at pharmacy, insurance denied again. When I take Nuvigil I can work all day and sleep just fine at night, instead of taking a 3-hour nap after school and then back to bed at 8 PM. I have so much energy, I take it at lunchtime, this way it won't wear off too soon. I have skipped days to make samples last and there is definitely a difference in my quality of life. Actually I HAVE A LIFE when I take Nuvigil."

• Lin...
• August 16, 2015

Armodafinil for Narcolepsy "I found myself sleeping all day against my will, and it was depressing to be so unproductive. After I was accepted to vet school, I knew I needed to figure out why I was so tired all the time. I was diagnosed with narcolepsy without cataplexy. I immediately started Nuvigil in an attempt to get regulated before I started school. About a week in, I experienced anxiety and a racing heart on a few different days. My symptoms soon subsided, and I found my quality of life drastically improved. I take it in the morning before class, and I was able to stay awake all day with very little problem. I still have good days and bad, but my worst day is still better than my life before it. I am so thankful for my doctor and Nuvigil."

• Anonymous
• August 10, 2011

Armodafinil for Shift Work Sleep Disorder "I'm a firefighter/paramedic, and I've been on Nuvigil for about 4 days now, and I love it. I have never been a fan of taking medications, but when between working 24-hour shifts, school full-time, and my 3-year-old daughter, I found myself exhausted all the time. I started drinking energy drinks, and they worked, but after a while, they got expensive, so I started taking caffeine pills. After a while, my body needed the caffeine every day, but I didn't necessarily need it every day, which I didn't like. I also didn't like my heart racing with the caffeine. Since starting Nuvigil, I haven't had caffeine at all, and I didn't have much of a withdrawal phase. It has had all the positive effects for me, like a stimulant, with none of the negative."

• CDa...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• April 4, 2020

For ADHD "First trial of this armodafinil was amazing - by far the most effective option for my ADHD. It made me feel alert, focused, and content without jitters, anxiety, appetite loss, increased heart rate, or the other side effects common with stimulant-based meds like Ritalin. I regularly take short breaks from meds, so when I started this again, I had pretty bad anxiety and didn’t experience the calmness or focus that I had before, which was a real surprise. The main downside with armodafinil, besides the inconsistent experience, was that it consistently made me sweat more than usual, and it’s super expensive here in Australia. I’m sure I’ll try this again, but for now, I’m happier on modafinil."

• Jan...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• September 30, 2020

For Drowsiness "If you are prone to anxiety like me, this may not be for you. Took it in the morning, and it kept me up all night, made my heart race, gave me a panic attack so bad I went to the hospital. I will never put myself through that again, I'd rather be tired than feel so awful. I really wish it worked, as I'm tired of being tired."

• Kel...
• October 12, 2010

Armodafinil for Obstructive Sleep Apnea/Hypopnea Syndrome "Today was my first day on 150 mg of Nuvigil. I took it at 7:00 am, and it is now almost 11:00 PM. I am still speeding like crazy. I cannot sleep. Breathing is twice as heavy. It's weird that 15 hours after taking it, I am still in panic mode. I was very much awake today, but rapid heartbeat all day. Threw down a hot dog to try and suppress the speeding. Otherwise, my mind went 100 mph. Definitely not sleepy a bit. Would like to eat, but just cannot do it. It feels like I'm on the movie Speed where the bus has to go so fast. Hopefully, tomorrow I will do better. I want to go to sleep so badly. I took 1 mg of Xanax and Luvox; no help at all."

• Anonymous
• September 16, 2010

Armodafinil for Narcolepsy "I've been taking 250 mg for almost a week. At first, I felt a bit euphoric, but that quickly passed. Now I just feel physically anxious - sweating, increased heart rate and blood pressure, heat waves. I'm cutting down to 150 mg and hoping that the effects subside as I get used to being on the medicine. If this anxiety does not go away, I cannot continue on the medication."

• mai...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• May 3, 2023

For Narcolepsy "My doctor prescribed armodafinil to treat narcolepsy. I was on it for over a week, and it is quite possibly the worst week I have experienced in a long time. I have been diagnosed with depression, however, I am on Pristiq and haven't had an issue for years. The first day, 150 mg was fine, I felt 'normal,' so to say, just without the extreme fatigue all the time. On the second day, I felt spaced out, like I wasn't quite there, but I also wasn't fatigued, so I continued on. On the fourth day, I felt extremely nauseous and dizzy. I was sitting on my bed, however, it felt like I was on a boat rocking back and forth. The fifth day is when the crying, depression, anxiety, and racing heartbeat all came in. It was like a switch was flicked in my head. It made me so sad, depressed, unable to see the point of life, and stressed out about 1,000 tiny things I would never stress out about. This, alongside a racing heartbeat, made me feel even more anxious. I went to my GP, who said I have tachycardia and need to stop taking it ASAP."

• Sun...
• April 5, 2021

Armodafinil for Narcolepsy "I was diagnosed with narcolepsy with cataplexy in 2015. Nuvigil was the second medication I was prescribed. It did seem to help at first, but had to be increased frequently, and I topped out in less than three months. It still doesn't help unless I come off of it for a while and am pretty much a zombie for that period of time. Then I get a few days of being able to function before it feels like I have taken nothing at all again. I have to supplement with stackers, 5-hour energy shots, and Red Bulls. I have actually used all of the above together and still fallen asleep with the empty Red Bull can in my hand! My heart rate is always high, blood pressure has become a problem, and still my doctor will not prescribe anything else."

• 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!"

• Man...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• June 30, 2020

For Narcolepsy "This drug, armodafinil, made me manic, heart racing, and super tired. Had so many emotions. Definitely not the drug for me."