Provigil for Narcolepsy User Reviews

• LifeC...
• October 3, 2020

"Provigil has changed my life! I have been taking it for 6 months. I was prescribed 200mg. I usually take half a pill and I’m good to go for the entire work day. Before Provigil I was in danger of losing my job. I could not get out of bed. On weekends I would literally go to bed Friday night and not get dressed again until I forced myself out the door for work on Monday. After just a few days I felt like a new person! I don’t suffer any terrible side effects. The only thing is I have to make sure I am not talking excessively (as it tends to speed up my speech). I now even go to the gym after work! Never ever would have dreamed of doing that previously! I am down 30 pounds (working hard at it) and I am enjoying my life! It gave me my life back!"

• Rosie
• Taken for less than 1 month
• December 25, 2019

"I have narcolepsy with cataplexy. Adderall, Ritalin, etc. did nothing for me. I’ve only been taking this for a short amount of time but unlike adderall or ritalin this not only physically keeps me awake but I don’t feel the horrible fatigue I usually do. It keeps me awake and feeling good while also easing any nervousness I have. I feel very calm while also being energized.:)"

• Kathy
• September 23, 2013

"I am 2 months shy of having used Provigil for 10 years. I have no physical side effects from it, which is pretty good since I am in my late 60s. It was more effective at keeping me awake when I first started using it, but it also made me a little nervous. These days it is usually effective, but sometimes not, but the good news is that I am much calmer than I have been in years. If this medicine seems to lose it's effectiveness, don't give up. Stop taking it for a little while (a week or two) and it will work again just fine. All and all this medicine has given me back my life, except for driving me to the poor house."

• danco...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• June 18, 2016

"Provigil is different for everyone. Personally, I can begin to feel it working about 30 to 45 min. I take it as soon as I get out of bed so it's on an empty stomach. I eat after I get dressed so by the time I'm making breakfast I feel like I received a caffeine boost that will last about 8-10 hours. If I'm having a hard time waking up, I have been known to take the medication and take a 15 min nap. I set my alarm for 15-20 min. When I wake up again, my head is clear, I feel refreshed and ready to burst out of bed. "

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

"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."

• Irama...
• June 9, 2016

"I have taken provigil years ago with no significant improvement. I went through the last 20 years being prescribe Xyrem, Cylert, Adderall, Ritalin and recently Provigil along with Ritalin. None of these drugs provide wakefulness that last more than 3-4 hours. I can take the combination of Provigil and Ritalin at 9am and fall back to sleep at 9:30 am. I take my medication on an empty stomach but the wakefulness is almost non existent. I want to volunteer to be a case study because I believe I am a rare individual with Narcolepsy. I want to find out if there is an underlying problem because I hear of people getting addicted to these drugs and they barely have an affect on me. I want to live a normal life and not be sleepy all day, everyday."

• 28wna...
• September 9, 2014

"I am a former college football player who has had narcolepsy for years. I have been on Provigil for over a year now. I started with the lowest dose possible and after 3-6 months am now on the highest dose possible. The medicine has little side effects for me which is great except it curbs my appetite a bit. But I find my body has become immune to the medicine as the impact becomes less and less. I take 4 pills a day and even though I am not falling asleep as much and wasting the day away, I still have no energy. When I am sitting there awake I'm just useless. I don't want to go on an amphetamine but this medicine just isn't working to well for me."

• Frogy...
• July 27, 2015

"I have taken Provigil for 5 years now (since I was 16) 400 mgs a day, as the lower dosage was ineffective. It has been a Godsend. I really struggled through school, and whilst it didn't help me get top grades, it did wonders for keeping me awake during lessons. I'm awake for around 15 hours a day, with a 2 hour nap in the afternoon and 7 hours sleep at night. The best part is being able to have a sleep pattern, something which beforehand, I could never experience. Without this drug I couldn't never get anything done."

• awake...
• January 23, 2013

"I've had delayed sleep phase syndrome, mood disorder and ADHD all my life, due to brain injury at birth and a family pattern of delayed sleep phase syndrome. I managed a successful professional career but with great difficulty and with 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 and in school and working. I feel normal and 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. "

• Daddy...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• May 21, 2019

"Does nothing for my narcolepsy. I stay on it because the doctor told me to and I’m not competent enough to know that it’s not working. Also I look like a drug seeker if mention anything, and don’t agree with the doctors recommendation. It gives me some anxiety, my body feels awake but my head feels sleepy. Does nothing for brain fog I get with my narcolepsy. Armodafinil works better"

• lethean
• March 11, 2008

"I experienced much greater effects from Provigil on initial exposure than I have during regular, ongoing treatment. Had the initial effects (perfect alertness without excessive excitability) continued it would merit a rating of 10. However, I still find it indispensable and would be hard-pressed to give up that particular prescription."

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

"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."

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

"I took Provigil for about 7 years. When I was working my insurance covered it. I had not idea of the price. It is wonderful medicine but way too expensive if you have to pay for it. Without any discounts it's approximately $1,300 per prescription. Am on Medicare now and they will not cover it so am no longer taking. It was great on 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."

• Amay
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• July 21, 2019

"Whether I take 50mg-100mg or 150mg, it always kicks in (if it even does) 12hr after taking it. 95% of the time, I can sleep straight through the med and I’m still severely dragging all day. This med doesn’t work for me."

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

"Had no life at all except pain and overwhelming fatigue for 10 years. Visited many doctors with no help at all. I am a scientist began tracking medicines that were in the pipeline - came across Provigil, looked like it was the one for me. When it became available I was first in line. changed my life completely; I was normal again; I could produce again and did to a stunning degree. 3 weeks ago, after 8 years, Provigil completely stopped working. I know all the obvious reasons but makes no sense, I am again existing with no quality to go forward. Am manically changing to Adderall while I try to figure this out."

• Dozzz...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• December 17, 2017

"I am a Nurse . I gave in and began to take Provigil because I could not safely transfer my clients for appointments . I could NOT stay awake behind the wheel of a car or any time I sat still .Provigil has been a life changer! I started with 100mg once a day 4 years ago. It still works and no side effects!"

• Chelle
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• August 1, 2016

"I have Narcolepsy and I am currently taking 200mg twice daily and it barely works. My doctor added Ritalin 20mg twice daily and I have been on Ritalin for previous years until I moved to TX. In 2013, I was prescribed Vyvanse 70mg I believe. It didn't work better than the Ritalin or Adderall I tried while in TX. My doctor then prescribed Xyrem. Needless to say none of these drugs have provided adequate relief from daytime sleepiness. I started provigil in January 2016 and there's no change. I took provigil about 10 years ago and the same results. I need serious help because I barely function."

• Cheri
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• September 6, 2013

"I took Provigil along with Adderall and felt the best ever. I was alert, not on too much Adderall so I didn't feel bad from that--Then my insurance company wouldn't cover Provigil any more, they pushed Nuvigil--it made me sleepier."

• rues
• February 7, 2014

"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."

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

"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."

• AbbeyL
• Taken for less than 1 month
• July 13, 2013

"I found that this medicine was good at keeping my body awake, but I still felt like my mind was falling asleep. After about 4 or 5 days on it I developed the worst migraine of my life...when I get migraines they usually resolve with just half of a Vicodin. After taking two full Vicodin's I still had the most raging migraine ever. It lasted for 3 days. Once it resolved I went back on the Provigil two days later another raging migraine. That was it for me. "

• Jackit
• September 3, 2013

"Provigil worked for my narcolepsy for about 6 months. After that, I began to have bouts of insomnia at night and became ultra sleepy during the day times. I was prescribed sleep medications to help combat the new side effects. Things did not seem to improve. I also gained 40 pounds during the time I took Provigil (which was a total of 9 months). As a woman, gaining weight was my LEAST desirable side effect of all. Finally, I switched off of Provigil and returned to what was working for me originally, Adderall XR 30 mg one to two times per day (depending on what my schedule was like that day). I only switched off of Adderall XR originally because my doctor was concerned about the potential long term cardiovascular effects on my body."

• pjse
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• December 5, 2012

"I was diagnosed with narcolepsy around 7th grade, and pretty much sleep through middle school. I took Ritalin about up to 10th grade which moderately helped me stay awake, but I still would always crash multiple times a day due to the fact that it doesn't completely eliminate excessive sleepiness and trying to perfect your taking-schedule really is crucial with any narcolepsy prescribed medication. When my neurologist started me on Provigil, I was pretty shocked by the lack of side-effects it had, and it was a somewhat natural awake feeling as others have mentioned. I went from taking 2 (200 mg) pills a day to taking 2-3 (200 mg) pills a day depending on my schedule, exercise, or exam studying. "

• Anonymous
• October 9, 2009

"I was diagnosed with narcolepsy in 1998. I have been on Cylert, amitriptyline, Ritalin, ambien, and now Provigil. The Provigil is a life saver. I did lose weight on it at first, but have leveled off and have not lost any weight since then. I have taken Provigil for 2 years now. It is not an "upper" and does not make me feel drugged. I take 200 mg in the morning. It does not wake me up, it helps me maintain the wakefulness that I need to get through the day. Without Provigil, I would not have a normal life. I am thankful to have found this drug. I would, however, like a generic to it that would help to offset the exorbitant cost of the drug."

• Wyatt...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• April 10, 2017

"Hello, I was diagnosed with narcolepsy when I was 12 years old but it was discovered during a sleep study in 2010 out at hospital in denver colorado. I was told I had probably had the disorder my whole life. I am 18 years old now and struggle with this disorder everyday. Provigil has helped quite a bit but does have some cons. The lack of appetite will happen anytime you go off the medicine for even a period of 4 days then go back on it. I also have built up a tolerance to the 200mg so it has started to wear off about 4 hours after taking it and is a very hard medicine to get the dosage upped on. Insurance co will fight you the whole way. Also lost a substantial amount of weight when I first started the med."