Posted by IsoM on January 25, 2002, at 20:37:56
In reply to re: adrafinil Alertec (provigil) avail in Canada, posted by 3 Beer Effect on January 25, 2002, at 18:34:07
Thanks for answering. I've got a couple of packages of adrafinil now so I might as well use it up. I'll check out the other site, but I thought I'd need a prescription for the Provigil.
I had read that both can cause liver problems & should have liver enzyme tests after 3 months. If you can find the site that says Provigil is safer, I'd love for you to post it. Could you, please? Seeing I only take 1 1/2 pills per day instead of the recommended 2 - 6 pills, the possibility of liver problems will be cut down immensely. I still fully plan on getting liver ttests though. Interestingly, adrafinil forms 2 metabolites - one of them is modafinil. I wonder if the other metabolite is more the problem or perhaps both can cause problems at times?
I think you went about taking your adrafinil the wrong way by taking 4 pills at once, if you don't mind me saying. Both adrafinil & modafinil is supposed to take a while before it affects brain changes - like many ADs do. The literature I read mentioned that improvements continued increasing for about 3 months, at which point the effects were maintained. Tolerance didn't develop even in those individuals who took it for longer than three years!
This is the URL of the study done at the Division of Life Sciences, University of Toronto at Scarborough in CNS Drug Reviews, 1999, if you're interested.
Adrafinil: A Novel Vigilance Promoting Agent- http://www.nevapress.com/cnsdr/full/5/3/193.pdfAn illustration: Say your house is cold, only 10ºC & you want to warm it to 20ºC. Turning the thermostat up to 30º won't warm it any faster, the furnace will burn fuel at the normal set rate. It seems like adrafinil/modafinil works the same. Taking more initially won't make it work faster but will only be more likely to cause unwanted side-effects.
I ran out after I finished my first package from an ordering mistake of mine. The next order took forever to come due to X-mas rush. I'm once again taking it & have been for a week, but I'm only beginning to notice anything today - less sleepy & yawning. I don't expect to see any real improvement for another week. It's infuriating to have the progress so slow when a while back I'd felt so good. But I'm willing to wait - the effect of feeling alert, focused, & with a good memory is so much better than what the regular stims give & last throughout the day.
By the way, I continued with Dexedrine while waiting for my adrafinil to kick in both times. Tomorrow, I'll stop the Dexedrine & see how adrafinil alone does. It's the weekend & I don't need to be as focused. You could probably do that with Provigil & Ritalin so you wouldn't be addled during the wait. If Provigil works for you (I'm ADHD too), I'd bet anything that you'll prefer it over the other stims. :)
BTW, Dr. Bob will probably remove the URL you gave. I think it's against policy. And one more thing, you'd be amazed at the number of different meds that can cause liver damage. Just because it does for one person, doesn't mean it will for another. My pharmacist said that if acetaminophen had to pass the rigourous testing that meds do now, it would never make it & yet it's one of the commonest used drugs around. One of its metabolites, N-acetylbenzimidoquione is a toxic substance, pure & simple.
poster:IsoM
thread:91490
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020124/msgs/91617.html