Posted by manowar on February 11, 2002, at 12:37:10
In reply to Re: Provigil- took test drive of abuse potential- none » Rick, posted by IsoM on February 8, 2002, at 13:20:31
Hello everyone,
My insurance said it wouldn’t cover Provigil, even though my pdoc (pediatrician who specializes in ADD) said it would be beneficial. Oh well, I don't think I want to fight that battle, because I don't want to lose my insurance (I kinda fudged on the application, or I'd have no insurance at all!). I suppose it'll cost me $150-$300 a month for either the Adrafinil or Provigil. They both seem to have the same effect on me, but I've only taken either one or the other for the past couple months.
Anyhow, if you've read my previous posts, you'll notice how I've raved about the *franil (Modafinil/Adrafinil) drugs.
First a disclaimer of sorts, then two points:
I know a lot of people will disagree with me here, but I think Dr. Daniel Amen of CA is the world's foremost expert on ADD, and SPECT also.
BTW: In one of my earlier posts, I said that Amen was not only a psychiatrist, but a neurologist too. I was wrong, because he is not a neurologist. Of course he is certified in SPECT, which is just an adjunct to his skills as a shrink.
1) I saw Dr. Amen at a conference in Tampa on Saturday, and the question was asked if Provigil could be beneficial for folks with ADD. I was surprised to hear him say that he didn't have much success with the drug. He calls it a ‘soft’ treatment for ADD. (I have the inattentive/deep limbic subtypes of ADD, which basically mimics depression.) My personal pdoc told me that in his experience, many people with the deep limbic subtype of ADD (hard to concentrate, apathy, depressed mood, ect.) had very positive results with *finil drugs.
2) I read some cool info on Provigil this morning:“Modafinil (Provigil) has been approved for treatment of narcolepsy in adults. It is chemically unrelated to methylphenidate or amphetamine. When compared to methylphenidate and amphetamine, it seems less likely to cause irritability and jitteriness. It appears to act on the frontal cortex and is more selective in its area of action than the traditional stimulants. Cephalon will be doing studies to assess the efficacy of Modafinil in children with ADHD. In studies of adults with ADHD, there was a promising study (Taylor and Russo) suggesting that it might be effective for adults with ADHD. However a larger study sponsored by Cephalon indicated that Modafinil was no more effective than placebo.”
That it presumably works in the frontal cortex is probably why it’s so effective for me. When I had my scans done, my frontal cortex looked as if someone from close range had fired a shotgun at my brain, especially on the concentration scan (SPECT scans – thank the good Lord—are just functional images). So if the *finil drugs act on the frontal cortex, that would make perfect sense on how it seems to help me with organizational skills, increase focus, less depression, and better executive functioning altogether.
I had a bad weekend, and felt pretty down, but so far since I started the *finil drugs it seems that I bounce back from my downs very quickly, and I hope I will this time also.
The quote is from a great page on ADD, here’s the link:
http://www.ncpamd.com/NewADD_Meds.htm--Tim
poster:manowar
thread:93083
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020208/msgs/93746.html