Posted by jemma on June 17, 2003, at 11:05:42
In reply to Re: What does PROVIGIL do? Experiences wanted!, posted by lillabelle on June 14, 2003, at 4:40:05
Hi Lillabelle -
Boy, I'm not surprised you're apathetic with lamictal and serzone in your cocktail. I took each of those separately, and both of them put me to sleep. Serzone just knocked me right out, and when I woke up I felt completely aimless. Mind you, they were great for anxiety. On serzone, my apartment could have caught fire and I'd have been "Oh yeah, that's kind of interesting" and gone back to reading my magazine.
I find provigil (modafinil here in Canada) great for getting me going. In the morning, when I wake up in my usual semi-comatose state, all I have to do is muster the drive to reach over to my night-table, grab a pill, and down it with a sip of water. Then I slip back into my coma for about ten minutes as I gradually start to come awake. Withing fifteen minutes, I practically spring out of bed ready to start my day - and believe me, that has NEVER happened in my life before. And when I look around my apartment, I see orderly cupboards, a sensibly well-stocked fridge, and a reasonably organized office - also a first. I can only attribute it to the modafinil.
Now, I should point out that while the modafinil gives me energy, alertness, and motivation, it doesn't do much for my ADD. In fact, it can make me a little more scattered. I was taking selegiline for my ADD, but I developed a bad side effect. So now I take wellbutrin, and if necessary, ritalin.
So here's my cocktail - I take 150 mg of modafinil in the morning, along with 200 mg of wellbutrin. At around noon, I take another 100 mg of modafinil, and 150 of wellbutrin. If I'm still having trouble focusing, I take 20 mg of ritalin sr. I never have trouble sleeping, and I never experience anxiety - my chronic dysthymia makes me VERY anergic. My diagnosis is bipolar 1 (mostly with major atypical depression), ADD, and dysthymia. At the moment, I seem to be doing pretty well with all three.
I should add that one perq of the modafinil is that it can make you functional even after a few hours sleep. Also, if you find you're taking too much - insomnia, anxiety, whatever - you can cut back without any repercussions. Every once in a while I realize that I've been going several days on 6-7 hours sleep - my body is used to 9-10. So I cut back for a day to give myself the luxury of a 10-hour sleep, and wake up feeling truly rested. But now the 10 hours is a luxury, not a curse.
Good luck, Lillabelle - I'm sure the right meds are out there for us all.
- Jemma
> Hi Jemma, I am feeling desperate as nothing is getting me out of bed (currently not working) and feeling generally unmotivated (procrastination big time). I am bipolar2 and Add and currently take lamictal, serzone, sulpride and trazadone. My moods are stable and I am not flat out depressed but need something for the apathy and lack of focus and flatness. Provigil?? Anything else (what are your meds?) Any and all responses supremely needed.....Lillabelle
poster:jemma
thread:232740
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030614/msgs/234553.html