Posted by zeugma on June 20, 2004, at 12:24:47
In reply to Re: Provigil affects norepinephrine, right?, posted by King Vultan on June 20, 2004, at 11:00:29
> > That's what my psychiatrist told me and I had no reason to disbelieve him. But while my neurologist hasn't yet directly addressed the point, he has sort of indirectly said it doesn't if I'm understanding him correctly.
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> This is a weird drug, and I don't believe there is a consensus on exactly how it operates. There was some thought early on that it worked on alpha adrenergic receptors, if I recall correctly, but this is now disputed. It does appear to have some effect on dopamine, as well as effects on the glutamate and GABA systems. I wouldn't be too hard on your doctors if they can't give you a good explanation because I did quite a bit of research into it last year after I had a bizarre reaction to it, and I was only able to achieve a vague comphrehension of what it's doing (maybe).
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> ToddWhat sort of reaction did you have, and how did it help you have a vague comprehension of what it's doing?
I took 100 mg Provigil this morning and promptly went back to sleep. I had some vivid dreams, more vivid than usual. This is the opposite of my experience with Strattera, where my dreams were completely suppressed by the drug's effect (NE reuptake inhibitors are specific inhibitors of REM sleep). But we already knew Provigil was not an NRI (that is why it is ineffective against cataplexy).
For me so far, the only effect has been a calming one. Definitely not the noradrenergic rush I got from strattera, or from nortriptyline at low doses.
poster:zeugma
thread:358279
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040614/msgs/358318.html