Posted by jealibeanz on April 15, 2007, at 5:57:44
In reply to Re: provigil, military, and others, posted by psychobot5000 on April 15, 2007, at 1:49:06
> > You can read the other posts below on Provigil and its appears that is not a stimulant and does a great job of helping you stay awake. I know one thing: It is the official drug of the US military, which has its pilots etc take to remain sharp during long hours on the battlefield.
>
> Well, the US military does not use stimulants on the battlefield, per se. They use them for pilots, as 'go pills' on long missions. Their drug of choice for this purpose, since world war two has been dexamphetamine, though there has been lots of press about US defense department -study- of modafinil to replace it. Now this may have taken place by now--I haven't been keeping up--but we shouldn't assume that it's necessarily because it works better for that purpose--possiby just the normal concerns of abusability and bad press that come with ther older stims.
>
> All that said, I personally find modafinil to be the most anxiety-creating of any stimulant--results vary, of course.
>
> Best, all,
> P-bot
>
>Is this all hear-say, or are there credible sources that report such things? I too have read about Provigil's use by ER docs (hmmm... it's pretty convenient to have your own prescription pad!), pilots, and the US military. I've also read that Hitler constantly took some sort of amphetamine.
These were all in newspaper articles and magazines, which were either bashing the abuse of the drug or for some reason wanted to point out to the public that it exits... probably because they think this use is considered inappropriate, but didn't want to come out directly and say it.
I've also read articles that suggest that although it seems somewhat controversial to be giving employees meds so they can work long hours without being groggy, that it might not be such a bad idea for truck drivers, pilots, milary and ER docs... since them falling asleep on the job is NOT good for anyone!
I hate these articles. They demonize medications that are useful to those with disease/disorders to the public, which causes a precaution by doctors when prescribing the "pop-culture drugs". (Like mine... Provigil, Xanax, Ritalin LA, Lunesta). I don't even like TV or magazine ads which promote their medications... Cymbalta, Zolft, Abilify, Lunesta, Requip, Singulair, etc. It's nice that some who may be suffering get the message that they might have an untreated condition, and can be help. But for the most part, I think it just causes a lot of annoyance and frustration with primary care docs who have patients coming in with a self-diagnosis and demands a certain drug.
I'm just wondering if any hard proof exists. I doubt it, because I don't think any of these groups would release a state about handing out medications.
I honestly don't think it's a horrible idea for some people to take it in order to be functional on the job. I just wish that it comes on an individual basis, where someone seeks treatment, instead of beging suggested/demanded by the agency. Drugs shouldn't just be given out to the masses without a second thought. I don't know if this truly happenes or not, but I certainly hope not.
poster:jealibeanz
thread:749010
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20070413/msgs/749974.html