Posted by bleauberry on February 25, 2010, at 17:15:06
In reply to Contemplating ordering Adrafinil, posted by conundrum on February 25, 2010, at 10:09:01
I took adrafinil for several years, in combination with low dose zyprexa and prozac. I studied a lot about it before that.
My experience is that by itself it is probably not a magic bullet. But mixed with a low dose ssri it can be very good. For me it nearly completely destroyed anhedonia. The years I was on it I had the best performance of all in my company, won a lot of awards, and was focused on the task no matter what it was. I had no side effects from it.
But. There's always a but, right? Couple things.
About twice a year you have to do a liver test to make sure things are ok. At the low dose I was on, 300mg, my tests were always fine and at that dose I don't think there is any need for testing.
The other thing is the start-up. In the early days it can be overstimulating...fidgety, nervous, agitation, waves of extreme energy followed by waves of extreme fatigue. It can also feel real good pretty fast. But all of these things need to be ignored. They will all go away fairly quickly, within a week or two. And then, there is basically nothing. At about the 4 to 6 week range you suddenly realize you have some interest, motivation, concentration, but you never felt it sneak up on you.
Adrafinil is not like other stimulants. If the desire is to get a quick acting stimulant, it will be disappointing. The trick with adrafinil is to ride it out for 6 to 12 weeks the same as with any antidepressant. That's how it works.
After it has kicked in, it kind of like a stimulant on-demand. It sits quietly not doing anything, you don't even know it's there. But when you need to do something, think, work, whatever, all of a sudden it is there. It slowly gets better over several months in waves.
I've seen a lot of people disappointed with adrafinil because they didn't know its behavior. It takes time. Most people don't give it that much time.
I started at 300mg, went to 600mg, 900mg was too much, and once I felt good and stable on it I dropped it down to 300mg where it worked reliable and invisible for years.
Keep in mind, I do not believe it would have had the same results had it not been part of a combination with a low dose ssri.
The therapeutic effects come in waves. The first thing to go is the depression. The second thing to go is the anhedonia. And finally, the concentration kicks in. This whole time frame is about 1 to 3 months.
poster:bleauberry
thread:937859
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20100216/msgs/937880.html