Posted by Mistermindmasta on April 22, 2012, at 20:25:02
This has probably been asking many times before... but my question has it's own little addition, so I'm asking it here rather than searching through archives.
Here's a little history: So in 2009, I went to my family doctor asking for a wellbutrin Rx saying I thought maybe I was depressed because I was tired and kinda not motivated and procrastinated a lot. He wrote my Rx for wellbutrin and gave me a bunch of samples of provigil and nuvigil. A year later I went back to him (with insurance now!) and requested the Nuvigil, since that was 1,000 times more effective than the Wellbutrin. Keep in mind Ive never had any official diagnosis, I just kind of asked for the wellbutrin and now I was asking for the nuvigil based on the success of the samples he gave me. So anyway, he gave me the prescription, 150mg 1x/day. I've been taking it, with some success (though not a magic bullet) since sept 2011. Its helped me feel more motivated and procrastinate a bit less, though it has not helped with inattention and paying more attention to details, which is kind of what I was hoping for, rather than just the increase in energy and motivation. Another small point to mention - In 2006 (before ever mentioning any issues to the doc), I had some friends that gave me samples of adderall and ritalin for studying and whatnot and they worked super amazingly awesome and that's when I realised maybe I wasn't normal and that maybe all my laziness and irresponsibility wasn't just me making poor choices... maybe I could improve myself through medications. So that's where I got to wanting to take meds. I can tell you for sure that adderall and ritalin both were way better than nuvigil/provigil. I dont think theyre the magic bullet, but I think that theres legitimately something wrong with me and stimulants seemed to fix that. And there's something about adderall and ritalin that really increases my attention to details and focusing that provigil/nuvigil just doesnt accomplish. That's really why Im finding myself wanting to try those again.
So fast forward, now its 2012 and I lost my job and my insurance. Nuvigil w/o insurance is $470 a month!!! So basically theres zero chance of me continuing to take this medicine. So that got me to thinking about other options and I realised that if I went to dr. and got a Rx for ritalin / adderall, I'd have to pay $90 for the doctors visit and after that I could buy generics and spend maybe $30-$50 a month w/o insurance and that would be a solution so the situation AND in fact the adderall / ritalin may be more effective at increasing my motivation and focus than the nuvigil was, which would be another bonus.
I have an appointment with my doctor this tuesday because I want to ask for generic adderall, dexedrine or generic methylphenidate. Do you guys think this will go over smoothly, based on 1.5 yrs of taking nuvigil w/o abusing it? I.E. I was never Dx'd w/ adhd but kind of think I have it, and I want to have to jump through as few hoops as possible to get the medicine that is best for me. My worries are that he will instead suggest some garbage non stimulant or will want me to see a shrink before proceeding, neither of which I want to do because of money issues. He actually has prescribed my dad 5mg daily of methylphenidate for his memory and concentration problems, so I cant imagine he'd really deny me, but based on other peoples experiences, Id like to start out higher than 5mg, like maybe 20mg daily.
Ive done some research and generic methylphenidate is $4 for a 60 day supply at walmart. Thats really what Im looking for. Alternatively, generic adderall is super cheap at places like costco, etc. Do you guys have any hints as far as not coming off as drug seeking or getting around the fact that I havent yet had a diagnoses? I think one of my problems is that in the past I think Ive come off as saying I just want to take something to give me a little boost on some days, but my problems are really much more severe than that... I wont even begin to go into all the details of my procrastination and poor decision making but lets just say I show each and every sign of inattentive add. However, I need to make sure my Dr. knows that.
Alright, well this is getting too long.. All comments welcome, I just am not sure how this will go over and it would be awesome to get a medicine that I already know works, and works better than what Ive already tried (nuvigil, wellbutrin). Thanks!
poster:Mistermindmasta
thread:1016190
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20120411/msgs/1016190.html