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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 8 of 8. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by LisaMichelle on June 28, 2004, at 22:41:23
My insurance company is balking at paying for the Provigil I take because they say it's "non-formulary." They suggest I take adderall, dextro amphetamine, or methyl phenidate. I've been happy with the Provigil and would prefer not to change but I'd also not like to pay almost $10 a pill. I take the Provigil just to counteract the fatigue effects of Lexapro.
Anyone start on Provigil and switch to any of these others? How was it for you? Or any ideas of how to get the insurance company to pay?
Thanks for any advice.
Posted by 1980Monroe on June 28, 2004, at 23:01:48
In reply to Have you tried a substitiute for Provigil?, posted by LisaMichelle on June 28, 2004, at 22:41:23
Lisa,
Provigil is a money hog, listen, dextroamphetamine in my opionion is better, it effects dopamine directly, unlike provigil, dopamine is the nuerotransmitter that causes pleasure, energy, exitement, and makes you intrested in things. Dexedrine (dextro-amphetamine) has been around since the late 1930's and has worked well for decades. Adderall is a derivitive of dexedrine, not quite as strong, but still the same effect.
I atleast suggest to give it a trial, and see how your like the results, belive me it is a good stimulant, and good at fighting depression too, which orginally it was used to treat for.
Good Luck!
Posted by psychosage on June 29, 2004, at 3:33:09
In reply to Re: Have you tried a substitiute for Provigil?, posted by 1980Monroe on June 28, 2004, at 23:01:48
you can go to canada and get alertec for a very reasonable price {$45 for 30 100mg pills - they only come in 100mg size}
i am lucky my insurance covers provigil.
I hope insurance companies start to loosen up in their formularies on this one.
Maybe the price will go down when the new provigil called nuvigil comes out. check www.cephalon.com
eventually, there will be a generic.
Posted by LisaMichelle on June 29, 2004, at 20:21:46
In reply to Re: Have you tried a substitiute for Provigil?, posted by 1980Monroe on June 28, 2004, at 23:01:48
> Lisa,
>
> Provigil is a money hog, listen, dextroamphetamine in my opionion is better, it effects dopamine directly, unlike provigil, dopamine is the nuerotransmitter that causes pleasure, energy, exitement, and makes you intrested in things. Dexedrine (dextro-amphetamine) has been around since the late 1930's and has worked well for decades. Adderall is a derivitive of dexedrine, not quite as strong, but still the same effect.
>
> I atleast suggest to give it a trial, and see how your like the results, belive me it is a good stimulant, and good at fighting depression too, which orginally it was used to treat for.
>
> Good Luck!
Thanks so much for that info - it really made my night as I was trying to figure out how much I would need to spend to pay for Provigil myself, especially if I'm going to increase to 200mg. I will definitely bring up dexedrine when I go to my pdoc tomorrow. I especially like that it's been around a long time. Maybe it will even work better for me than the Provigil if it works in a different way.
Your info is very much appreciated!
Posted by BTR on June 30, 2004, at 12:18:46
In reply to Have you tried a substitiute for Provigil?, posted by LisaMichelle on June 28, 2004, at 22:41:23
I also take Provigil for fatigue caused by Lexapro. I have only been taking it for about a week and was wondering how much you take. I am currently taking 20 mg of Lex and 100 mg of Provigil in the morning. I have had some problems getting to sleep at night and so I have had to take Benadryl the last couple of nights. Have you noticed any side effects from the Provigil?
Anyone who has input on this, I would appreciate some feedback. Thanks.
Posted by LisaMichelle on June 30, 2004, at 17:44:10
In reply to Re: Have you tried a substitiute for Provigil?, posted by BTR on June 30, 2004, at 12:18:46
> I also take Provigil for fatigue caused by Lexapro. I have only been taking it for about a week and was wondering how much you take. I am currently taking 20 mg of Lex and 100 mg of Provigil in the morning. I have had some problems getting to sleep at night and so I have had to take Benadryl the last couple of nights. Have you noticed any side effects from the Provigil?
> Anyone who has input on this, I would appreciate some feedback. Thanks.
I am taking 10mg of Lexapro and 100mg of Provigil. Since I'm not noticing any effects from the Lexapro (I've been on it 6 weeks) my doctor wants to increase my dose to 20 mg. He didn't feel the need to go to 15mg first which I think is a little strange and maybe I'll just try that on my own for a bit. He didn't think I would need to increase the Provigil (even with the Lexapro at 20mg) but wrote me an rx for a 200mg pill in case. I have no problems going to sleep and haven't noticed any side effects from the Provigil. I take the Lexapro at night and the Provigil in the morning. Maybe it would help you to switch your dosing of Lexapro to the night. Good luck and hang in there because the beginning is the worst part!
Posted by BTR on June 30, 2004, at 17:56:40
In reply to Re: Lexapro / Provigil?, posted by LisaMichelle on June 30, 2004, at 17:44:10
> > I also take Provigil for fatigue caused by Lexapro. I have only been taking it for about a week and was wondering how much you take. I am currently taking 20 mg of Lex and 100 mg of Provigil in the morning. I have had some problems getting to sleep at night and so I have had to take Benadryl the last couple of nights. Have you noticed any side effects from the Provigil?
> > Anyone who has input on this, I would appreciate some feedback. Thanks.
>
>
> I am taking 10mg of Lexapro and 100mg of Provigil. Since I'm not noticing any effects from the Lexapro (I've been on it 6 weeks) my doctor wants to increase my dose to 20 mg. He didn't feel the need to go to 15mg first which I think is a little strange and maybe I'll just try that on my own for a bit. He didn't think I would need to increase the Provigil (even with the Lexapro at 20mg) but wrote me an rx for a 200mg pill in case. I have no problems going to sleep and haven't noticed any side effects from the Provigil. I take the Lexapro at night and the Provigil in the morning. Maybe it would help you to switch your dosing of Lexapro to the night. Good luck and hang in there because the beginning is the worst part!I actually take the Lexapro in the evenings, which I should have stated in my earlier post. I have been taking Lex for about 7 weeks. I also went directly from 10 mg Lex to 20 mg and didn't notice any problems. The Lex has been great for my anxiety but I am so tired throughout the day. Not sure if the Lex is helping with my depression or not, hence the Provigil. With the Provigil I don't feel like my energy has really increased at all. Maybe I should increase my dose from 100 mg. Was there an adjustment period with the Provigil for you or did you notice the effects right away?
>
Posted by LisaMichelle on June 30, 2004, at 18:23:17
In reply to Re: Lexapro / Provigil?, posted by BTR on June 30, 2004, at 17:56:40
Hi BTR,
Thanks for sharing your experience. I noticed the effects of the Provigil right away. Before I started taking it, every moment of the day was consumed with when I could nap. Now, I don't have excess energy but I'm also not counting down the minutes until I can go to sleep. My pdoc today said Provigil is not habit forming (like dexedrine which I thought I would maybe try - he said no) and he was fine with me going to 200mg if I needed it after I increased the Lexapro to 20mg (I weigh 105 lbs).
Let me know how you're doing and ask your doctor if you can increase to 200mg - hopefully that will help. Good luck - this is all a big guessing game!
~ Lisa
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