Provigil

[KKNYC]

After seven years on HAART, the fatigue was becoming very hard to live with.  In addition, my insomnia hasn't responded to any of the prescription sleeping pills I've tried, and I tried every one of them.  I read about Provigil about a year ago and wondered if a stimulant would help me "re-set" my circadian clock.  After a lot of lobbying with my doctors, as well as with insurance, I finally got the Provigil.

It has made an incredible difference in how I feel.  As I suspected, if I have a night of little sleep, instead of going back to bed at 8 AM, 100mg of Provigil twice during the day and I'm completely normal, awake, alert and able to get to sleep the next night with no trouble at all.  This has reduced my "sleepless" nights from at least five a week to one, if that.

Unlike the amphetamines that have been on the market, there is no "buzz" from Provigil.  Nothing weird, just a feeling as though I'd had a full night's sleep.  They say there are no side effects, no risk of addiction.

Right now, the drug is only approved for shift workers and for narcolepsy, but I have a feeling that as more people report positive results, that will change.  I can't recommend it highly enough for anyone who is battling fatigue.

More info at www. provigil (dot) com

[Ulong]

I've had fatigue for years, and finally was prescribed Provigil last year. I could have written your post! Thanks for saving me the trouble of typing that out.   

 It was amazing to be able to go a full day without either a four-hour nap or just slumping over and being unproductive in any fashion. No buzz, no freaky side effects. The part that sucks...my insurance wouldn't reauthorize it over one year, since I don't have one of the FDA approved circumstances like working night shifts or Narcolepsy. Interestingly enough, if I had fatigue from Multiple Sclerosis, they'd approve it. My doc was also concerned about it affecting the levels of the PI's I take. So now I take amphetamines, they don't work that well and I'd so much rather be back on the Provigil. The idea of taking speed is just kinda scary to me.

According to Wikipedia, there are some pharma companies challenging the patent, and there is a similar drug approved for use in other countries. And it seems like it's popular (read that as: big moneymaker).  So I'm holding out hope that maybe it'll be easier to get Provigil in the future. Fatigue is one of those big quality of life issues in HIV and having this type of drug available would be great.