Posted by awake at last on August 20, 2002, at 9:06:44
In reply to Re: Motivation/Focusing Problems on Provigil, posted by Temoigneur on August 18, 2002, at 2:33:19
Forgive me if I'm butting in here, but I've been on provigil for 6 months now and thought you might want some input. I'm a totally different person. I spent almost 4 years trying to figure out what was wrong with me, my largest complaints were that I was tired (had no motivation to do anything - even things I use to enjoy), I couldn't concentrate, and I was constantly forgetting things. (People at my office laughed because I was always writting important things on the palm of my hand, it was the only way I could remember them - If I wrote it on a piece of paper - I'd forget the paper). The doctors thought it was depression and I tried many AD's to no avail. Finally I was sent to a neurologist to discover that I was suffering from Narcolepsy [A shock to me because I didn't realize you could have this without the main symptom - Cataplexy - where you can fall asleep instantly while talking, laughing, driving etc. -which I don't have]
I'm a true believer in finding the root cause of a problem and curing that first, but if no cure exist - as is with Narcolepsy - Provigil has given me my life back. I now can remember things, I can stay awake, I am actually motivated to get out and go do things. I actually find myself now having to tell myself to stop whatever I'm doing and go to bed when I'm supposed to. With my new found energy, I find that I just want to keep doing the things I was always too tired to do before.(Note that over the 4 years I was diagnosed with hypoglycemia and low testosterone as well, which I have to manage along with the Narcolepsy - but managing them alone wasn't the trick - I have to have the provigil).
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> > Hello, Mark,
> >
> > The memory problems you describe sound similar to what I experienced on Dexedrine and Ritalin. I don't know whether those two stimulants actually impair short term memory, or whether they cause you to focus so much that you are able to ignore everything else, including items in your memory! I was on Dexedrine for a few years, and then I was on various forms of methylphenidate for a while. I had always prided myself on my memory, and I was very upset to see my memory failing me. It was much worse, of course, if I hadn't had enough sleep, but even a good night's sleep didn't cure the problem. Now I am not on stimulants, although I might go back to them at some point, but I have noticed that my short term memory has significantly improved in just a few weeks.
> >
> > You also mentioned some problems you experienced today after having resumed Ritalin. I am not a physician, and I should not presume to tell you what to do, but I do want to mention that I did a lot of "medicine hopping" this past summer, and it made me worse. Of course, I had to do some hopping to find out what was right for me, but when I switched meds from one day to the next, I felt as if I was going nuts, and I decided it wasn't good for my brain. In addition, I broke out in all kinds of rashes during that time. Again, I'm not a physician, but I often think that dermatologic problems are the visible manifestations of internal problems, and my skin seemed to reflect the upheaval that I was causing by constantly switching meds. I took the rashes as a sign that I was overdoing it. My brain felt fried during that time, my memory was impaired and I couldn't focus, even though the medicines I was hopping to and from were medicines that help focusing. Perhaps the medicines had longer half lives than I thought, and they were potentiating each other. Again, I know you have to try different medicines and different combinations to find out what's right for you, but I found there was a limit to the number of different compounds I could tolerate within a given span of time. I'll try to write more in a few days. I hope things are better for you.
> >
>
> Hi Bekka, I'm having problems with Ritalin and Dexedrine, the Ritalin exacerbates my OCD badly, and I just don't seem to have any motivation when on Dexedrine. I haven't heard many good things about provigil, I'd be interested in discussing adafrinil with you, if you feel comfortable it would be wonderful if you could email me at Bentley79@hotmail.com Thank you
>
poster:awake at last
thread:88641
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020814/msgs/117074.html