![[dr. bob]](/dr-bob-sm.gif)
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 7 of 7. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by cactus on March 28, 2008, at 17:54:14
Big hi to all my old buddies still around!!!!!!!!
I don't drop by much these days but I have found another great combo for me at the moment. Due to various diagnoses over the last 13 years, most of which were so wrong, it's not funny, 3 solid conditions have been established. GAD, and more recently, sleep apnea and restless leg syndrome. When the GAD gets out of control it can lead to severe bouts of depression which I don't think would surprise anyone here.
So my GP and sleep doc took a new approach and I ditched my old pdoc of 4 years. They placed my on a high dose of clonazepam to sort out my GAD first and foremost (it also works for restless leg syndrome like nothing else) and then they introduced modafinil for excessive daytime sleepiness for my sleep aponea (and no large doses of clonazepam don't make me tired at all, benzo's never really have) and it's working wonders
Now I'm tapering my clonazepam back, I'm down to 5mg a day and I'm looking at getting it down to 1mg or even 0.5mg to keep my restless leg under control.
It's also an experiment to see how my GAD goes because they were worried that modafinil will make me more anxious which it hasn't at all so far. Being tired all day really stresses me out so maybe the modafinil will work out to be a great solution for me, who knows, it seem to be working great so far but I'm fully aware of the fact that it's still early days.
Posted by Phillipa on March 28, 2008, at 21:54:19
In reply to clonazepam and modafinil (provigil), posted by cactus on March 28, 2008, at 17:54:14
I feel you have a great pdoc and treating the anxiety first is the answer as for me anxiety leads to depression. And others I talk to are begging me to try providgil said it has a calming but awake feeling. Is that about right? But I feel that getting that anxiety under control first is right on. Good luck sounds like a great combo!!!!! Phillipa
Posted by cactus on March 29, 2008, at 1:03:28
In reply to clonazepam and modafinil (provigil), posted by cactus on March 28, 2008, at 17:54:14
Well it's only been 2 months so far and yes, when i get really anxious depression does return sometimes, but provigil hasn't made my GAD worse yet. The first few days I felt a bit on edge, I feeling I can't quite describe but for now everything is great.
Posted by bulldog2 on March 29, 2008, at 17:25:07
In reply to Re: clonazepam and modafinil (provigil), posted by cactus on March 29, 2008, at 1:03:28
What dose of provigil are you on?
Posted by cactus on March 29, 2008, at 18:30:07
In reply to Re: clonazepam and modafinil (provigil), posted by bulldog2 on March 29, 2008, at 17:25:07
200mg in the morning or before I start my shift. I don't work over nights but I do different shifts starting from very early, to afternoon shifts. I don't split my dose because I won't sleep otherwise. It's a very effective drug for excessive daytime sleepiness and sleep apnea and I have had no side effects from it so far.
It's just really expensive. Almost all drugs in Australia are covered or subsidized by the government. It's costing me between $400-$500 per script which lasts for 2 months. It's been very tightly regulated here and is extremely hard to get a script for. Even people who suffer from narcolepsy have to prove they have passed 4 out of 5 sleep latency tests before the government will pay for it, which is totally obscene.
I can't believe that our health system is slowly converting to an American based system. It's just disgraceful. Thankfully I have a job, our employers do not pay for our health cover. The government looks after that, well they used to.
Sorry, rant over!!!
Posted by bulldog2 on March 29, 2008, at 19:44:18
In reply to Re: clonazepam and modafinil (provigil) » bulldog2, posted by cactus on March 29, 2008, at 18:30:07
Does the modafinil have any impact on your mood other than keep you awake?
Posted by cactus on March 29, 2008, at 21:24:42
In reply to Re: clonazepam and modafinil (provigil), posted by bulldog2 on March 29, 2008, at 19:44:18
yes it does, I didn't notice it at first until family and friends started to comment about me being more positive. That was about 2 weeks in and now after almost 2 months I can see a big change within. It's hard to explain in words.
This is the end of the thread.
Psycho-Babble Medication | Extras | FAQ
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.org
Script revised: February 4, 2008
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/cgi-bin/pb/mget.pl
Copyright 2006-17 Robert Hsiung.
Owned and operated by Dr. Bob LLC and not the University of Chicago.