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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 5 of 5. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by GregCo on March 31, 2003, at 14:51:10
...Sorry about my title, kind of ran out of room.. It might be a good idea if they made the Subject line a little longer... anyways.......
I don't know if you read my first post about Modafinil/Adrafinil but the reporter from MSN/NBC page seems to love this stuff!!! Here's the link to his little story http://slate.msn.com/id/2079113/#sb2079116
I think if I felt like he did after taking the stuff I wouldn't have so many mental lapses and wouldn't feel as tired. I just started taking Adrafinil, hopefully over time it could help me out like Modafinil did for him lathough it's obviously going to take a little longer for me. Have you had any experiences with either drugs? I did go through a search and read a few user comments but I don't recall if you commented at all. Thanks again for taking the time to reply to my messages. I really appreciate it.
Posted by wendy b. on March 31, 2003, at 15:39:51
In reply to How about this formemory/less fatigueBeardedlady?!, posted by GregCo on March 31, 2003, at 14:51:10
> ...Sorry about my title, kind of ran out of room.. It might be a good idea if they made the Subject line a little longer... anyways.......
>
>
> I don't know if you read my first post about Modafinil/Adrafinil but the reporter from MSN/NBC page seems to love this stuff!!! Here's the link to his little story http://slate.msn.com/id/2079113/#sb2079116
>
> I think if I felt like he did after taking the stuff I wouldn't have so many mental lapses and wouldn't feel as tired. I just started taking Adrafinil, hopefully over time it could help me out like Modafinil did for him lathough it's obviously going to take a little longer for me. Have you had any experiences with either drugs? I did go through a search and read a few user comments but I don't recall if you commented at all. Thanks again for taking the time to reply to my messages. I really appreciate it.
Greg,Sorry to butt in...
This reporter is doing a disservice by making modafinil out to be something it's not. The US government has done studies on provigil to see if servicemen can go longer without sleep, but that is NOT what it's prescribed for. The reporter says it's a narcolepsy drug, but then goes ahead and tests it out for his lack of sleep. This is really not what modafinil should be taken for at all. The cure for a better night's sleep is to get more sleep, not take a drug. IF you have problems with insomnia, that's something else, and can be treated by other means. Insomnia and not getting enough sleep can be, and often are, two very different things and are treated in different ways. No doctor would prescribe somebody Provigil if they said they weren't getting as many hours of sleep a night as they should. A careful medical and psych history would be taken, and then medically treated.Provigil has been found to help people with attentional problems like ADHD, and for depression, but these are what they call off-label uses. In other words, doctors can prescribe it for whatever they want, but with full knowledge that they are doing so. No double-blind placebo studies have been done for what they might be prescribing it for, and the FDA has not approved it for anything except what it specifically enumerates.
As far as your symptoms go, I would suggest seeking out a specialist in attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The symptoms you describe could very well be treated medically (i.e, with drugs). Everyone does suffer from occasional memory loss, but yours is more marked (and not just in your own opinion), and there is no reason for you to continue to suffer. The problem with ADHD patients is the particular way their brain is wired, and the meds do help a lot. By the way, I am on Provigil, and it has really helped my attentional problems and my depression. If you have any other questions, please ask, but DO look up more on modafinil/Provigil on the search function that this site offers. The box is above, a few lines underneath the amazon.com green box on the pages that list all the threads.
Best of luck,
Wendy
Posted by GregCo on March 31, 2003, at 16:25:38
In reply to Re: How about this formemory/less fatigue » GregCo, posted by wendy b. on March 31, 2003, at 15:39:51
Thanks for the message Wendy. I really appreciate it. I was looking for something that would enable me to need less sleep because I seem to need 9 1/2 hrs sleep at night at least, usually more, to feel decent. Anything below that I would start having concentration problems and be regularly tired...
I have read a lot from the search menu on Adrafinil and Modifinil. It was actually one of the reasons I thought it might be good for me. People like IsoM seem to love it. Here's a quote from him that I find kind of ironic after you mentioned ADHD... "Seeing that I have ADHD, on adrafinil I can be as hyper & perky as normally, but with a calmness I'd never experienced" He also goes in other posts to say he has better memory, less depression, less fatigue and generally feels great on the stuff withouht any of the side effects of other drugs.
So far I must admit I'm feeling pretty good today. I got about 8hrs of sleep last night and my concentration levels seem to be better than normal and I also feel pretty good about my future right now and want to do something productive with my life, more so than normal.
One reason I like the drug is because it was a type four drug which supposedly means it's a realitively safe drug compared to most drugs out there. It also doesn't seem to have a lot of the nasty side effects that other drugs have. I did read about the Liver Enzyme tests that should be done every three months on Adrafinil but Modafinil doesn't seem to have those problems.
I must admit I don't know much about ADHD. I'll have to look into that. I never thought I could have a problem like that because I was always into thinking games like chess, I could play a game for hrs in tournaments although my memory was usually worse than others when playing it. I could remember opening chess lines when studying them from a book but couldn't remember past games I played and the mistakes I should have learned from them when I was thinking about my next move in a game. Also if someone talked to me it would ruin my concentration and I would play poorly. So I don't know if I have a problem in that area or not.
Posted by wendy b. on March 31, 2003, at 22:08:24
In reply to Re: How about this formemory/less fatigue, posted by GregCo on March 31, 2003, at 16:25:38
> Thanks for the message Wendy. I really appreciate it. I was looking for something that would enable me to need less sleep because I seem to need 9 1/2 hrs sleep at night at least, usually more, to feel decent. Anything below that I would start having concentration problems and be regularly tired...
ok, i understand what you're saying here. provigil might very well help you. i think it might be good to limit your sleep to 8 hours. then manage the daytime sleepiness as a separate thing, possibly with a "wakefulness agent," like this med. i love that description, see how hard they're trying not to call it a stimulant? and in fact, it's not, and there exists no other terminology to use to define it.
> I have read a lot from the search menu on Adrafinil and Modifinil. It was actually one of the reasons I thought it might be good for me.
sorry, didn't mean to imply that you hadn't. i meant it as an antidote to that msn article, though; i really didn't like it. if you sensationalize the thing, you're not doing it justice.
> People like IsoM seem to love it. Here's a quote from him that I find kind of ironic after you mentioned ADHD... "Seeing that I have ADHD, on adrafinil I can be as hyper & perky as normally, but with a calmness I'd never experienced" He also goes in other posts to say he has better memory, less depression, less fatigue and generally feels great on the stuff withouht any of the side effects of other drugs.IsoM is a WOMAN! (but how were you to know? it speaks well of her that her writing is not pointedly feminine nor masculine) And she has so many interesting posts and is sooo helpful to people here. i'm sure you can address a question to her right on the board. i get the same reaction from provigil as she does...
> So far I must admit I'm feeling pretty good today. I got about 8hrs of sleep last night and my concentration levels seem to be better than normal and I also feel pretty good about my future right now and want to do something productive with my life, more so than normal.
that's great, how did that happen, if you don't mind talking about it?
> One reason I like the drug is because it was a type four drug which supposedly means it's a realitively safe drug compared to most drugs out there. It also doesn't seem to have a lot of the nasty side effects that other drugs have. I did read about the Liver Enzyme tests that should be done every three months on Adrafinil but Modafinil doesn't seem to have those problems.yes, all of those things make the drug that much better, in my opinion.
> I must admit I don't know much about ADHD. I'll have to look into that. I never thought I could have a problem like that because I was always into thinking games like chess, I could play a game for hrs in tournaments although my memory was usually worse than others when playing it.common misconception about ADHD #1: that attentional difficulties imply inability to focus and concentrate. quite the contrary - the ability to hyper-focus, as you describe about chess above, is a classic ADHD symptom. so much focus, in fact, that other things get shut out (not intentionally), but to the detriment of deadlines and relationships with others (family, friends, teachers, bosses, etc.) it's hard to shift tasks for ADHD'ers, to make the transition from one activity to another. if the ADHD person is NOT engaged in something fascinating to him, though, his mind does wander. so you tend to get both.
common misconception #2: that the ADHD person doesn't have the mental capacity that other "normal" people do. they think einstein had ADHD. many of us are very creative, artistic, musical, intense, and have performative talents. often we are naturally good leaders in group situations.
so i don't say: seek an ADHD specialist because you're sick or defective, just that suffering from the symptoms for longer than you have to isn't necessary. but you need a good diagnostician, not just anybody. what country are you from?
>I could remember opening chess lines when studying them from a book but couldn't remember past games I played and the mistakes I should have learned from them when I was thinking about my next move in a game.yeah, this is symptomatic. you can learn visualization strategies for these things; it takes a lot of time and effort.
> Also if someone talked to me it would ruin my concentration and I would play poorly. So I don't know if I have a problem in that area or not.who knows? i am no doctor, just a fellow-traveler. but the things you're saying about yourself echo what a lot of people i know with ADHD say about their symptoms, that's all.
best wishes and thanks for your message,
Wendy
Posted by GregCo on March 31, 2003, at 23:47:56
In reply to Re: How about this for memory-loss, fatigue » GregCo, posted by wendy b. on March 31, 2003, at 22:08:24
Thanks for the Post Wendy. You know I did read that IsoM was a woman but I forgot! I told you my memory can be bad! lol. From what other people have mentioned on this board I may have ADHD. I'm going to look into it. I'm happy I found this site.
As for how I've been feeling a little bit better than normal lately... I just noticed after a couple days of taking Adrifinil that I felt a little bit more content than normal and not as groggy. I wanted to work hard and was looking forward to it. I'm going to be moving soon to take a regional sales job in California, I live in Arizona now. It's a pretty big deal for me and it seems like in the past two days I've been kind of gungho about it and looking forward to the move and to getting started, more so than normal. I'm pretty sure it's not a placebo affect. I think I'll have a better idea of how well Adrifinil works for me in a few days.
Thanks for your help.
-Greg
This is the end of the thread.
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