Provigil Generic » wakefulness

Important information about Provigil

Jen — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 07:19:06 +0000

Provigil is a medicine, which is known to promote wakefulness in people who have such sleep disorders as sleep apnea and sleep disorder. Unfortunately, Provigil will not cure a sleep disorder, but it can certainly help to fight the symptoms, one of those is excessive sleepiness.

Provigil is not to be used as a sleep replacement. The good night sleep is what everybody should aim for every day. Even if this medicine works perfectly for you, still try to develop a good sleep routine, wake up and go to bed the same time, even on weekends.

Do not change the dosage without consulting your doctor first. Also, we don’t recommend taking additional doses. This medicine does not have withdrawal symptoms, but it can affect the mood and thinking ability.

Provigil in Sustaining Wakefulness

Nor — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 00:29:17 +0000

In a condition called narcolepsy excessive sleepiness is a main symptom, which lasts the whole day. There has been two studies done comparing what is more effecient – to take Provigil once a day or to take small split doses a number of times a day.

It has been proven, that split doses were much more effecient than once a day dose ( 200 mg of Provigil), and it was better performing in sustaining wakefulness in the evening.

Both these regimes are very well tolerated. Therefore please consult your doctor to decide which regime is better and more suitable for your needs

Provigil improves wakefulness

Nor — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 00:32:10 +0000

Although its mechanism of action is unknown, Provigil appears to be unlike classic stimulants. We investigated this generality by testing the selectivity of this compound for wake-promoting effects (e.g., relative to locomotor effects) and homeostatic sleep responses after drug-induced waking relative to the prototypical stimulant methamphetamine (METH).

Continuous measures of electroencephalogram (EEG) sleep-wakefulness, locomotor activity (LMA) and body temperature (Tb) were obtained from adult male Wistar rats 3 days before and after treatment with Provigil (30, 100 and 300 mg/kg i.p.), 0.25% methylcellulose (vehicle) or METH (0.5 and 1.0 mg/kg i.p.). Individually housed rats in a 24-h light-dark cycle (LD 12:12) were treated 5 h after lights-on (CT-5).

LMA and Tb were monitored via intraperitoneal telemetry. Sleep-wake stages and LMA were recorded every 10 s, Tb every minute. During the first 3 h post-treatment, Provigil and METH significantly and dose-dependently increased EEG wake time (P < .01 for 30 mg/kg Provigil, all other P < .0001) and wake episode duration.

Although the cumulative increases in wakefulness were statistically equivalent, METH, but not Provigil, produced subsequent rebound hypersomnolence.

At these equipotent wake-promoting doses, Provigil produced the same total amount of REM sleep inhibition but during a longer time than METH. Provigil also increased LMA amount (counts/h, P < .001) and LMA intensity (counts/min awake, P < .001) less than METH. Both rebound hypersomnolence and increased LMA intensity, which are undesirable features in wake-promoting drugs, were not observed after Provigil treatment, and thus further differentiated Provigil from amphetamine-like stimulants.

Using Provigil

Nor — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 00:02:42 +0000

Provigil is approved for people age 16 and older. Off-label Provigil uses may also include the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, depression, and fatigue due to other causes.

Provigil^® (modafinil) is a medication used to promote wakefulness. This means that it helps people stay awake and alert. It is approved to promote wakefulness in people with excessive sleepiness due to:

Narcolepsy
Shift work sleep disorder (SWSD), a problem in people who work night shifts or who frequently change between day and night work shifts
Sleep apnea (known medically as obstructive sleep apnea/hypopnea syndrome or OSAHS).

Provigil Uses for Narcolepsy

Provigil can be used as part of narcolepsy treatment. Symptoms of narcolepsy include falling asleep uncontrollably and at unusual times. People with this condition often appear paralyzed when they are asleep and have hallucinations when falling asleep. These people often fall asleep several times during the day.

Although Provigil can help people with narcolepsy stay awake, it is not a cure. Even while taking Provigil, most people with narcolepsy will still experience symptoms, although these symptoms will usually be less frequent or severe.

Provigil Uses for Shift Work Sleep Disorder

Most people work a typical “nine to five” shift or something similar. However, for many jobs and professions, night shift work is a necessity. Sometimes, the body has a hard time adjusting to night shift work. It is difficult to sleep during the day (due to sunlight, noise, and other problems), and staying awake at night is also difficult. While many night shift workers will eventually adjust to their new schedule, not everyone does. This is especially a problem for people who switch back and forth between night shifts and day shifts. The body may never get a chance to adjust in these situations.

Provigil helps night shift workers stay awake at work. This, in turn, can help them sleep during the day. The need for Provigil may be temporary, as symptoms improve on their own as the body adjusts to the new schedule.

Provigil Uses for Sleep Apnea

Although there are different types of sleep apnea, this phrase usually refers to obstructive sleep apnea/hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS), often just called obstructive sleep apnea. This is the most common type of sleep apnea. During sleep, not enough air is able to flow into your lungs through your mouth and nose, even though you try to breathe. When this happens, the amount of oxygen in your blood may drop. Normal breaths then start again with a loud snort or choking sound.

Obstructive sleep apnea is caused by relaxation of soft tissue in the back of the throat that blocks the passage of air (see Causes of Sleep Apnea). While the most obvious effects of sleep apnea usually involve daytime sleepiness, it can cause serious health problems, such as high blood pressure (hypertension) or depression. Sleep apnea treatment usually involves continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), which uses a mask that blows air to cause pressure that keeps the throat open during sleep.

Provigil can be used to help people with obstructive sleep apnea stay awake and alert during the day. However, it does not cure the condition or decrease the chance of dangerous effects. For this reason, Provigil should always be used along with appropriate sleep apnea treatment (usually CPAP). In fact, the drug should not be started unless sleep apnea has been appropriately treated for a little while, since daytime sleepiness will usually improve with CPAP or other treatment.

Source: http://sleep.emedtv.com/provigil/provigil-uses.html

Not Like a Cup of Joe

Nor — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 08:41:12 +0000

“It works in a very select area of the brain called the hypothalamus, which regulates among other things sleep and wakefulness,” Wyatt said. “And because it doesn’t work in widespread areas of the brain, it seems to have a much cleaner side-effect profile, not producing nervousness or tremulousness or shakiness that other stimulants can.”

There are some side effects, including headaches, nausea, infection, possible nervousness, anxiety and insomnia. But patients would see a limited number of those effects at one time, and they are actually less than the effects of caffeine.

Dodds thought that the pill would have effects similar to caffeine, but she was surprised.

“I thought, OK, it’s going to be like 10 cups of coffee,” Dodds said. “It wasn’t at all. I was really surprised. I wasn’t tired. I mean, I felt tired like I had been working, but not like OK, it’s halfway through, I’m almost there, I can almost sleep. It wasn’t a radical improvement, but I just felt good, like you had slept all night and were up during the day.”

Johnson said that there are legitimate uses of the drug, for people who are chronically on late shifts, and for patients with multiple sclerosis, who suffer from fatigue as a result.

“But I do think a broad use would be unethical for social reasons,” Johnson said. “I personally would feel uncomfortable prescribing the drug to just anyone. We just don’t know completely how it works, and we have limited experience with knowing what happens after long-term use.”

Provigil – Wakefulness in Rats increased

Nor — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 11:59:53 +0000

We found that after a single icv injection of MOD (10mug/5mul) the extracellular levels of dopamine (DA) and l-DOPA collected from the nucleus accumbens were increased and decreased, respectively. Separately, the icv administration of MOD (10mug/5mul) to rats enhanced wakefulness (W) whereas diminished sleep during 4h.

Lastly, the alertness induced by MOD was partially antagonized by the sleep-inducing endocannabinoid anandamide (ANA). We conclude that MOD enhances the extracellular levels of DA, promotes W and its effects on sleep are partially blocked by ANA.