Nuvigil Side Effects (Page 3) (Top voted first)

I'm having severe side effects from nuvigil. Muscle and joint pain with numbness and tingling down my arms.

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I am on day 4 of Nuvigil 250mg in the morning. The first day was good, still tired, but such an improvement. Second day was great. 3rd & 4th days I feel horrible. Tiredness is masked, sleepy but can't sleep, waking up at 4am & can barely keep my eyes open. Mid headache and neck/base of skull pain (like my head is heavy). No appetite, but no nausea either. Also muscle weakness... walking 10 feet feels like I just did 100 squats! Definitely have the weird tongue click thing, but that's a common side effect when your messing with CNS meds. I am very disappointed with results, and it's a weekend, so I an't even reach my doctor. I took it again though, because I am also to that point of desperation. I am a mom of 5 kids aged 6-15, and can't even fix a meal or do a pony tail.

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I have an overlap of auto-immune disorders Lupus/Sjogren's Syndrome. I was going through a difficult flare-up the beginning of March. I went to a neurologist to rule out Lupus affecting CNS. He prescribed Nuvigil to give me increased energy. I am very wary about taking any new drug, but after another week of being mostly in bed I decided to try it. On the 2nd day I took it, I had an episode of severe muscle weakness, difficulty breathing, joint pain, tingling in hands and feet, and feeling as though I was going to pass out. The symptoms faded after 1-2 days. I didn't even think of the Nuvigil as having anything to do with it. My rheumatologist and neurologist had no answers....they attributed it to my auto-immune problems and my current flare-up. So after another 2 weeks of still feeling fatigue, muscle aches and mild weakness, I thought I would give the Nuvigil another try. Later that afternoon, I had a similar episode with the muscle weakness, tingling, fluttering in chest/difficulty breathing, but it didn't get as severe as the other episode. Also, I broke out in a rash this time. The symptoms faded 1 day later. The rash is what tipped me off to a possible allergic reaction. These two episodes have been in addition to my flare-up and my recovery time is longer. I'm going on almost 2 months out of work. I am allergic to Sulfa meds. Of course docs say "It doesn't sound what a reaction to Nuvigil would be like". and many other things to make you feel like you're imagining your symptoms. A very big coincidence if you ask me. But doctors don't want to here what I have to say, they just want to tell me that "this is not the typical pattern of......" or "I don't see any signs of ......" or "your bloodwork doesn't show any signs of .....". So basically I get the impression from the docs that I enjoy being sick and love to make up symtoms that go against the research so as to perplex everyone. Well I wish it was just a bad nightmare that I would wake up from. The symptoms are very real and have impacted my daily living significantly.

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I've been on Nuvigil for just over a year now. I take it for Narcolepsy and it has been life changing. I don't have the cataplexy type narcolepsy, but just the "need to sleep so bad it hurts" kind of narcolopsy. During my MSLT tests, I as hitting REM in 30 seconds. Anyway...I take half a 150mg tab in the morning about 15 minutes after eating. I'm able to stay awake all day, but the effects start to wear off around 8pm, so it works out pretty well. At least I'm able to stay awake for work, driving home, and talking to my wife (helpful hint: it's not good for a marriage to fall asleep during a conversation LOL). I've had very little side effects, but have started to develop tingling in my left arm and leg. I'm not sure if it's the nuvigil though, because the tingling seems to be positionally dependent, in that it starts to "go to sleep" any time I let it hang for more than 2-3 minutes. My doc isn't concerned, but I am, so I'm a bit concerned about my doc. At this point, the positive effects are way outweighing the tingling, but if it gets much worse, I'll have to reconsider.

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I think Nuvigil is the latest of the two drugs (Provigil and then Nuvigil). I'm not sure what you take it for; in my case I have MS and one of my symptoms is fatigue. My neuro said he thought Nuvigil was a better medication for my needs. I had to have my neuro intervene with the insurance company or they would not cover it. The first few times i took it were good, but then it made me feel wound up and I had a difficult time sleeping. Now i only take it now and then, not daily. The dose I take is 150 mg.

My hands are also numb, but that is due to my MS.

With regard to the Nuvigil and the Provigil ..they are considered the same tier of drugs. I can't think of any reason you could not take Provigil if it works well for you. Good Luck.

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Geeze Louise. I took my first 250mg Nuvigil tab today and everything started out great. 55yo 10 year cpap user. Later in the day I stared to get jittery, clinching my teeth and confused. Reminded me of my recreational drug days. Ha Ha I got so uptight luckily I had some Klonopin to ease me down. Tomorrow I am taking half the dose. I think my Dr. started me out at too large a dose. I understand everyone is reacts differently. Tomorrow hopefully I'll return from the 70's. I'll let you all know.

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ok,so I'm not the only one going crazy with the joint pain. Severe...hit my shoulders and elbows to the point I couldn't lift anything up that pulled on my arms. Had a full blood work up....seems my vitamin D level dropped some since starting nuvigil. Never had that happen before. Doc says that caused the joint pain???? sooo confused.

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After taking Nuvigil of and on for about 1 year I started taking it regularly due to the high mental demands of my new job position. I noticed that constipation stomach pain and bloating had increased but thought it was caused from something else (gluten or other meds etc). After recently going to the emergency room for severe stomach pain, bloating and having my stomach pumped I decided I was going to find the problem. One by one I eliminated gluten products, meds etc. Since I was off work for a few days I decided to stop Nuvigil for awhile. "Bingo" the constipation stomach pain and bloating had decreased. Returning to work on Monday I restarted the Nuvigil again. By evening I was almost doubled over with the symptoms returning. They are expensive and do eliminate brain fog and improve mental alertness but not worth the side effects. I am going to try adderall instead.

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I too started nuvigil x 3 days and started having my "sulfa" drug reaction. Clearing throat, swelling of tongue and difficulty swallowing. Besides now being tired on top of tired bc of having to take Benadryl and running into dead end after dead end ( side effects too from adderall and Dexedrine) I'm feeling like there is no hope or help! This med allowed me to be awake, productive and functional and now I'm screwed.

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it does that at first, but your body will build up a tolerance. but, for people that don't need the medication, its effects are probably amplified. or you might be on too high of a dosage.

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31 female, taking Nuvigil for about 5 months now @ 250mg one morning dose. prescribed for fm fatigue. at first headache was only side effect that was bothersome. then severe episodes of numbness and tingling of the right arm and severe right side back pain, didnt consider it related to the nuvigil. now i have severe chest pains worsing with any movement and a constant diastolic bp over 100 and pulse rate just under the diastolic number even at rest! starting to worry about heart attack and stroke.

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I tried it for my m.s. fatigue also but the side effects were not worth it. The headaches were awful, I was so nauseated it was hard to eat. By day three, I was vomiting, the good part about that was it helped a little with the nausea. I was so exhausted on the drug, that I was napping two or three hours at a time. The weird thing is I felt a little more clear headed, but I was exhausted by the insomnia it caused. I know that doesn't make much sense, it made none to me, but that was how it worked on me. I was also very nervous while on this medication. Next up is Adderall, I'm hoping that works better for me.

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I'm a 55 year old male that was prescribed NuVigil (250 mg) for ADD several months ago. I stopped taking it because of the side effects. While it gave me increased energy and allowed me to focus better, these benefits went away after a month. Like another poster noted, it can produce a tendency to only want to satisfy themself. NuVigil did not help with "normal" intimate relations with my female partner, it made them worse.

The other problem was severe joint pain and numbness, mostly confined to my left wrist and elbow. (I masturbate with my right hand BTW). After I stopped taking NuVigil, all of the pain and numbness went away but it took several weeks for it to go away completely. I don't want to look at porn sites anymore and normal relations have returned.

One thing I have noticed from the comments here is that people overwhelmingly report pain and numbness on the LEFT side of their body. This is probably significant somehow.

I suppose NuVigil is a blessing to many people but I think it is dangerous and should be looked at again by the FDA. There's obviously a scam going on with the pricing also. Cephalon has been pushing this stuff heavily and running radio ads for it on financial talk shows in our area. They're trying to attract the stock brokers and hedge fund managers judging by the way the ads are designed. They are among the few that can afford this stuff if their insurance won't pay for it.

Let's face it - NuVigil is popular because it gives you a speedy feeling legally. You can get to sleep at night if the pain in your limbs permits and you aren't masturbating yourself to death. I have determined it ain't worth it!

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I started taking nuvigil 150mg, on the fifth day I began to tingle in my left hand, it began to spread from top of my skull to tip of my toes, every time I tried to walk, my legs gave out, I thought maybe it was just weird, so I took it the next day to see if I had the same reaction and sure enough around hour three after taking it, the tingling started again and my legs became jello. My arms were fairly limp and my jaw just would work as I tried talking, my associates said I talked like a drunk, slow and slurred. I cut the pill in half hoping it would go away, but my legs still feel stupid, especially down the whole backside. Does anyone else have anything similar?

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This same thing happened to me this morning. Anxiety attack so bad I called EMS bcz shortness of breath and weakening in legs, sweaty hands& feet, and..the very first thing I noticed within abt 45min of taking 150mg tab was 'blurred vision'.
Im desperate to combat my horrible fatigue but,..not sure this is for me.
Thank You ALL for your posts. Now I know it's not just me.

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I began taking Nuvigil perhaps 3 years ago? What I've just read from many of you tells me you don't understand the drug interaction with your body very well. 1st., Nuvigil should be given in low doses at first. It is addicting. It does cause constipation. Speak with your Dr. about Lactulose or something else for constipation. Nuvigil seems to tighten and cause my metabilism to slow down a lot but that is very subjective. If you have severe back pain which is also caused by constipation, Lactulose does help. A working metabilism is a must, fast or slow. The constipation also causes cramps. Any stimulant can cause neck pain, headaches and more. Don't think it works quickly. It takes quite some time for you to wake up. If you're already on a tranquilzer it may help but don't start them if you don't need them. A lot of water can help. It took me a long time to study Nuvigil's effects on my body. I hope this helps some of you.
I have a severe sleeping problem. I can sleep for 4 days straight and don't have the strength to stay up more than a short while. We don't know what it is yet. Nuvigil gave me a pounding heart at first so I cut it in quarters. I now use more than 250 mgs a day but I don't seem to have a problem with it. The most one should take daily is 500 mgs. I know most people don't need that amount I have many conditions including Severe Essential Tremor, severe back pain, and a slew of other stuff. The Nuvigil helps very much. With Narco it seems to keep me up and working. I have quit painkillers to see if they caused anything but after 3 months I knew why I needed them. Pain. Still I sleep so much that I'm not functioning properly.

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My Girlfriend was given this med (150mg) and today is day 3. She has stomach and back pain, vomiting, Head and neck aches but there is no fever or anything. She has pretty much been in bed since day 2. Day one she took the full tablet and was a total speed freak. She was all over the place. Day two she took half a pill and has not been good at all. This is day three at 11:47am and she is still in bed doubled over in pain. I am trying to do everything I can to keep her as comfortable as I can. She does not want to go to the ER. She is insisting on going to her doc monday morning. Oh, and she has not had any of this Nuvigil at all today. I won't let her take it.

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I am not positive that Nuvigil did this, but it is a strange coincidence if it didn't. I take Suboxone everyday and have for years. It makes me very drowsy when I drive, but it is a miracle drug and it has saved my life. (even though the drug mfg keeps the price obscenely high). About 4 years ago, I drove a car across the country and my doctor gave me Provigil to help with my drive. It did a wonderful job and I had no problems at all. I need to drive another car across the country so I asked my doctor again for the Provigil to help me with the drive and this time he gave me Nuvigil. He said it was the same stuff but better. He advised me to try it before I started the drive to make sure I didn't have any reactions. So I did..I took a 150 mg pill the first day and I felt very anxious but had energy for most of the day. When it wore off that afternoon, I felt absolutely drained. The next day I again took a pill. I felt horrible...hard to explain, but it was awful. I also developed several mouth sores. I know you are supposed to stop immediately if you have sores, but any type of "stimulant" gives me mouth sores so I took it one more day to try to get over the side effects so I could begin my drive. I took the 150 mg for about a week before I started having pain in my abdomen and back. It feels like my internal organs had been run over by a truck. I am nauseated and and very fatigued. I have a burning, gnawing feeling in my stomach that gets worse at night. I have not taken this poison in a week now, but the pain in my abdomen which radiates to the back has not gone away. I have no energy and have a hard time sleeping. The pain and gnawing is really bad at night. I have tried to get into see a doctor in Tennessee, but since I am from California, I am not having any luck. I don't know if a Walk-In Clinic can do any blood work to see if I have stomach ulcers or Pancreatitis or liver problems.....but something is very wrong and I don't think I cannot drive from Tennessee to LA any time soon. I can't get off the sofa...it is hard to even type this. I have always been fairly healthy so I have never felt anything like this. I blame the Nuvigil. It is too much of a coincidence.

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Once again, I'll speak. Nuvigil makes the lips dry. It's natural to get a sore if you don't use vaseline or another skin product. If very tired, Nuvigil is known not to work. If you read the literature you'll see that. For any metabolism Nuvigil takes a longer time to work than people think. Headaches from to much. As I said before, small doses are better until you have built resistance enough to handle a bit more. If taken right, Nuvigil can keep you up for days. With that comes side effects. I wish it could keep me up more. I crash as some of you do. I, however was crashing before I started Nuvigil. As some said, no energy, Take a look at other reasons as well. Depression is well known for sleeping days away. Narcolepsy also. If you want to know about this drug, study the literature, ask neurologists as well as your general practioner. There is m ore to Nuvigil than meets the eye. I will be sending some of your thoughts to my doctor. Although great, he's human. You are the only one who has the time to find out what you are putting in your body and what interactions it may have with the other stuff you take.

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swollen tongue with canker soars is happening to me now... i've tried wakalert, just mild headaches... i have nuvigil now, almost positive that's whats causing it

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I had tremors and on my ride home after work i had alot of hallucinations and all day i had chest pains onthe. Left side

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