Nuvigil Side Effects (Page 4)
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I'm having severe side effects from nuvigil. Muscle and joint pain with numbness and tingling down my arms.

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First 2 days on Nuvigil, I wasn't overly anxious or super alert. I had a terrible headache that went completely down the back of my head and into my neck. Not sure the effects are worth it. I am 44 and very active, I don't want to lose that for joint pain.

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Hello Conor,
Nuvigil caused me to be awake, but unable to do anything except stare into space. Provigil is actually very expensive now (it's an older drug) because the drug company wants people to use the new one. I went on Adderall and that seems to be working. I intensely dislike the effects Nuvigil had on me.

I have been wondering if the use or previous use of antidepressants causes fatigue.

My neurologist has advised me to not eat any carbohydrates during the day. Only protein (i.e., almond milk) and fat. For example, milk has lactose (a sugar) and fruit has fructose (a sugar) so I cannot have either of these during the day and it helps. Actually, not eating at all during the day helps me the most with the fatigue, but it's not good for my body. Also, the neurologist has suggested a brain reset; a 15 min. nap. This too helps.

I hope this gives you some help.

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I have been taking Nuvigil 150mg for 6 days now for chronic fatigue syndrome and ADD. The side effects i am feeling are an even more pronounced inability to focus and racing thoughts. I want to start projects and then quickly lose my focus on them. (I am having trouble staying focused on writing this) The first few days i did not have these issues. I did have the headache and jaw clenching but those went away after the first few days to be replaced by this. It seems like i am also starting to forget to do small things like turning the burner off after i make tea. I do feel more awake at times but what good is that if you cant focus on anything. I do tend to get really sleepy (but cant fall asleep) after i eat a meal. I also seem to hear my heart beat a lot more its not going faster i am just more cognizant of it. I was on adderall and it worked i just didnt like some of the side effects and it lost its efficacy after a time and my pcp did not want to up the dose or put me on any other amphetamine. (He actually wants me to go see another psychiatrist but due to no health insurance its not an option). I also took ritalin for a time way back in high school and it seemed to have a similar effect with making my thinking. I am going to try and half my dose today to see if that helps at all but if it does not i may just give up on this medicine. I was wondering if anyone else experienced anything like this and also if they did and also used provigil if that was any better for them when they switched?

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Incredible muscle and joint pain, its great to feel wake, but the pain is incredible - I can hardly walk it hurts so bad.

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Okay this is an update. I have been on Nuvigil now 2 weeks and it mostly stopped working on day 5. Before I started Nuvigil I was taking a 5 hour everyday and that would work for me and it lasted until the end of my work day. Now, I take the Nuvigil and I wait 1 then 2 hours and nothing so I take a 5 hour and I am good to go. I will continue to take until my doctors appt in 2 more weeks but I don't think that it will start working again. I do have more joint pains so the meds I am on for Fibro aren't working either. I read somewhere that someone else had this issue and it turned out to be Adrenal Insufficiency. I have suspected for years now that I have Adrenal issue and I have said something to the doctor who treats my thyroid but he keeps putting me off. I have had the saliva test done twice and it always comes back low in the morning/afternoon and too high at night; that's why I take Lunesta. Anyone else have this issue?

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I am 59, I have very slight sleep apnea, some inflammation in my body, cluster headaches (I take Inderal for that), suspected fibromyalgia and hypothyroid. I have had tiredness maybe once every couple of week starting about 5 years ago and was diagnosed with low thyroid and I take Armour for that but it never helped the tiredness. About a year ago I started falling asleep at work maybe once a week and 6 months ago it started happening several times a week until I realized every morning and after I ate lunch I could not control being able to stay awake. I have done the sleep study and I do not use a C-pap, I’ve been tested for Lupus and that came back okay. So last week my doctor ask me to try Nuvigil (250 mgs)for a month, this is my 4th day. I had a throbbing headache on the left side of my head for 2 day better yesterday and today. I’ve noticed I am clenching my teeth so I have been really watching that today and the throbbing has gone away for the most part but comes back quickly when I stand or walk. I have also notice some seldom twitching of my lower legs. Yesterday for almost 2 hours I couldn’t keep my eyes open it was horrible. Anyway, I feel like I can complete my work but do feel like I am still tied, you know the feeling, your eyes feel weird and that slight fogginess and having some trouble coming up with words or even saying them. So far I have been taking my Lunesta and I have been sleeping pretty much like I always have, with no more or less quality sleep. I keeping a journal for this whole month and I want to give this some more time to see if it’s really worth some of the side effects I have now, hopefully they will lessen with time.

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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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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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I know this is an old thread, but I just wanted to clarify. Lopressor (metoprolol) is a beta blocker that is used to treat hypertension. However, many physicians use this medication to help treat anxiety (off label usage) as it lowers heart rate which can help with that anxious feeling. The doseage is smaller when used for this reason.

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I experienced similar reactions, terrible muscle & joint pains. They have continued even after stopping the medication. I'm now working with a specialist who has me on chemo to try and calm the inflammation. I only now wish that I had never taken Nuvigil, it hs destroyed my life!

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Wow. It sounds like you have some sort of sensitivity to the drug, like an allergic reaction. I had that happen with a drug named Compazine many, many years ago. They had to give me valium to stop the muscle spasms in my tongue and face. I can't take that drug or any like it again.

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I experienced the exact symptoms you did! My thigh muscles were is so much pain, I was having to shuffle my feet like an elderly person to walk! I have swelling in my tongue and brome out with a rash on arms face and chest. The worst is my hands won't stop shaking so I end up having to take Xanax to calm me down! So I Will NOT. Take this med again going to go to doc tommorow to discuss other options for extreme fatigue and sleepiness!

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I take it for MS fatigue too. Just started on Nuvigil today. My doctor wanted me to take Provigil, but insurance wouldn't pay for it until I've tried Nuvigil first.

Today, it worked great! I was able to run around with my kids at the beach and still feel able to walk upstairs tonight. I read the other posts about the negative side effects, so I'll keep all of that in the back of my mind.

I have some shortness of breath, but it is the same as when I would get iv steroid treatments. My brother (he is a pharmacist) says the shortness of breath may go away in a few days.

Why did you start on Provigil and change to Nuvigil? What do you think the differences are?

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I do and I just took my first dose of Nuvigil this morning. I'm ready to say its my new best friend, but after reading the various posts..I think I'll wait a few weeks and then decide. ;-)

I have some shortness of breath, but it is the same as what I feel when I use to get iv steroid treatments. I called my brother (he is a pharmacist) and he said the shortness of breath could go away in a few days. And I don't have any actualy chest pain.

I'll take a little shortness of breath in order to chase my 2 kids around and have fun any day! :-)

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I was first on Provigil, now on Nuvigil I take it for MS fatigue somedays my arm and leg go numb and I get severe shooting pains and somedays it works wonderfully I dont get it?!
Another thing I noticed was that a lot of people are stating that after taking their Nuvigil the first few hours they were fine and then it began going downhill... Nuvigil reaches its full potential 5 hours after taking it so that is when you are going to experience the intensity of the drug, and remember Nuvigil works closely like an amphetamine therefore the appetite suppression, anxiety, shakiness, etc should be expected your body will begin to develop a tolerance but this is a powerful stimulant so take it as cautiously as you can.

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Food for thought; it has been my experience that mixing caffeine with Nuvigil,
can increase anxiety and inter fear with cognition and memory function.

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I did not realize that it was possible to hate a drug so much.

I realize that many people have positive experiences with this drug and it's important for people to not that people with negative experiences are more likely to post online about it.

Either way, taking Nuvigil for 3 months was the worst decision I've ever made. I took 50mg for 3 days and then went up to 250. On 50mg, I essentially crashed wuickly and would have terrible headaches. I wasn't prepared for what happened when I went up to 250. Initially, I felt great. I felt more awake, I was working harder, I was more engaged in what I was doing, etc. However I soon realized I was anxious. I'm a naturally calm person but I began wringing my hands, biting my nails, pacing, looking out of the window, became anxious in crowded places, etc. By the end of the night I was so sad about nothing that I cried myself to sleep. Though some side effects did not continue, the anxiety was severe and continued even after I went down to 200, and later, 150. I took four breaks from nuvigil recently and felt immensely better.

Strangely enough, when I would take breaks from the drug, I would realize that the severe anxiety, depression, and overall negative affect was atypical. However once I began taking it again, I decided that my emotions were justified and reasonable. I still can't believe that this drug was able to alter who I was a person so much.

I encourage people to try this drug: it works for many people. But tell your family and friends to look out for you and please consider speaking to your doctor if your mood changes are severe and/or last for more than 2 weeks. I'd rather sleep 18 hours a day or give myself another ulcer with coffee than take this drug.

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I started Nuvigil 4 days ago. I felt great no sleepiness at all and more energy, perhaps too much. But it has also caused headaches and played havoc with my blood pressure going from an of average 118/63 eventually jumping steadily up to 165/95 and heart rate from 60's to 99. It took me a years to finally get my bp under control. I love being able to stay awake and not play my life around a nap. But not sure the side effects are going to be worth it. I am trying half the dosage of 150mg for a few days and monitoring my bp as well as my sleep issue and reporting to the Dr. on Monday.

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My doctor gave me samples a while ago for MS related fatigue. When I took it just on days when I knew I would have a lot going on, it worked fine. Recently, I started having more prolonged fatigue so my dr prescribed it to take once a day. After the 3rd day I would become so drowsy in the middle of the day, and I have also started experiencing the worst headaches I have ever had in my life. The headaches even continue while I sleep. I don't think Nuvigil is a bad drug, but it definitely doesn't work for me.

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My doctor did not believe me about the side effects either. He thinks it's all in my head even though I told him about others on the forums have had the same side effects. Really, they don't know anything except what they are told by the manufacturer.

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