Nuvigil Side Effects (Page 8) (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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Hi Mark,
I was on 50mg. of Provigil. I am a fairly small person and I am very sensitive to medicine. It doesn't take much for me.

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Hi Angela,
I thought Provigil would be less expensive since it is older than Nuvigil. I have a prescription for Provigil sitting at the pharmacy.

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I was thinking the same thing! Even my doc said "it's almost generic now, so should be no problem!" Well, it's a BIG problem! Now I'm faced w/the decision of sticking w/my $20 Nu that causes ADD & severe joint pain, or sucking it up and spending an add'l $55/month and hope it doesn't do the same thing!

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I started taking Nuvigil several months ago as amphetamine replacement. I found that, while it does keep me awake with less of the mania symptoms, there have been some strange side effects. At first extreme muscle soreness, which subsided. Then I was feeling very disoriented and strange for awhile, which subsided. Then I felt like my arms would go so weak at time I could not lift a coffee mug with one hand. That also subsided. I was still sleepy so my dosage was increased from 150 to 250. I find one 250 gets me all the way through morning, afternoon and evening - vs taking two smaller doses in a day which caused me to stay up very late. For awhile I had no side effects. The past two weeks or so I've experienced something strange: when something or someone startles me I have an all-body tingling sensation which is like a million needles pricking for a moment. It's pretty intense. Also I've become much more aware of people getting in my personal space, especially standing behind me.

All of this being said, I still value the positive effects enough to keep taking Nuvigil. It's helped me keep my job and be more focused on tasks at hand. I don't think I'm ADD because I always did very well academically, but I could be wrong ...

Regardless, I'm interested in learning from anyone who has encountered these side effects and/or discovered an alternative method, etc.

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he's probably right. Those amphetamines are very brutal on the mind and body. I've been through every one of them. awful! :(

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omg, I just went through this! Wasn't sure if it was Nuvigil or not...but it is the only explanation. Had full blood workup...neg of course....except vitamin d level dropped some (never happened before). I couldn't lift OR bend my arms...I couldn't even tolerate them touching the bed while lying down trying to sleep. I was about in tears and I have a pretty high tolerance for pain. :( New it was a bad idea. I developed permanent fibromyalgia while begininning on provigil years back when I was first diagnosed....and docs couldn't figure it out then even though I insisted it had to be the drug, because they kept on insisting to increase it and the more they did the worse I got.l...to the point I couldn't even walk. It was awful!

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omg, please stop it. I developed permanent painful fibromyalgia that began with provigil treatment and worsened with dose increased. Docs just wouldn't listen. I'm stuck with it, and doc insists on trying me on nuvigil starting low at 50mg then increase to 100. Result? sever joint pain in arms/elbows and shoulders, pain shooting down my legs...horrible! I'm done!!!

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I should have mentioned this is well. When I developed fibromyalgia with provigil treatment, I also developed RLS and Cataplexy all at the same time. Sounds like you may be having some early signs of cataplexy. My cataplexy remained undiagnosed for the next several years and became severe. You know why docs didn't diagnose it? They U kept asking me if i fell down following any strong emotion. I never fell because I was never standing up!!!! I could hardly walk (mostly from the muscle/joint pain/stiffness)! Docs kept doubting what I was saying regarding the pain as my many many tests all kept coming back negative. All my cataplexy episodes happened while sitting.
When the fibromyalgia, rls, and cataplexy were finally diagnosed and treated, things began to turn back around completely. Anyhow, Watch out for that tingling and muscle weakness. They were my warning signs of an impending cataplexy episode, lol. ( Xyrem has removed the cataplexy completely, thank God!)

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Well, I went to pick up my prescription for Provigil. Insurance didn't cover b/c doc did not call insurance company first. $154.00. I left it at the pharmacy.

I'm still on the Adderall XR, have not and don't want to increase. Some days I pass out in the afternoon, some days I make it through okay. This inconsistency makes it difficult to work. Using the Nuvigil (with the Adderall) caused the usual muscle pain. It was too much and I have a high tolerance for pain since I have Fibromyalgia and live with pain every waking moment. Provigil may not be the answer either. Waiting for research to provide hypocretin replacement.

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Lis, very interesting about your Vitamin D deficiency after being on Nuvigil. I am already Vitamin D deficient and wonder if it did the same to me?! I haven't been taking my supplement like I should, so it could have depleted my levels even more!

So far, I have taken 100 mg two days in a row. I'm supposed to take it twice per day, but haven't taken the 2nd daily dose yet. I don't feel like the 100 mg does much of anything for me during the day, yet seems to ebb and flow. Sometimes I feel like I could fall asleep at any moment, others I am wide awake. It's pretty inconsistent (and frustrating).

The 60 pills cost me $75 after insurance :/

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Guinea Pig- Sorry you had to go through all of that. I can tell you that Adderall XR 5 mg. is working for me. I have to drink a cup of coffee in the afternoon since I have developed some tolerance to it, but so far it's working great.

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I've asked about taking an ADD medication, but my doc strongly advises against it. He says it's an amphetemine (sp?)/street drug that causes addiction and seizures if you stop taking it. He wanted me to try to Provigil first to see if it helps, before starting anything stronger.

I'm actually going to see a new doc March 12th because my current one makes me wait at least 2 hours before actually seeing me. Unfortunately, I have a job. I can't sit in a dr's office for 2 hours! I had a follow up appt today and ended up walking out w/o even seeing him bc I had already waited an hour!

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Hi Angela- Provigil is very expensive, more expensive than Nuvigil. I thought I would try Provigil, but the prescription was $154.00 for a thirty day supply. I left the prescription with the pharmacist.
If you can get samples of Provigil from your doctor, that would be a way to get the medicine without going broke. However, you would need to get your supply each month from the doctor's office.
You should not have to wait an hour or longer for a doctor appointment. But, I do know that psychiatrists are in short supply, so they are overworked and there is a long wait time to see them.

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This is for narcolepsy, so it's actually a pulmonary specialist. He's awful and Provigil is too expensive for me to continue. So much so, that CVS just called me today just to tell me it's going to be $75. I told them not to fill it because I'm trying to get off of it!

Think I will explore taking Vitamin D supplements while on Nuvigil to see if it helps with the joint pain.

Does anyone know if you can take Nuvigil twice per day? I was thinking of taking the 150 in the AM at 6 and then maybe 1/2 of another one around 2-3pm? Not sure if you can split the pills though.

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I think if you have to take the Nuvigil early in the morning so that it will not keep you up all night.

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I think if you have to take the Nuvigil early in the morning so that it will not keep you up all night.

You should be seeing a neurologist for your narcolepsy. Also, psychiatrists have more knowledge about how medications work on the brain, so they are a good resource also.

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I have been on Nuvigil since November 2011. It worked really well the first 3 months, but now it's started to wear off. Anyone else had this problem? Any solutions? Other than this, I've tolerated it really well. Thanks!

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I got so frustrated with doctors and their dosage of nuvigil or provigil. loss of weight and very sentivity to teeth and metallic taste. i stopped taking the meds and went back to the 5hr drinks, twice a day. no more jitters, loss of weight, metallic taste or sensitive teeth. I am a type 1 diabetic and the prov & nuv were not acting well with the metformin and lantus insulin. the 2pm till 5pm are my lows but eating mini meals every 2 hrs. help the lows. i have necrolepsy but manage to stay alert. my eyes get heavy, but i am not sleepy. if i can close my eyes for 20 minutes every 4 hrs, i do okay.

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My son and daughter take stratterra for ADD. It's not an amphetamine and it works for them pretty well. Not perfect, but pretty well. They've experienced no side effects with it. Just a thought. (doesn't do much for narcolepsy though, lol).

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This is a link to the Stanford School of Medicine's Center for Narcolepsy. There is a chart of medications for narcolepsy.

med.stanford.edu/school/Psychiatry/narcolepsy/medications.html

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