stay awake drug , linked to serious side effects

[beentheredonethatagain]

WebMD Medical NewsReviewed by Louise Chang, MDOct. 24, 2007 -- Provigil, a prescription stay-awake drug, is getting new warnings about the risk of life-threatening rash, other serious hypersensitivity reactions, and psychiatric symptoms.

Provigil is used to promote wakefulness in adults with conditions involving excessive sleepiness, including narcolepsy.

At least one person died of multi-organ failure shortly after starting Provigil, and there have been "rare" cases of serious or life-threatening rash in patients taking Provigil, states the drug's maker, Cephalon Inc.

The FDA and Cephalon advise patients to immediately stop Provigil and call a doctor if they have rash or other hypersensitivity reactions including:

Swelling of the face, eyes, lips, tongue, or larynx
Difficulty swallowing or breathing
Hoarseness
Harmless rashes can also occur in patients taking Provigil. But it's "not possible to reliably predict which rashes will prove to be serious," so patients should stop Provigil at the first sign of rash, unless the rash is "clearly not drug-related," states Cephalon.

Psychiatric symptoms including anxiety, mania, hallucinations, and suicidal thinking have also been reported in patients taking Provigil.

Doctors should be cautious about giving Provigil to patients with a history of psychosis, depression, or mania, states Cephalon.

Cephalon recommends that doctors should consider stopping Provigil in patients who develop psychiatric symptoms.
View Article Sources
SOURCES: News release, FDA. Cephalon, Letter to Health Care Professionals. Cephalon, Provigil label.
http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders...l-new-warnings

Reputation Comments on this post:

Thanks for sharing.

[lulz]

Originally Posted by beentheredonethatagain

Psychiatric symptoms including anxiety, mania, hallucinations, and suicidal thinking have also been reported in patients taking Provigil.

This isn't too surprising. Provigil is thought to work by increasing glutamate activity by decreasing GABA activity in certain areas of the brain (kind of like a targeted anti-benzo I suppose) - http://www.modafinil.com/glutam.html

And evidence suggesting a connection between glutamate dysfunction and bipolar disorder has been growing for some time now - http://www.neurotransmitter.net/bipolarglutamate.html

If there is a link between provigil and psychosis though, it's probably along the lines of marijuana/psychosis (i.e. it's only likely to cause real problems for people who were predisposed to the psychiatric issues in the first place, or go massively overboard in their consumption).

[realitybias]

Having taken provigil for a long time, SWIM attributes some great things to this medication. Swim only hopes that these negative effects dont hurt the reputation of an otherwise amazing drug.

[Raw edge]

Swim can attest to the anxiety side effects.

[beentheredonethatagain]

Provigil is very stimulating , that is for a short time.

Its not going to keep the average speedster up for days, it will have them up all night , at least it did someone I saw in a dream.

The side effects are mild, just a spaced out feeling, and a mild wired drive.

all and all its should be available to everyone over the counter, so as the people who need it can get it and go be productive. IMO

[Pino]

Originally Posted by beentheredonethatagain

Swelling of the face, eyes, lips, tongue, or larynx
Difficulty swallowing or breathing
Hoarseness
Harmless rashes can also occur in patients taking Provigil. But it's "not possible to reliably predict which rashes will prove to be serious," so patients should stop Provigil at the first sign of rash, unless the rash is "clearly not drug-related," states Cephalon.

Isn't this just the same as with amphetamine? He has heard it is some kind of allergic reaction -anecdotally-. If he is allergic to a substance and his face starts to swell, his throat can do probably the same, so that could leave him breathless, thus death. The hallucinations swim can understand, if one keeps awake for a couple of days. Nobody should try that. One need enough sleep to function well. Somehow swim doesn't find it surprising.

He uses it for work, if he needs more time. He finds provigil much more benign than other stimulants. Somehow even more than coffee. He isn't sure if this is true.

Of course modafinil isn't the wonder drug the media tells us, but it is better than amphetamines ISHO. At least one person dead from at most one therapeutical dose of amphetamine (and probably more), but that doesn't imply it is statistically significant enough to not use it to have fun or to work on it occasionally. It only says certain scenarios are possible (and sometimes someone who hopefully nobody here knows has to be the unlucky guy due for reason). Before to say something like that, one would like to review the full data.

[beentheredonethatagain]

Hi Pino, just reading your post and your thoughts on provigil. I didnt agree with just the part about it being better than amphetamine, I know that the government has the ability to make a batch of stuff that is so clean , and its so good , it wont mess up thinking , it is just a shot of energy and euphoria.
the stuff we have no choice about is what the problem is, I mean the crap on the street. NOt worth a small pile of beans.

[Pino]

Originally Posted by beentheredonethatagain

Hi Pino, just reading your post and your thoughts on provigil. I didnt agree with just the part about it being better than amphetamine, I know that the government has the ability to make a batch of stuff that is so clean , and its so good , it wont mess up thinking , it is just a shot of energy and euphoria.

Well the street stuff of course is garbage, swim agrees. But amphetamines aren't meant for working long. Great party stuff, good for ADHD and for various other stuff and remarkably safe, but for working the danger of getting hooked is too great. Provigil is better fit for this, it doesn't allow one to binge work for three days. It is easy to make a long nighter on it and it doesn't have much physical side effects.

Oh ah, wait, it isn't really clear swim meant working in his previous post. Provigil has zero recreational value.