Ritalin question

Toefuzz · Joined: 03 Jun 2005 Posts: 13

Greetings! My Dr. prescribed Provogil for me, but my insurance carrier demands I take ritalin first... It's taken a week to get everything straightened out (after nearly 3 months of testing) so I am rather eager to get things started... my question is, does it take a week or two for the ritalin to kick in like Provogil? I'm guessing no b/c of the street value of the stuff, but that I'd ask ya'll to be sure.

TXbikegrrl · Guest

No, stimulants take -- and lose -- effect very quickly, like in a matter of hours.

The bigger issue is why an insurance company is dictating your treatment!?!

As far as I know, stimulants are not "gold standard" treatment for any sleep disorder at this point in time. Thus, there is no medical reason for you to "try" something like Ritalin first -- only a monetary reason b/c Ritalin has a generic form.

I would fight tooth and nail for "appropriate" treatment as determined by your MD not the insurance carrier. That being said, it looks like many on this board have NOT been helped by Provigil as both my husband (Narcoleptic) and myself (diagnosed with IH almost 10 years ago) have been. Provigil has literally saved our lives...

Iamawake · Joined: 04 Jun 2005 Posts: 7 Location: AL

Speaking of insurance problems, mine won't cover any stimulants for anyone over the age of 19. And they do not even recognize Hypersomnia as a disorder.

jjkhammer · Guest

My husband has been taking Provigil for IH and it's been great. We lost our insurance and started buying it from Canada. We were just informed by the company in Canada that we can't purchase it from them anymore because it's a narcotic. Any ideas or thoughts???

on/off · Joined: 27 Aug 2005 Posts: 3 Location: Scandinavia

Oh no!

I will recommend that you read all you possibly can, and check each and every former post on these site and others before entering the provigil or ritalin routine. These are amphetamine drugs, both of them, and they have side effects that you may not want to experience. I had a chemical depression after 5 weeks on provigil, and it was almost the end of me...

...make sure you want to go down that road- it is not a toy to try for fun.

One love On/off

Guest · Posted: October 18 2005 Post subject:

Your doctor should be able to give an overide to your pharmacist so that your insurance will pay. By saying they want you to try ritalin first, they have essentially admitted that provigil is covered. Read over your policy to check. They may have a list of exclusions included. Also, check their website, some insurance companies will list what medications are covered and keep them updated.

Also, provigil and ritalin are not amphetamines, they are stimulants. Ritalin (methylphinedate) is chemicall similar to amphetamine, but is supposedly milder. Provigil (modinafil) on the other hand is somewhat different. It is not a general stimulant on the CNS, as are amphetamine and methylphinedate.

I found that provigil kept me from falling asleep as easily as before on the first day I tried it. That didn't mean I would fall asleep though, just a much lighter sleep. Ritalin drove me nuts, it made my body stay awake but not my brain, and I had terrible jaw clenching. Adderall was the only one that made me feel 'normal,' but that only lasted a few months. Now I'm on provigil and 80mg of adderall a day and just barely staying awake when I need to.

The provigil is supposed to be less adictive than the other two also, and for some people it seems to work great. It can be quite expensive though, even with insurance (mine is about $200/month, 5x more than the adderall). I'd provigil is worth trying, I'd rather be on just that if it worked well enough for me. Get your doctor or pharmacist to call your insurance company, he is your physician, not them. If they are trying to tell you what prescription to take, they are being foolish and asking for a lawsuit!

Guest · Posted: October 25 2005 Post subject:

My insurance company did the same thing to me. My advice would be to try provigil samples (to see if it even works...it hasn't for me so far) and if they do work.......basically all the insurance company wants to know is if you've "tried" ritalin and one other drug, so if there's any way you can fill prescriptions for whatever two drugs they want you to....then tell the insurance company they didnt work (whether or not they really did) then they should pay for the Provigil.

Hope this helps!