PROVIGIL AND ALCOHOL

[uva-adpi17]

Hi,
I am new to the board, I am a college student who was recently diagnosed with hypersomnulence. I have been on provigil for about a month now and it is seriously wonderful. Last semester I was literally falling asleep in every class, but this semester i have stayed awake in every single class! I was also falling asleep driving, and just too exhausted to function normally. Provigil has been amazing, but I know that it says to avoid alcohol and I wonder if anybody has any experience with that. I am a college student, in a sorority, and while i understand the warning, from my past experience it has just given me an insanely low tolerance (i.e i get drunk off like 2 drinks). I asked my doctor about the safety of drinking on it, since the things I have read said that they just don't know the effects of alcohol with provigil, and he said that a glass of wine or beer is okay, but if I know I'm drinking, then to not take it 24 hours ebfore, or 24 after. Additionally, he said that drinking on it increases the chances of having seizures or something.
What do I do? I normally drink two nights a week, and i really can't function without provigil, so i can't really just not take it for 2 days, but I don't want to give up my lifestyle. I'm sure this sounds like a stupid college kid, thinking getting wasted every weekend is more important than my health, but I am a really responsible drinker and don't ever drink more than I need to to be drunk, I just like to go out and have drunk fun. Do you think taking 100 mg rather than 200mg, say on a thursday morning, drinking that night, and then 100 mg the next morning would be safe?


thoughts, experience, anything much appreciated!

[stasya]

Hmm, I guess I missed reading that part. I also drink a couple nights a week. I used to drink to get drunk but now I only drink 2 to 3 drinks in a night. I haven't had any problems and I've been on since November. NOW, that's not to say that somebody else might have problems or that I could have problems in the future. So I guess I don't really have an answer, just my experience.


Erin

[Somnolence]

The docotor that perscribed me provigil straight out looked me in the eye and told me it was safe to drink and take this medication. I didn't even have to ask LOL.
So I wouldn't worry about it if I were you. I drink while taking it, and I feel fine. Though sometimes I do just get extremely sleepy when I drink ~ but that happened to me before I started taking provigil.

[Queen Citrus]

Ok, I hate repeating myself, I had the worst experience with provigil, and had a blackout after about three beers.
So.. I hated provigil, it messed me up good. I repeat: I took the lowest dose for two weeks, took it some days for the next three weeks, and found out that it was the devil disguised as a pill. Took me a long time to get back on track. HATES IT.

[loopholelz]

I would be cautious.

I barely drank once diagnosed with IH, and when I did maybe 2 drinks tops that I would have. I figured I didn't want to mix, and so kept with that practice. About a month ago I had a going away party when switching jobs and had 4 drinks I think over the course of 5 hours or so... nothing I couldn't have handled before... well anyways, this time I don't remember the 2nd half of the night, and thankfully my boyfriend drove me around, got me food and got me to bed. I haven't had that experience since my first night of drinking when I was 18. I had less than 1 drink/hour, and some of them weren't even strong. I also had the worst hangover of my life the next day. A very different experience when not on the medication - I don't know what I was thinking, it was really stupid of me to drink that much.

So here's the moral of my story - be careful. In general, I think that I have learned in my experience I would prefer to be out late and awake with my friends (luckily, provigil has been good to me), than not take my pill, get drunk, have fun for an hour and pass out b/c I'm too tired.

I would weigh what is more important to you - having fun with your friends and being awake or drinking and passing out b/c you can't stay awake? I would pick one or the other, from my experience. Reallistically, IF you mix, and as I said - I have a drink or 2 occasionally - be careful. Start slow, don't go all out. Be realistic about what you're going to do and do it safely. Designate a friend who is sober to make sure that you're not acting strange.

I would also run it by your doctor again. Ask him more questions - say that realistically, you want to drink. But don't just blindly go against his advice ask questions. Tell him what you will be drinking, what time of day, etc. - drugs.com states that provigil can give different or more intense effects from alochol. Healthsquare.com (and most resources) state that the effects on provigil w/ alcohol hasn't even been studied yet. There are people online who use it recreationally and say that they hallucinate.

Hope this helps - be safe.

[chuchocho]

i asked my doctor the same thing when i stared provigil... he told me that the warning is there simply because the company, cephalon, has not chosen to do any studies with provigil and alcohol. it would cost money for them to conduct the studies, and since they wouldnt benefit from it, they just put the warning there to cover their asses in the event that someone has an adverse reaction.

im in medical school and i decided to look it up before i continued to drink while taking provigil... and i couldnt find anything that would suggest that the combo is dangerous. tho most people with IH or other sleep disorders dont feel too great when they drink alcohol anyway... for me, drinking is oddly one of the rare times i feel free of the excessive sleepiness (at least until i lay down and then crash...). considering the only other way i can shake the EDS is to take in lots of caffeine in combo with provigil....i consequently have drank over the past 2 years while taking provigil daily and have not experienced any detrimental effects. it feels awfully wrong for a future physician to encourage drinking... so i'll just say that the warning on the medication label is really a "just in case" for the company, not cuz there's any reason so far to suspect that the combo of provigil and alcohol would be bad.

[TjPhysicist]

hi chuchocho, this is a bit off topic, but i have to comment, u mentioned that alcohol makes sleepy go away, or something to that effect. As someone who also experiances that same effect with alcohol, im curious, as to whether u have done any research on it. (since ur going into medical school). Although i am not a biology student, i like knowing my own body and why whatever happens does. The alchohol thing i have never been able to explain, and as it is the CLOSEST i have come to making my hypersomnia seemingly go away for a while i think i may be onto something with this. Tell me if u find more on this...

[ycartl]

i am getting my master's degree in couseling for people with severe disabilities. I started provigil a year ago and it has saved my life. I avoid all caffeine...i find it makes my head spin and make me moody and depressed. I drink 2-3 nights out of the week and find that drinking increases hallucinations in the morning and find that it is a bit harder to get up. Other than that drinking has interacted fine with my provigil. Before going on provigil i had two options...commit suicide or commit myself to some sort of mental hospital. I was sleeping and falling asleep all the time and so depressed I couldn't go on. I only found provigil by chance...my twin sister (identical) has depression and is bipolar. She doesn't have quite sleeping problems like I do. She suggested I try provigil. My pschiatrist and family doctor were no help when I told them I was sleeping and sleeping all the time...guess they didn't realize I really meant all the time. Provigl has changed my life.