I feel like the poster child for the inattentive subtype of ADHD. It's no wonder no one ever diagnosed me as a child, because ADHD is usually associated with hyper little boys, and I was the exact opposite - a girl who was very, VERY quiet, withdrawn, easily distracted, and daydream-y. I'd drift off into my own thoughts during class, during church, doing homework, even when my parents were talking to me. My dad said I was too spacey and needed to learn to focus better and buckle down. Once I self-diagnosed ADHD, it all made perfect sense.

However, I've now tried methylphenidate (in the forms of Ritalin, Focalin, and Concerta) and dexedrine, and I'm just not happy with the results. Both (although much more with methyphenidate) leave me depressed and anxious when a dose wears off, and even when I'm "up" on a dose the results just aren't what I would like them to be. When I read about Provigil, which is described as a mind-awakening drug, I thought, "that's EXACTLY what I need!" I hope to obtain a script and start taking it soon.

Right now I have all my hopes pinned on this. If it doesn't work I'll be back to square one, and after nearly a year of trying to find the right meds, I'm getting discouraged.

Allison,

I know this frustration all too well. The good news is, there are still meds for you to try :) Provigil works great for me, but may not work well for others. Strattera is another med you might consider, and since its got anti-depressant qualities to it, that might be a solid alternative if the Provigil doesn't kick it for ya. Good luck :)

Are you inattentive as well? How does the Provigil make you feel?

The reason I'm hopeful about this med is that anything involving a sustained amount of focus and effort (including conversation) actually makes me sleepy. I don't have any hobbies or social life because just going to work and putting forth the effort to do my job each day leaves me exhausted. When I would try to do homework in college, I often ended up dozing off. I have read that when people with inattentive ADHD are asked to focus on something hard or boring, like a math problem, their brains actually act as though they are going to sleep, so Provigil seems to make perfect sense.

Are you inattentive as well? How does the Provigil make you feel?

The reason I'm hopeful about this med is that anything involving a sustained amount of focus and effort (including conversation) actually makes me sleepy. I don't have any hobbies or social life because just going to work and putting forth the effort to do my job each day leaves me exhausted. When I would try to do homework in college, I often ended up dozing off. I have read that when people with inattentive ADHD are asked to focus on something hard or boring, like a math problem, their brains actually act as though they are going to sleep, so Provigil seems to make perfect sense.

I'm inattentive, and I have problems with sleep (and waking up). Provigil works great with focus, and helping get me up in the morning. Hint: Don't take provigil past noon, or you'll have problems going to sleep (or I do, at least)

Hi Allison;

WOW, it sounds as though you and I are in VERY similar boats!!

I was diagnosed with AD(H)D (inattentive) in June of 2005, and BOY, was it a breath of fresh air!! I've been struggling for so long (just like you - a day of going to work and just trying to function in some capacity, would leave me absolutely exhausted! It got to the point that I would have to spend at least one full day - usually Saturday - sleeping and in bed just to be able to make it through the next week). I was always diagnosed with depression/anxiety, and although there was truth to both of those, especially the anxiety, I just knew neither of them was the full answer.

Anyway, the stimulants don't do the trick for me either. I, too, hate the 'ups and downs' of the stimulants, and for the most part, the 'ups' just meant hyper. Not focussed, maybe a bit more easily motivated, but hyper. I didn't like it at all!!

I started on Strattera last July, and after about 6 weeks of getting through the side effects, I found it was a MIRACLE drug for me. I had no idea life could be like that. I was literally like putting glasses on my brain. And all the thoughts that kept getting stuck, or spinning around just vanished, and I felt peaceful and calm inside for the first time in my life!! The greatest benefits for me were the ability to read (I could hold the meaning of a sentence I had just read in my head while reading the next sentence! I could get through 40 page journal articles NO PROBLEM for the first time in my life!!), and also the ability to easily switch tasks and maintain focus on tasks in order to fully complete them. As I said, MIRACLE drug!

VERY much unfortunately, my body has built up a tolerance to the Strattera, and it no longer works for me. This has been devastating! I'm in the process of trying to find an alternative, but so far, no luck :(

I tried Wellbutrin, which did AWFUL things to me!

This last week, I finally got a prescription for Provigil from my doctor. I, too, had put ALOT of hope in it because it seemed just what I needed. I'm SO sorry to say, that I've taken it for the last 3 days, and it just has not been good. It made me tired (?? go figure??), confused, affected my cognitive abilities (couldn't think to save my life), and very physically weak and stiff. I was told by my pharmacist to stop taking the drug due to this last side effect - apparently it could be indicative of liver problems (??!!). Anyway, MUCH to my disappointment, it does not look as though the Provigil is going to work for me :(

I wish you the best of luck with this drug, though. Many people seem to find it very beneficial for them!! I think if I had been able to tolerate it better, it likely would have been beneficial for me, too.

However, if you find it doesn't work for you, my suggestion would be to try Strattera. When it works, it is AMAZING!! One piece of advice, though...definitely start low and go slow with this drug. I believe many people have had problems with it because they have started too high, and titrated up too quickly.

Let us know how it goes with the Provigil, though. From what you've described, I have a feeling it could be of benefit to you.

GOOD LUCK!! :)

Anyway, the stimulants don't do the trick for me either. I, too, hate the 'ups and downs' of the stimulants, and for the most part, the 'ups' just meant hyper. Not focussed, maybe a bit more easily motivated, but hyper. I didn't like it at all!!
Exactly! 10 mg. of Ritalin made me feel hyper and jittery, but not necessarily focused. I don't feel as edgy on dexedrine, but I'm also not terribly impressed with dexedrine so far. I only started it last week. I know some people will say I need to give it more time before judging it, but I disagree. Unlike, say, antidepressants that take a while to really become effective, I think you can feel the effects of a stimulant and know whether it works for you pretty quickly.

Anyway, I'm just rambling. I'm sorry Provigil didn't work for you. I know how disappointing it is to think maybe you've found IT and then have it not pan out. :( What do you plan to do next?

It's interesting that you say Strattera worked for you, because I haven't heard of too many people having good luck with it. How long did it take you to build up a tolerance?

Hi Allison;

On the Strattera, I started at 10mg (the lowest possible dose) - and actually found some benefit from it (after a few weeks of wading through the side effects).

I then went to 25mg for a couple of weeks (needed to get through the side effects at this dose too).

Then, I went up to 40mg and WOW!! Like I said - brain glasses.

After about 3-4 weeks, I started getting side effects like extreme lethargy and feeling down - so I lowered my dose to 35mg.

The 35mg worked like a CHARM for about +/- 3 months or so (October through December).

I noticed that it wasn't working very well any more in January when I went back to school (doing my Masters in psychology). I suddenly found I couldn't read the chapters I was required to read as well as had been able to the previous term. As the term progressed, the effects basically became nil!

I tried going up to 40mg, and it worked (focus-wise), but the lethargy and side effects became too much again, and my body just doesn't seem to be able to tolerate the stuff past about the 40mg mark. I've tried - gave it a few weeks to see if my body would get used to it, hoping that these side effects would pass. But they just kept getting worse and worse. :(

So now I'm looking into a drug called Reboxetine (Edronax). It is not available in Canada (or the U.S.) - not sure why - but is a common antidepressant used in places like the U.K., Australia, Mexico, and a number of European countries. It is an SNRI - apparently very similar to Strattera (some say that is why it is not available here in North America). I'm hoping that if it works, I can maybe rotate it with the Strattera (6 months on each) to avoid building up a tolerance to either.

That is my hope, anyway!

Yes, I've also seen that many people have had negative experiences with Strattera, and/or little to no benefit from it. It is my opinion that at least some of this is a result of doctors prescribing too high a dose too quickly. It took me some weeks to get past the side effects at 10mg, and I think if I had started at 40mg straight away (like many do) I would have been out for the count! :)

So, of course, always talk to your doctor about it, but if you ever do try Strattera, I would recommend starting at a low dose, and titrating slowly. Better that (and taking a little longer to get to the appropriate dose for you) than starting too high too quickly and not being able to tolerate it - perhaps losing the potential excellent benefits from the drug!

Very best wishes to you, and let us know when you start the Provigil! :D

I really appreciate the time you've spent telling me about your experiences. Let me see if I can describe something and have it make any sense...

One of the biggest problems related to ADHD, for me, is the inability to carry on conversations with people I don't know well. For a long time I thought I had social anxiety (even though that diagnosis didn't entirely make sense because I'm not AFRAID of people) because in conversations with people I don't know, my brain just goes.........blank. Totally blank. I cannot think of one single thing to say. When I figured out I had inattentive ADHD, it made sense, because I realized that on some level, my brain was doing its own thing, lost in its own thoughts as always....but I couldn't seem to get it into the HERE and NOW to FOCUS on the conversation at hand. Has anything like that happened to you, and did Strattera or Provigil help?

(Please say yes, please say yes.......this has been THE most frustrating thing for me!!)

Oh WOW, Allison....

Our cases sound so amazingly similar!

I was diagnosed with social anxiety....I guess for me, the difficulty with conversing with people made me anxious (I'd get so tense just trying to focus on what people were saying to me, and could never seem to come up with anything intelligent to say back - although at the time I didn't know that was what was happening...). I'd find that a simple conversation with someone would leave me exhausted, and eventually I started avoiding situations where I would have to converse with someone for a long time. I did some cognitive-behavioural therapy and went on antidepressants for it....neither did a thing!

I had no idea that this could all be the result of inattentive ADD.

GOOD NEWS, though! One of the first amazing things I started to notice with the Strattera (the first thing that made me think....'hmmmmm, is this doing something for me??') was that my "social anxiety" decreased significantly!!

I suddenly found I was able to listen and be present when I was with another person, without constantly having to fight off a million other thoughts. I was calm and collected, and felt so much more comfortable and sure of myself. It was quite bizarre, really - in a good way! :p

Intelligent and collected things were coming out of my mouth, and as I said, I just felt so calm....it truly was amazing!! It was the 'cure' for my "social anxiety" that I had been looking for for sooooo long :)

On the other hand, when the Strattera started 'pooping out' on me, one of the first things I noticed was that my "social anxiety" started coming back.
:( So frustrating!!

I didn't notice any such effects on the Provigil, but I only took it for 3 days, so I'm probably not the best one to ask about it. ;)

Let me know if you have any other questions. It's nice to be able to share my experiences with someone else in a similar boat :D

Cheers!!

Wow, you're like my ADHD twin! :D Out of curiosity, how old are you? I'm 27.

I can definitely relate to what you're saying. When talking to people, I sometimes think I'm working so hard to think of things to say that I'm not focusing on what they're saying, which of course makes it harder to be able to respond to them. I wish my brain could just be "on" and be able to listen to people and come up with responses like a normal brain.

I'm trying to decide what to ask my doc for when I see her again on March 14 - I'll probably ask what she thinks of my trying either Strattera or Provigil.

Good luck with your appointment tomorrow!

Let us know how it goes.

(BTW - I am (just turned) 29 ;)

Wow, you're like my ADHD twin! :D Out of curiosity, how old are you? I'm 27.
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We may be triplet and have been separated at child birth, I'm 27 too and feel much like you :p ! I didn't tolerate Provigil very well. It made me very anxious and even more sleepy! I may try it with a beta-blocker someday.

Hi Jackinbox;

Funny how Provigil made both of us more sleepy! - What the heck is up with that??

What (if any) medications have you found helpful?

Best wishes :)

Hi Jackinbox;

Funny how Provigil made both of us more sleepy! - What the heck is up with that??

What (if any) medications have you found helpful?

Best wishes :)
Dexedrine combined with a beta-blocker helps me somewhat.

Well, I ended up not asking for Provigil. I feel like dexedrine is working fairly well for me - I'm still playing with my dose and trying to find the right one. I decided that what I wanted to tackle the most was my social anxiety, so she gave me small prescriptions to try Ativan and Xanax. Tried Ativan yesterday and Xanax today (actually, both generics.) So we'll see what happens. I hope to someday be a normal person who has friends and an organized life!

I'm wondering why beta-blocker are never considered by doctor for anxiety. Anxiety isn't only a state of mind but also a physical reaction. By controlling the physicial reaction on me, the mental part of anxiety goes away by its self.