Nuvigil Side Effects (Page 2) (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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yes, I find myself stumbling over words as you say stuttering. The insomnia is terrible for me and last night the heart racing. My mind tends to race at night because I'm over tired and the the drug masks it.

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Used 250 mg nuvigil for two weeks with no severe problems, but the bast two days have been hell. Almost went to the emergency room today for severe nausea, migraine, tingling, worst of all I had to force myself to breath for hours. I thought this stuff was fantastic at first, now I realize it is really bad stuff. Glad Im not the only one feeling this way.

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After a sleep study, I was diagnosed with narcolepsy. I always thought I was just sleepy and hard to keep my eyes open after work or while driving. I also have a history of anxiety, tension headaches and migraines. I have been on dozens of medications for the last 5 years. All with different side effects and some with major withdrawals. I have been taking Nuvigil for 6 days now. This is now the only med I am on besides the occasional Klonapin for anxiety. The first day I felt wired but still tired. Half way through the day my heart was pounding fast and hard and felt short of breath. That did subside and was up most of that night. The following days felt similar with less wired feeling. I had occasional headaches throughout the day but dont know if Nuvigil was the cause. By the 4th day I started feeling very foggy headed and a feeling of dispair with no motivation to do much of anything...but I went to work and had a decent day. Yesterday and today (day 5 & 6) I have no increase of awakeness, extreme mental fog, dizzy, and concentrate and my back, neck, hips and legs are very achey. I also get multiple cramps in my feet and feel itchy all over. With all my meds prior I gave them plenty of time to get used to them but I may call my doctor tomorrow. The foggy head is the worst because with my headaches for years I have always had it to a point but never this bad. Maybe Provigil or Adderall may differ? Besides the side affects, if thats what they from, Nuvigil seems to mask my tiredness and doesn't help much for feeling more awake or alert at all.

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I have been on NuVigil for sleep apnea, mild depression and possible mild ADD for 7 mos now. My joint pain about a month ago starting slowly getting worse...first 1 knee then hands, and worse is between my back and neck areas. I'm having some muscle weakness. I stopped the pill for 24-48 hours and the pain/soreness was 85% better. After 2 days I took the pill again. The joint pain came back within 6 hours. I will have to stop the NuVigil, though this combined with Wellbutrin was working very well for me emotionally and energy-wise. Has anyone had this experience and had success with ProVigil instead?

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Incredible muscle and joint pain, its great to feel wake, but the pain is incredible - I can hardly walk it hurts so bad.

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First 2 days on Nuvigil, I wasn't overly anxious or super alert. I had a terrible headache that went completely down the back of my head and into my neck. Not sure the effects are worth it. I am 44 and very active, I don't want to lose that for joint pain.

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I have been on Nuvigil for 3 YEARS. I take it for excessive daytime sleepiness. I take a 150mg and 250mg tablet both in the morning and afternoon. I started at a much lower dose but eventually had to settle on this dose as it stopped working. I am a gastric bypass patient and my absorption of medications is different from those who have not had the surgery. I often have to take much more medication in order to get the same result.

When I first started taking it, I developed a blistering skin rash on my hands (which also spread to my feet). I went to the hospital but there was no known cause of the rash. The doctors did not put the use of the medication together with the rash. The rash went away in about a month and that was all.

Now, about three weeks ago, I developed another blistering skin rash on my hands. I have had additional symptoms, I am incredibly dizzy (I feel like my head is floating), I have had a sore throat and fever off and on and I just started getting shooting electric jolts down my left arm, and very intense muscle weakness. I feel like I have no energy and am unable to do the smallest tasks.

My doctor thought I had contracted shingles, but the lab tests came back negative. And so, being very perplexed I started doing some research.

I am concerned that I may be having an allergic reaction to the medication. I have been on it for so long I am afraid to stop taking it especially because of the sleepiness. I am dependent on the medication in order to function daily.

The doctors literally know nothing about the medication and its uses and effects. I have to manage my own healthcare and figure out what is the issue like I'm Sherlock Holmes. However I am reluctant to just stop the medication without the surety that this is the problem.

Someone please help. I don't know where to turn. I don't know who to go to. I don't know who to ask for the answer. The doctors, the hospital, every medical professional I have sought advice from is incapable of helping me to determine my health diagnosis.

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Ive been taking a 250mg Nuvigil tab half in the a.m and the other half before noon for over a year and a half. Now I'm experiencing numbness in my hands when I lay down and joint paint in my shoulders, knees and major pains in the back of my head on one side from time to time. Im going to see my Doctor Fri...10-14-13

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I was taking Provigil off and on since early 2011. The Provigil was fine. I took about 300 mg. No problems. I had insurance and could afford it.
Then, I couldn't afford it by mid to late 2013. The company (Cephalon through Teva) no longer gave Provigil to those who have limited incomes or no income (I had to leave a job and then had no insurance or income).
Instead, the company pushed Nuvigil because Provigil went of patent, and now the company wants everyone to pay for nuvigil. By the way, generic Provigil costs just as much as brand Provigil. Go figure!.
At first, I didn't even feel anything, as far as wakefulness from it. It was like taking an M&M. I did have bad heartburn and a headache. I figured I'd give it a chance. Then, it did start to work for me. Over the past couple of weeks, I have developed a swollen tongue with cankers sores and my tongue is so large, I keep biting it when I speak.
I don't know why this is happening now. But, a friend said had tried 1 Nuvigil once and he said he nhad sores in his mouth from it. So, I assume it is the culprit. Just weird why it is suddenly happening, now.

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I have MS and my Nurologist prescribed me Methadone for pain. I have a problem where I can sleep for 20+ hours so he prescribed me Nuvigil. Am I wasting my time taking both? All through the night my whole body hurts and in the mornings I can't hardly get out of the bed because my arms and hands and legs don't want to work the are so stiff I have to start working them before I can get up.

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I only took for 2 days, but went into severe anxiety attacks. Chest pains and hard time concentrating. I;m fine in the morning, but around noon the panick attacks kick in. Decided it wasn't worth it, would rather be tired, but it's the third day and I didn't take the meds today, but still having the panic. I've even on clonozapan for panic attacks and haven't had any in a year until I took this med. Beware it you are prone to anxiety. I'd pass on this med.

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Started taking Nuvigil 3 weeks ago. Worked great at first! Then I still felt tired, but strange. Last night I started feeling like someone was sitting on my chest, I had to take really deep breaths and my right arm and shoulder were hurting. I called the doc today, who said it probably wasn't related to the Nuvigil. I'm 26 with no other problems other than the sleep disorder, so I know it was the med. I'm def not taking it anymore! My shoulder and arm still hurts, a little short of breath but i'm hoping that will go away soon as long as I stop taking it.

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I suffer from chronic fatigue syndrome and Hypersomnolence, idiopathic ; I experienced anxiousness, flu-like symptoms, along with neck and back pain after taking Nuvigil 250mg. $350 for a 30 day supply online! just to make me feel like crap!

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Thus far, I tried it for 4 days. On day 1, I thought all my problems of MS fatigue were going to over. My mental clarity was similiar to my healthy days I felt sharp as a tack... & I had lots of energy that seemed to never fade. Day 2 was similiar to the 1st day. On days 3 & 4, my energy and mental clarity were not nearly as strong and it was replaced by a mental fog. I stopped taking it yesterday. Was I too quick to judge. Maybe I should try a higher dose... For the 1st two days, I was in heaven...

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I just started taking nuvigil three days ago, and the first day i took it at 7 a.m. At first i felt amazing, i hadn't felt that way in a long time. Then around noon or so i freaked out, i went back to the doctor around three because i had an anxiety attack. The second day i took half a pill and still felt tired. The feelings i have are weird and uncomfortable. I have numbness in my arms and legs, and im very nervous. It does seem to mask the feeling of being tired. Its nice to know that there are other ppl out there that have felt this way too, i felt like a crazy person. My doctor even said that it was unusual but now after reading all of your posts i dont feel so weird. If theres anyone out there that has been taking it for quit some time... does it get any better??

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The first time I took this drug it was an amazing feeling of alertness and I felt fantastic until I noticed a intense tightening in the back of my neck and my teeth began to clench so tight, it was hurting my jaw, the reason I was taking this med is because I was blacking out while driving my car from severe sleep apnea, the machine helps a little but I am still sleepy and wrecked my car 2 times from blacking out and I need help before I kill myself or someone else and this drug seemed to be the answer but alas everything seems to have a some side effect after days later and reducing my dosage in half it seemed to work better but then I started having very bad chest pains like stabbing and burning pains and I felt dizzy, I thought I had to go to the hospital at one point, it got so bad, I really like the positives of this drug but the negatives unfortunately far out way the benefits, bummer,.It's back to the doctor to try something else that is if there is something else. I am started to get very depressed and it is affecting my mental state of mind.

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Well I just read this entire thread and don't see any situation at all like mine. First, I have Bipolar 1. I'm on Lamictal, Seroquel, Wellbutrin XL. I suffer from constant severe insomnia and can only sleep with an additional medication, Lunesta. Even with Lunesta I don't sleep well. I'm currently in a major depressive episode. My pdoc just started me 3 days ago on Nuvigil 250. The first day I felt so wired that I thought I was going into a hypomanic episode. By dinner time it was over. Yesterday I took it and did better but didn't see much of a change from what has been my normal. I even questioned whether or not to take it this morning. I decided to give it another day and just see how things went. I took 250mg at 8:00 this morning and by 11:30--3 1/2 hours later--I was exhausted and yawning. Oh, the appetite suppressant it is supposed to have? I've done nothing but eat. The only side effect I have consistently seen for 3 days is that I get a sore throat and my voice gets hoarse. I see my pdoc on Monday so it will be interesting to see what happens. I know it's used as adjunctive therapy to anti-depressants but it's not working! I have always had extreme reactions to any psychiatric medication. There are some where my body requires the highest dose recommended and others where I can only tolerate low doses. I take 600 mg of Lamictal, 450 of Wellbutrin XL, 3 mg of Lunesta, but can only tolerate 400 mg of Seroquel. Has anyone else experienced anything like this? I've tried other stimulants--ritalin, adderall, vyvanse--and they never work. I feel nothing when I take them--except for the first day I took Nuvigil. Any help??

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When I first tried this drug, I felt like a million dollars, I had a bounce in my step was very alert and for the first time in a long time was not sleepy at the end of the working day, I have sleep apnea and I was blacking out when driving home after work, I hit the back of a car and I knew I needed to do something about it before I kill myself or someone else so the doctor prescribed for me 250mg of nuvigil, 250 was to much so he told me to take 150 and for 2 weeks I was riding on top of the world feeling fantastic like I had unlimited energy it was amazing, then things went very wrong, I started to get bad chest pains the back of my neck felt so tight and I was getting dizzy and feeling short of breath clenching my teeth and the great feelings I use to have were gone, I stopped taking it for one week and I started to feel normal again, but I am tired again, what a huge disappointment this drug was for me, I can't understand how something that made me feel so wonderful could make me feel so bad. I since have gotten a better sleep apnea machine and things got a little better but I miss the great feeling I first got from the nuvigil to bad because my life for 2 weeks made me feel like I was young again.

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This message is in responce to the person who asked if another medicine can do the job of Nuvigil. I also liked the effects of Nuvigil and then tried Amantadine because insurance would not cover Nuvigil. I'm very happy with Amantadine. I have the energy of an amphetamine without the feeling of "jumping out of my skin". I've heard that it doesn't work for everybody, but thankfully, it does for me... Ask your doc. about it, it may be your savior...

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I meant to add that I have had horrible joint pain in the past from Bactrim, a sulfa drug. NuVigil & ProVigil both have 'sul' in the chemical name tho "experts" say these drugs are not sulfonamides & people with sulfa allergies can take them. However, it feels like I'm having a reaction (just much less severe) to a sulfa drug when I take NuVigil now. With Bactrim it took 7 days. With NuVigil it took 7 mos for me to react. So I suspect the chemical makeup is similar to sulfa so I have to stop it. I will try ProVigil if my doctor approves but it's got the same chemical formula for the most part so I don't know if that will help or not. Has anyone else with a sulfa sensitivity had a problem with NuVigil or ProVigil?

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Started taking nuvigil 250 mg 2 weeks ago. Today noticed bloody stool is this a common side effect? Can't find any i...

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I started nuvigil 1/4 of 150mg tablet or 37mg in the morning. The first two weeks were great , it was like my mind was a...

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