I am now on day three of taking my little "pep" pills, as they have been affectionately termed by others. This of course would be the wonder drug I was hearing so much about, Provigil. MInd you the term "wonder drug" was used by my local news-channel in a story they did about  it *gasp* possibly being overused/prescribed.  Anyway I used my cold virus this week as an excuse to stall starting it for a few days. My feelings towards symptom therapy for myself, are pretty inhibited. I really want to try my hardest to stay as UNmedicated in this regard, for as long as I can. The majority of my physical symptoms are just irritating sensory issues that are currently manifesting in a small variety of ways each day. The fatigue however, is something that is both new and completely unwelcome. I generally hit a wall at a certain part of the day. Not only does the body want to shut down, but the brain starts processing in all sorts of wrong ways. If you got the MS bug, you know what I'm talking about. It isn't just a "boohoo I'm sleepy" sort of thing. I can safely say that I used to think people who complained about "fatigue" were really just big babies. I absolutely never understood it until I experienced it. 

Back to the issue at hand here. I am taking 100 mg one time daily. I make sure to take it in the morning, because otherwise it could mess up my sleep. I definitely don't need any added help in the "losing sleep" department. I have heard from others that are on it, that if you do two doses a day, you should make sure to take the second dose early in the afternoon. I have noticed a dull headache the last few mornings, which may be courtesy of the Provigil. They are quite similar in fact to the dull headache I have for a day or two after my Avonex shot, and it isn't anything that a few Tylenol won't fix. Other than this, I have noticed that I do need to make sure I'm eating every couple of hours, otherwise I get a little queazy/shaky/weak thing going on. Both of these issues are totally manageable, and may not even be side effects at all.   

So on day one, I definitely began noticing a little increased energy within a few hours. I took the pill shortly after getting to work, and normally Fridays (which are actually my Mondays) are a total energy zap for me. I start my day before five in the morning, and generally get home shortly before two in the afternoon. As pointed out by my doctor, the multi-tasking involved with the job is a bit taxing on my wavering brain at this time. I sometimes think it isn't so much the physical aspect of my job that wipes me out, so much as the mental. I'm only making coffee, not performing brain surgery or anything, but it's become pretty taxing as of late. This has been a bit of a blow to the self esteem, considering this was a job I did with complete ease for over six years. So these days when I get home from work, I really need some down time before I get going on anything. I don't really want to converse with anyone, and doing a worthwhile job on anything else for the day seems pretty daunting. I generally feel like I finish out my days after work in a sort of glazed over stupefied state. Long story short, I got home from work on Friday, and I was like chatty fucking kathy. I couldn't stop talking, and I was even beginning to annoy myself. I could tell my boyfriend was a little shocked. I headed out the door for a doctor appointment, went grocery shopping, and basically had boundless energy the entire day. It was truly magnificent. 

Day two was a little less dramatic than day one, and perhaps there could have been a little placebo effect happening previously. Either way, I made it through a super effing busy day at work, and came home without feeling completely wiped out. I didn't feel like I needed time to just shut down completely and try to restart (like a terrible PC). Here I am now at day three, and I am still feeling pretty great. I am not doing jumping jacks in place by any means, but I'm awake and a quite a bit more clear headed than I would normally be on a day like today. I have read that Provigil hasn't just helped create more "wakefulness" in people, but has also improved their ability to think more clearly. So, shaazam. Sugar pill effect or not, I'm please. 

I shouldn't exactly count my eggs too soon here though, it's only day three. In the life of a medication, that's like a nanosecond. Either way I'm hoping these results continue, and perhaps I'll get my ass back on that treadmill. Apparently I've packed on a few LB's in the last few months. 

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