Advances In Pharmacist-ed Living
I've been waiting for this: Provigil -- a pill that allows users to function normally after up to 54 hours without sleep, John Simons writes in Fortune magazine:
In 1998 the FDA approved Provigil to treat narcolepsy, but doctors prescribe it "off label" as a fatigue fighter for airline pilots, long-haul truckers, and medical residents. Users say the drug doesn't make them jittery the way caffeine does. One 200-milligram pill restores focus and alertness as effectively as three tall lattes and costs $5. And all the clinical data show that the drug has none of the addictive qualities of amphetamines like Dexedrine. Because Provigil has fewer side effects than Ritalin, it's even being prescribed to some children with attention-deficit disorder.
Deadline calls! Bring on those (chemically-assisted) sleepless nights! (The question is, will anyone's doctor be willing prescribe it?)
(via Reason's blog)
Oooh, scary drug alert. There are physical and psychological reasons for sleep, such as the removal of fatigue poisons and the need to dream. To go two and one third days without sleep, especially as a habit, seems dangerous to me.
No side effects from use, apparently, but isn't that what they said about ephedra?
I wonder if, after going over two days without sleep, when you finally go to bed, do you sleep for 16 hours?
Patrick at September 25, 2003 5:16 AM
What on earth is a "fatique poison"?
Lena Cuisina at September 25, 2003 9:00 AM
Fatigue poison? Chemical waste products generated in the body by normal activity that force it to rest.
Patrick at September 26, 2003 5:25 AM
I dont know if there are any side effects. considering that it was all-but militarily funded, I am intrigued. Supposedly, this is the first (or one of the first) drugs that help you stay awake not by inhibiting your fatigue mechanisms, but by prodding your minds nueral pathways that wake you up.
***A US army study that kept subjects awake for 42 hours and then tested thier reflexes for 12 showed results that fared well against caffiene.
I personally do really well *on* caffiene. My problem is tolerance. The information I have read so far give little information about tolerance build up.
"One Last Note" -- I just read a cute little caveat on the Merck Provigil Website:
"Remember: Your prescription for PROVIGIL is only for you, and you should never share or give your medication to anyone else ó even if that person's symptoms seem to be similar to yours. You should keep your PROVIGIL out of the reach of children. PROVIGIL should be stored at room temperature, and away from heat."
-- Who would *ever* think of sharing a stimulant that promises no jitteryness or adictiveness??
***page 138 | November 2003 issue of Wired Magazine.
action vance at October 14, 2003 7:11 PM