Life Without Provigil

Ah, glorious Provigil...you came into my life at such a vulnerable time and changed me in such amazing ways. My existence is so intertwined with yours, how can I go on without you?? Maybe I can't...but I'm going to try like hell. Why would I give up this medicinal gold that tremendously improves my daily functioning and quality of life? Hopefully for the sake of my future offspring.

For the record, I am not pregnant. However, I hope to be pregnant in the future, and I have read that Provigil can increase your chances of miscarrying. I know that there is very little information on the effects of Pro-V on development in utero. I also know that there are women who have taken Provigil all through their pregnancies with no problems, and that is fantastic! The advice given to me by my neurologist, my gynecologist, and sources I have seen online is that I needed to weigh my need for Pro-V against the potential for harm to the fetus. In other words, it wouldn't do me any good to avoid taking the pills to prevent harm to my baby if I couldn't keep from driving off the road or falling down the stairs and causing harm to us both. I have thought long and hard about this. I know what life is like without Provigil, and I know how hard it will be to not take it for 9+ months. I can't make any guarantees, but I am going to try. At the very least, it will probably make my blog more interesting to have narco episodes to share!

I haven't taken "a pill" since Christmas Eve. I have taken short breaks from Provigil before for various reasons (ie. ran out of my prescription, forgot, just wanted to take a break) but if all goes as planned this will by far be the longest I have gone without my medication since I started taking it in 2001. So far, it hasn't been terrible, and generally if I keep active I can avoid sleep attacks. My biggest problems arise when I sit still; watching tv, listening to a lecture, and especially car rides. With the business of the holidays I haven't done a lot of sitting still, but I definitely dozed on and off for the better part of our 15 hour round trip drive to meet friends and family for NYE. Thank goodness for loving husbands who drive the whole way and don't judge you when your head is bobbing all over because you refuse to give in to the sleepiness. We call it the bobblehead. It's easier for me to laugh about it than to think about how unattractive it must look. I know that my sabbatical from Provigil will be difficult for him as well. Pretty sure he's never lived with a narcoleptic off meds. It will be an interesting ride!

So, day 10 and counting...