Doctor In Pittsburgh Pa Who Will Prescribe Modafinil
UpdatedI am trying to find a doctor in Pittsburgh PA who will prescribe modafinil to treat shift work sleep disorder. I've struggled with this for years (though I actually had a couple of good years when I could get adrafinil - which is metabolized into modafinil - which really helped, but that was discontinued long ago), but as the demands of my work and new responsibilities have arisen, the last few months have been worse than it's ever been.
My primary care doctor flatly refuses to prescribe it - he says that, while he agrees I'm probably right in my self-diagnosis, he doesn't know enough about shift work sleep disorder to diagnose it, and he doesn't know enough about the use of modafinil to treat shift work sleep disorder to be comfortable prescribing it. He wants me to see a sleep medicine specialist. The specialist's next available appointment is over a month and a half out. Then I presume it'd be another couple of weeks before I get a diagnosis and treatment plan (maybe longer, if he wants me to schedule a sleep study or something), which is almost certainly going to be exactly what I asked for in the first place. Though my PCP says he really wants me to try to pursue "non-medication" treatments (i.e., lifestyle changes - which simply aren't going to happen, I'm not in a position to make that happen even if I wanted to, which I don't).
I do not want to have to go through another 2 months like this. Really, I do not want to have to go through even one more day like this, when I *know* there's a medically appropriate medication treatment that just works. Plus, this is all just a gigantic waste of time and money (I need to pay for the specialist visits, any studies or whatever, etc., out of pocket, until I reach my insurance deductible, bit to mention the amount of time this is delaying my eventual treatment). Yes, I'm aware that if I get on modafinil, I'll still feel fatigued and "dragging" when my sleep schedule is messed up by shift work (like I said, I've been on adrafinil before, it metabolizes into modafinil, so I know exactly what to expect). All I want is to not have the uncontrollable urge to fall asleep at my desk at work...
The diagnostic criteria for shift work sleep disorder are simple, straightforward, and unambiguous, and I match every single one of the criteria. This diagnosis is basically a "no brainer". A five year old could make this diagnosis. Yet my PCP won't even consider making the diagnosis or prescribing the treatment plan I've proposed. I'm sure at least part of that is because their practice is within a few miles of at least 4 universities, and they don't want to become known as a practice where students can try to come and concoct some phony story to get a script for modafinil. So I get to suffer.
What I am looking for is a doctor I can see within the next week, who would be willing to listen to my narrative, and send me off with a script in hand, that day (or at least, soon thereafter). I can pay out of pocket, or use my insurance if the provider is in my network - doesn't matter to me. And I'll be paying for the meds out of pocket anyway, because I can get it at Costco, for cash, cheaper than what my insurance co-pay would be.
I'm well aware of the offshore places in India where you can (supposedly) acquire modafinil. I am also well aware that everything these places produce is basically junk, may not have the advertised dose of modafinil in it (if it has any at all), or may have something other than modafinil added. Might as well just use street drugs if I'm going to do that... I'm not interested in trying that - I want a real script, from a real pharmacy, prescribed by a real doctor. I literally don't care at this point if it's just one of those "script docs" who will write you a script for practically anything as long as you pay them. I just want some relief, and I want it before 2 months (or longer) from now.
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