Provigil & Pregnancy/nursing (Page 2) (Top voted first)

I'm wondering if anyone else out there took this drug during pregnancy or breastfeeding and what their experience was.

I know anecdotal evidence is not scientific proof of anything, but studying pregnant women is not ethical. I noticed they just started a provigil pregnancy registry to track women who choose to stay on it while pregnant but I'm guessing it will be some time until we hear any results from that.

I chose to stay on it during my pregnancy because I had to work and drive safely. I lowered my dose to the lowest amount I can function on. My son was born completely healthy, very social, happy, no health issues. However, in order to breastfeed, I was switched to ritalin since there is more information available about it and breastfeeding. I hate it... it barely works (I don't want to keep increasing the doses and have addiction issues). It worked ok for a month or so, now it does almost nothing for me. I really miss my provigil but am not sure about the risks of taking it while breastfeeding, and unlike during my pregnancy, there is an alternative drug I can take.

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REPORT

My son has been diagnosed with sensory processing (sensory integration) disorder and anxiety (spec situations). I stopped taking provigil (400mg/day) and Ritalin when I found out I was pregnant, did not breastfeed after I went back on it.

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I have had narcolepsy for 15 years and have been on Provigil or Nuvigil that entire time. My husband and I are ready to begin a family and I met with a Maternal Fetal Medicine Specialist today to discuss my options with my medicine. I currently take 250 mg of Nuvigil each day. He recommends I try to cut that dose, but says he is comfortable with me staying on my medicine through the course of my pregnancy. I have been a complete worried mess through this whole process because I am so fearful of the unknowns. I am so thankful to have found this thread so that I can hear others experiences with narcolepsy and pregnancy. I am anxious and nervous to even try cutting my dosage, but I'm hopeful it won't be as bad as I am imagining.
As a side note: it seems like many of you expressed concerns with breastfeeding on Nuvigil or Provigil. My doctor advised that he was more concerned with me taking the drugs during pregnancy and had no concerns whatsoever about me breastfeeding while on meds. It's just interesting to read the varying advice given to each of us. That is one of my biggest frustrations with narcolepsy: no one really having a clear understanding of the disorder or the effects of the medications we take.

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Does anyone have any experience to add?

The relevant FDA warnings for this medication say it isn't known what effect it may have on an infant if used during breast feeding, so they just advise caution if Provigil is used.

https:/­/­rxchat.com/­wiki/­Provigil/­

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Thank you so much for your reply, its very helpful to have these first hand experiences out there even if they are not scientific to give someone an idea of what others have experienced. I accidentally took my Provigil for a few days when I got it mixed up with a different pill I take and it felt so wonderful and I didn't see any reaction in my son, but based on hearing about your story, I don't think I will intentionally try it again. I may stop nursing sooner than I'd prefer but I'll try to last a bit longer.

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Did you take provigil during your first trimester? I'm only a few days pregnant and I'm trying to wean myself off.

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Hey! hows your pregnancy going? I've been on 250mg of Nuvigil for a few years and just found out I'm pregnant!! :) (12 days after conception). I'm choosing to be entirely off meds for the pregnancy so my last dose was this morning! I feel so guilty that I've been taking my meds for a week and half though, ideally I'd like every single day of my pregnancy to be med free. Since you were weaning yourself off in the very beginning, how are things?

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hi,

i am 9 weeks pregnant and my doctor advised me for provigil inj. every 3rd day till completing 3 month... is it good for me or not? i want to add one thing and i.e i have one miscarriage last year of 6 weeks.

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My doctor finally diagnosed me with chronic fatigue syndrome; I started taking the generic Nuvigil (Modafinil) and it worked amazingly for me. But now I'm trying to get pregnant, so for the last few months I haven't taken it and I'm back to hating constantly being exhausted. I normally take about 200mg. i'm thinking about doing 100mg every other day? I'd rather keep going with not having any meds but with constantly being exhausted, I also dont have much of a drive - which is needed when trying to get pregnant...
My doctor said that even if it is okay to take the meds, if something happened to my baby, I would always wonder if the meds were the reason. Tough decision. Everyone's information and stories are great information though!

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I also have been trying to drink Lipton Natural Energy tea daily.
I don't know if it would have much affect for a true narcoleptic, but sometimes it helps a little for me.
Next I'll be looking into veggies and natural energy supplements

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I am also caring for a baby who was exposed to Nuvigil in utero, and through breastfeeding. He was always very sleepy. is there anyone who felt their child was excessively sleepy with Nuvigil or Provigil?

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Do you know what dose Nuvigil caused birth defects in rats? Since Provigil required a high dose I am curious if Nuvigil also required a higher dose. Thank you!

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Has anyone breastfed a 4 month old taking nuvigil 150 mg a day? I'd like to keep nursing, but I'm completely exhausted.

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UPDATE:

My son is still doing well at 7 mo! He's a happy, energetic, baby who sleeps soundly through the night (I know...I'm SO thrilled!).

I tried to abstain from Xyrem and Nuvigil post-birth but I simply needed them to function safely for him. We did have some issues with direct nursing, as my son took longer and longer to nurse. I worked with an LC and our Ped, finally deciding to exclusively pump (when they thought he was allergic, I had to pump and store, so it just seemed to work out that way). He does have acid reflux- for which he takes Zantac twice a day. Otherwise, perfect!! My last pump of the day is right before bed (before taking Xyrem) and my first pump is at least 5 h after my 2nd dose in the morning.

I have a thought, and while I know a bit about chemistry, it's not my area of expertise, but I THINK that if there were any Xyrem left in my milk, sitting in the fridge, it should release as the broken down elements of carbon dioxide and monoxide...which is why GHB-laced drinks are hard to detect unless they (and blood samples) are deep-freeze stored until testing is complete. It's a thought, and I don't know if it matters, but it's one extra "spacer" between my medication and my son...we did buy GHB testing strips once and I didn't get a positive result in the milk...but also nothing in my urine, either...so they may not be sensitive or specific for the chimeric nuances between Xyrem and GHB.

As a refresher: I did take Xyrem and Nuvigil throughout my pregnancy, and started Xyrem within two weeks post partum, and Nuvigil again at 1 mo.

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Hi-
I took Xyrem and Nuvigil throughout pregnancy, resumed Xyrem 2 wk pp, and Nuvigil 1 mo pp.
My son has acid reflux, for which he takes prescription Zantac. It works, and we just make sure to hold him upright for 30 min after each feeding, there is also a wedge under his mattress in order to keep him slightly (no more than 30% incline) upright for nighttime/silent reflux episodes, which are rare.

Details, if you want them:
At 2 mo, H was increasingly fussy during burp sessions and directly after meals. He arched his back, screamed like he was starving. Ped suspected milk intolerance and I abstained from dairy/soy. It got worse, as in he was screaming terribly, so we put him on Infamil's Nutramigen, their "fancy" formula (breaks protein chains down super-small). I pumped and froze milk during that time.
It didn't seem to help for two weeks of formula. So the Ped changed to suspected acid reflux. Now, all babies have it, because the esophagus is not fully formed, but some experience the burn and such to a worse degree, which triggers spit-up and severe "thirst" to quench the burn (hence the "starving" scream right after meals).
We started Zantac and within a week things were MUCH better. We also started putting him at a slight incline (we used the Snugapuppy Rock N' Play) to go to sleep.
THERE IS A TEST FOR DAIRY INTOLERANCE!!
During the next visit, our Ped said he wasn't convinced it wasn't also dairy intolerance, so he ordered a hemocult test (bring in a soiled diaper, they look for torn blood vessels in the feces, a sign of intestinal distress from intolerance inflammation). It was negative...and my immediate thought was, Oh good! Wait...WHAT-?! There is a simple, non-invasive test to determine if it's intolerance-?! Why on EARTH Peds don't opt for this first before making already-exhausted new moms change their diets is beyond me. With our next kiddo, I'll just ask for this test if there is any sign of distress!

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CSSW - thank you for the details, my appreciated. Navigating infant medical stuff is very overwhelming. Did your baby's reflux give him unusual diapers? Or were his stools still normal looking?

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Nothing normal about baby stool, lol!
He did have muconium for several days, not just one or two. Then it was surprisingly orange, but the Ped said its because of breast milk.
Now that he's on solids, it can have different colors depending on the day's purees. But no, nothing out of the ordinary, other than that it was always changing!

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Hi. Wondering how your pregnancy went and how your child is doing? I am hoping you still see these posts

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Hi all. Just got an email from medschat asking for an update. My son was born 11/2015. I was on Xyrem and Nuvigil. He's 15 months now, and still PERFECT! Only issues were Reflux (very common in babies, he's outgrown it) and he got his first ear infections (double!) and it's looking like he' need tubes- we'll see later this week. Otherwise, bright, happy (others remark on his ready-smile) smart, social, and an excellent sleeper! He attends a private daycare/school where he keeps pace with his peers (and was bumped up a class bc a teacher was leaving and he was the "most ready" of his age group). He's the BEST! And we are trying for a sibling now!!

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Thank you so much for the update!! I am pregnant now and have taken the provigil/modafinil 2 times a week since finding out and plan to continue it throughout pregnancy since I couldn't do my job without it!! Glad to hear about your son!!!

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Hi how , I have the same concerns as u did. How did ur pregnancy go? Baby healthy? I hope all is well.

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