Head Fogginess/MS Fatigue

Bewitched · Posted: Mon Apr 20, 2009 8:36 pm Post subject: Head Fogginess/MS Fatigue

Hello:

I am just wondering if anyone has ever experienced extreme fatigue sydndromes I just came back from my neuro. I've been complaining about major fatigue for about a year now and I described to him about the strange fogginess in my head and that I could not lift up a piece of paper because of this. He is a wonderful doctor. He notates every single thing in his file that you say to him about yourself. I've had this complaint for a long time. He is putting me on Provigil. Has anyone taken this? I think for once if I take this I will feel like a human being again. I cannot handle the narcolepsy/MS fatigue syndrome anmore. My biggest complaint about this MS disease.

Bewitched

questor · Posted: Tue Apr 21, 2009 2:24 pm Post subject:

Hi,
I first started to use provigil about 3 years ago, I got a prescription for it when I complained of fatigue. At the time, I was instructed to try 200mg a day, and if this didn't work, to increase the dosage up to 400mg a day until I felt an improvement (200mg up to twice a day).

At the time, I never felt an improvement, and did not like the racey/hyper feeling that provigil gave me. Now, with hindsight, I can see that I was using it for the wrong reason. I was hoping to feel an effect for physical fatigue, but it did nothing for me in that area. I have since learned to use acetyl l-carnitine (and aspirin as needed) to treat body/physical fatigue. I think low dose naltrexone is helping also, but can't be sure because I started it at the same time that I started taking ALCAR.

And, I now use much lower doses of provigil for mental fatigue or mental cloudiness. I take no more than 100mg/day in divided doses of 50mg each. I prefer to take only 50mg at a time to lessen the side-effects. Generally, when I need to take it, 50mg will do the trick for me for the day.

Now, I try to avoid the term "fatigue". It seems to be used to describe different kinds of symptoms by people with MS, and is fairly inexact.

Good luck with it,

--Tracy

questor · Posted: Thu Apr 23, 2009 8:59 am Post subject:

Just a comment about my previous post. I didn't notice until after I posted it that I was replying to a post in the Avonex forum. I am a copaxone user, and have been for the last 10+ years. My post makes reference to LDN, which can be taken along with copaxone, but, from what I understand, should not be taken with Avonex.

--Tracy