Provigil is the trade name for the prescription drug Modafinil. It is a medication that has been approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration to treat narcolepsy. It has also been approved for the treatment of shift work sleep disorder, excessive daytime sleepiness, and sleepiness associated with obstructive sleep apnea. While the United States Food and Drug Administration has approved it for all of these uses, the European Medicines Agency has stated that it should only be prescribed for the treatment of narcolepsy.
Doctors and patients like this medication very much because it begins to work in just one to two days. It can even be used effectively in the treatment of idiopathic hypersomnia, which is the reverse of insomnia without a specific cause. Because it works quite quickly doctors and patients can begin to see changes in sleep behaviors in a very short period of time.
Provigil may only be approved for the above treatments, but it is also used off label for many other causes as a doctor deems is appropriate. For instance, it can be used as a doping agent, a cognitive enhancer, and to delay the onset of symptoms association with Multiple Sclerosis. Some doctors also believe that it can be helpful in the treatment of ADHD. It is also commonly used off label to treat fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, spastic cerebral palsy, and Parkinson’s disease. It is also commonly used to treat the symptoms of jet lag. There is no doubt that Provigil is a medication that holds a lot of promise.