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Provigil Extends Your Day?
John Mearns writes "It looks like before long all caffeine junkies will be able to ditch the bottle of Mountain Dew or cup of coffee in favor of pill. Its not a true stimulant so you don't get the "caffeine crash," just countless hours of alert attentiveness. " It's also
still in testing so it'll probably make you grow horns or something, and is
supposed to only be used for people who are sleepy during the day, but it raises
several interesting ethical questions.
Cool, if I take these it will increase my chances of getting a first post.
Pop pill.
Reload
Pop pill.
Reload
Pop pill.
Reload
Rinse,
Repeat.
How else do i know it's time to give up and go to bed? when you finally come crashing down in the bathroom as your body is expelling all that water...
Boom.... now sleep for 12 hours.
I want something that will reduce my bodies need for sleep... make me feel good and refreshed on 3 or 4 hours of sleep.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
What would happen if you took this with an Ambien, a couple of beers, a Tylenol-3 and a grande mocha? I think you would time travel...
If I would have had this during my undergrad career as an engineer, maybe I could have gotten a degree AND had a social life!
There's something incredibly cozy about having a cup of hot coffee or tea to sip on throughout the day, a sort of tangibility that you won't get from popping a pill. It's kind of like the difference between muzak(tm) and Pink Floyd...sure, both are music, but only one is music.
--
I Hit the Karma Cap, and All I Got Was This Lousy
Since this deprives you of sleep, but somehow keeps you from falling asleep, the long-term side effects of this are compeletly unknown. All the studies show that not sleeping is extreamly bad for you in the long run. Lowers immune systems, increases stress, reduces hapiness, etc.
One thing they don't mention is if you have to sleep for a 'normal' amount after the drug wares off. So if you are awake for like 36 hours, then how long do you sleep? 8 hours? or 16 hours?
Even if this has bad long term effects, this will be very popular, everyone has those nights that they 'have' to stay up and work. Could be the procrationators drug of choice.
Provigil was developed in France in the 1970s. Although no one is sure how it works, animal studies show that the medication--unlike other drugs that induce wakefulness--doesn't seem to dramatically increase levels of dopamine, a neurotransmitter associated with arousal and alertness.
If you want to take a drug that no one knows how it works, go for it. However, I will not be taking a drug that scientists are clueless about.
The best treatment for sleepiness is SLEEPING!!! If you are engaging in an activity that is depriving you of sleep, STOP!!! There is a reason you get sleepy. Your body and mind needs to rest and recharge and sleepiness is the signal to do so. Medical test after medical test has shown that people that deprive themselves of sleep go insane and lose their ability to perform even the easiest of tasks. That is why sleep deprivation is used so often as a torture device to break down subjects, so they will spill the proverbial beans.
Strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government.
....I'm always chasing rainbows...
sleep 2 hours a day and feel great
I'm REALLY curious about trying that new sleep pattern, but oddly enough, I don't have the time to try it!
Q: What do you think about American Culture?
A: I think it's a good idea.
(adapted from Gandhi)
...to see how people underestimate the value of a good night's sleep to your health. I'd rather get a little less done during the day than deal with the whole laundry list of problems you are opening yourself up to when you are sleep deprived. Ever notice that people who don't get much sleep get sick a lot?
Sleep is fundamental, period. There are no substitutions.
"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a son-of-a-bitch." - Jack Nicholson
Sleepiness is your body's way of telling you it needs rest (basically, your brain needs rest). Using drugs to avoid it strikes me as foolish, like using analgesics to ignore the pain of a broken bone (as opposed to curing it).
If you're sleepy, you need to sleep. If you're sleepy during the day, well, maybe you need to go to bed earlier.
Plus, sleeping is one of the seven capital pleasures of being human. Going to bed when you're sleepy is actually pretty nice. Why give it up?
This will have horrible side effects. When will people learn that there is simply no substitute for a good night's sleep.
Even natural stuff like gensing makes you feel like pure total SH*T when it wears off. Does funky things to yer pee to...
My dad is a hard-line baptist, will not drink ANYTHING with alcohol (or even anything that looks like alcohol, i.e. IBC Root Beer and Welches sparkling grape juice) but drinks up to 5 pots of coffee a day.
He gets kinds irate when I point out he's addicted, but...
My $0.02 will always be worth more than your â0.02, so
Signed,
Your Boss
GTRacer
- There's a Dilbert in this somewhere...
Defending IP by destroying access to it? That makes sense, RIAA/MPAA. Go to the corner until you can play nice!
Where does society get off saying what people can and can't do with their own bodies, given that they are aware of the risks (or at least aware that the risks are not known). These are not questions for the government or society to ask. These are questions for individuals to ask. "Is this a good choice for me and my body?"
I've used it. The longest I've ever stayed up is 40 hours or so. The only noticible side effect was a slight headache, but that could've been caused by any number of things (I get headaches a fair amount because I don't eat very well :/). Headaches are the most common reported side-effect by far.
.5 hours for each hour of wakefulness), that means I gained 22 hours of wakefulness.
Even after 40 hours of being awake, I was still at nearly full mental capactity and able to work, etc. I did not feel the normal symptoms of sleep deprevation at all (I've stayed awake too long many times, and I'm familiar with how it makes you feel). I did not feel high, either. I was just... awake. I also didn't feel many physical problems (sore back, sore legs, etc) like I expected to, but YMMV, of course.
Afterwards I slept about 9 hours and had a normal next day. By my calculations (figuring you normally sleep
You can find them on the internet if you look around enough. I am hesitant to mention sites, but there are two in the UK that sell 100mg pills. I have been unable to find the 200mg pills. They sell for about $145 + shipping ($15 or so) for 30 pills. That's $5.33 a pill. During my 40 hours awake, I took four, which works out to about $1 per hour.
Many people I tell this to think it would be a good idea to take them during finals. I must warn you that it's probably not a good idea because there is a very good chance your sleep schedule will get completely fucked up. For example, you may stay up for 32 hours, decide it's time for sleep, and then sleep through a final. In other words, I would take it a few times beforehand to get used to it before you decide to jump in and potentially fuck up something important.
What happens if you mixed a pot of coffee a few liters of mountain dew and a few Provigal pills? Would you become the Kwisatz Haderach ?
Outdoor digital photography, mostly in New Engl
Hmm, now if I can get pills that remove my need for food, air, water, and sex, I will legally qualify as a robot.
Robotiq.com is heavily tested on animals
I would advise against using this if you want your memory to function. It's still probably just a theory, but I still remember hearing the most probable explanation for the brain's need to sleep that I've ever heard. Basically, the theory goes that when you enter deep sleep (i.e. non-REM sleep) your brain is literally wiring new connections: shifting memories to long term storage, connections are reinforced with more connections, etc. Your brain then goes in to REM sleep to test those connections, which is why REM sleep seems pretty random, but is often related to what's going on in your life.
Some evidence for this: there is a specific type of autism (I can't remember the name) that baffled researchers until they started monitoring the EEG's at night. The researchers found out that the people with this type of autism were literally going in to seizures at night, at least they were experiencing the "electrical storm" in their brains that characterize a seizure. The researchers put the patients on anti-epilepsy medication, and it cleared up the symptoms right away. As the theory goes, the brain was using all of it's connections every night, preventing unused/unneeded connections from atrophying. So the patient was literally unable to forget anything, but also didn't have any more room for more connections.
The moral of the story (considering that only a fool wouldn't realize that these pills won't be more abused than Viagra)? Don't use/abuse these pills if you want to be able to remember/learn anything long-term.
BlackGriffen
It's also still in testing so it'll probably make you grow horns or something
So I can get more work done in a day, and grow horns? I want in on the clinical trial!
Cheers
-b
Girlfriend sez: "In your case, it would just make the ones you already have visible."
Provigal affects Birth Control!
I found a few references to possible birth defects as well, however not seriously sightable statements. Even the official website states that dosage during pregnancy should seriously consider the benefits to outweigh the risks.The strangest issue is that for a drug that has been around since the 70's there is very little data about interaction with other drugs and they just recommend you don't use alot of different types. Brings up something I remember hearing about a company in the past that found negative results and decided that they just "hadn't performed those tests". Who knows.
Buyer Beware.
I'm male though, so where do I order my emergency supply! :)
Garth/Darkstar
...Provigil, whose name is shorthand for "promotes vigilance."
*sigh*
Lembas would have been such a better name.
-Bill
SlashSig Karma: Excellent (mostly affected by moderatio
I've had a problem with getting sleep during the day for years. It has nothing to with how interested in my projects I am or how much sleep I get: I would always get sleepy right at 10 am and about 2pm. Lately I've taken to walking to work each morning (about five miles) and it's made a huge difference. It took me a week to realize that most of my sleepiness problems had disappeared. Now, a month later, there's no mistaking the difference: if I walk to work I feel alert. If I don't, I get sleepy. I usually hate exercise but I enjoy the walk.
Miko O'Sullivan
My test drive opinions, negatives first:
- headaches - Very distracting and not fixed with OTC remedies. I consider this a killer side effect. I saw this at both 100mg and 200mg.
- da jitters - well, if you are going all Cornholio, it is going to cut into your productivity. I went from juggling 5 different things at once to dropping three and fucking up one of the remaining two. Maybe you can train yourself to keep it all together.
- elevated blood pressure - This may have something to do with the headaches, but that feeling of impending aneurysm does not rock.
- dehydration - I fly through the water, and all of my piss smells really rank and chemical-like. There is a productivity hit to this I suppose, and it seems like more than that imposed by chugging coffee.
- rebound - the crash can be hard, and the duration of sleep is not really predictable. I tended to be irritable the day after, as well.
positive: you are slightly more alert. 100mg and I can still sleep no problem. in my chair. . .not good. 200mg and you are are awake, but more side effect manifestation.
DO NOT take 4 per shift like the guy up there. You are going to get prescription info from Slashdot?
Don't be a dumbass: check out the info on ANY drug before you take it. Know the maximum dose. Know the interactions. Know the side effects. Know if it is excreted by the liver or kidney if you have problems with one of them. If you are going to take the doctor out of the loop, who is going to look out for your sorry ass?
" if a drug was discoverd tomorrow that got you high for 1 hour, had no side effects and made you glow neon orange so every cop could know you were on it, it would still be illegal in the u.s. if it were fun."
Fuck the drug effect, I wanna glow neon orange! Bzzzzzz! Think how cool I would look, and how the chix (tm) would be impressed with my glowing goodness.
glowing graspee
Speed is physically addictive. It fucks your heart up. Many people end up injecting it. You never know what you're getting. You're paying people (dealers) you'd rather not have to be in the same universe with.
I have made it through many tough projects without using illegal drugs.
I know loads of people are now going to slap me down, disagree and generally piss all over me, but I don't want anyone to risk using speed after reading your post.
graspee
A lot of people seem to think this is a pretty cool idea for those long binges of coding/system administration/photoshopping/etc.. Sure it keeps you awake, but what about one of the really nasty downsides to sleep deprivation that I am sure most /. readers have experienced: hallucinations. I can honestly say that I have on numerous occasions been up all night playing EverQuest/Final Fantasy and then gone straight to work with little if any sleep (And help from my friends at Starbucks.); resulting in aural and visual hallucinations. About that time I pass out, but I have a friend who can go for 36+ hours without crashing, and experiences what he calls "LGMs," short for little green men. What happens when the geeks of the world can stay up for days at a time- do we go into hallucinatory overdrive? Or does Provigil deal with the LGMs? Anybody know?