I am a 23 year old, otherwise healthy, narcoleptic male. I was recently put on Provigil, 100 mg twice a day. After taking Provigil for about 2 months with no serious side-effects, I experienced a severe event of tachycardia (increased pulse rate). I went from feeling fine to feeling like I was in a drunk stupor within a period of about 5 minutes. My girlfriend and her mother rushed me to the ER where my pulse was racing at around 155 BPM. I did not respond to IV adenosine, and was subsequently given IV beta blockers for the next 8 hours.
My pulse was then steady between 70 and 80 bpm, which is slightly higher than my typical resting pulse rate. Looking back, it was an incredibly frightening experience, only afterward did I realize how dangerous this pulse rate was to my health. I stopped taking the Provigil and am now going back to more conventional treatments (i.e. methylphenidate or amphetamines). I'm just so thankful I was with loved ones because I didn't feel like I needed to go to the hospital when it was happening.
