Obama on lifestyle drug for jetlag?

Does Obama take Provigil off-label to fight jetlag? Or Ambien? According to the Daily Beast, "Obama's newly released medical report reveals he's taking a prescription medication for jet lag."

David Pescovitz is Boing Boing's co-editor/managing partner. He's also a research director at Institute for the Future. On Instagram, he's @pesco.

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billstewart

If it’s Halcion, be careful about eating sushi with him – remember GHWBush?
kc0bbq

I’m more concerned about the leprosy, myself. :P
skrap

Seriously, who cares? I could just go read the NY Post if I wanted cheap tabloid fare. I’m annoyed enough that I may not hit reload on the main page for at least an hour or two.
J France

Provigil is the Methadone of speed! Not a totally accurate comparison, but not an illegitimate one.

White collar drug use is view through such a different lens than straight forward hillbilly “drug use”. It’s a crock!
Raj77

It’s quite an illegitimate comparison. Modafinil has pretty much no potential for abuse- it doesn’t get you high.
loraksus

Provigil is pretty amazing stuff. It’s not an amphetamine, so there aren’t the jitters or “manic-like” state seen with other drugs that help you stay awake.
None of the “drowsy/get shaken awake” stuff either.
It’s just very nice and smooth and just lets you turn that switch off in your brain that says “its time to sleep”

Pretty much every single medical resident is taking it at this point because it is effective and the side effects are mild to none.

I’ve been taking it for about 3 years now. Incredible.
Not mixing it with a cocktail of drugs like some of the folks on erowid, but it helps me be very productive.
RevEng

Why have the results of Obama’s medical exam been reported on? I thought health records were one of our most treasured privacies, yet I’m hearing all sorts of reports about his alcohol consumption, medications, and other personal medical details. Is the White House releasing this to the public, and if so, why? Our current privacy invasions are bad enough without making famous people’s medical records public.
- akwhitacre
  
  It’s been fairly standard for U.S. presidents to release their medical records to engender confidence that they’re fit to serve.
  
  I don’t have any real info on this, but I would imagine this goes back to just after it was found that J.F.K. had been hiding serious conditions.
Anonymous

If he’s taking Ambien for jetlag, he’s in pretty good company — the folks who travel around the world for business (not the wealthy, mind — just those whose territory is the whole planet) have been taking it for years — with the full blessing of their doctors.

Not a surprise…next?
Matt Deckard

I’ve used melatonin supplements for jet lag and they’ve always worked really well for me. Just take one about 20 minutes before you’re supposed to go to sleep, it seems to really help reset your internal clock and get you a good night’s sleep even if your body seems to think it’s in the middle of the day.
jjasper

It’s not the getting high that worries me. It’s the potential for abuse. If you keep taking this stuff for days, there’s bound to be a cut off point where you’re awake but impaired. What about the medical resident who stays up for days on this stuff so he/she can have a social life as well as keep awake for days?
joelbenroth

I don’t think this is off label. I recall reading that either modofinil (the active ingredient in Provigil) or armodofinil (the active in follow-on Nuvigil) has been approved for jet lag. Provigil is also approved for “Shift Work Sleep Disorder” which is similar.

I am disappointed that the important question was not posed here, namely: is Obama’s Provigil covered by insurance?
doplgangr

for goodness’ sake, what if he IS? who cares? I think he’s mature and responsible enough to know whether he needs something like this or not. i swear, that poor man can’t fart without everyone knowing about it. this is faux news territory — give the guy a freekin’ break.
- dculberson
  
  No, Faux News territory would be “Is Obama abusing stimulants that doctors say might cause irrational behavior?”
Anonymous

It does certainly have a potential for abuse if used incorrectly. Your body would certainly pay a price in one way or another if abused for prologed periods of time. That said if used correctly it can be very beneficial. I myself have been on it for almost 8 years now. I have a condition my Dr. says is a cross between sleep apnea and narcalepsy. While I won’t fall asleep at the drop of a hat while actively egaged in something, I undoubtedly will fall asleep at the wheel of a car when driving by myself or in a vehicle where there is no active conversation going on. Even a CAPAP machine has not been able to competely cure this condition. I however have not fallen asleep at the wheel now for over 8 years. I felt like I got a new lease on life when the Dr. put me on this. I take 400 MG every morning, and it wears of in time for a good nights sleep by around 10:00 or 11:00 PM. Up until that time 8 years ago, I was resigned to the fact that I would most likely die in a car accident, or worse yet kill someone else. I was caught between a rock and a hard place with needing to provide for my family, but knowing that in a matter of time I was going to have a serious or deadly accident.