"i have suffered from major depression for over 20 years.  the past 2 1/2 years have been devastating.  i have now treatment resistant depression.  i have been on all of the &quot;modern&quot; and some &quot;old school&quot; antidepressants including lithium and maois.  i have had 2 rounds of ect treatments in the past 2 years.  they have knocked the suicidal ideation for a little while but this most recent round of 12 required &quot;maintenance&quot; sessions.  i have had 3 maintenance ects then my psych doc prescribed me provigil.  i started at 100 mg for 2 weeks then upped it to 200 mg. for the past 2 weeks.  i have made it through the holiday season feeling the best i have in years. now i am back to the way i was before my depression.   don&#039;t know why but it works."