I don't think it's addictive. I was on 50 mg, which I took in the morning. As that lowest dosage was not helping with my sleepiness after lunch, concentration and attention span and my job is in real jeopardy, my psych upped the dosage to 150 mg on Monday. He said if it didn't work, then I would have to go on traditional ADD meds, which I really don't want to do, since I have a real problem gaining weight. I have felt GREAT, at least for me, since then. Unfortunately, my allergies are bothering me so I haven't felt as well as I did the first day after taking it, but still have felt a very real difference every day. I take so many meds that have a sedating effect that I have to take as a chronic pain patient/cancer survivor, but I haven't been sleepy on the new dose until it's time to go to bed. The first day I felt so great I stayed up until 12:30 a.m. after waking at 6 a.m. that morning. When I crashed, I crashed hard! I haven't tried that since then and start winding down much earlier.
I do know that one of the side effects is headaches according to my pharmacy hand-out, and I do have a lot of headaches, almost daily, but since I have migraines, sinus problems, sleep apnea (hate to wear that dang CPAP), TMJ, tension headaches and neck problems, I really can't attribute the headaches to Nuvigil. I've had them before and see a neuro/headache specialist regularly. And on the higher dosage they haven't been as bad for whatever reason. It has even improved my mood beyond my regular anti-depressant. Other than the initial jumpiness the first week I started the med, I've had no real side effects. I had no jumpiness on the new dose, except for feeling much better.
If you are exhausted and you have to drag yourself out of the bed in the mornings daily as I did, constantly feeling like you're trying to swim in cement, I would give it a try. I always try new meds on the weekends. I have had only good things to report while being on Nuvigil, especially the higher dosage, so I really hope it works for you! I think if you are careful with it as you are with your other meds, as I'm sure you are, it won't be addictive. Since my psych is an expert in treating addictive disorders, he is very conservative about prescribing medications. He wanted a copy of my two sleep studies for his file that demonstrated I have sleep apnea and never enter the stage of restorative sleep (I sleep very lightly, even with a sleep aid).
However, just another piece of advice, I'm unsure what your insurance situation is, but my insurance company treats it as a non-formulary drug (whatever the heck that means) so I have to pay the maximum under my plan for it. It's $45, which is much more reasonable that some people have to pay for any meds, and it is worth every penny!
I have been on it for approximately 4-5 months.
I hope this helps you in making your decision! If you need more info, let me know! : ) I pray it works for you!!