I had the chance to try Modafinil (was prescribed by my psychiatrist). Same reaction as the author of this article. For a brief period, my head cleared, mind became less foggy, then I began experiencing negative reactions: headache, de-hydration, sleeplessness. Had to stop after a week.
My 'smart drugs' nightmare
11–20 of 55 posts
Re: My 'smart drugs' nightmare
#12I've noticed a kind of "hangover" effect from taking modafinil, where if I take a dose one day, I'll wake up unusually early the next day, feeling alert. But my concentration will be shot.
What happens is that I don't get enough sleep, and feel the secondary effects of that even though the fatigue is still masked by the drug. The fix is easy enough - just reminding myself to sleep more. I've found it's not difficult to get to sleep on the drug despite not feeling sleepy at all.
That said, the stuff is not a superpower pill. It affects different people differently, it affects you differently on different days, it can make you fixate on random tasks (like the author mentions) and if you're anxious about something, modafinil will make you spin and spin about it.
Works great for housecleaning, though.
Re: My 'smart drugs' nightmare
#13This isn't a drug you just jump right into. If you're interested in nootropics, it's smarter to test the waters with simple stuff like choline (preferably in the form of citicoline of alpha GPC) and ALCAR (acetyl L-Carnitine), then slowly considering a racetam like piracetam or noopept. You need to know how you respond to the easy stuff first. This guy jumped right into the deep end without looking.
You need to know how you respond to the easy stuff first. This guy jumped right into the deep end without looking.
He spoke to a previous user, consulted a doctor, and took it as part of a test by an Oxbridge Professor of Clinical Neuropsychology with "an international reputation in the fields of cognitive psychopharmacology, neuroethics" [ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbara_Sahakian ].
That is some level of 'looking'.
Re: My 'smart drugs' nightmare
#14Video: "the drug is definitely working because I've been lying in bed for an hour, and I just can't get to sleep."
An hour?? Amateur. It takes me 2-4 hours every night to fall asleep, no matter how tired I am when I lay down. And then I wake up 3-4 hours later, and then fall asleep again after another 30 or so minutes. Been that way for as long as I can remember.
So yeah, I'm always tired during the day. Was starting to affect job performance, and things to help sleep (eg melatonin, no blue light or caffeine before bed, etc) weren't helping. So I tried modafinil myself, as well as armodafinil. The latter's much nicer. But neither are any kind of miracle drug.
I don't get any headaches from it, but I do notice my palms sweat a lot more, my appetite decreases a bit, my joint paints are amplified significantly, and it's easier to stay awake. But it's not like being wide awake. It's still clear that I'm mentally worn out. I'm not really sure if this is an atypical result, but I can't really see how this is a very good "study drug" given that. It is a boost, definitely, but it's a very tiny one, like ~10-15%.
I also build up a tolerance surprisingly fast. I can't use it more than two days in a week. Thankfully, the tolerance fades pretty quickly as well.
Also, to anyone who tries it, be sure you stay away from caffeinated beverages while on it. This stuff seems to amplify caffeine's effects or something, and it's quite unpleasant. A cop of coffee plus 200mg of modafinil's about equivalent to taking two caffeine tablets for me.
Of course, you probably won't be able to get it. Doctors are incredibly stingy with prescribing this, and even if they do, the US brands are around $1000 - $1300 per month.
Re: My 'smart drugs' nightmare
#15Does modafinil even improve cognitive performance compared to being well-rested?
Yes, there are numerous studies.
Re: My 'smart drugs' nightmare
#16Does modafinil even improve cognitive performance compared to being well-rested?
Yep, for some people. It depends on your genes. There's some discussion of it here:
Re: My 'smart drugs' nightmare
#17"The following day, a train journey presented what I expected to be a perfect opportunity to get some work done with the aid of a smart pill. I was wrong. I became distracted - more so than normal. While the drug made me focus, it was on the wrong things - such as playing video games on my smartphone." That's because of something called the Yerkes-Dodson curve which basically says if your body is not aroused enough t…
Perhaps. I find Modafinil makes me slightly obsessive about anything. If I take it while procrastinating then I get really caught up in procrastination tasks. If I take it and force myself to start working straight away, great forces come to my aid.
Re: My 'smart drugs' nightmare
#18Video: "the drug is definitely working because I've been lying in bed for an hour, and I just can't get to sleep." An hour ?? Amateur. It takes me 2-4 hours every night to fall asleep, no matter how tired I am when I lay down. And then I wake up 3-4 hours later, and then fall asleep again after another 30 or so minutes. Been that way for as long as I can remember. So yeah, I'm always tired during the day. Was startin…
Sounds like you have a sensitivity to caffeine? I find it works best with a cup or two of coffee. Also, 200mg seems high. I can get a decent effect from 50mg, and a big one from 100mg
Re: My 'smart drugs' nightmare
#19Modafinil is an OTC drug here (India). Most Ayurvedic 'smart herbs' are also very easily available (Brahmi, Ashwagandha, etc.)
I've tried them all in various combinations and doses. Doesn't really work for me. Modafinil gives me bad headaches by the evening, and combining it with, say, Brahmi or Ashwagandha makes me feel nauseous after a few hours.
Maybe there is a nootropic cocktail that works, but I can't figure out which one. In the meantime, building better habits through good 'ol willpower seems to yield better results.
Re: My 'smart drugs' nightmare
#20Video: "the drug is definitely working because I've been lying in bed for an hour, and I just can't get to sleep." An hour ?? Amateur. It takes me 2-4 hours every night to fall asleep, no matter how tired I am when I lay down. And then I wake up 3-4 hours later, and then fall asleep again after another 30 or so minutes. Been that way for as long as I can remember. So yeah, I'm always tired during the day. Was startin…
Have you tried cannabis?