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My 'smart drugs' nightmare

bbc.co.uk

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Re: My 'smart drugs' nightmare

#31

Post by jodrellblank »

thinkdevcode wrote: post #24
jodrellblank wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 'look…

Imagine you don't swim, yet you consult with an active swimmer, a professional swimmer, and a scientist who studies swimming and they all say you can swim. Do you jump in the deep end? I wouldn't. And what OP said is absolutely true when it comes to nootropics. Moda should not be taken lightly. Start with the basics and work your way up.

You jump in the deep end and get cramps, you drown.

You jump in the "deep" end with modafinil and you get a headache, a sleepless night, and people call you ugly? Why is that "not to be taken lightly"? People do a lot worse than that casually.

I was heading into the article expecting him to end up with a stay in a psychiatric unit, with long term memory loss or personality disorders, with organ failure or loss of consciousness. 'Drug nightmares' can go really badly.

And if the good effect was moving him a few percent in focus, do "the basics" ... do anything measurable at all?

Re: My 'smart drugs' nightmare

#33

Post by strathmeyer »

From what I can tell he is holding a 200mg tablet and even experienced users don't take the whole thing at once. And if it was such a nightmare why did he do it three times? It doesn't make you dehydrated... it makes you realize you are dehydrated... so drink some water.

Re: My 'smart drugs' nightmare

#34

Post by randycupertino »

peteretep wrote: post #17
anaphor wrote: post #3

"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.

What is the difference between modafinil vs adderall?

Re: My 'smart drugs' nightmare

#35

Post by randycupertino »

byuu wrote: post #14

Video: "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 trazodone for sleeping? That stuff knocks me out. I take adderall for ADHD and used to have insomnia too until my doc prescribed me trazodone. Now I fall asleep in 10 minutes and get the best sleep of my life.

http://www.crazymeds.us/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Meds/Desyrel

Re: My 'smart drugs' nightmare

#36

Post by peteretep »

idlewords wrote: post #12

I'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…

It's interesting to see how everyone's mileage varies. I don't get the hangover - in fact, if I take it on a Monday, I find the solid work I put in tends to keep motivating me throughout the week. I do forget to eat with it, and that can cause its own problems. I've had run-ins with serious anxiety, but not found modafinil to contribute to that.

Re: My 'smart drugs' nightmare

#37

Post by peteretep »

joshschreuder wrote: post #32

Does modafinil provide any benefit to physical performance, or is it purely cognitive? For instance, does it do anything when lifting, or playing sport or similar?

I've found it positively affects my self-discipline in all sorts of ways, including finishing sets I might lazily walk away from. I haven't noticed any physiological effects, and I've done some fairly intense exercise on it.

Re: My 'smart drugs' nightmare

#38

Post by peteretep »

Radle wrote: post #6

The Author says he got a headache and other problems that are most likely side effects. But I assume you shouldn't order your drugs online AND oversea.

Yeah. I found it pretty easy to get it prescribed in the UK. I found a private doctor in a financial district whose marketing message was about discreet treatment for embarassing personal and sexual disorders, and told him I needed it for jetlag, and had taken it before effectively. Local chain pharmacist was happy to fulfil the prescription.

Re: My 'smart drugs' nightmare

#39

Post by peteretep »

randycupertino wrote: post #34
peteretep wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

What is the difference between modafinil vs adderall?

The one time I took adderall I didn't feel any different, but there were several points when I was explaining my world domination plans where the guy who gave it to me interjected with "that's the adderall talking". Looking back, the plans were somewhat manic.

Re: My 'smart drugs' nightmare

#40

Post by mapt »

alrs wrote: post #8

Taking Modafinil for funzies is a bad idea, but this doesn't rise to the level of "nightmare." Unless you have nightmares about developing a rash and getting a poor night's sleep.

The skin disorder is in fact nightmare-fuel, but it's extraordinarily rare and the one suspected case within the trial was probably simply chance.

"Estimates of the background incidence rate for these serious skin reactions in the general population range between 1 to 2 cases per million-person years."

http://www.rxlist.com/provigil-drug/warnings-precautions.htm

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