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An Experience with Modafinil

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Re: An Experience with Modafinil

#211
post #20
post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Preface this with whatever caveats necessary: adrafinil is a modafinil prodrug which is unscheduled in the U.S. In other words, it's effectively modafinil in vivo. Secondary note: I was once prescribed modafinil for severe sleeping issues before I knew it had some street/techbro value (maybe it didn't then). My experience was not great. I only took it for three days and then stopped. I would say the effect on wakeful…

Yes, Modafinil (rarely) causes life-threatening skin conditions. I got some mysterious purple blotches on my skin and discontinued use.

Thank you. Whenever I talk about modafinil with someone I always mention the potential skin issues and tell them to try low doses first. I wasn't sure how common it actually is but yours and the other's reports even being here suggests it's worth taking those precautions.

Re: An Experience with Modafinil

#212
post #49

What's remarkable to me is that modafinil is less toxic than caffeine[0], and possibly even less addictive[1], but we all know which is illegal for recreational use and which is coffee. Regulations are sticky. The FDA follows the precautionary principle. Political game theory incentivizes restricting what the electorate can do rather than giving them more freedoms, and being blamed for whatever harm may fall upon the…

Caffeine and modafinil shouldn’t be compared, as they have vastly different activity, history of use, and understanding of effects. This is merely an anecdote, but I was prescribed modafinil for narcoleptic symptoms. Compared to traditional psychostimulants, I found it to be ineffective with a more severe side effect profile. Of course, YMMV.

As another 2 data points:

My brother has narcolepsy, and finds modafinil much better than amphetamines. He says he has zero side effects with modafinil, and it makes him much less jittery than amphetamines.

I have CFS, and sometimes need a stimulant if I must stay awake. I've tried amphetamines, but they make me really jittery and a bit anxious and snappy - I feel "tweaked", and it's not pleasant. By contrast, modafinil keeps me focused and awake, with the only side effect being a small increase in blood pressure.

IMO modafinil is a wonderful drug.

Re: An Experience with Modafinil

#213

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Funny. The couple of times I took Modafinil, it might as well have been placebo. Absolutely no effect. I gave the pills away. I have ADD, and am prescribed 60mg Adderall XR/day. OTOH, I have slept on 30mg Adderall XR a couple of times, so maybe I'm just "built differently" w.r.t. The Stimmies.

This is a interesting one. I once heard a psychiatrist ask someone during an evaluation: have you ever borrowed Ritalin from your friends? Follow up question: did it work? I guess this is a really nice hack he had: Has used Ritalin illegally? Increased probability of ADHD. Does it work? Even more increased probability and he know knows the person tolerates it. This fascinates me. Some people seriously take stimulants…

As someone who has just gone through the ADHD diagnostic process in the UK - previously abusing stimulants is a risk factor they have to consider before prescribing you anything.

I have previously used Modafinil fairly extensively and considered purchasing Ritalin or Adderall on the dark web, but was very worried about telling the doctor in case it would cause me issues getting treatment.

Re: An Experience with Modafinil

#214
post #142
post #49

What's remarkable to me is that modafinil is less toxic than caffeine[0], and possibly even less addictive[1], but we all know which is illegal for recreational use and which is coffee. Regulations are sticky. The FDA follows the precautionary principle. Political game theory incentivizes restricting what the electorate can do rather than giving them more freedoms, and being blamed for whatever harm may fall upon the…

Be extremely careful with it. A friend of mine developed some horrifying skin issues after relatively light use.

Some of my friends as well had skin issues, not severe and it subsided after stopping. If I remember correctly, it was like dry red patches. Actually, I might have experienced it as well, for me the major downside were headaches.

Re: An Experience with Modafinil

#215

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's possible but unlikely. You physically cannot sleep on these drugs without something like clonazepam. So I have no doubt a series of bad decisions could lead to someone being up that long. However, psychosis usually sets in around ~96 hours of sleep deprivation. It is however possible that this individual is unique or resistant, or maybe just his youth helped him. When I was 16 and MTV still played music-- I coul…

I'm sorry, this is rubbish. One of the reasons Modafinil is useful is that it will help you stay awake and alert for long periods AND when you want to sleep you still can do. It isn't like speed.

Yeah, I'm afraid you're definitely wrong on this. I've used Modafinil extensively at several different doses. Even at a quarter pill (50mg) you will struggle to feel even remotely tired if you take it after 9am (assuming you go to bed at a normal-ish time).

Re: An Experience with Modafinil

#216

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Would you say the same thing if it was the person's first time with caffeine? Because Modafinil is a stimulant and used to treat narcolepsy, one could argue that going to work tired and treating people would have been more dangerous. I agree with you that he definitely should have done it prior but this is relatively low on my scale of recklessness. It is not like the effects weren't known. Just the severity of his r…

Entirely different. Caffeine is a very well studied substance with widely known effects, it has been used for literally centuries by a sizeable portion of the human population.

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Re: An Experience with Modafinil

#217
post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Caffeine would be illegal to possess, if it were invented yesterday. 80% of people couldn't distinguish I.V. cocaine from I.V. caffeine in some study I am unable to locate at the moment, which I think involved Nora Volkow from NIH, either as PI or collaborator.

> 80% of people couldn't distinguish I.V. cocaine from I.V. caffeine in some study I am unable to locate at the moment, which I think involved Nora Volkow from NIH, either as PI or collaborator. All this tells me is that I'm clearly consuming caffeine incorrectly in the form of coffee and/or tea.

I quit caffeine about 8 years, only having a white tea on occasions. But I love a cup of decaf every so often. One day at work, one of my coworkers swapped the decaf pot with the regular pot and I drank a 16oz mug before I realized what was going on.

I was absolutely lit up and it was an incredible experience. I felt utterly amazing. Like I could take on the world. I had a hard time focusing at work, because I just wanted to be talking to people (not an extrovert) or going for a 10 mile run.

I can't compare it to cocaine, because I've never tried it, but I'm guessing the reason for your perception of it is because of your tolerance to caffeine.

Re: An Experience with Modafinil

#218
post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Caffeine seems to stack with every stimulant. In my experience, in a way that isn’t really nice.

It makes a great stack with a sativa however. The hippy speedball.

Of all stimulants, caffeine must be the worst one to combine with THC. Proper stimulants like amphetamine or methylphenidate on the other hand... A word of warning though, it's much more dangerous and my normal Wednesday (1/8oz weed and 40mg mph) can be your psychosis.

Re: An Experience with Modafinil

#219
Modafinil is great while you use it for some specific situations, but it’s a bad idea to take one everyday. From my experience, doing even half dosage everyday made my body feel sick, my muscles were tense all day and overly exhausted. There are other drugs that are way better than modafinil.

Re: An Experience with Modafinil

#220
post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Caffeine would be illegal to possess, if it were invented yesterday. 80% of people couldn't distinguish I.V. cocaine from I.V. caffeine in some study I am unable to locate at the moment, which I think involved Nora Volkow from NIH, either as PI or collaborator.

> 80% of people couldn't distinguish I.V. cocaine from I.V. caffeine in some study I am unable to locate at the moment, which I think involved Nora Volkow from NIH, either as PI or collaborator. All this tells me is that I'm clearly consuming caffeine incorrectly in the form of coffee and/or tea.

Or, and hear me out, people outside of cocaine's traditional region are using it wrong.

The past being a different country, I was fortunate in the early Noughts to be able to purchase Bolivian coca tea bags from an early online drug dealer called Amazon dot com.

They were a fantastic addition to the tea shelf. I would favor a cup of the coca tea when energy was low going into an evening with social plans. Even, bright energy, short acting (duration is two hours roughly) barely feel it fading.

How does that compare to refined cocaine taken intranasally? Remarkably, I can't tell you, I don't touch the stuff. Sure wish I could still buy mate de coca though.

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