Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

An Experience with Modafinil

erowid.org

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

261–270 of 363 posts

Re: An Experience with Modafinil

#261

Post by ianbutler »

PragmaticPulp wrote: post #103
ianbutler wrote: post #67

A friend of mine has used this before and they did alternating low ~30mg doses that same someone had previously used a similar dose Adderall in highschool and early college and preferred the feeling of Modafinil. They told me they had read multiple studies before hand as well as personal accounts (such as from the venerable https://www.gwern.net/ ). That person told me that the feeling was less intense but enough to…

> They also told me that one time they had done multiple consecutive doses and the come down depressive like symptoms were just as bad as the same symptoms from coming off consecutive doses of Adderall. Modafinil may be milder than traditional stimulants in some ways, but that doesn’t make it free of downsides or side effects. It actually has substantial effects on dopaminergic systems, despite having other additiona…

Yup, definitely that's why they had read a lot of studies first and figured out the mechanism of action is largely the same to other stimulants and moved to a much lower dosage and larger spacing when they take it. You can do a lot of damage if you're not careful. The gentleness is definitely overstated.

Re: An Experience with Modafinil

#262

Post by xboxnolifes »

pfortuny wrote: post #152
xboxnolifes wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

School is just a part of life, and life has limited resources. There will always be winners and losers. At least, until (and if) we reach a point where the total sum of resources exceeds the total demand for them.

Is the score what makes a student a winner, though? That is what parents have to learn to curb.

The score is supposed to be representative of your knowledge in a subject. And the entire point of going to school is to become more knowledgeable in a subject so you can apply it somewhere in your life.

If the score was not an indicator, then it serves no purpose.

Re: An Experience with Modafinil

#263

Post by RankingMember »

oceanghost wrote: post #85
nojs wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I stayed up for finals for a week straight with maybe 2 hours of sleep total I’m confused when I read anecdotes like this. Are you staying you literally slept for 2 hours over the course of 7 days, averaging 17 minutes of sleep per night for a week? I think that’s very unlikely!

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…

> You physically cannot sleep on these drugs without something like clonazepam.

Please tell my brain this. Around 50% of the time my ADHD meds (Adderall) make me sleepy because, for once, my brain is calm and focused and it's a very relaxing experience as opposed to my typical state.

Re: An Experience with Modafinil

#264

Post by kortex »

bserge wrote: post #190
throwawayHN378 wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As someone who has done a lot of IV cocaine and coffee I find this hard to believe. IV cocaine is one of the most euphoric highs in the world

I've had cocaine a few times now and while everyone is saying it's euphoric, I keep saying it's the most normal I've ever felt. Not "euphoric", I've done other stuff that felt suuuuper good (in an actual euphoria sense) so I believe can compare. But normal . The cloud of thoughts gone, I am able to make myself do anything with one thought, I have energy, the aches are gone, the tinnitus is gone, I don't second guess,…

> But normal. The cloud of thoughts gone, I am able to make myself do anything with one thought, I have energy, the aches are gone, the tinnitus is gone, I don't second guess, I don't overthink. I just am and I do. It's amazing.

Have you been evaluated for ADHD? This is one of the classic tells. Methylphenidate is structurally and chemically very similar to cocaine.

Vyvanse is definitely the best when it comes to duration and classical stimulants. Modafinil has even longer duration, but it isn't always as effective at targeting ADHD symptoms. Vyvanse is kind of stupid expensive, but you can get a savings card. It would be $330 for me even with a good Rx plan, and the card knocks it down to $45/month. Sounds like you would also respond well to Concerta (extended release methylphenidate). I don't like it because I apparently have the metabolism of a honeybadger and get like 4-6h of otherwise "all day" meds like concerta. I have to split my vyvanse and take it in two doses to get a full day.

> This is what people like Bezos and Musk must be like

My headcannon is both these guys are ADHD and/or on the spectrum, have a doctor's script for vyvanse, adderall, modafinil, and/or whatever else, and have figured out how to ride the tolerance curve properly to maximize productivity.

Re: An Experience with Modafinil

#265

Post by Malp »

Dma54rhs wrote: post #175
bloqs wrote: post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

Can you share a bit more information?

Stevens-Johnson Syndrome is a known side-effect for some people taking Modafinil

Re: An Experience with Modafinil

#266

Post by bri3d »

inter_netuser wrote: post #118
cjohnson318 wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Shooting in the dark here, but I imagine dose size is an important variable in a study like this. At 500mg, I'm pretty sure a member of the LDS* could tell the difference between coffee and cocaine. [*] I'm only calling out the LDS community here because they don't consume coffee, or cocaine, generally speaking.

ever heard of the mormon tea? They just drink ephedrine instead of caffeine.

Mormon tea / ephedrine is not commonly consumed and as far as I know it isn't consumed at all by LDS faithful. It's just a silly colloquial name for a plant.

But, due to a lot of retroactive canon gymnastics, cold caffeinated beverages like soda are consumed in great quantities by Mormons. Actually, under the latest "official" stance, tea made from the "mormon tea" plant would actually be banned, as it's a "hot beverage" with mental effects.

Re: An Experience with Modafinil

#267

Post by dpark »

bryanrasmussen wrote: post #202
pengaru wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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 have a friend who can't stand the taste of coffee but of course likes caffeine as do we all, and had to import it via mail drop to Denmark in order to get his espresso-equivalent shot in the morning.

Import what? Caffeine? Where do you live? I just assumed you could buy that anywhere.

I can’t imagine buying caffeine for its own sake. The effects aren’t good enough. If I didn’t drink coffee/tea I just wouldn’t get any caffeine.

Re: An Experience with Modafinil

#268

Post by mdorazio »

burner556 wrote: post #19

My experience is that it keeps you wide awake for a very long time. Highly potent. Absolutely no focusing activity for me like dextroamphetamine / amphetamine / methamphetamine. As a result ADHD treatment value is low. Gave me some nasty joint swelling rather quickly so had to stop using it. If I were to market it I’d call it “clean coffee”

Same experience for me as well - fantastic if I'm extremely tired and need to be awake and semi-productive for an entire day, but does basically nothing for focus. Not even remotely comparable to Adderall. Also like others have mentioned, you need to be careful about when you take it (as soon as you wake up if you want to not sleep like shit at a normal bed time), and if you take it for more than a couple days the come-down can be rough.

Re: An Experience with Modafinil

#269

Post by nfw2 »

Modafinil had only major flaw in my experience, but it was significant enough for me to stop taking it; it made it very difficult to stick to a 24-hour circadian rhythm.

To illustrate, if I got a full night sleep, then took modafinil, I would be up for easily 18 hours without feeling any urge to sleep...which seems great until it's 5am, and you need to be at work again in 4 hours.

The apparent solution to the problem is just take modafinil again in the morning. This worked for a while, but there's a limit to how much modafinil can cover a sleep debt. While modafinil had a strong effect preventing the symptoms of sleep deprivation, it had an even stronger effect blocking the capacity to sleep. Modafinil can lead to a very strange and unpleasant feeling of desperately needing to sleep and not being able to.

Re: An Experience with Modafinil

#270

Post by cecilpl2 »

sauwan wrote: post #217
pengaru wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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 w…

> 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

Sounds like you just did.

Post reply on HN