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An Experience with Modafinil

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Re: An Experience with Modafinil

#301
post #282

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The only thing that bothers me about nootropics is that so much of the conversation is about productivity . What a weird thing to focus on, especially when we're talking about un-researched brain chemistry impacts. The best combination I found was magnesium, ashwaganda, and green tea extract. It caused massively vivid, lucid dreams. I've never had more fun sleeping, and my sleep health was never better. It had nothin…

Don’t tease us, what’s the precise recipe for “The Waking Life”? (There, I just named your cocktail for you)

500mg magnesium, 450-900 mg ashwaganda, 400mg green tea extract (or 400mg L-theanine) about an hour before bed.

It took about two weeks of consistently taking it at the same time with the same bedtime (or as close as possible) to get the dreams going.

That being said, legit it is like living two lives, for me. You get the boring daytime life, then you can fly and turn into a horse and shoot lasers and just generally fuck shit up however you want at night. Super cool.

Re: An Experience with Modafinil

#302
post #243
post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You remember the topic and the name of the PI but still can’t find this study? I am relatively certain that’s because it does not exist. The idea that caffeine is comparable to cocaine is pretty nuts. People murder to get cocaine. When’s the last time anyone murdered for Starbucks? I can totally believe that if you give someone who’s never done drugs a high dose of caffeine and tell them it’s cocaine, they might beli…

I've heard this argument in response to sugar. Sugar can't be as addictive as heroin! People give blowjobs to get more heroin, no one gives a blowjob for a chocolate bar. But that has nothing to do with addictiveness. I don't need to murder someone for coffee or provide oral sex for a snickers, because I can easily get those things anywhere, anyway

Pretty sure that sugar is not as addictive as heroin. Heroin users can literally die from withdrawal.

Re: An Experience with Modafinil

#303
post #269

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…

Some people try taking a smaller dose to shorten the duration of action

Like most drugs, finding and sticking to the right dose is made more difficult by ever-increasing tolerance.

I'm not saying there's no way around the insomnia problem with proper planning and self-control, but for me the easiest solution was just stop taking it.

Re: An Experience with Modafinil

#305

Earlier quoted context omitted.

dosing usually would be dialed-in to provide roughly identical autonomic effects (at least) and then graded increased doses. otherwise it would be a pointless study. here is a very old one, but oral not i.v.: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/4900434/ 5mg/10mg amphetamine sulphate vs 300mg and 600mg of caffeine (all oral). The study scales ended up being skewed because one subject had paradoxical response and felt rela…

>The study scales ended up being skewed because one subject had paradoxical response and felt relaxed instead on amphetamines, lol. That happens to me and I want to research what it means but your link doesnt seem to work

It’s an old study, from 60s. No OCR. You can get the full text from other sources but it will be useless for your purposes, they don’t spend any time on that at all.

Being calm and relaxed on amphetamines can potentially mean there is some arousal disorder: sleep apnea, narcolepsy, delayed sleep syndrome, or just chronic sleep deficit. Maybe concussions (mild TBI), amphetamines work for that too.

ADHD is most likely because it’s so common, with sleep apnea being close second. I would rule out ADHD and sleep disorders first.

Potentially also, UARS, which is also form of sleep disordered breathing but not commonly detected with current technology (and also not easy to treat), some physicians do a full nasopharyngeal endoscopy under propofol anesthesia. I believe it’s incredibly undiagnosed and probably accounts for more than 10% of apnea cases, but most patients are thin instead of obese and so nobody suspects apnea-like disorder. If you needed braces or needed corrective jaw surgery UARS should be ruled out.

ADHD can be somewhat objectively measured with some tests like CPT, but that would also show abnormalities in sleep disorders.

If your measures of attention, and sleep study, along with wakefulness maintenance test, if warranted, are all normal, and your blood pressure is normal - maybe you are just a mutant.

See a good neuropsych that specializes in sleep disorders. Stanford is one of the better centres for that.

Re: An Experience with Modafinil

#306
post #231

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yup. I have a prescription for modafinil, but I only use it when desperate times call for desperate measures. (Like having to lead a session but I'm having a terrible pain day). I know whenever I use it I'm going to pay for it later.

The "knowing" may possibly be creating the result you observe.

Actually, given my first few doses always feel great, it probably isn't nocebo. If anything, perhaps the initial 'good' dose might be placebo (placebic?) in nature.

Re: An Experience with Modafinil

#307
post #245

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Asking as a layman: What's the current understanding as to why modafinil and stimulants affect different people so differently?

I've found that the people who say Modafinil does nothing for them are people experienced with high powered stimulants who are expecting the same kick. This is mostly due to a misunderstanding of what the drug actually does. Modafinil is a "wakefulness" drug. My favorite comparison is the feeling that you get when you have to pee in the middle of the night, and your body sends out that hormone to wake you up. Modfani…

> My favorite comparison is the feeling that you get when you have to pee in the middle of the night, and your body sends out that hormone to wake you up.

Really? I had no idea! Thanks for teaching me something new.

Re: An Experience with Modafinil

#308
post #190

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,…

Being calm and relaxed on stimulants can potentially mean there is some arousal disorder: sleep apnea, narcolepsy, delayed sleep syndrome, or just chronic sleep deficit. Maybe concussions (mild TBI), amphetamines work for that too. Even depression is possible.

ADHD is just most likely because it’s so common, with sleep apnea being close second. I would rule out ADHD and sleep disorders first.

Potentially also, UARS, which is also form of sleep disordered breathing but not commonly detected with current technology (and also not easy to treat), some physicians do a full nasopharyngeal endoscopy under propofol anesthesia. I believe it’s incredibly undiagnosed and probably accounts for more than 10% of apnea cases, but most patients are thin instead of obese and so nobody suspects apnea-like disorder. If you needed braces or needed corrective jaw surgery UARS should be ruled out.

ADHD can be somewhat objectively measured with some tests like CPT, but that would also often show abnormalities in sleep disorders.

If your measures of attention, and sleep study, along with wakefulness maintenance test, if warranted, are all normal, and your pulse and blood pressure is normal, and by normal I mean very close to ideal 120/80, with hr below 70 - maybe you are just a mutant.

See a good neuropsych that specializes in sleep disorders. Stanford is one of the better centres for that. They will know what to do if it’s not a sleep issue also.

dx of ADHD and good response do not preclude the possibility of other disorders.

you can obtain treatment that way, and investigate other causes later, you may have to wash out from stimulants for a few weeks for the CPT and WMT, and preferably for sleep studies also, because they increase muscle tone and if your sleep issue is due to some neuromuscular issue, stimulants may partially obscure it. (This is still in research, and most physicians won’t tell you this, as it’s not yet standard of care in most places afaik)

Re: An Experience with Modafinil

#309
post #267

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

As I heard it from him, although I haven't tried anything personally, in Denmark there are some restrictions about importing liquid caffeine, he hates to drink coffee and also soft drinks, but getting caffeine from bubble gum does not provide the same level of caffeine and the water with caffeine drinks you import do not have as high a level of caffeine as soft drinks for some reason so he had to import his own and m…

Ah, I misread. I thought you said import from Denmark. Can you not buy caffeine pills in Denmark? A quick search gives conflicting info.

I don’t know what I would even do with liquid caffeine. But again, I don’t want caffeine badly enough to be looking for alternative ways to get it.

Re: An Experience with Modafinil

#310
post #293

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I had a friend that liked the effects of Modafinil, but would complain of bad headaches every time they took some. Even less than 1 quarter of tablet would be enough to produce the bad effects. Is that something that happens just to some people or is there a way to avoid the headaches? I'm curious about trying, but since I used to suffer migraines (not anymore fortunately) I am worried that I will have headaches or t…

I suspect that his headaches might have been due to dehydration - Modafinil does indeed make me pee a little bit more/more often, but since I am drinking water constantly I don't consider this a negative side effect and I also don't suffer consequences such as headaches. But I am fortunately healthy, fit and relatively young (30) and only very rarely suffer headaches. Before I decided to use Modafinil I did research…

I'm also a frequent modafinil user (maybe 4/7 days a week) and luckily haven't experienced side effects. I also drink tons of water throughout the day so that could definitely be a factor.
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