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Modafinil and Startups

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Re: Modafinil and Startups

#121

Post by gwern »

tricolon wrote: post #117
gwern wrote: post #105

Hm, didn't expect to see this on Hacker News. Better copy over my comment from Reddit http://www.reddit.com/r/Nootropics/comments/q878x/modafinil_... : > Sure, you won't find studies of people who fried their neurons by using Modafinil for 10 years in a row, but that's because Modafinil isn't that old yet. Actually, it is. Even ignoring all the animal and French experiments etc, Cephalon got FDA approval and started…

> This is why blogs with no comments annoy me - how is the author supposed to find out that he made an obvious mistake? Email? His site-wide byline is a mailto.

Yes, so I can email him and hope he will update or edit or admit he's wrong, and also accept that by the time he does so most readers will be gone - rather than post a public comment he would specifically have to censor, and my correction be visible in time for most readers to see if they care to.

I hope you can see why I would regard one alternative as way better than the other.

Re: Modafinil and Startups

#122

Post by gwern »

randallsquared wrote: post #119
gwern wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or you could drink tea, which is tasty, and then you also get both caffeine and theanine.

Except that tea tastes terrible, and adding creamer and saccharine doesn't improve it as much as it does coffee. ;)

Creamer? You must be some sort of godforsaken English tea drinker - if you have good green or oolong tea, you don't need to adulterate it with anything.

Re: Modafinil and Startups

#123

Post by warfangle »

jdunck wrote: post #116
DEinspanjer wrote: post #43

I have taken 200mg of Modafinil daily for more than 5 years. Before it, I could go to sleep just about anywhere and just about any time. I could easily sleep for 12 to 14 hours a day if I let myself. When I had a work commute of about an hour and a half, I would have to pull over, sometimes four or five times, during the afternoon drive home to take cat naps because I couldn't keep my eyes open. It didn't matter how…

From as early as I can remember until about 14, I was a dangerously deep sleeper. I only sleep-walked a couple times, but there were times when I had extended, apparently-waking conversations with people, then had no recollection of them. I could sleep through people talking, bouncing on the bed next to me, the TV, people clapping, etc. I would fall asleep any time I was not actively doing something. Sitting in class…

You should probably get a sleep study done.

Re: Modafinil and Startups

#124

Post by robbles »

Seems like there's a lot of consensus here that Modafinil has no known dangerous side effects. I'm a little curious and concerned about the potentially fatal skin conditions (SJS, etc.) mentioned in the wikipedia article though:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modafinil#Side_effects

Anyone know about this? Is this a race-specific problem? Or just not as dangerous a risk as it sounds?

Re: Modafinil and Startups

#126

Post by jcampbell1 »

jerf wrote: post #88
jcampbell1 wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Contrary to what some doctors tell you, it is really hard to fix a Vitamin D deficiency with dietary supplements. Go to a tanning salon and get 250,000IUs in 10 minutes. Of course this is going to be a bit weird if you are naturally dark skinned, but far more effective than taking pills.

Citation? I ask because I'm interested in making sure I'm healthy, not to just be a jerk on the internet, and if that's true I'm doing something wrong.

No citations exist. My comment was directed at the grandparent whose original symptoms warranted taking dangerous MAOIs. In that case, I would consider an off literature treatment to fix the vitamin D deficiency as fast as possible. Tanning beds are carcinogenic and not recommended for general health.

Re: Modafinil and Startups

#127

Post by cypherpunks01 »

tene wrote: post #68

It's worth noting that not everyone responds to modafinil. If you've had genetic sequencing done (I had mine done by 23andme), you can predict your response by checking your Rs4680 status. http://www.snpedia.com/index.php/Rs4680 rs4680(G;G) carriers deprived of sleep respond quite well to 2x 100mg modafinil in terms of improved vigor and well-being, and maintained baseline performance with respect to executive functi…

I'm A;G - anyone know what that might mean? Any idea why that genotype wasn't in the study?

Re: Modafinil and Startups

#128

Post by j_s »

jerf wrote: post #88
jcampbell1 wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Contrary to what some doctors tell you, it is really hard to fix a Vitamin D deficiency with dietary supplements. Go to a tanning salon and get 250,000IUs in 10 minutes. Of course this is going to be a bit weird if you are naturally dark skinned, but far more effective than taking pills.

Citation? I ask because I'm interested in making sure I'm healthy, not to just be a jerk on the internet, and if that's true I'm doing something wrong.

Steve Gibson is digging into Vitamin D:

http://www.grc.com/health/vitamin-d.htm

Re: Modafinil and Startups

#129

Post by peterarmstrong »

amirf wrote: post #35

The music also made a big difference. Listening to Infected Mushroom while high on Modafinil and coding up a storm made me feel like I was some kind of insane coding machine that could complete pretty much any coding task in record time. Hilarious :) On a more serious note - this sounds a lot like taking Ritalin. I was just as productive if I was well rested, ...and working on something I cared about. - this isn't al…

I'm glad someone else noticed the mention of Infected Mushroom. I had many good (no Modafinil, just caffeine) coding binges listening to it years ago. After a while it gets too much and you move on to Oakenfold mixes, Daft Punks' Alive 2007, etc, but if you've never coded to Infected Mushroom's Classical Mushroom you need to try it...

Re: Modafinil and Startups

#130

Post by DEinspanjer »

tene wrote: post #114
DEinspanjer wrote: post #43

I have taken 200mg of Modafinil daily for more than 5 years. Before it, I could go to sleep just about anywhere and just about any time. I could easily sleep for 12 to 14 hours a day if I let myself. When I had a work commute of about an hour and a half, I would have to pull over, sometimes four or five times, during the afternoon drive home to take cat naps because I couldn't keep my eyes open. It didn't matter how…

Your symptoms sound very similar to mine. I eventually had a large vitamin, neurotransmitter, hormone, and adrenal panel done, including saliva and urine samples throughout the day, and blood of course. I was severely deficient in vitamin D, very low cortisol, and notably low B12. Since starting to address these issues, my life has improved significantly. If you haven't had similar tests done, I encourage you to do s…

I've had normal blood work and an adrenal panel. Don't know about the more advanced stuff you are talking about. I'll bring it up with my doctor, and I thank you for the advice.
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