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Modafinil (wikipedia.org)
17 points by old-gregg on July 17, 2010 | hide | past | favorite | 23 comments



More YMMV - It helps with focus, but messes with my empathy.


How Many Silicon Valley Startup Executives Are Hopped Up On Provigil? http://techcrunch.com/2008/07/15/how-many-of-our-startup-exe...

EDIT: In fact, that was linked to here way earlier and here's the discussion: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=246464


I would be interested in finding out why you guys actually take this stuff. Do you need it due to medical need or because of something else?


YMMV. I was once prescribed Modafinil by a doctor for excessive daytime sleepiness, and it didn't even help much for that... On the other hand I wasn't prescribed the dosages that seem to work so well for the US military.


Actually, I'm looking for a legal and safe drug with the opposite effect: to fall asleep quicker. I waste about an hour every night just waiting, it irritates me that so much time is spent just staring at the ceiling...


Any of these should work:

-1-2mg of melatonin 5 hours before you go to sleep.

-Kava Kava Root. Similar effects to benzos without nearly as impaired concentration. Can chew it, buy or make tea, or buy extract capsules

-Chamomile Tea.

-Take extra zinc and magnesium at night


Melatonin and dim lights (no laptop, tv or cell phone) for about an hour works for me. Also, try waking up earlier. I used to have your problem, but now I regularly fall asleep in 10-15 minutes after going to bed.


How do you get Modafinil?


Present to your doctor with symptoms associated with narcolepsy or order it online (or, as I saw on one discussion, tell your doctor you want to buy it online anyway and they might prescribe it to you if they're particularly anti online pharmacy).

As far as I know, buying it online in the US without a prescription, even if it comes from overseas, is illegal. This is not true everywhere though (the UK, for example.)


Prescription, or order generics from overseas (Google for Modalert, Airsealed is reputable and fast).


Looks like a lot of these get shipped from India. I've heard concerns about the quality of drugs shipped over the internet specifically originating from there. Should I be worried?


seconded for Airsealed. I ordered from them a year ago and the service was great and I could not detect any difference between their generic (Modalert) and Provigil.

As others have mentioned your mileage may vary. I used it for about 6 months during crunch development periods or when I felt I needed a bit more focus and it definitely helped me get through those times. I stopped using it because I felt out of touch with my team members when I was on it and I had started to experience a deeply unpleasant metallic taste in my mouth just after taking it.


I asked my doctor for a Modafinil prescription. She refused, but gave me a free one-week sample of Nuvigil instead. It was great. I made the sample last for months by taking a half pill only when I felt I needed it.


If you're a fan of that, try adderall...


Yes, if you are willing to deal with the addiction. I've used modafinil from an indian pharmacy for a couple years now and it works great -- the biggest problem is that I just forget to take it.


Personal ranking in order of both effectiveness and least physical-harm\withdrawal:

2,5-dimethoxy-4-iodophenethylamine > 2-DPMP > Modafinil > Adderall


Somehow the thought of close air support pilots on 2C-I does not fill me with confidence.

What dosages are you talking about? 2-5mg? 10-25mg?


Am I tripping balls or did you just suggest a 2C compound for improving cognition?


There's been some discussion about using subthreshold doses of LSD to improve cognition, maybe the same theory can hold for a small dose of 2C(under 5mg).


2C-D actually was alleged in PIHKAL to be cognition-enhancing in sub-5mg doses.


What do these do? You just stay alert and don't feel sleepy for a while? I've read the article but I'd like to hear some personal perspective...


Adderall is mix of a couple amphetamines with slightly different half-lifes (so the come-up\crash is smoother). Amphetamine is basically the classic stimulant to which all others are compared. It is extremely common in competitive universities in the U.S. where many students use it to cram\finish papers. If you take it everyday, you will be very motivated and feel great for ~1 month, after which you are back to baseline concentration levels when on it until you take a break for a week. Amphetamine depletes magnesium and increases muscle tension. I personally find it only increases my efficiency on very repetitive tasks such as cleaning or doing laundry and hinders creative work by causing too much hyperfocus. I would not recommend it and think there are much better alternatives but your mileage may vary.


Do you have a prescription? Or how do you get it?




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