Modafinil, benzos and related drugs

[ponch]

I'm thinking about trying out modafinil as I currently do shift work and seem to be constantly so tired I feel like ive been punched in the face, even after a lengthy sleep. After doing a little research it seems modafinil negates the effects of benzos which could pose a problem. I'm quite willing to give it a try (already have some on the way) but I was just wondering if anyone else has had experience of using this with benzos or if there are any other similar medications out there that would do the job and would not affect GABA.

Cheers

 

[specialspack]

Are you taking benzos daily?

 

[ponch]

I don't take benzos daily, but there would be an overlap at some stage during the week.

 

[Ismene]

Have you seen the price of modafinil? Unless you're a relative of Bernie Eccelstone you're going to have problems buying much.

You could go for the "indian" modafinil but having tried it, I wouldn't bother. Just seems to give you nausea and a headache and makes you fall asleep rather than help you stay awake.

Modafinil only works for 3 or 4 days in a row too - after that it's pretty much useless till your tolerance goes down. Caffeine tablets are probably as good.

 

[ponch]

I'd probably only be using it 2 days on 5 days off in most cases. I mainly started the thread to find out if there was anything thing else out there that is used for similar applications. Besides adrafinil and armodafinil i've not really managed to turn up anything useful.

 

[Munroe]

I get my modafinil for dirt cheap *-snip-*. modalert.
I did find they very much negate the effects of benzos.

Took 200mg of modafinil at around 11am then come 9pm I decided to try some valium, got up to 60mg and 2 cans of beer with no tolerance and didnt feel much at all.

Its something to with modafinil decreasing GABA and benzos enhancing it.


EDIT:

@ismene, i've gone with both, got a shite load of 200mg Caffeine tablets for between £5-£7. In terms of caffeine vs modafinil I'd opt for modafinil every time. I have no trouble sleeping on modafinil and the side effects (though negligible for both (for me at least) seemed lesser with modafinil).

This might just be me though.

 

[Ismene]

Have you tried any other kind of modafinil tho Monroe? The indian modalert feels quite a bit different to the other stuff.

 

[ponch]

I've got a 10 strip of generics. If they are no good Methylphenidate might be worth a go.

 

[Danny Weed]

My grandma just got prescribed modafinil but she doesnt like the effects. Is there a decent buzz to be had? might try a bit later.

 

[jancrow]

There's definitely not a decent buzz or anything like one to be had from any of the varieties of modafinil out there, it's stunningly unrecreational ime.

It can be useful as a low key mood brightener and to keep you awake and focused-ish but it's no methylphenidate. It doesn't really give you motivation and it's quite easy to overlook what you're trying to get done and microfocus on something utterly fucking stupid and unrelated to the task in hand for 10+ hours.

And as Ismene says there is a huge gulf between the branded product and the generics. I had nausea and headaches the first few times I tried the generics but subsequently this wasn't an issue. They still don't have as good an effect (for what it is) as the very pricey branded products.

 

[Ismene]

I found the indian generics actually made me sleepier. Fuck knows what formula they're using out there in Bombay.

 

[watsons torment]

i've only tried the cheap generic Bombay mix variety and i also found them to be a crock of shit, i did not feel sleepier like ismene.. i was more alert and awake but it left me unable to focus and write code, which is not great for a computer programmer.

I did it for a week and then went back drinking 10+ cups of coffee per working day.

did not realize there was such a gap in generic/brand modafinil as i've never noticed this with any other pharmaceuticals

 

[Ismene]

Yeah, the indians are cooking up their own formula by the look if it. They seem to work a bit better if you chew them rather than just swallow them. Perhaps they've put a time-release coating on them? Or are they just bunk? There's definately a big difference in the indian shit and the real stuff that costs more.

 

[Munroe]

I've never tried any brand other than modalert, might have to "splash out" on some other brand to compare.

Wikipedia reckons the half-life of modafinil is 15hours, does this mean I should leave it a good few days before taking benzos to get full effects?

 

[jancrow]

I did some reading in a few places and it seems as though the effects can vary for individuals from day to day regardless of tolerance or lack thereof, which muddies the water of the generics vs provigil debate. There's some speculation among modafinil nerds that the generics contain active impurities or are a shitty cheapo synth.

Some people find that this stuff does not go well with caffeine- when I combined it with my usual caffeine intake my brain just wouldn't sit still for an instant, it was incredibly annoying, had to crack open the beer at about 2.00pm which is something I never do just to calm the thing down to the point where it could hold a thought for longer than half a second. If I'm on it now I can have one or two cups of tea max before the sound of fizzing, looping thoughts drowns everything else out. (BTW this is mainly aimed at Watson - did you take caffeine alongside it?)

Yeah, the indians are cooking up their own formula by the look if it. They seem to work a bit better if you chew them rather than just swallow them. Perhaps they've put a time-release coating on them? Or are they just bunk? There's definately a big difference in the indian shit and the real stuff that costs £100 for 30.

When did you have these? Was it Modalert? Modalert was apparently originally a time release formula, although the ones I have are just shitty white tablets without any tricknological coating.

 

[Ismene]

Yeah modalert from a friendly chap in Hong Kong. At first I thought I'd found the motherlode, after paying *-snip-* I paid something like *-snip-* but when you took em you noticed the difference instantly. Headache, nausea, nothing like the French modafinil.

 

[jancrow]

Would the French one be Cephalon?

What was the 'good' modafinil like? Did it live up to any of the insane hype?

 

[Ismene]

Not sure, the brand name is Modiodal.

It does the trick, keeps you awake if you take enough of it and no headaches or nausea. It does stop working after 3 or 4 days tho. Obviously the sticking point is the *-snip-* tablets it isn't something you can use casually. Especially when your tolerance goes up a bit and you start needing 3 or 4 to keep you awake. You could hire someone to sit beside you and tickle you whenever you started nodding off at that price.

Best idea might be to go straight to a Korean or Chinese chemical company and ask them to knock some up for you. Seen one offering *-snip-*. Dunno whether it's the fucking modalert formula tho...

 

[ponch]

Sounds like i've ordered a 10 strip of headache :D

I can more than likely get a methylphenidate SR script which is probably a lot better for my needs as I can't afford to pay *-snip-* modafinil. Silly expensive.

Some interesting information in this thread. I've never heard of generics being so poor compared to branded pharma.

 

[Ismene]

Yeah it's strange - generics are usually fine. The difference was very noticeable tho - it does sort of keep you awake if you eat enough of it and make sure you chew it rather than just swallow it but you get a wicked fucking headache and nausea which I never get on real modafinil.

Dunno if the guy in Bombay didn't wash his hands after going for a shit or what.