Misc Modafinil safety

[xannyhead]

Long story short, I need to read a 400 page book in 1 week, so my friend, who is diagnosed with ADHD, landed me 6 200mg modafinil pills, and I was wondering if there is any risk in taking 100mg everyday I start to read the book (60 pages a day), and if there would be any sort of withdraw from quitting this 1 week use cold turkey?

 

[d1nach]

https://www.drugs.com/sfx/modafinil-side-effects.html#for-professionals

If u scroll down you get side effects with percentages so that should give you a good idea.

I take modafinil everyday and ive forgot to go to pharmacy and gone a day without it and nothing really happened. But idk im not a doctor and everyones different maybe i couldnt tell because i was also on adderall and caffeine.

 

[Jekyl Anhydride]

While Modafinil is much safer than most other stims it is an inducer of CYP450 3A4 which means that it reduces the efficacy of other drugs like Oxycodone, Hydrocodone, Benzodiazepines, etc. It also has effects on hormonal birth control, even weeks after discontinuation. But as for safety alone the only real issues are some skin reactions and hypersensitivity to modafinal itself, both of which would present very quickly after a test dose. The US Air Force has switched over to it from DexAmp and the abuse liability is considered non existent at normal doses.

The mechanism of action is kinda interesting though as it works at the same site as cocaine, though in a different manner.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23933217

 

[xannyhead]

While Modafinil is much safer than most other stims it is an inducer of CYP450 3A4 which means that it reduces the efficacy of other drugs like Oxycodone, Hydrocodone, Benzodiazepines, etc. It also has effects on hormonal birth control, even weeks after discontinuation. But as for safety alone the only real issues are some skin reactions and hypersensitivity to modafinal itself, both of which would present very quickly after a test dose. The US Air Force has switched over to it from DexAmp and the abuse liability is considered non existent at normal doses.

The mechanism of action is kinda interesting though as it works at the same site as cocaine, though in a different manner.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23933217

So that means that a xanax bar would get me less high than it usually does if I use modafinil every day of the previous week?

 

[MrRoot]

WTF? Who really needs stims to read just 400 pages? I read that much during a single day and without stimulants.

 

[Jekyl Anhydride]

So that means that a xanax bar would get me less high than it usually does if I use modafinil every day of the previous week?

Within a couple days... probably , yes. But I don't think the Cytochrome CYP 3A4 induction lasts for more than that. The alprazolam would still work, just for not as long as the metabolism is sped up.

 

[mostly-human]

WTF? Who really needs stims to read just 400 pages? I read that much during a single day and without stimulants.

Probably someone with poorer literacy than you. Also - to give the benefit of the doubt, don't take it for granted that you had access to education. Some people for various reasons may not have had the same opportunities.

 

[dudunabo2002]

modafinil safety

I have to study to some exams and my friend, who is prescribed 200mg modafinil, gave me 2 pills, and I intend to take 100mg at a time. Can this 4 time use cause any type of withdrawal or iq reduction?



edit: im 16

 

[MrRoot]

Well you don't need stims for studying (unless you have adhd/add).

You may think you are doing better at the task you are doing but instead you are doing worse while using stims.

My fiancee for example used amphetamine some times when she thought she needed to clean the house properly but instead of cleaning she starts tweaking and tries to put some magazines and ads to garbage bin but ends up looking at every magazine and ad thoroughly before putting them to the bin and after few hours she has done an errand that would have taken one minute.

Also stims don't cause withdrawals unless you think the crash as withdrawals.

And well IMO non abusive use of drugs don't itself cause any IQ loss unless you use too much downers and stop breathing which causes lack of oxygen to your brains and you'll eventually die from it unless someone helps you out.

Of course there are neurotoxic drugs but if the use is responsible there won't be any serious effects and brains are known for flexibility.

My concern is that you are too young to use drugs as your brains are still developing and it happens until you are in mid-twenties so it would be just plain stupid to alter that process with chemicals that don't naturally occur in the brain.

If your brains have got used while developing to levels of dopamine and other neurotransmitters that doesn't exist naturally you will have very hard time as an adult trying to cope without drugs than a person who started using drugs as an adult.

 

[dudunabo2002]

Well you don't need stims for studying (unless you have adhd/add).

You may think you are doing better at the task you are doing but instead you are doing worse while using stims.

My fiancee for example used amphetamine some times when she thought she needed to clean the house properly but instead of cleaning she starts tweaking and tries to put some magazines and ads to garbage bin but ends up looking at every magazine and ad thoroughly before putting them to the bin and after few hours she has done an errand that would have taken one minute.

Also stims don't cause withdrawals unless you think the crash as withdrawals.

And well IMO non abusive use of drugs don't itself cause any IQ loss unless you use too much downers and stop breathing which causes lack of oxygen to your brains and you'll eventually die from it unless someone helps you out.

Of course there are neurotoxic drugs but if the use is responsible there won't be any serious effects and brains are known for flexibility.

My concern is that you are too young to use drugs as your brains are still developing and it happens until you are in mid-twenties so it would be just plain stupid to alter that process with chemicals that don't naturally occur in the brain.

If your brains have got used while developing to levels of dopamine and other neurotransmitters that doesn't exist naturally you will have very hard time as an adult trying to cope without drugs than a person who started using drugs as an adult.

I have a friend that also isnt prescribed modafinil and he used it for his finals and did very well with no withdrawal or nothing. Do you think it can be beneficial to me to use modafinil at any point? Im just worried about my IQ tbh and btw ty for the answer

 

[d1nach]

If your friend is so concerned about hos grades that he will go out of his way to find and pay for a drug illicitly to enhance his performance or study longer he probably would of done very well even without modafinil

One of the few thing i learned in highschool was in ap stats and Correlation does not equal causation

Basically Just because he took modafinil and did very well does not mean modafinil caused him to do very well.

I take modafinil everyday. The largest effect imo would be if you where trying to do a task that requires alertness while severely sleep deprived. The effects imo are similar to caffeine. Can a few cups of coffee help you study if tired. Yes. But, rather then using caffeine and modafinil getting enough sleep and studying over many days instead of cramming are the best thing you can do to do well.

An example of correlation not equaling causation Michael phelps is a gold winning olympic swimmer he was scene with bruises all over his back from cupping where they suction onto you and supposedly it enhances performance and recovery. michael phelps did amazing at the olympics but that doesn't mean cupping had any effect on him doing very well. Rather someone who is going out of his way to do anything that might make him do better or be able to train longer is more likely to be the person who does very well because of all the other things they are doing

 

[MrRoot]

I just don't see any point taking stimulants for studying. If you need them to stay awake you are doing something wrong with your studies.

Instead of trying to stay awake for the all nighter you could just start studying earlier and keep decent pauses when doing it.

If you feel tired during studying then you are overdoing it and stimulant won't help you to familiarize things better when you just try to keep it going.

Your friend doing it for his finals is just an anecdotal evidence and who knows if he might have actually done even better without it?

Anyhow if you decide to still do it then luckily the modafinil is one of the least abusable stims and in my opinion isn't much more stronger than energy drink.

When I was young and studying I used to study right after school so I could do it while I was still pretty much full of energy and then do my hobbies and such after studying.

 

[Jekyl Anhydride]

^ Good Point. Sometimes trying to force writing or being able to write for much longer than one would normally results in a lacking end result. Good habits and self discipline seem to trump artificial motivation in the long run. IMO it would take some special circumstances to switch to a stim for general studying and writing. I'll leave the stims for the pilots needing to make trans Atlantic flights and Air Force pilots on grueling schedules.

 

[Rafayte]

Modafinil here in Spain isn't used for ADD but for narcolepsy or changes of job time and for ADD are used several forms of methylphenidate, lisdextroamphetamine and recently Intuitiv which is a clonidine like drug. I am diagnosed ADD and to treat it I am prescribed Rubifen 20mg which are 20mg IR methylphenidate tablets and I am prescribed three tablets daily, so 60mg methylphenidate daily. But modafinil is a very well valued nootropic because promote attention relieving somnolence. Usually people take 200mg modafinil orally as a common dose.

 

[Vastness]

MrRoot, while I would not personally advocate that a 16 year old use any drugs to study other than those they are prescribed - and even, probably, not those they are prescribed in some cases, especially in a certain major Western superpower notorious for overprescribing - I do feel you make a lot of generalisations regarding the affects and usefulness of stimulants, which while they may be true as general rules, certainly do not apply to everyone.

When I was young and studying I used to study right after school so I could do it while I was still pretty much full of energy and then do my hobbies and such after studying.

Good for you, I did this as well, and no doubt this is objectively the more efficient way to do things, in most cases. However I recognise that there are various reasons that this may not be possible for everyone, or even if it is physically possible, that some people may not feel willing or able to study in this manner.