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RCs Cheaper alternative to modafinil?

O

Ozle

Bluelighter
Joined
Apr 26, 2015
Messages
495
Modafinil is a great study aid but relatively expensive for most students, so I've recently wondered whether any cheaper alternatives exist that might have similar effects.

I've tried ethylphenidate, which was a complete disaster; gave me terrible anxiety, restlessness, inability to concentrate, a dreadful memory, and completely killed my sex drive. The binding profile looked promising (relatively low noradrenergic effects), but in practice I found it no different to Ritalin and hated every minute. Supposedly 3-FPM is a relatively smooth stimulant, but I've yet to try it.

The effects that characterise modafinil for me are alertness (without speediness), sociability, the ability to think faster and more clearly, and a subtle confidence lift that isn't accompanied by recklessness or unrealistic expectations. Has anyone else found a drug or med with similar effects?
 
Cheaper alternatives to modafinil, that increase alertness, sociability, think faster, higher clarity, lowered inhibitions.... I can think of many things.... However you added to your criteria "without speediness" and that pretty much negates most of the alternatives that came to mind.

Have you tried other modafinil analogues?
 
I only know adrafinil, which I've heard is terrible on the liver. What alternatives were you thinking of? I can live with a little speediness (even modafinil gave me a small amount at first), but none of the other effects I got from phenidates, which I found unbearable, and I'd like to still feel like me and not spaced out or "on something".
 
Wellbutrin I took for smoking a few years back, gave it a week and went right back to cigarettes (I've since switched to vaping). :|
Adderall I've considered, but I'm worried about having a similar experience to MPH/EPH, since I suffer from anxiety problems. How does it feel? Is it very different to those two? Ephedrine from what I understand is a weak stim, but unfortunately has a terrible reputation and scares me because of its strong adrenergic effects; do you have any experience with it, and how does it compare to Ritalin?
 
Ozle said:
Wellbutrin I took for smoking a few years back, gave it a week and went right back to cigarettes (I've since switched to vaping). :|
Adderall I've considered, but I'm worried about having a similar experience to MPH/EPH, since I suffer from anxiety problems. How does it feel? Is it very different to those two? Ephedrine from what I understand is a weak stim, but unfortunately has a terrible reputation and scares me because of its strong adrenergic effects; do you have any experience with it, and how does it compare to Ritalin?
Click to expand...

no experience with it sorry just throwing it out there
 
adrafanil (less safe than Provigil, though similar in effect, whole hell of a lot cheaper.)
It's really bad for your liver though as stated above ^
piracetam, aniracetam, bacon fries? Modafinil powder is way cheaper than the pills.
 
Ozzie, have you considered possibly a stack, essentially say Modafinil, cut with another similar racetam?
 
I know this might be an "unpopular opinion" type question, but have you considered what it's going to be like when you finish studying if your only method of concentrating and acquiring knowledge is based on pharmaceuticals? Like, what's the plan? Are you going to take stimulants for the rest of your life? Because any job you're going to use your qualifications for is also going to require you to concentrate for long periods and learn things.

I mean, there are people who do need to take stimulants for life, but if you're one of them you should probably talk to a doctor about getting an appropriate diagnosis and treatment that suits your condition. If not... then I hate to be a downer, but you should probably focus on trying to develop good study habits instead of looking for a medicinal solution.
 
Ozle said:
Wellbutrin I took for smoking a few years back, gave it a week and went right back to cigarettes (I've since switched to vaping). :|
Adderall I've considered, but I'm worried about having a similar experience to MPH/EPH, since I suffer from anxiety problems. How does it feel? Is it very different to those two? Ephedrine from what I understand is a weak stim, but unfortunately has a terrible reputation and scares me because of its strong adrenergic effects; do you have any experience with it, and how does it compare to Ritalin?
Click to expand...

It's pretty well accepted that in order of most anxiogenic to least it would go EPH/MPH -> Adderall -> Dexedrine -> Desoxyn

What's wrong with good ol' reliable caffeine? At least it's a sustainable habit with the least side effects.
 
For me, the biggest problem with caffeine is plain old tolerance. I take 2-3 200mg tablets a day now and barely get any noticeable effect. A couple days ago I took one and fell asleep less than an hour later.

There is a whole -afinil subreddit actually. That's where I learned about "hydrafinil," which was recently released. It is not actually related to modafinil (it is 9-Fluorenol, which was investigated as a modafinil successor by Cephalon) and I don't think it should be called that, but early reports are promising and it is pretty cheap.
 
Maybe try smaller oral doses of ethylphenidate or ritalin, or find a cheaper supplier of modafinil/armodafinil (beware of fakes though). Armodafinil (Waklert) seems better but it costs slightly more. If modafinil seems too expensive then maybe you're taking it too often & using it as a crutch, save it for when it's needed. If you're taking any drug daily then you'll build a tolerance & it'll lose some of it's effects.

3-FPM is still fairly new, seems to have some nasty sounding side effects in some people & I haven't heard anybody say it was productive.

Another option might be some nootropics like noopept, no speedyness or anxiety, just a more subtle alertness & improvement in memory, can take it daily for a couple of months before tolerance kills it's main effects, but it seems to have lasting effects too.

Gingko & ginseng extracts can work too, but some brands are better than others.

There's always tea & cannabis if you want a more sustainable habit.
 
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trunkofmycar said:
It speeds me almost as much as an amphetamine does...
Jw
What's your dosage?
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Are you sure it was actually modafinil? I heard that some cheap vendors sell racemic amphetamine as modafinil to save money. My dose is 400mg, sometimes with a 200mg booster when I need to work through the night.

Desoxyn is meth, right? Meth scares me because it's an amphetamine, but I did read that the effects of meth are a lot smoother and much less speedy than other amphetamines, supposedly because it has less effects on noradrenaline and increases serotonin. I've ever heard some say that modafinil feels like a very small dose of meth. Would a microdose of meth be good for studying? Would adderall + prozac give similar effects?

I heard about fluorenol being a promising new stimulant skeleton, but this is the first I've heard about any derived compounds being marketed, at least at a reasonable price. Anyone here tried this stuff?
 
pinpoint said:
It's pretty well accepted that in order of most anxiogenic to least it would go EPH/MPH -> Adderall -> Dexedrine -> Desoxyn

What's wrong with good ol' reliable caffeine? At least it's a sustainable habit with the least side effects.
Click to expand...

edit: sorry buddy i misread your post!

But yeah OP, what about caffeine..?
 
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You got my ordering backwards lol I said from MOST to LEAST. Meaning EPH/MPH are the most anxiogenic whereas desoxyn would be the least anxiogenic.

:)
 
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My bad pinpoint, I misread your post, but now I'm in complete agreement with you.
 
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