to ask if you see a problem with modafinil/'smart' drugs

[manicinsomniac]

My work is absolutely crazy at the moment - looking like 80ish hour weeks all term, maybe more, and I'm also a single mum of 3 girls and they have a lot of activities etc they need to be at. I was really struggling. I often don't sleep well, find it really difficult to work and organise myself when I am stressed and have (very well controlled, long term and functionable with) anorexia.

A couple of weeks ago I started taking modafinil and it has literally changed anything. I am fully awake, alert, energised and enthusiastic about life from 8am to 2am. I am getting so much done and absolutely loving my job. It's gone from seeming like something I wanted to do but that I couldn't achieve and was going to drag me down and drown me to something that is really full on and intense but also fulfilling and exciting. I can't get enough of it. And I have energy left over for my family and their needs to.

But I know logically that these pills should be 'a bad thing'. I'm only taking them 4 days out of 7 (break at weekends and mid week) so I can get a bit more sleep on those nights but I don't know if there's some major down side I'm not seeing.

Has anyone else taken these? Positive or negative experiences and/or opinions?

Deep down I'm thinking I must be an idiot for doing this but life is good! So confused. AIBU to be taking them?

I wanted Modafinil so badly, I nagged my neurologist and my gp, but they wouldn't prescribe them. After a few years they did. I wanted them because I have ms and am always knackered, and my brain doesn't work properly, and I thought Modafinil would sort out both.

I was wrong. It was horrible. I couldn't think straight at all, couldn't concentrate, my mind flittered about like a butterfly. I stopped taking them within a few months.

However, an engineer friend's company used to give them to him when he was out on a hard contract where he had to work through for a week at a time. He was OK with them, and it didn't happen that often.

If you're just buying them, I would be careful that you don't just keep taking them for months at a time. Have a proper break from them every few weeks, ie, two weeks on, a month off. Or talk to your gp about it or company doctor if you have one.

I haven't heard anyone at uni mention them....but I did read a recent article on it. Then ordered some after forgetting about it for a week then reading some more on it. They haven't arrived yet. Interesting thread :)

OP I've had heart flutters before when I haven't been getting enough sleep, the GP dismissed it. I used to get them every day but haven't for months. I don't think 6 hours/sleep is enough a night esp. if you get no downtime during the day! I wouldn't manage.

I know Feck all About Modafinil, but I will elbow in on mental health-EDs. My advice to OP is that with her history, because she has a history of not looking after herself properly & she needs people to tell her straight. Folk who can have more details than would be shared online.

If you speak to a GP who says it's a tolerable situation/way to manage, then fair enough. If GP says it's feckwittery stuff to take, esp. for OP, then believe them.

Modafinil is licensed in the USA for ADHD and associated inattentive/performance related symptoms. It's only licenced in the UK for narcolepsy.

Although not strictly considered a stimulant medication it acts as one and the side effects are similar. If you think it would be okay to obtain illicit Ritalin or similar stimulants on-line then go ahead, what I have to say won't matter to you!.

If you think you may have ADHD then please, seek out a referral to Adult ADHD services for an assessment.

If you're just trying to enhance performance and stay awake longer then you're abusing medications which are prescribed for specific neurobiological disorders. I bet you wouldn't buy street amphetamines to manage your workload but in essence you are - amphetamine is the basis of stimulant medication for ADHD which increases concentration, focus, organisation etc. But in a 'non- ADHD or narcoleptic 'brain' the effects quickly tip over with frequent use into what would be seen in street amphetamine users - overactivity, inability to stop thinking or talking, chronic insomnia, behavioural and mood changes etc.

Your GP won't have a go at you if you're honest but will give you appropriate advice.

Do you know how the drug works? As in what it does, and what happens when you stop taking it?

Used it on and off during busier periods...some tips i picked up
try not to take more than 3 weeks in a row
Eat healthy
Hydrate.
I found it an invaluable aid for the past 8 years, getting harder to find good suppliers, I picked mine up in India during a recent trip.
If you find yourself short tempered (more than usual) or getting anxious/blue stop using give your body a break.