Modafinil is supposedly the ‘limitless’ pill or at least as close as we can get to it. That’s what a lot of people say.
Reading on the interwebs we see that there are really wide ranging effects. Some people see no effect. Some people have huge increases in motivation and a feeling of euphoria. Some people have an allergic reaction that can be life threatening!
Like I said, wide ranging…
Modafinil is a prescription only drug in the US so a lot of people get it from their doctor but many also buy it online from India. That sounds kinda sketchy to me but there are a lot of people who do it. Check out nootropics on reddit and they are there. Apparently it’s a heck of a lot cheaper that way even when you have a prescription.
That being said, I don’t condone and I don’t plan on doing that. However, there is one other way to do it.
Adrafinil.
Adrafinil is a precursor to modafinil that is available over-the-counter. That means that your liver will convert adrafinil to modafinil. So it’s pretty much like taking modafinil, only different. I know, I know it’s ridiculous that modafinil is prescription only and basically the same thing is OTC.
I’m pretty sure the FDA isn’t trying to keep us safe. In fact, the interwebs say that adrafinil can be more dangerous because it can stress your liver.
Anyway, I don’t plan on taking it long term but I wanted to give it a test so I could see what modafinil is like without having to jump through all the hoops. I was hoping for the huge increase in motivation response and not the allergic reaction landing you in a hospital response. But I also was trying to manage my expectations as I didn’t want to be too let down.
Day 1 – Adrafinil
I had just come back from a weekend trip that was exhausting.
I had been wanting to try it for a while but I wanted to be sure I didn’t have anything too important going on so that if it caused some problems it wouldn’t affect anything else. This trip was important so I waited.
Modafinil is actually used to treat narcolepsy and it’s used for people doing shift work so they can stay awake. So being exhausted from the trip was actually a pretty good test for it to start out. Normally my day would be pretty shot after a trip like that.
I took 300mg first thing in the morning on an empty stomach – I was so advised by the interwebs.
After about an hour I started feeling less tired. Then I had about two hours where I pretty much felt like it was a normal day.
After those two hours were up I started getting a headache. Nothing serious but it was definitely there.
Later in the afternoon around 3pm I got pretty tired mentally. My body wasn’t very tired but my mind was. I laid down to take a nap but I couldn’t fall asleep. So I just powered through.
Overall the day was significantly better than the normal after-long-trip day. However, it was probably still slightly below a good day where I’ve had a good night’s sleep. I wasn’t all that productive or motivated.
Day 2 – Adrafinil
I woke up 2.5 hours earlier than normal… That’s odd. I stayed in bed an hour and finally got up when I couldn’t fall asleep. I took the adrafinil again on an empty stomach.
The morning went well. I was pretty motivated and got a few things done. Seems like a slight bump from a normal good day. A bit more mental energy.
The headache came back again. Again, not too bad but not so fun either. It’s not the kind that saps you.
Also sometimes I just feel a little weird. Like slightly off balance.
As a side note, many people say that it makes you lose your appetite. This was not the case for me. If anything, I was more hungry but not much.
Also, many people say that adrafinil is less powerful than modafinil.
Around 3 I got the crash of tiredness again. Just feeling like I need to close my eyes. This time I was driving, so I had to be careful!
It looks like others have had the same issue. Maybe it’s too high of a dose. Or maybe I need to drink insane amounts of water.
The headache lasted from about 9 am until the next morning at which point it was worse and I took some tylenol.
Taking a Break
So after two days I decided to take a break. I wasn’t any more productive the last couple days. The head aches and tiredness are turning me off. I’m going to try to go without it and see how much of a difference I can see.