For six months I’ve been using Modafinil and wanted to share my anecdotal experiences with the community.
As a baseline for understanding the effects I’m a reasonably fit male in his late 20’s and don’t take any other medicines or nootropics. My only modifiers are a cup of black coffee every morning. Behaviourally I’m a ‘good listener’ and generally keep to myself because of anxiety issues. I’ve always struggled to focus on completing any task or project because my mind wanders and is easily distracted. For a long time I’ve been struggling with ‘the haze’ where I can’t think clearly, lose motivation and generally feel dull.
Dosage
I take Modafinil 200mg from highstreetpharma on an as-need basis because I want to avoid building a tolerance to the effects. Usually I will take it twice a week, Monday and Thursday, to maintain my pep. Any more regularly and I experience mild headaches and difficulty sleeping. But this schedule isn’t set in concrete and I skip days or weeks if the effects aren’t needed for productivity.
Initially I was taking 200mg of Modafinil when I wanted the boost for a day. At this amount the focus effect was counter-productive where I struggled to pull myself away from something interesting. If I took it too late in the morning, say after 8am, it would be impossible to sleep because my mind won’t slow down.
Reducing the dosage to 100mg hit that sweet spot of ‘focused and aware’ when the boost is needed without being overwhelming. Effects last for two days with the first day experiencing heightened alertness in conjunction with side effects. The following day I’m left without side effects and a great sense of clarity and focus without the suppression of the haze.
Experience and Effects
The most noticeable effect is the lifting of the haze which was an ongoing issue. Suddenly I’m aware of everything and everyone around me as if fully waking up for the first time. I can think clearly and really focus on a task without getting distracted. Wayward thoughts are processed as if my mind is multi-threaded and I can remain focused on what I’m doing. Motivation to complete tasks and do something productive is boosted and stops me wasting my time procrastinating. Basically I feel energised, focused, clear-headed, motivated and it feels great!
These benefits have really helped to improve my sociability and interactions with people by reducing my inhibitions. Normally I’m socially anxious and now I’m able to engage others in conversation because I can finally focus wholly on what they’re saying. It feels good to shrug off confidence issues and be the chatty person I envision. During a recent successful job interview I was able to supress nerves, keep a calm face, maintain good eye contact and provide witty answers to the questions. Not to diminish my own accomplishments, but I feel Mod helped give me the edge needed to standout.
Overall I’d say a reduction in inhibitions has been another noticeable effect. Not to the point where I’d jump in a tank of sharks or crash a party (which I sometimes do while very drunk) but where I overcome the fear of failure. For example, I’ve been getting into bouldering and would panic if I climbed too high without an easy way down. Now I can climb to the top without much regard for my mortality and therefore focus on not injuring myself and climb safely. Fear of failure has always been a major trigger for my anxiety and the suppression of that fear has helped give me the courage I need to address these issues I experience.
Other effects I don’t feel need much explanation include:
- Hypersensitivity to physical sensations. Any pre-existing pain is amplified and muscles feels very stiff. Don’t be like me and take Mod while hungover.
- Other senses, hearing, taste, smell, are all heightened. Anything triggering these sense is processed in more detail and I’m more aware of the finer details.
- Reduction in appetite. I still get hungry, but less frequently and I can distract the hunger with an activity.
Side Effects and Unpleasantries
Modafinil hasn’t been a magic bullet for all my issues. I still get mentally distracted during sex losing interest very quickly; my insecurities and anxiety haven’t disappeared; when procrastination get the better of me it can completely derail my day. Without self-discipline the effects of Mod can be counter-productive to your goals.
I’ve also observed consistent side effects when using Mod (mostly) regardless of dosage size. To keep it brief I’m listing these in bullet form:
- Body can feel very cool but I’ll be sweating a lot under the arms and crotch. Checked my temperature and I don’t have a fever. Hands feel almost icy.
- Dehydration can occur if I’m not regularly drinking water. I always have a flask on hand so it’s not issue.
- When talking to people I can straight up forget what I was talking about. Like my brain outpaces what I’m saying before my voice can catch up.
- Urine develops a very strong and distinct smell. This only occurs a few hours after taking Mod and I think might be a result of the liver processing?
- Triggers a laxative like effect in my body within two hours. I am lactose intolerant, but I can eat small amounts of dairy and be fine, so I think the Mod may cause a different reaction. At higher dosages I will need to use the bathroom more regularly.
- Consecutive daily use triggers headaches.
- At 200mg my hands can get very shaky if they’re not engaged in an activity.
- At 200mg sleep can be difficult to achieve without a few glasses of wine to put me down.
TLDR: Modafinil makes me feel great by keeping me focused and motivated, while also helping to overcome issues with anxiety and fear of failing. It’s not a miracle pill and too much use will have the opposite effect with a nasty headache. Some people rave about Mod, some people shun Mod, but I hope my experience can help you discern if it might work out for you.
