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Comment by bmir-alum-007 | Hacker News Reader

Interesting. It so happens I took provigil (modafinil) more for this reason than for sleep deprivation or to cram in more all-nighters in college. The experience was like caffeine, but without jitters or noticeably increased BP/heart rate. It was more like "hyperawareness" without hyper-vigilance or anything unpleasant. ("Limitless lite.")

I tried adderall for concentration at a standard therapeutic dose, but the jitters and palpitations.

These days, I just use mirtazapine (depression) and flonase (sleep apnea) and occasional caffeine, and all is sweetness and light.

EDIT: If anyone can add peer-reviewed, reasonably-safe, well-studied neuroenhancement lifestyle choices (food, supplements, pharma, etc.) that aren't just spam/gimmicks, that would be interesting.

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[Gwern](https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=gwern) has done some interesting self-medication experiments [here](http://www.gwern.net/Modafinil), for Modafinil and [here](http://www.gwern.net/Modafinil), for nicotine. I haven't seen similar reproductions or analyses by other scientists, so peer review (or functional analog) is definitely needed here.

My experience of Modafinil is similar. I'm prescribed it for sleep apnea. It dispels the daytime somnolence and lets me function. It's been enormously helpful for me.

At my 200mg dose, I've seen no changes in vital signs (BP, heart rate), affect, or cognition.

I guess people around me might say I'm smarter on it, but only because the comparison would be to me asleep at my desk. It hasn't allowed me to reconcile gravity and quantum mechanics, at least at the 200mg dose.

I'm a little bit confused as to how you're gaining access to some of that medication. Are they not controlled? I.e. you need a prescription from a doctor to get them.

Globalization is a beautiful thing.

I don't know how he got adderall, but modafinal and the other drugs he mentioned are either schedule IV to Rx Only, so if you ask a pharmacist nicely they can give it to you. (That's how I got modafinil when I was in college)

> if you ask a pharmacist nicely they can give it to you.

In the US?

Yes. There is some minor paperwork involved for them, which is why you should ask nicely, and YMMV.

Can you elaborate? I worked as a pharmacy tech when I was younger and never saw drugs dispensed without a prescription from a doctor. I also can't find anything on the web about this being possible in the U.S.

the term you are looking for is "over the counter" or OTC

Modafinil is classed as a Schedule 4 narcotic. It's definitely not an OTC medication. Examples of other Schedule 4 medications: Xanax and Valium.

Actually modafinil is a schedule 4 stimulant (which matters in some states). And Pharm.D.s can get into an agreement with Physicians to dispense medication on their behalf as they see fit, it's called Collaborative drug therapy management.

Adrafinil metabolizes into modafinil (to put it short), and it's completely over the counter and not controlled.

Told my doc that I was taking it instead of Provigil (the brand name for modafinil) and they're all for it, as long as I get my liver enzymes checked on a regular basis.

Technically, I was prescribed Provigil to deal with very bad sleep apnea, but it's also to take care of my mild ADHD. Sleep apnea / shift work disorder are the only "on label" ways that insurance will pay for it.

I tried adderall a few years ago, and it was great for ADHD / productivity / made me much more outgoing (according to my girlfriend at the time), but I'm one of the few people that has the side effect of massive uncontrollable sweating. I could be sitting in a 75F degree office and just dripping. Had to stop taking it after two weeks. The changes in prescription laws (must have a new prescription every time, no refills, and then supply issues for a while) are almost too much trouble to be worth it, anyway.

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