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Comment by zo1 | Hacker News Reader

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.

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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.

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.

Globalization is a beautiful thing.

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