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Comment by fatman | Hacker News Reader

How do you get that doctor's prescription in the US?

FYI: I would strongly suggest getting a RX for Modafinil (Provigil) and not Nuvigil (Amodifinil). Nuvigil is very expensive and my insurance company required a whole battery of additional tests before they paid for it. I believe Modafinil is now generic so I imagine they care much less.

Last time I checked, cephalon had some sort shady deal to keep generic modafinil off the market for a few more years (paying generic manufacturers to not bring it to market). If modafinil goes generic, it will be really good news.

It's generic, but it's still expensive. My insurance still required prior auth, but it was doable.

From what I've heard before, it was almost impossible for people to get approved by insurance for modafinil, maybe times have changed and I need to pay the doctor a visit in the future.

For now though, nicotine hits the spot.

No it is still friggin impossible...

I have an actual sleep disorder and I am currently going through hell trying to get my insurance to pay for modafinil, and I've been through the whole battery of tests. :( I don't want to be "smarter" I want to be awake.

It is generic but still stupid expensive.

You need to be diagnosed with narcolepsy or shift-work syndrome to get prescribed modafinil in the US.

Some psychs will prescribe it for ADD/ADHD (mine did).

You don't need to be diagnosed with anything; those are just the approved uses. It can be prescribed off-label for nearly anything your doctor wants.

At one point they pitched it to the FDA as a cure for jet lag (which it arguably is) but the FDA didn't buy "jet lag" as a legitimate medical problem.

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