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Modafinil Side Effects and its Warnings

Modafinil Side Effects and its Warnings – It’s no secret that Modafinil consumption is increasing day by day worldwide. The smart drug delivers unparalleled benefits and resolves cognition and sleep disorders. However, there’re some unavoidable negative effects too that stay sticked. This blog is to stress various side effects of Modafinil and warnings involved therein.

Whether you’re a regular nootropic user or thinking of start taking it for cognition enhancement, Modafinil side effects might be a vital concern for you. People love taking Modafinil to combat daytime sleepiness and collect a significant boost in cognition. But they’re also highly concerned about various unpleasant outcomes of Modafinil.

At this point, it’s imperative for you to know – is Modafinil safe to consume? What are various Modafinil side effects? What are the major precautions for Modafinil? This guide is designed to let you grab thorough knowledge about all these critical aspects of Modafinil to yield maximum benefits of the nootropic.

Table of Contents

What is Modafinil?

It might be worthless to discuss Modafinil side effects without knowing the Modafinil background and reasons for its popularity.

Well, Modafinil was originally constituted as a wakefulness-promoting agent back in 1970 in France. However, the smart drug received FDA approval in 1998 as a pharma medicine to treat excessive daytime sleepiness and crucial sleep disorders such as:

  • Narcolepsy
  • Obstructive Sleep Apnea
  • Shift Work Sleep Disorder

Further, Modafinil is a generic drug and has a brand-name version known as Provigil. It is a prescription-only drug that physicians recommend to cure sleep disorders and improve cognition power. Apart from being a narcolepsy healer, Modafinil can also be taken off-label to promote cognitive status. Around 90% of Modafinil prescriptions associate off-label purposes, including fatigue, depression, and sleepiness.

Modafinil is also best known as a ‘eugeroic’ – promising to heal excessive sleepiness and increase wakefulness and alertness. Though there’re some conflicts among the science community, Modafinil is an incredible medicine to deliver benefits i.e.,

  • Promote overall cognition
  • 10 to 12 hours of extreme focus
  • Increases productivity
  • Improves mental health
  • Sharpens memory
  • Reduces daytime sleepiness

How to Take Modafinil for Better Results?

Before you start using Modafinil, knowing the medication guide is fruitful.

  • Make sure you follow your doctor’s guidelines each time you get a refill. Never proceed further having a doubt regarding the dosage in the mind. Get it cleared by consulting your pharmacist/physician.
  • As directed by your health expert, consume Modafinil with or without food. It is great to take a pill once a day in the morning to treat narcolepsy. You can also bifurcate the pill to make it morning and noon dose under the doctor’s supervision.
  • Similarly, users can take it orally once a day in the morning with/without food for OSA (Obstructive Sleep Apnea).
  • In the case of SWSD, you can take Modafinil once a day, usually 1 hour before the start of the shift.
  • Moreover, the Modafinil dose entirely depends upon your medical condition and your body’s response to the medicine.
  • Likewise, it may be harmful to stop taking Modafinil abruptly beyond the knowledge of your doctor.

Modafinil Side Effects and its Warnings

Modafinil side effects do exist. However, Harvard University and Oxford University researchers think Modafinil safe to consume. They state that Modafinil is prescribed for narcolepsy though, it is increasingly taken by healthy people (without prescription) as well to promote abilities of problem-solving, decision-making, and even creative thinking.

In terms of Modafinil side effects, most of them are mild and tend to disappear 24 to 48 hours after medicine consumption. Nevertheless, we can describe Modafinil negative effects under the ‘Short-term’ and Long-term’ divisions.

Short-Term Side Effects

Some of the common short-term side effects of Modafinil conclude;

  • Sleeplessness – Reducing daytime sleepiness is Modafinil’s prime specification. Taking a Modafinil pill means you’ll not be able to sleep for at least 10 to 15 hours. Hence, we can imagine its effect on a healthy person who doesn’t have narcolepsy conditions. Physicians usually recommend Modafinil to take before 11 AM. Early morning is an ideal time.
  • Diarrhea – This is another noticeable side effect of Modafinil that appears to be more ‘back and white.’ Modafinil users may not collect diarrhea at all or it may become a regular occurrence with Modafinil consumption. Usually, Modafinil users don’t face upset stomach conditions on the consumption day. It happens the next morning. Diarrhea is listed among the mild side effects of Modafinil that rarely demands discontinuation of the medicine.
  • Headache – Headache and sinus pressure are the most common Modafinil side effects. It appears because Modafinil fortifies the production of two neurotransmitters – glutamate and orexin. Both neurotransmitters associate with the onset of migraines.
  • Nervousness/Anxiety – Anxiety or nervousness varies individual-to-individual. Various Modafinil users encounter no anxiety while others start feeling anxiety/nervousness 7 to 9 hours after taking Modafinil.

Long-Term Side Effects

When it comes to emphasizing long-term side effects of Modafinil, a user may conclude the following conditions;

  • Hallucinations – Modafinil users don’t necessarily feel high upon taking the medicine. Ultimately, chances are rare users experience hallucination conditions. Throughout the smart drug history, there’s only a single case of hallucination, which was a 17-year-old girl, a regular consumer of Modafinil.
  • Sores – It is another serious but rare side effect of Modafinil. Under this condition, a user encounter formation of sores like white patches around the mouth and lips. There’re only a few instances of this side effect in some Modafinil users.
  • Bleeding/Bruising – These are other serious side effect but with the rarest chances of occurrence. Bleeding or bruising may appear upon using Modafinil alongside hormonal contraceptives. You should seek immediate medical assistance after noticing unusual bleeding/bruising.
  • Sleep Deprivation – When you start taking Modafinil abruptly, it may cause sleep deprivation. It is the affair of taking high Modafinil dosages or consuming Modafinil as a substitute of sleep.
  • Skin Rashes – Stevens-Johnson Syndrome (SJS) is a condition that may occur due to not only Modafinil but other pharmaceuticals also. It is quite a serious side effect and you must seek immediate treatment.