For individuals who fall asleep on the job or have difficulty focusing in class, finding an effective treatment regimen can be truly life-changing. There are different medications available, yet often they require a prescription from a medical professional. Finding a sympathetic doctor can prove difficult and costly, not to mention time-consuming. That is why purchasing nootropics online may be an effective way of dealing with it.
Modafinil is a drug designed to help with these conditions, and while it traditionally requires a prescription in the United States, it is possible to buy Modafinil online. There are three compounds in particular that are highly rated in the nootropics community for their ability to enhance wakefulness and focus. Let’s take a look at them.
Overview
- Modafinil
- Adrafinil
- Armodafinil
These are three drugs of the -afinils family, and are designed to help battle sleepiness. Having a limited amount of sleep can negatively impact cognition, and may cause a person to struggle at work or school. This not only reduces a person’s ability to function properly but, particularly in manual labour, could even put them in danger. In order to avoid this sort of situation, we can use an eugeroic, a wakefulness-promoting agent.
Modafinil, Adrafinil, and Armodafinil are the three most popular and researched eugeroics.
What is Modafinil?
Some refer to Modafinil as a “smart drug” due to its ability to help people improve their focus. However, in clinical practice it is only used to treat narcolepsy and other sleep disorders, and any other use is considered off-label.
Modafinil is the active ingredient in Provigil, which was first sold back in 1998 as an evolution of Adrafinil, its “little cousin”. Some have compared Modafinil to the prescription stimulant Adderall, only without the jittery feeling many people experience when taking the medication. Instead, Modafinil is designed to simply boost response and reaction time while honing in on an individual’s ability to focus.
What is Adrafinil?
Adrafinil is another narcolepsy based medication often prescribed to help improve focus and to prevent falling asleep. It was originally sold under several brands Olmifon but it is not sold anymore and it can be bought over the counter. It is derived from Modafinil and metabolizes into the drug within the liver, but it is much less effective , and only a minority of individuals report positive effects from it.
Adrafinil was discontinued in the early 2000s after several cases of elevated liver enzymes and hepatotoxicity appeared. Modafinil and Armodafinil, on the other hand, are totally liver-safe, as they don’t need to be intensively metabolized like Adrafinil.
Therefore, we strongly advise not to use Adrafinil.
What is Armodafinil?
A third narcolepsy medication prescribed in the United States and the rest of the world, it’s the dextro (right) enantiomer, the one that gives the famous positive effect of Modafinil. It is designed to be stronger while having fewer side effects. In short, Armodafinil is Modafinil’s “big brother”.
This is a medication generally used by people who are simply unable to remain awake for longer than a few hours. Due to the potency, it is often less prescribed than the other two offerings. That being said, some people prefer Armodafinil as it feels “cleaner” than Modafinil.
Differences and similarities
All three compounds are designed to help improve someone’s focus, while allowing them to stay awake longer. These drugs are not just used by students, but also people who work do long shifts, looking for a pick-me-up. The medication is often used by truck drivers who need to stay awake and alert for long hours of the day. Helicopter pilots, and those who work emergency shifts in hospitals are also frequent users of Modafinil/Armodafinil.
While these three -afinils are used for the same kinds of conditions, the drugs are different in their own peculiar way. First of all, each drug delivers a different dosage and a slightly different kind of effect. Adrafinil is the lightest of the three as far as effects, it requires a higher dose, it’s very liver-intensive and doesn’t work for everybody. Someone who may not respond to general caffeine may be best suited for this kind of a medication, but, in general, it’s better to avoid taking it completely and go with Modafinil instead.
Modafinil is the most commonly used of the three. It is prescribed for narcolepsy, shift work sleep disorder, and chronic fatigue. That said, it is also frequently prescribed off-label for other conditions.
Lastly, there is Armodafinil. This is the strongest of the three, and it’s also more expensive. Due to this, many doctors prefer prescribing Modafinil and adjust the dosage accordingly. However, for those people who not only struggle with staying awake on the job but actually fall asleep multiple times throughout the week (if not multiple times during the day) this is the way to go. It does have the same half-life as Modafinil, so it does not last longer, but it delivers a stronger and cleaner effect.
Dosage and Variations
As with any kind of medication, it is important to understand the correct dosage. As college students will likely purchase the drugs through a Modafinil online pharmacy, they are not actually receiving a Doctor’s prescription, and they have to research the proper dosage themselves.
150 mg is usually the recommended dosage for Modafinil and Armodafinil. It should be taken once a day at roughly the same time of the day (should be at least an hour before work starts).
Now, while 100 mg is the recommended dosage, it is highly recommended to start off with a smaller dosage initially. It can take the body a bit of time to become accustomed to the drug within the system. Starting out with an initial dosage of 75 mg and increasing from there allows the body to become a bit more acquainted to the medication. Plus, this way it is possible for who’s taking the drug to determine what works for them and whether or not they need to take the full dose.
Adrafinil, the lighter of the three medications, typically recommends anywhere from 200 to 400 mg a day. Again, it is extremely liver-intensive, so it should only be user as a last-resort, or, — if you just can’t live without it — take liver protective supplements like Milk Thistle or N-Acetylcysteine (NAC).
Ideally, these are not everyday drugs. It is important to not have the body become accustomed to the drug. The body can form a dependency on the medications, which can cause functional problems when not taking them. Due to this, it is recommended to use eugeroics no more than three-four times per week. While the addictive potential of -afinils is very low (nowhere near amphetamine-based stimulants), the drugs do stimulate the production of Dopamine in the brain, and anything that stimulates those receptors possesses an intrinsic addiction potential.
Conclusion
For anyone who is struggling to remain awake, or it’s not able to focus when they need to, a drug like Modafinil can be thoroughly life-changing. Getting a prescription for one of these drugs may be difficult since some doctors are not interested in helping their patients if they do not qualify for a medical condition. Buying one of the three drugs from an online retail pharmacy not only reduced the amount of time away from work but saves money, all while boosting cognition and the ability to focus while using the medication.
Nootropic drugs are a specific subtype of psychoactive substances. According to Giurgea, in order for a drug or supplement to be considered a nootropic, it must adhere to the following criteria:
