Adrafinil: What the heck is it?

[cheesehead]

I'm a student; hence; I am a caffiene addict.

During the school year, I often rely on caffiene in reasonably large doses to keep myself functioning. I feel like crap after it wears off (~4 hours later), although it does have something of a pleasant buzz.

(Yes, I'm exceptionally sensitive to caffiene. By "reasonably large doses", I refer to 2 20-ounce bottles of Diet Mountian Dew at lunch. Tastes like crap, but it works.)

A guy I know says that Adrafinil is the best thing since sliced bread for staying up 'till odd hours of the night writing papers. Although he's also ranted about the wonderfullness of Absinthe and is quite fond of the occasional narcotic (I'll pass, thanks!), I'm wondering if he's on to something.

It has exceedingly low popularity, as it has nasty side effects in large doses (I.E. cramps, diaorrhea, and other things you'd find on the Pepto Bismol label). There's a more effective perscription version (Modrafinil) which works better, has a faster onset time, and has far fewer side effects. As a result, ravers don't much care for it.

Adrafinil is OTC in some parts of europe, although it is somewhat rare. I'd be taking it in reasonably safe doses (<300mg; I weigh 200 lbs.) and there are no known interactions with the other medications I take. (That said, allegra is'nt exactly a super-dangerous drug.)

So, how likely am I to mess myself up using this stuff? I'll frankly admit that I've never tried any form of mind-altering substance outside of caffiene, and I don't really want to. I do, however, want to be able to surivive on six hours of sleep.

Let the flaming commence!

 

[2Xtreme21]

Lawn chair?

Drugs are bad kthx. Do your papers earlier in the day and you won't have that problem.

Edit: I'll specify. I'm friends with this guy who tried Adderal once to help him do a paper. After that ONE time, he is literally incapable of doing a paper without it. That's an addiction... and a rather expensive one at that. Stick with your coffee if you know what's good for you.

 

[dawza]

The mechanism of action of Adrafinil is not entirely clear, and Modafinil even less so. Neither are classical CNS stimulants, and work via pathways quite distinct from those of typical sympathomimetic agents (ephedrine, amphetamines, methylphenidate, etc).

It it takes 40oz of diet soda to give you a buzz, I would not consider you to be "sensitive." That is approximately 400mg of caffeine you are ingesting in one setting, which is sufficient to give inexperienced/"sensitive" users adverse side effects (nausea, excessive jitters, anxiety, etc). Any CNS stimulant will lose its potency with time, and the rapidity of onset of this resistance is dose-dependent.

The safety profile of Adrafinil is pretty good- no real reports of acute adverse effects with reasonable doses. A possible known danger is liver toxicity with doses >600mg/d over the long-term, but the actual severity of such is not clear, and the liver is quite adept at healing itself given time and rest. That said, Adrafinil is relatively weak compared to a true stimulant such as methylphenidate (Ritalin) or even the classical ephedrine/caffeine combination. Some report positive effects, some feel nothing. There are far better ways to spend your money, IMO, but as far as drugs go, short-term, low-moderate doses of Adrafinil are highly unlikely to cause any adverse effects.

Modafinil can be thought of as a more refined version of Adrafinil; it is actually a worthy drug, and 100-200mg doses are relatively effective at promoting a state of wakefulness sans jittery hands/heart palpitations. I would compare it to a low dose of Adderall in terms of its ability to give the user a sense of drive, minus the nasty crash and CNS effects. Headache is a common side effect, and while the safety profile is thus far excellent, keep in mind that the drug is still relatively new, and no one knows the exact mechanism(s) of action.

As far as the whole OMGdrugsAREtehSUXXorTheYwillhookyouinstantlyandkillyou garbage many will spew, one must keep in mind that ALL drugs are tools, and that it is the application and degree of responsibility of the user that ultimately determines their utility. There should be no tolerance for flaming, judgemental comments, or holier-than-thou attitudes in response to your inquiry- it is much better that you seek advice and knowledge about the use of an unfamiliar and potentially dangerous substance rather than accept it based upon the opinions of your peers, who are in all likelihood completely ignorant with respect to the science behind the compounds they use.

However. . .

I don't mean to sound condescending or patronizing, but I will say this- you definitely do not want to go down the route of becoming dependent upon anything if you can help it. There is still a large gap in our knowledge concerning how the learning process is altered by different drugs, and there is evidence that with certain compounds, best results are garnered by using the compound to learn the material, and using the same compound when it comes time to take the exam. This can be a problem because many stimulants vary in their subjective effects depending on a number of factors such as how much sleep you got, diet, stress levels, etc. Unexpected effects on exam day can be rather detrimental to your score.

Also, many CNS stimulants increase error rate without the user being aware of such due to the state of mild mania they induce. So, you may think you kicked a$$ on your final while zooming on Adderall, when you really bombed the test.

Bottom line- use as low a dose as is effective, of as few compounds as possible, and if you must use any form of stimulant, make sure it is something you have extensive experience with. Never lean on stimulants as a crutch to support a lifestyle not conducive to studying; on the other hand, never shy away from trying something new simply because it is stigmatized- ALWAYS do your homework by going straight to the primary data (peer-reviewed journals) to draw your own conclusions.

My favorite analogy is that stimulants are like nitrous for a race car- using the correct amount sparingly can help you reach your goal more quickly, but overuse will ultimately burn you out.

 

[cheesehead]

Originally posted by: 2Xtreme21
Edit: I'll specify. I'm friends with this guy who tried Adderal once to help him do a paper. After that ONE time, he is literally incapable of doing a paper without it. Stick with your coffee if you know what's good for you.

Adderall is a commercial name for amphetamine/dextroamphetamine.
Or, as we less polite folk like to call it, speed.
Adderall in doses of greater than 1mg/5kg of body weight is a generally bad idea, and no sane doctor would have a patient use it for a long period of time. I can't speak for your friend, but amphetamines scare the willies out of me.

Originally posted by: dawza


It it takes 40oz of diet soda to give you a buzz, I would not consider you to be "sensitive." That is approximately 400mg of caffeine you are ingesting in one setting, which is sufficient to give inexperienced/"sensitive" users adverse side effects (nausea, excessive jitters, anxiety, etc). Any CNS stimulant will lose its potency with time, and the rapidity of onset of this resistance is dose-dependent.

.....

Bottom line- use as low a dose as is effective, of as few compounds as possible, and if you must use any form of stimulant, make sure it is something you have extensive experience with. Never lean on stimulants as a crutch to support a lifestyle not conducive to studying; on the other hand, never shy away from trying something new simply because it is stigmatized- ALWAYS do your homework by going straight to the primary data (peer-reviewed journals) to draw your own conclusions.

That amount of caffiene will wake me from the dead, and cause seriously nasty side effects ranging from headache to blargh-y-ness to mild dizziness.


40 oz. of Mountian Dew is what I take on days when I have three tests. Usually, I use much less, and I make a point of not drinking it whenever possible. I'll admit I'm addicted, and I'd rather use something much less nasty. After finals, during which I had resorted to ordering cups of espresso (6 oz. of the good stuff!), I felt decidedly sick.



I'm going to stay well away from amphetamine-based stimulants like ritalin or adderall. Moreover, I intend to use adrafinil no more than once every 1-2 weeks, during the sort of day when I would otherwise be drinking 600mg+ of caffiene.

 

[xanis]

Try No-Dose... seriously, it's caffeine in a pill which seems like it would suit your needs perfectly.

 

[Glitchny]

eh i wouldnt really go with anything stronger than caffine. I used a combination of nodose and weed when i was in school and it seemed to work well. i also didnt stay up superlate for my papers very often. And 40oz of mt.dew is like drinking water to me.. cept it tastes better

But i do agree that u shouldnt make a habit of using caffine etc to help u finish papers or whatnot, jsut sleep more.. its not that hard to do. and caffine withdrawl sux.

 

[Hail The Brain Slug]

Whoah, where the hell did you guys pull 400mg of caffeine from 40 oz of Mountain Dew?? Mountain Dew has 37mg of caffeine per 8 oz, meaning 40 oz would have only 185mg of caffeine.

Source


That said, I would try to even ween off of caffeine. I've never liked the idea of being dependant on a drug. I think it's a little desperate to try stronger stimulant drugs just to stay awake.

 

[destrekor]

Originally posted by: dawza
It it takes 40oz of diet soda to give you a buzz, I would not consider you to be "sensitive." That is approximately 400mg of caffeine you are ingesting in one setting, which is sufficient to give inexperienced/"sensitive" users adverse side effects (nausea, excessive jitters, anxiety, etc).

40oz of mountain dew is 3.5 12oz servings. a 12oz serving of Mt. Dew has, iirc, 55mg of caffeine, thus roughly 192.5mg of caffeine, not even 200mg which is roughly 2 cups of drip-brewed coffee.
i wouldn't say he's sensitive, but I would say any person exposed to caffeine regularly (pop, for instance) would shrug that off with barely any effect noticed. I could drink 2 cups of coffee and feel more alert and possibly able to stay awake longer, but it wouldn't do what I like from caffeine, and thats something akin to getting a high. I loved drinking 4 doubleshots of espresso that I brewed myself and feeling what was essentially a high, complete with the inability to stay completely still, the constant happiness, and even somewhat of a general, albiet light, euphoria. it was fun to do that.

Originally posted by: XabanakFanatik
Whoah, where the hell did you guys pull 400mg of caffeine from 40 oz of Mountain Dew?? Mountain Dew has 37mg of caffeine per 8 oz, meaning 40 oz would have only 185mg of caffeine.

Source


That said, I would try to even ween off of caffeine. I've never liked the idea of being dependant on a drug. I think it's a little desperate to try stronger stimulant drugs just to stay awake.

lol we had the exact same idea.

and yea, weening off caffeine is a good thing, because then when you need it for term papers or finals, it will work wonders.

 

[cheesehead]

Originally posted by: destrekor

and yea, weening off caffeine is a good thing, because then when you need it for term papers or finals, it will work wonders.

Once again, 40oz of mountian dew does more to me than a full liter would to half the people I know. And the side effects suck majorly.

Adrafinil is NOT a stimulant like, say, Ritalin. It messes with the sleep center of your brain, and makes you not sleepy, instead of simply revving up your central nervous system. No high, no buzz, just cramps and nausea, and not being asleep.

Can anyone who has in fact used modrafinil or adrafinil tell me what the effects were? I'd be checking this out with my doctor before I used it, but if there's no point, I can save myself the time.

BTW, Adrafinil is an over-the-counter medication in much of Europe. Not popular, due to the nausea, but it's sold in some places. It's in the same legal category as No-Doz.

 

[imported_michaelpatrick33]

To help maximize your caffeine effects (thus minimizing the amount needed and staving off tolerance and offsetting the side effects) take a good B-complex with Vitamin C (Emergen-C packets are great as they have potassium) with an emphasis on B-5. Some Adrenal Cortex by Enzymatic Therapy or similar along with tyrosine could also be beneficial. I am not a doctor and suggest you research on your own and consult your primary health care provider before starting such a regime (need to protect myself legally :laugh: )

 

[BatmanNate]

Originally posted by: Cheesehead

Originally posted by: destrekor

and yea, weening off caffeine is a good thing, because then when you need it for term papers or finals, it will work wonders.

Once again, 40oz of mountian dew does more to me than a full liter would to half the people I know. And the side effects suck majorly.

Adrafinil is NOT a stimulant like, say, Ritalin. It messes with the sleep center of your brain, and makes you not sleepy, instead of simply revving up your central nervous system. No high, no buzz, just cramps and nausea, and not being asleep.

Can anyone who has in fact used modrafinil or adrafinil tell me what the effects were? I'd be checking this out with my doctor before I used it, but if there's no point, I can save myself the time.

BTW, Adrafinil is an over-the-counter medication in much of Europe. Not popular, due to the nausea, but it's sold in some places. It's in the same legal category as No-Doz.

A litre is about 33oz....so that would follow logically.

 

[NanoStuff]

Adrafinil raises liver enzyme levels substantially. It's an indication of mild toxicity, which should be fine for the occasional use. But if you have a choice, you should probably try and find Modafinil, which has much higher efficacy.

I wasn't aware Adrafinil was still common within developed countries. From what I've seen it was most entirely replaced by Modafinil and eventually Armodafinil.

The drug however is very effective for your intended use, and unlike amphetamines it is non addictive and tolerance does not develop.

 

[AbAbber2k]

Prioritize your day ftw?
My daily energy comes from diet and sleep. But to each their own I guess.

 

[NanoStuff]

Originally posted by: AbAbber2k
Prioritize your day ftw?
My daily energy comes from diet and sleep. But to each their own I guess.

It's not a source of energy, nor does it invoke the metabolism to create more energy. It eliminates the desire for sleep, reduces your vulnerability to distractions and raises mood.

It's not something any combination of diet and sleep can do on demand.

 

[AbAbber2k]

Originally posted by: NanoStuff

Originally posted by: AbAbber2k
Prioritize your day ftw?
My daily energy comes from diet and sleep. But to each their own I guess.

It's not a source of energy, nor does it invoke the metabolism to create more energy. It eliminates the desire for sleep, reduces your vulnerability to distractions and raises mood.

It's not something any combination of diet and sleep can do on demand.

You apparently missed my point.

 

[amish]

Originally posted by: dawza
So, you may think you kicked a$$ on your final while zooming on Adderall, when you really bombed the test.

yeah, did that on a midterm....

thought that i aced it but instead i barely passed it. at least taking the adderall was fun.

 

[lokiju]

Drugs are bad.

Except for Ambien, shyte makes me feel like I'm tripping some times

 

[tweakmm]

Adranafil becomes modafinil once it does a first pass through the liver so for all practical psychotrophic purposes the two are the same(although adranafil is more toxic to the body and takes a bit longer to kick in.) The chemical is considered a wonder drug by many, allowing one to stay awake for days at a time with practically no side effects.
As to whether or not it will fvck you up more than caffeine you will probably not ge a buzz but you will find staying awake much easier without the caffeine swings and side effects.
The benefit of adranafil is that it is not recognized as a drug in the USA, as opposed to modafinil which is a scheduled substance. This means that international importation is completely legal(the same way that AIDs paitents can get drug treatment hear without the drugs being FDA appoved). This is important because you're not going to find a doctor just handing out modafinil prescriptions.

http://www.erowid.org/smarts/modafinil/modafinil.shtml

I suggest reading about a chemical as much as possible before you put it into your body.

Me? I just stick with my 100% legal, FDA regulated, insurance subsidized amphetamines in the form of it's mixed salts(aka Adderall).
For me it's 10000000x more useful than caffeine with none of the side effects. Plus it does help that doctors pretty much hand prescriptions out like candy.

 

[0roo0roo]

its nothing. 2 20oz mt dew? ur drinkingtoo much mt dew. Diet Mountain Dew 55.0mg caffeine
Coffee, Drip 115-175
Coffee, Brewed 80-135
Coffee, Espresso (2 ounces) 100
just drink a little cup of coffee and stop chugging dew.
http://wilstar.com/caffeine.htm

and it shouldn't wear off like that unless your really sleep deprived, and well if so, theres only one real solution