5 ms·

Ritalin != Provigil. I've tried adderall, which is similar enough to Ritalin, and can anecdotally confirm the article's claim that creativity is reduced while o

by sgibat 18y ago

Ritalin != Provigil. I've tried adderall, which is similar enough to Ritalin, and can anecdotally confirm the article's claim that creativity is reduced while on the drug. But, Provigil's mechanism is completely different, and I don't think you can make the same claim about it from anecdotal evidence just because they both keep you awake. Adderall and its friends do far more than that. And if the same claim could be made of Provigil, at best the article's conclusion could be: There is a time and place for everything.

swombat 18y ago
Moreover, it's quite obvious from the article that the author hasn't actually tried it to justify those comments. I've not tried Ritalin and such, but I have tried Modafinil. Though there is certainly some downside to the sometimes a little intense high of it, it definitely has been useful at times (such as when I was working a full-time job and starting up my company in the evening!) I haven't noticed any issues with creativity on Modafinil. If anything, I find that I think of more interesting answers than otherwise - as if my lateral thinking was enhanced rather than diminished. Daniel
- delackner 18y ago
  I would have to agree with swombat. As with so many medical topics, many people instinctively respond without knowing anything about the published literature, let alone even the broad characteristics of the thing they are talking about. Ritalin is a stimulant, like speed or caffeine. They are broad-acting jackhammers that boost your entire system, including your heart for that matter. Not exactly something to take lightly. Modafinil affects the chemicals that the brain uses to regulate wakefulness, and surprise surprise many of us sleeping too little are actually a little bit sleepy even when we have just finished sleeping. Many of the positive effects people ascribe to the drug are simply the effects of being truly totally awake. ANYONE considering using modafinil should note that a single 200mg pill is a far more powerful dose than you probably want. That dosage is for a patient with severe wakefulness problems, to force their body to stay awake for an entire day. Exercise restraint and caution.
  - swombat 18y ago
    Agreed - I only ever take 1/2 100mg pills - so 50mg in total - and not every day. Those are fine to give me a wakeful buzz through the day when I take them. Even when I was working on my side business in the mornings and evenings, I still only got through about 1.5 of those pills a day, so that's a total of 150mg. Bear in mind in those days I was sleeping about 4 hours a night, plus a 1-hour nap sometime in the day. That lasted 6 months, and near the end I really needed the Modafinil to be productive in that time, otherwise I'd just curl up and fall asleep with my head on the keyboard :-) Daniel
    - prakash 18y ago
      How did the side business turn out? And, would you pop these pills again in a similar situation?
      - swombat 18y ago
        I quit and went on it full-time. It made a reasonable amount of money, and then it failed due to a major misunderstanding between me and my business partner about the goals of the business. I'm now working on another online business, though the first one is still running and making some modest amount of money. I still occasionally use half-pills of 100mg Modafinils (ie 50mg doses), rarely, when I'm tired for some reason but I want or need to get some solid work done. Normally, though, I've reverted back to caffeine, for better or for worse. Occasionally, I also get bored of caffeine and go back to taking Modafinil regularly for a week or two. I wouldn't recommend what I did - but not because of the Modafinil. Chronic lack of sleep just isn't good for you, drugs or no drugs. If I was teleported back in time to that point and offered that choice under the same circumstances, but with today's knowledge, I would definitely do it again.

by sgibat 18y ago

swombat 18y ago

Moreover, it's quite obvious from the article that the author hasn't actually tried it to justify those comments. I've not tried Ritalin and such, but I have tried Modafinil. Though there is certainly some downside to the sometimes a little intense high of it, it definitely has been useful at times (such as when I was working a full-time job and starting up my company in the evening!) I haven't noticed any issues with creativity on Modafinil. If anything, I find that I think of more interesting answers than otherwise - as if my lateral thinking was enhanced rather than diminished. Daniel

delackner 18y ago
I would have to agree with swombat. As with so many medical topics, many people instinctively respond without knowing anything about the published literature, let alone even the broad characteristics of the thing they are talking about. Ritalin is a stimulant, like speed or caffeine. They are broad-acting jackhammers that boost your entire system, including your heart for that matter. Not exactly something to take lightly. Modafinil affects the chemicals that the brain uses to regulate wakefulness, and surprise surprise many of us sleeping too little are actually a little bit sleepy even when we have just finished sleeping. Many of the positive effects people ascribe to the drug are simply the effects of being truly totally awake. ANYONE considering using modafinil should note that a single 200mg pill is a far more powerful dose than you probably want. That dosage is for a patient with severe wakefulness problems, to force their body to stay awake for an entire day. Exercise restraint and caution.
- swombat 18y ago
  Agreed - I only ever take 1/2 100mg pills - so 50mg in total - and not every day. Those are fine to give me a wakeful buzz through the day when I take them. Even when I was working on my side business in the mornings and evenings, I still only got through about 1.5 of those pills a day, so that's a total of 150mg. Bear in mind in those days I was sleeping about 4 hours a night, plus a 1-hour nap sometime in the day. That lasted 6 months, and near the end I really needed the Modafinil to be productive in that time, otherwise I'd just curl up and fall asleep with my head on the keyboard :-) Daniel
  - prakash 18y ago
    How did the side business turn out? And, would you pop these pills again in a similar situation?
    - swombat 18y ago
      I quit and went on it full-time. It made a reasonable amount of money, and then it failed due to a major misunderstanding between me and my business partner about the goals of the business. I'm now working on another online business, though the first one is still running and making some modest amount of money. I still occasionally use half-pills of 100mg Modafinils (ie 50mg doses), rarely, when I'm tired for some reason but I want or need to get some solid work done. Normally, though, I've reverted back to caffeine, for better or for worse. Occasionally, I also get bored of caffeine and go back to taking Modafinil regularly for a week or two. I wouldn't recommend what I did - but not because of the Modafinil. Chronic lack of sleep just isn't good for you, drugs or no drugs. If I was teleported back in time to that point and offered that choice under the same circumstances, but with today's knowledge, I would definitely do it again.