Effects of Modafinil Dosage on Narcolepsy Patients’ Ability to Maintain Sleep

If you have narcolepsy, you may have trouble staying awake during the day. The good news is that this condition can be managed with medication. Two wakefulness-promoting drugs are often used to treat this disorder: modafinil and armodafinil.

Modafinil Australia online is FDA-approved to treat narcolepsy, shift work sleep disorder, and obstructive sleep apnea. It doesn’t cure these conditions but it does help to reduce excessive sleepiness associated with them.

The Effects of the Modafinil Dosage

Modafinil (2-[(diphenyl methyl)sulfinyl] acetamide), known as Modvigil in the United States, is a wake-promoting agent. It is FDA-approved to treat excessive sleepiness related to narcolepsy, shift work sleep disorder, and obstructive sleep apnea/hypopnea syndrome. It is a psychostimulant with a different mechanism of action than amphetamine.

Common side effects of Modvigil 200 mg include headache, nausea, nervousness, dizziness, and difficulty sleeping. If these side effects persist or get worse, talk to your doctor. This medication may also cause addiction in some people. This risk is higher if you have a history of drug/alcohol use disorder or mental/mood changes (such as confusion, depression, hallucinations, and rare thoughts of suicide). Talk to your doctor about your risk for addiction.

Serious side effects of this medication can include fast/pounding/irregular heartbeat, chest pain, and mental/mood changes (such agitation, confusion, hallucinations, and rare thoughts of suicidal thinking). Get medical help right away if you have any of these side effects.

In a study of medication-free patients with narcolepsy, modafinil treatment titrated from 100 to 400 mg/day over 3 weeks remediated the decrement in a-2 and b-1-3 power on a vigilance-controlled EEG measured by low-resolution brain electromagnetic tomography, LORETA) that was observed in placebo-treated controls. Modafinil treatment was also associated with decreased th and d power in the resting EEG, and these correlates were localized to frontal and cingulate cortices.

Medications and supplements that can interact with this medicine include cyclosporine, theophylline, hormonal contraceptives, warfarin (Coumadin), lamotrigine (Motrin), diazepam (Valium), propranolol (Inderal), imipramine (Tofranil), phenytoin (Dilantin) and carbamazepine (Tegretol). It is unknown if this medication passes into breast milk. Consult your doctor before breastfeeding.

How do I take this medication?

Take this medication by mouth with or without food as directed by your doctor. If you miss a dose, take it as soon as you remember. If it is near the time of the next dose, skip the missed dose and take the next dose at the regular time. Do not double the dose to catch up.

How to reduce the side effects of this medicine?

If possible, follow good sleep habits (such as sleeping in a dark/quiet room and avoiding caffeine close to bedtime) to improve your symptoms. Tell your family and friends about your condition, so they can understand why you need extra sleep. Also, let your teachers know if you have narcolepsy so they don’t mistake your unusual behavior for laziness or staying up late.