Modafinil Treatment Report : PatientsLikeMe

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Home > Community Treatment Reports and Side Effects > Modafinil Treatment Report

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What is Modafinil?

Modafinil is stimulant used to improve wakefulness in patients narcolepsy and shift work sleep disorder; adjunctive therapy for obstructive sleep apnea. Off label it is used for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and to treat fatigue in MS and other disorders.

Reported Purpose & Efficacy

Reasons and Efficacy
Purpose	# of patients	# of patients with evaluations Efficacy
Fatigue	1316	358
MS (Multiple Sclerosis)	550	46
Excessive daytime sleepiness (somnolence)	329	115
Brain fog	79	26
Other	51	11
Cognitive impairment	33	9

See all 83 reasons taken ▼

See all 1617 patients currently taking Modafinil

Mouse over the table for more information

Reported Side Effects

Side effects as an overall problem

Severe	33
Moderate	74
Mild	127
None	269

Commonly reported side effects, conditions, and hospitalizations associated with Modafinil

See all 93 reported side effects ▼ See top 6 reported side effects ▲
Jittery feeling	49	49
Dry mouth (xerostomia)	46	46
Headaches	35	35
Sleep problems	30	30
Anxious mood	30	30
Heart rate increased	26	26
Irritability	21	21
Stiffness in neck	18	18
Overactivity	16	16
Nausea	15	15
Insomnia	9	9
Shallow breathing	4	4
Heart palpitations	3	3
Sleepiness	3	3
Loss of appetite	2	2
Hospitalization	2	2
Elevated blood pressure	2	2
Stomach pain	2	2
Distractibility	2	2
Tachycardia (fast heart rate)	2	2
Paranoia	2	2
Difficulty sleeping through night	2	2
Racing heart feeling	2	2
Shakiness	2	2
Runny nose (rhinorrhea)	2	2
Nervousness	2	2
Stomach upset	2	2
Unintentional weight loss	2	2
Hives (urticaria)	2	2
Tiredness	1	1
Fainting	1	1
Jaw clenching	1	1
Increased appetite	1	1
Daytime sleepiness	1	1
Drowsiness	1	1
Dizziness and feeling faint	1	1
Agitation with restlessness	1	1
Sweating increased	1	1
Slowed thinking	1	1
Allergic reaction	1	1
Cognitive impairment	1	1
Migraine headaches	1	1
Kept me awake	1	1
Teeth cracking	1	1
Hyperactivity	1	1
Too Focused (hyperfocus)	1	1
Diarrhea intermittent	1	1
Metallic taste in mouth	1	1
Suicidal ideation	1	1
Agitation with irritability	1	1
Anxiety while in public or large crowds	1	1
Speedy feeling	1	1
Stomach problems	1	1
Increased insomnia	1	1
Increased anxiety	1	1
Numbness and Tingling in Arms	1	1
Insomnia agitation	1	1
Headaches with eye discomfort	1	1
Numbness and Tingling	1	1
Increased brain stimulation	1	1
swelling hands with and popping painful joints	1	1
Nervous Twitching	1	1
Bipolar II Disorder	1	1
Hypothyroidism	1	1
Wearing off sinus headache	1	1
Pain	1	1
Fatigue	1	1
Heartburn	1	1
Excessive yawning	1	1
Bladder problems	1	1
Mood swings	1	1
Shortness of breath (dyspnea)	1	1
Dizziness	1	1
Balance problems	1	1
Excessive perspiration (hyperhidrosis)	1	1
Tremor in hands	1	1
Numbness and Tingling with Pins and Needles	1	1
Hot flashes	1	1
Muscle spasms in neck and shoulders	1	1
Diarrhea	1	1
Irritable and grouchy	1	1
Decreased appetite	1	1
Bruxism (teeth grinding)	1	1
Swallowing difficulty (dysphagia)	1	1
Burning sensation	1	1
Muscle weakness	1	1
Feeling of heart pounding	1	1
Post nasal drip	1	1
Chest pain	1	1
Nightmares	1	1
Mania	1	1
Sleeplessness	1	1
Wet sensation on legs	1	1

Reported Dosages

Frequently reported dosages based on patients currently taking Modafinil. See all 51 dosages ►

200mg as needed	2 100mg as needed	100mg as needed	daily	50 mg daily	100 mg daily	200 mg daily	300 mg daily	400 mg daily	600 mg daily
60	11	86	21	19	368	688	36	268	9

Reported Stop Reasons

Why Patients Stopped Taking Modafinil (multiple reasons could be selected)
Reason	# Patients	Percentage of patients
Did not seem to work	189
Other	141
Expense	136
Side effects too severe	130
Doctor's advice	77
Change in health plan coverage	64
Personal research	26
Course of treatment ended	13
Not indicated	6

See all 605 patients who’ve stopped taking Modafinil

Reported Duration See details about how long patients take this treatment ▼ Reported Duration Hide details ▲

Currently Taking Modafinil

A bar graph

0-1 month	1-3 months	3-6 months	6 months-1year	1-2 years	2 years or more
1	9	17	36	81	487

Stopped Taking Modafinil

A bar graph

0-1 month	1-3 months	3-6 months	6 months-1year	1-2 years	2 years or more
74	71	70	97	99	179

Reported Adherence, Burden & Cost See details from patient evaluations ▼

Adherence

Taking treatment as prescribed

Adherence of Modafinil

Always	324	64%
Usually	117	23%
Sometimes	46	9%
Never	16	3%

Burden

Difficulty being on treatment

Burden of Modafinil

Very	21	4%
Somewhat	40	8%
A little	68	14%
Not at all	374	74%

Cost

Paid out of pocket

Cost of Modafinil

$200+	33	9%
$100-199	21	6%
$50-99	79	21%
$25-49	100	27%
< $25	134	36%

See more information, including instructions, precautions, side effects, and interactions.

Patient Evaluations

See all 503 patient evaluations

biker72

Sex: M

Pain: Most

Fatigue: Most

Sleep: Most

Stiffness: All

function: Little

external_stress: Some

Stickman: most
Description:M40y
CFS:3y Dx
FM:3y Dx
biker72

200mg as needed

since Feb 01, 2010
Efficacy Moderate for Fatigue
Side Effects Moderate
See full evaluation

Magzmom

Sex: F

On

Mouth/throat: mild

Arms: mild

Chest: mild

Legs: mild
Magzmom

200mg as needed

since Apr 20, 2009
Efficacy Moderate for Excessive daytime sleepiness (somnolence)
Side Effects Moderate
Advice/Tips Do not take too close to bedtime - or you will not sleep. Does give some help with daytime drowsiness. See full evaluation

dad_of_2

Sex: M

Bulbar: mild

Arms: moderate

Chest: none

Legs: severe
dad_of_2

200 mg daily

since Sep 22, 2008
Efficacy Moderate for Fatigue
Side Effects None
See full evaluation

See all 503 patient evaluations

Report created on February 11, 2012.

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