Modafinil and alcohol

I got drunk for the first time in god knows how many years a few weeks ago (my sisters bday and all she wanted was to get pissed with her sisters and friends). I researched a few sites after worrying about side effects etc.

Didn't need to worry at all. Got drunk faster (or maybe it was the jelly shots lol) and didn't think I was drunk till I saw the videos of us on the way home. Didn't sleep any different and never had a hangover.

Enjoying life with alcohol is slippery slope. It may make you feel good once in a while but if you self medicated you would need more and more and then there is that pesky alcoholism (been there done that).

I think it depends on what I drink. I feel like I can drink a ton of beer and feel fine the next day. Wine always makes me feel crappy the next day. Mixed drinks - 3-4 is my limit tops. Anything above that and it takes me a good day to recover.

The by product of alcohol is sugar. People who are drawn to alcohol can utilize the sugar as brain energy. Where as everyone else can't. Just something I learned in rehab. I like alcohol. It stops me from having HH and SP and I wake up easier. It doesn't change whether or not I need to sleep 2 to 3 hours after being awake. It also supresses REM. which in my case (no matter what my PSG said) helps a lot. It is a downer so I watch how much and how often I drink. And I also do regular liver cleanses. I've been given the name alcohol abuser because I am open to admitting self medicating. But I really don't care. No one else wants to help medicate me and I hate being stuck in my symptoms everyday. I have had symptoms for 13 years before I started trying new things (alcohol). I have also gone a year (4 different times) without any alcohol and my symptoms don't get better. So yeah, I hear you. To me habitual pills are no different.

Alcohol mixed with modafinil and other meds can be like playing Russian Rullett. I understand we all want to go with the flow and have drinks with our family and friends. The medications we take for N and
N/C including modafinil are dangerous when mixed, especially when excessive amounts are consumed. Alcohol can act as a stimulant (for some of us our body metabolizes it differntly). My sister had N/C and was on modafinl, effexor, and just prescribed ritilan on top of those two. The mixture took her life Sept 5 this year. She was 39. Is the risk worth it? It's a choice we all have to make every time we are faced with the choice to mix or not. It's not worth it to me. I lost my sister and best friend.

I'm on modafinil and usually try to skip it the day I plan on drinking. If I don't I feel like I get dehydrated much faster and get a headache. I don't drink often, but if I do I will get really tired after one drink but once I get a buzz I'm wide awake

I do drink alcohol, but I have the opposite reaction. Two drinks and I'm out for the night. I do agree that your doc seems hypocritical. Many things can be habit forming, including modafinil and meds! Just like with our meds, be careful, exercise self control, and be safe.

I, too, was told to avoid alcohol while taking modafinil and other N/C meds. When I asked why, they told me that alcohol can increase/worsen sleep-maintaining insomnia (that's where you fall asleep, but you keep waking up during the night) because after a few hours of sleep, its sedative effects wear off. I read about it--but my doctor failed to mention that WHEN I drank was key to this.

Drinking right before bed (e.g. drinking to help you fall asleep) can indeed cause this kind of insomnia. However, if you drink several hours before going to bed (e.g. drinking something with dinner), this doesn't happen. I was annoyed that my doctor didn't make the distinction... first she made it sound like alcohol interacted with my medication (adderall), and then she made it sound as if it was just plain bad for sleep. Neither of these things is true.

It was especially annoying because I rarely drink. Sometimes I'll drink on vacation, but all in all I have less than 1 drink a month. I have a thing for Scotch... dunno why. Anyway, the problem I had with this was that the whole doctor/patient relationship is based on trust. My doc should trust me enough to explain that drinking alcohol before bed (esp. in order to sleep) is a BIG NO and having alcohol early in the day will definitely make me drowsy, but having a drink with dinner every now and again is OK. Also, I need to trust that my doc is giving me good information, right? Well, after the whole avoid alcohol thing, I'll admit, I never fully trusted the advice that doc gave me. I felt like I had to double-check her work, so to speak. My new neurologist is much better about that stuff...

 I don't know any long term effects, but I know 2 different people who are heavy drinkers (borderline alcoholics) who drink regularly on it and didn't have any side effects. None that were obvious in the last few years. Although like I said, the long term effects are unknown :/

I'm not a Dr, but I think drinking, with in reason, will be fine, as long as your not washing it down with alcohol. I'd assume your drinking hours after taking it?

I don't have any issues, but if I drink, it's usually at night, not while it's fully in my system. In general, drinking whileon stimulants can increase your heart rate, and blood pressure.

I don't have much experience with this, because I hardly drink, but the few times I have, I didn't notice anything. It was later in the day, though, as the others said, so who knows how much modafinil was even in my system at that point. I don't crash on modafinil so I don't actually know when it wears off for me. I just get normal sleepy toward the end of the day, like a healthy person would naturally.


Oh, and I never have more than one drink, so I don't know if more than that would've done anything funny.

I've been taking Modafinil since it was approved for use in the US. I haven't changed my drinking habits since being on it, which is to say I drink in social settings (1-3 glasses of wine, maybe slightly more if it is an all day event) once every few months. Occassionally, I have a glass of wine in the evening, but again, that is at most, once or twice a month. I have never gotten sick from drinking and taking Modafinil. My doctor asks the question at every appointment, but he never blinks when I give my answer, so I am assuming what I am doing is ok. He DOES blink and comment when I mention the caffeine I drink, so I am pretty sure if my alcohol consumption was a problem, he would say something!