47 replies to this topic

[austinchng]

Hi, I just like to add something. I just notice my modalert packaging come with a printing written as, "Modafinil Tablets USP".
I do not doubt about having fake drugs, but does the USP by any chance make it more genuine? If you refer to some internet image or some old thread here about packaging, I do not see the word USP.

[mdma]

I've just ordered some Modalert 200mgx50 from pharm-orders.com, and after reading extensively on this forum, I'm now wondering if I'm going to get a genuine generic modafinil product, equivalent to Cephalon branded products, or something else.

It strikes me there are three possibilities:
a) Modalert really is the real deal, and the anecdotal evidence to the contrary is due to extraneous factors
b) Modalert is formulated differently, and the apparent differences in effect reported reflect this
c) There are fake versions of Modalert being sold, and even if the genuine article from Sun is good quality, the fake stuff is bad news

The problems with scenario c), of course, is that there is little way of knowing whether you're ordering the real deal or a fake. Even the on-line seller might not know what they've got.

One of the insidious problems with scenario c) is that even if Sun knew or suspected there were counterfeiters in the marketplace, they probably wouldn't be wanting to advertise their suspicions -- almost nothing would more quickly shut down demand for their product. Also, India isn't exactly the home of the protection of intellectual proprty rights, so even being able to get it stopped might be next to impossible for Sun if this were happening.

Unless you have direct experience with the Cephalon product (Provigil, Alertec, Modidial, Modavigil etc.), it's probably difficult to form an credible opinion about how similar or different the Modalert is to the branded product. I'm even thinking seriously now about purchasing some of the expensive stuff just to do the comparison myself. But jeez -- it's an expensive experiment.

So I thought to separate the signal from the noise I'd ask people to comment on their impressions of Modalert, but _only_ if they have had previous direct experience with the Cephalon branded products in order to compare. It might also be useful to mention the source of the product (e.g., pharma-orders, airsealed, etc.) in order to see if there is any pattern in that regard.

BTW, a lot of the effects that people have been reporting from using Modalert sound suspiciously like caffeine to me. Anyone else struck by this similarity? If you were going to produce a fake pill, caffeine would be an obvious cheap substitute for a narcoleptic drug.

Anyway, just to be clear, this is all speculation on my part, I have no evidence or heard reports of fake Modalert being sold. Just trying to make sense of the conflicting reports...

-Celavie

Why even bother stressing over theory of fake pills marketing and overall effects of generic brands when the real Modafinil from Cephalon or Shire are available for cheaper?
Of course Modalert is crap, its not guaranteed to be even near the bio-equivalence of the pure product. If i were to produce generic modafinil, ( just like Sun Pharma), easiest thing in the world would be to substitute part of the ratio with caffeine or caffeine-like products.

The FDA standard for bioequivalence is 80% and 125 %. The actual taste of the Modalert formulation is quite different from the Alertec version, and i guess buying speed off the street would give a better effect comparing to it. Seriously to all who are thinking of saving a few dollars with Modalert, when you realize you just lost 200 $ on crap, its just quite dissapointing.

Now what would be REALLY interesting and definitely more of a scientific approach would be to analyse Modalert formulation to check whats really in it...But since im pretty sure no one has time and access to a chemistry lab, well just go with what we know. I do have Analytical Chemistry in my next semester and ill try to see what can be done to put an end on all this Modalert presumption.

EDIT: i just noticed last post was a quote from two years ago...which make my reply pretty useless then..

Edited by mdma, 31 March 2010 - 01:31 AM.

[Rain]

just tried modalert today, barely felt anything (it was only at 100mg but still) i will try 200mg in a few days!

[spider]

just tried modalert today, barely felt anything (it was only at 100mg but still) i will try 200mg in a few days!

Wow, I only need 25 mg of it; sometimes 50 mg max.

[Rain]

just tried modalert today, barely felt anything (it was only at 100mg but still) i will try 200mg in a few days!

Wow, I only need 25 mg of it; sometimes 50 mg max.

haha really lucky you.
i actually did feel something quite a few hours after i took it, probably a bit after that post, but nothing really that stimulating.
i tried ALCAR at 400mg to see if it would aid, and i just got sleepy hah.

[jCole]

I've taken 50mg per day, of generic Modafinil for about 2-3 years now with no tolerance build up so far. BUT, I cycle off on the weekends... and take a full week off every 2-3 months. (I do a complete cleanse from all supplements during this time)

[austinchng]

I've taken 50mg per day, of generic Modafinil for about 2-3 years now with no tolerance build up so far. BUT, I cycle off on the weekends... and take a full week off every 2-3 months. (I do a complete cleanse from all supplements during this time)

Do you take anything else with the Moda? Things to maximise the effect or maybe milk thistle to protect your liver?

[jCole]

I've taken 50mg per day, of generic Modafinil for about 2-3 years now with no tolerance build up so far. BUT, I cycle off on the weekends... and take a full week off every 2-3 months. (I do a complete cleanse from all supplements during this time)

Do you take anything else with the Moda? Things to maximise the effect or maybe milk thistle to protect your liver?

Only thing that I use on a daily basis is I take a one a day multi in the morning w/ a protein shake and a meal, then I take Fish Oil (Super Omega from LEF) three times a day, 300mg N-Acetyl-l-tyrosine (once in the morning and a second at noon) and will usually take some Ashwagandha when I get home from work to mellow out.

I drink at least a gallon of water throughout the day, along with a glass of warm water before bed, with a couple table spoons of raw organic apple cider vinegar. (helps alkaline the body)

I experiment with other supplements on and off all the time, but the above has been my daily regimen for years. I get checked out once a year and my liver enzymes are fine...

Your mileage may vary tho.

Edited by jCole, 07 April 2010 - 07:50 PM.

[cbn5]

i read somewhere in this thread that cephalon holds some patents on crystallization processes.
this might be a reason for the weakness of modalert compared to the original brand.

Impact of crystal habit on pharmaceutical processing:
Crystal habit of a drug is an important variable in pharmaceutical manufacturing. A number of basic physical properties such as solubility, dissolution rate, melting behavior, and certain micromeritic properties or performance characteristics, e.g. tablet compressibility, mechanical strength, powder flow depend on the habit modification of a particular drug. Furthermore these variations can alter the bioavailability and therapeutic response.

Edited by cbn5, 08 April 2010 - 01:46 AM.

[jamesstandifer]

Hey Mark
Just wanted to share the source for Modalert
I have ordered it from Desiredmeds that i have found in the following blog about modalert price comparison:
First 4 pills didn't showed anything but then it has been started to work. At the beginning i was mixing modafinil with other meds i used..so probably that was the reason of weakness..

[nito]

i find wakealert more effective.

[unregistered_user]

i find wakealert more effective.

Interesting. I haven't ever heard of wakealert. What can you tell us about it? A cursory search didn't turn up anything.

[nito]

i find wakealert more effective.

Interesting. I haven't ever heard of wakealert. What can you tell us about it? A cursory search didn't turn up anything.

One wakealert pill is appearantly 150 mg modalert. It seems to last longer. Modalert doesen't seem to work the same for me as it used to.

[kamikaze126]

I bought modalert from save on pills. The package and pills are exactly as descibed here as real. It did not act as expected almost like a short lived energy drink. I can sleep soon after taking actually makes me tired and wired at the sametime, overall a bad feeling worse than caffine.I tried for 3 days no change. Tried the suggested on a full stomach on an empty stomach and dissolved in water. I think most internet posters who like modalert are either 1 working for the online pharms 2 getting a different product than I got or 3 very easily fooled...For all those who said drop in water... I looked up official fda drug info for provigil on drugs .com "Modafinil is a white to off-white, crystalline powder that is practically insoluble in water and cyclohexane" I dropped one in water and it disappeared in 10 seconds. For all those convinced that if urine smells then you got a real product mine smelled. I was tired and pissed off i paid money for smelly urine!! I am trying brand name provigil soon let u know

Edited by kamikaze126, 25 January 2012 - 09:55 PM.

[summer stars]

Provigil is not "only" modafinil...well, it is, but it also uses a patented particle size that as far as I know no other manufacturer can or does use. So I assume Provigil probably absorbs better, which makes taking a generic on an empty stomach even more important. Modapro seems to have better reviews then Modalert, so you may want to try that.

Also, real (not fake, and I'm sure there are fakes) Modalert seems to have some sort of coating on it. It's either meant to be timed release (I don't know why this would be, since modafinil has such a long half life) or it's to protect it from stomach acid...but I'm pretty sure it's the only brand of modafinil with that coating, so something tells me it's a time release. In which case my advice would be to get a pill crusher and crush up the Modalert so you get it all at once. Take it on an empty stomach, by itself, and then keep the empty stomach for 1-2 hours. Obviously that won't turn a fake pill genuine, but it may improve the quality of a genuine pill.

and it's not supposed to dissolve in water, so if your's does, it's fake.

I wonder if piperine (yes, I know this isn't a well-loved ingredient on Longecity) would make modafinil more effective, given that it gets metabolized in the liver? May be something to think about. Source Naturals has bioperine and the next time I have modafinil I plan on trying them out together.

[gray.bot]

I've taken a lot of the Sun Modalert brand from many different suppliers and have also received the original packaging and box. It's all pretty much the same, coming in the silver blister tabs everyone is familiar with.

I have found it to be extremely effective however I've never had 'real' Provigil to compare.

A few things to weight in:

1 - summar stars is pretty spot on, you really can't be taking it with a meal or even kind full stomach. I dump it with a big glass of water as soon as I wake and don't eat for at least 30-60 mins
2 - my pee doesn't smell after taking it, and I've read a lot that only adrafinil makes your pee smell
3 - first few days were absolutely rock star and then the 'high' dies off just giving you physical and mental wakefullness without much of the attached total awesomeness
4 - guys are correct, take 3 or even 4 or 5 days off the modafinil and then hit it again and you'll feel it quite strong

Regarding this point - and I'm no doctor, chemist, or even someone who can multiply two numbers effectively - on the surface I kinda accept the theory of the modafinil building up in the bloodstream over days (which is why a 75% dose can work) but I have a few modifications (totally quack theories, but whatever)

* - one or more of modafinils metabolites which aren't very effective at creating the effects we want has a much longer halflife, and it lurks around and builds up over time
* - dopamine receptors desensitize to the effect of modafinil (which isn't totally understood yet anyway) and they stop flooding so much dopamine/reacting in a more sensitive way to dopamine transmissions
* - dopamine receptors desesitize to the reuptake inhibiting effects of modafinil, and after a few days they simply start saying 'fark it, there's unused dopamine and we are reuptaking it biatch!'
* - the more inactive metabolites bind to the dopamine receptors, possibly with more or less affinity than modafinil, so over time it 'clogs up the holes' and the modafinil cannot bind (remember modafinil is also working via other pathways producing more wakefullness promoting but unable work with dopamine to put a smile on our face)

Very interesting experiment: I have been taking selegiline and I have found that it has created the effect that any dose of modafinil hits me like a tonne of bricks. Call this synergising or whatever, but it definitely works. Any dose of modafinil is like that 'first day' high, and taking 200mg of modafinil everyday for the week - the last day is as good as the first. I've done this for a week straight and just been off my face, and this has been confirmed by my friend on this forum leftside.

Also, due to the overstimulation I reduced doses to 100mg and these were extremely strong too (just less strong after hour 10-12). Depending on which of my quack theories you choose, reducing this dose may reduce the time it takes for receptors to desensitize, or the amount of the 'evil metabolite' that causes havic, therefore increasing the effect of the next dose too - getting to a nice level where every dose works brilliantly.

Selegiline does a few things, its is a MAOI and has antidepressant properties itself, but also it resensitizes dopamine receptors to enable them to better receive the communications. Also, it has an effect known as 'impulse
'propagation mediated transmitter release' which means that it increases the amount of neurotransmitter that gets released when a neuron is stimulated by receiving an impulse. It doesn't just flood it like amphetamines, but if a neuron is going to send dopamine the selegiline causes it to send even more.

So be inhibiting the cleanup of excessive dopamine (MAOI) and allowing neurons to be more sensitive to the incoming dopamine transmissions (resensitizing) plus increasing the amount of dopamine that is released during each communication, plus however modafinil effects dopamine which is to prevent reuptake by sending neurons and also possibly binding to dopamine receptors itself causing them to behave as if dopamine was there...

YOU GET THE AWESOME EFFECTS OF MODALERT EVERY DAY - JUST LIKE IT WAS THE FIRST TIME

And then you stop worrying if you got fake modalert, or what the hell is going on.

P.S. I won't ever start on the 'general health' proposition that people with healthy systems and great diets have all the building blocks needed to build all the neurotransmitters and get heaps better effects from drugs. And the people that are unhealthy taking 200mg, 400mg, 600mg to try to blast effects into them don't have all the building blocks or the enzymes to properly build all the dopamine and other neurotransmitters to get the positive effects.

[Cherie Thorpe]

I AM THOROUGLY CONFUSED AS TO WHERE THE BEST ONLINE SOURCE OF MODALERT 200 GM IS? PLEASE DIRECT ME AS I NEED THIS FOR MY CONDITION

[Nate-2004]

Well for someone like me who suffers from chronic fatigue the effects are pronounced. Like a lifting of the heavy weight of lethargy and a consequential improvement in mood. Of course, if the fatigue wasn't there in the first place, I doubt my mood would be improved by the modafinil.

 

I'd suspect sleep apnea here which should be tested for and treated first. Also, not true, I don't have chronic fatigue and the effects are still quite pronounced in terms of differences. I only take it twice a week separated by its full elimination time of 4 days based on half life.

 

I wouldn't recommend otherwise unless you've got a legit case of narcolepsy. 

 

I'm still wondering whether Provigil and Modalert are the exact same drug but this question remains answered only anecdotally by those who've tried both and said they're too similar to tell. 

 

If I get my hands on Provigil I'll post my results here as I've only been using Modalert and Modvigil, both of which are the same to me.

 

 

Edited by Nate-2004, 16 October 2018 - 02:30 PM.