Long post, sorry. Provigil (modafinil): what actually has human evidence behind it, and what is extrapolation from animals?
Forum consensus and published consensus diverged here about five years ago and never reconverged.
The effect size I actually noticed is roughly a third of what the write-ups imply, and it took two years to be sure.
The comparison group matters more than the compound when the outcome is something as fuzzy as focus.
Sleep is the limiting factor and it compounds quietly for a fortnight before it is obvious.
Happy to be corrected on any of the above.
What is the first thing you would read if you were starting from zero?
Name the active ingredient, not just the brand. It makes these threads searchable years later.
Narrow conclusion.
Same here.
Read methods.
Loose evidence is not nothing, but a washout either side is the only reason to trust your own take.
Narrow conclusion. Two years in on modafinil and it lines up.
Is a baseline blood test really necessary before starting something like this?
Test one thing at a time. It feels slower and it is the only way to learn anything. Sleep pressure was my main issue with modafinil too.
How long before you can reasonably say something is or is not doing anything? Not on modafinil but the pattern is familiar.
Same here.
How long before you can reasonably say something is or is not doing anything?
Baseline first.
I would take the narrow conclusion. Broad ones are more interesting and less true.