Modafinil: The Real Life NZT-48 (from Limitless)
Modafinil makes you super human.
It makes you mighty. It makes you think faster and think more clearly.
…or does it?
NZT-48
There is a movie called Limitless.
The movie is about a writer who is a bit of a lazy slob and has a nasty case of writers block. He lives in a filthy apartment, has long, hippie hair, and goes drinking rather than starting his novel.
One day, he runs into an old pal. His old pal used to be a drug dealer. Nowadays his old pal is dressed sharp and looking good. Instead of dealing drugs he is now a pharmaceutical rep, a legal drug dealer.
The drug dealer and the writer sit down for a cup of coffee and a chat. The writer spills his woes for his old friend. His old friend, the drug dealer, tells him about this magical new drug.
The new drug is called NZT-48.
The drug dealer says “You know how people only use 10% of their brains? Well, this drug allows you to use 100% of your brain“.
The writer says “Yeah, right. Whatever. Sure it does“.
The drug dealer says “I’m going to give you one for free, on the house“.
The writer says “nah, I don’t want it“.
The drug dealer says “Be gratful. That drug costs $800. Per pill“.
This piques the writers interest and curiosity.
One day, the writer takes the pill.
And then the fun starts….
Before he knows it, he remembers things he learned once, many years ago.
He can predict all conversations even before they take place.
He can seduce any woman.
He makes millions of dollars in record time.
He writes his book in an afternoon.
He is the smartest man alive.
He can do anything.
As long as he is on the drug.
What a great premise for a movie, right?
It’s just too bad that drugs like that don’t exist.
Or do they?
Drugs exist that turn a tubby, soft body into the body of a muscular god.
Drugs exist that can turn a low energy man into a high energy man.
Why don’t drugs that make your mind sharper exist?
It turns out they do exist. They’re called -
These drugs are also known as memory enhancers, neuro enhancers, cognitive enhancers, and intelligence enhancers.
So I ordered Modafinil from an Indian pharmacy back in May of 2017.
That already sounds sketchy, but let’s give it a go. You can only get Modafinil through a prescription in the USA, but I was curious to try this nootropic.
Was it really was a cognitive edge that enhances performance and makes you more focused with a faster, sharper mind or was it all eloquent bullshit I found online to drive sales as an affiliate.
Looking for information on the web you’ll find well-researched articles on the matter, YouTube videos, dumb articles written by 20 year old’s trying to sell you stuff and then content by more legit men who you can actually trust.
It’s sometimes true, the belief that the more challenging a drug is to get, the better it works. But let’s not forget that the harder it is to get, it’s usually more dangerous.
I first became aware of Modafinil actually by Dave Asprey over at bulletproofexec.com (now redirects to bulletproof.com). Then I heard about it from Joe Rogan, Tim Ferris, Mike Cernovich among others.
What is it exactly?
In case you’re not aware of what Modafinil is, it’s a medication for narcolepsy among other things. It has wakefulness promoting properties by acting as a dopamine inhibitor. It’s been used by pilots for long distance flights, executives to pull all nighters and entrepreneurs.
People online rave about how this is the nootropic to get. So let’s check it out, I’m curious to see what it was like.
Is it real life NZT?
After reading how everyone was saying it’s so much like the fictional drug, NZT from the movie Limitless:
How it makes you mighty.
Makes you more productive.
Makes you think faster and clearer.
I became interested nootropics for a while because my mental performance was not where it was normally. I thought perhaps maybe I’m becoming low T, maybe I have ADD and never knew it, maybe I’m just lazy and need to get my act together.
All I knew was that I felt off so I started looking for different things to do because habits alone was not enough when you’re body is not functioning optimally.
To make a long story short, it was diet. By cutting out dairy, excessive sugar and fasting in the morning I’m back to being good as new.
But back to Modafinil….
I bought a 1 month supply from ModafinilEdge.com (no longer exists).
It took a month for me to actually get the package so I was happy that at least it was no a scam. I bought the tablets with Bitcoin so I was able to get a nice discount on the purchase. I also like using Bitcoin for this type of purchase because I’m not handing over my credit card information to some operation I don’t trust.
First impressions
My first impression was that this is very sketchy. On the website they state that their source is Sun Pharma, India’s largest pharmacy manufacturer who also supplies the USA.
Great!
The actual tablet sheets however stated that the manufacture was HAB Pharma.
What?
Alright, already off to a bad start.
After being told countless times how powerful this drug was I was quite careful to take a tablet early enough in the day so it could run it’s course and I could sleep at night. Some recommend breaking these tiny tablets into two and talking only half.
I went ahead and took 1 tablet in the morning so I would know how powerful a dose of 1 tablet is.
…and I waited an hour.
Then another hour and then another.
I felt no change.
I was seriously surprised I felt nothing. Maybe I got scammed after all and I am actually taking caffeine or starch pills or maybe I’m a non responder.
So I took another pill to make sure at lunch.
Then the effects hit me hard.
WOW!
About an hour after I took the second tablet (so I took 1 tablet in the morning, then 3 hours later I took a 2nd one) the effects hit me and were a bit overwhelming to be honest. I was worried I would not be sleeping that night (taking 2 was not smart and I should have been more patient).
What does it feel like?
The way it feels physically is that their is pressure in the front of your head, not painful or anything. Just, well, pressure is the best word I can use to describe it.
It's not uncomfortable but you won't feel like you do in your normal, everyday state.
Benefits I experienced on of Modafinil
Modafinil had numerous benefits I experienced.
1 – A singular focus
The drug gives you a hyper, SINGULAR focus on whatever it is your doing, even if it’s something stupid.
I started laughing at how fun and ridiculous at the same time it felt. I was chatting with my friend on Facebook about how it felt because he never heard of this drug and knew about my little experiment.
I was typing to him in the chat box on Facebook and I was just super focused on that chat box. It was really weird. Just hyper focused on a small section of my laptop screen where that chat box was. I was not distracted by anything else. Just the chat box in the lower right hand corner of my laptop screen.
But I could choose what to hyper focus on. It was like being in a sort of flow state but more intense and with a very specific focus.
2 – It gives you instant flow state.
We all know what “flow” feels like. It’s when were in the proverbial “zone”. We’re focused, efficient and on task. But normally it take a bit of effort to get into flow state. We have to build the right habits to kick the crap out of our tendency to procrastinate, coffee or tea helps with this too. But the state of flow only lasts a short time, not all day. Then we need a break.
With Modafinil, it’s an on demand flow state. You’re almost instantly in flow for hours once it kicks in.
3 -You have ZERO patience.
Modafinil makes you very impatient. Not ideal for going shopping and having to wait in line, or like me driving my motorcycle. You’ll feel like “get the fuck out of my way”. You want to go, go, go. Do, do do. Not in a cracked out sort of way like Adderall or too much caffeine; where you’re fidgety and can’t sit still. You can sit still with no reservations, but you just want to do what you decide to do NOW, not later.
Which leads me to my next point.
4 – You make decisions fast.
You’re not wishy washy or even contemplative at all. You just work fast and get things done and are never bothered with notions “should I do this or that”. You just decide and do.
5 – No mental fatigue.
You don’t get tired mentally which is why people report being able to work and work and work. You have to try it to understand it. You really don’t get mentally fatigued at all. It’s just a constant “on” feeling where you’re able to have a singular focus for hours and hours on whatever you decide to do.
6 – No appetite.
Most of us eat to much which is why we all tend to be a bit fatter. When on Modafinil you will have zero appetite. You’ll even need to consciously remind yourself to drink water.
7 – Positive outlook, more sociable
I felt mentally happier and more sociable for some reason. I know it’s cliche, but I had an amplified “can do” attitude. Overall you'll be in the mood to work, you'll focus on work easily, make decisions quickly, won't have patience for nonsense and you'll feel capable of achieving your goals.
8 – No side effects for me after using it for a month
I had no crash, no headache. I went to sleep later than I normally do and I woke up feeling great. I also had no urge to take it again. I could use it as a tool when I knew I had a lot of writing to do and what not.
Any problems?
Yes.
Negative Side Effects of Using Modafinil
Modafinil did give me a few mild side effects. Here is what I personally experienced.
1 – You will get a massive headache if you don’t drink water.
I could easily feel that the pressure in my head could turn into a headache without enough water. I was able to keep it at bay by simply drinking an unusually high amount of water.
2 – Modafinil is terrible for creative work.
If you need to read or write or for spend a long time editing a video or writing code or whatever, Modafinil really is an unfair edge for these sorts of task. It makes you so focused, it’s quite amazing.
But for work that requires creativity or problem solving, it’s not a good fit because it really gives you a hyper, singular focus on what you’re doing.
3 – It’s hit or miss buying online. I had a 4 sheets of 10 tablets each.
Two of the sheets were non reactive. Meaning, I took tablets and felt nothing. The other two sheets were good. So for obvious reasons, you purchase something you’re not expecting 50% of the product to be effective and the other 50% to be worthless. But that’s how it is with these sorts of sketchy operations.
There are also listed side effects I've found:
- Back pain
- Headache
- Nausea
- Feeling nervous
- Stuffy nose
- Diarrhea
- Feeling anxious
- Dizziness
- Upset stomach
- Trouble sleeping
I personally did not experience any of the above, the trouble sleeping thing though would be an issue if you took Modafinil in late afternoon or evening.
Final Thoughts
So would I take it again? Yes and no.
If I could source tablets that were safe and effective for a reasonable price, I would be curious to try it again. It’s definitely and edge for a lot of specific tasks. It’s not something I would take everyday nor want to.
Again, it provides a really helpful and fun hyper focus with a positive disposition. I would say this was a fun experiment but not something you would want to build into any sort of long term habit for productivity.
I was curious to try Modafinil in part because I was unable to focus which in large part was due to my poor diet and lack of exercise at the time. You can get away with this sort of behavior as a 20 year old but in your 30's it's time to start taking care of yourself and grow into that attractive man who has choice in life.