Is someone you work with taking Provigil to give them an extra competitive edge? I’ve spoken with one executive who says he uses it regularly to work twenty hour days, and the buzz lately is that it’s the “entrepreneur’s drug of choice” around Silicon Valley. Over the last week two separate entrepreneurs have mentioned it casually in conversation, and one said he tried it once and loved it.
Provigil (aka Modafinil) is marketed by Cephalon in the United States and is available by prescription only. It’s only approved use in the U.S. is to treat narcolepsy, a sleeping disorder. But since the main effect of Provigil is to keep you awake and able to concentrate, a lot of people who get their hands on it use it to be able to work longer hours, even though it has not been deemed safe for that kind of use.
Recreational Provigil user testimonials are all over the web. Not only are people able to work with little or no sleep, the drug has the advantage of spurring weight loss and some users report a general mood enhancing side effect. The U.S. military has also reportedly tested it on helicopter and F117 pilots to see if they remain effective for up to 88 hours without sleep.
There are few side effects to Provigil compared to stimulants and it is supposedly not habit forming. That, of course, doesn’t mean it’s safe to take it just to be able to stay awake for 20 hours a day.
What’s so funny is that entrepreneurs apparently aren’t interested in typical drugs – instead they find the one that gives them a mental and stamina advantage. Perhaps some enterprising venture capitalist will start requiring founders of their companies to get a prescription in order to close on an investment.
Update: Cephalon sent me an email this morning:
I am writing on behalf of Cephalon, the manufacturer of PROVIGIL. I just read your TechCrunch blog, “How Many Silicon Valley Startup Executives Are Hopped Up On Provigil?” in which you talk about the use PROVIGIL to gain a competitive edge, and wanted to clarify the proper indication of PROVIGIL.
In the article, you note that PROVIGIL’s “only approved use in the U.S. is to treat narcolepsy.” In fact, PROVIGIL is approved to improve wakefulness in adults who experience excessive sleepiness (ES) due to one of the following diagnosed sleep problems: obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), shift work sleep disorder (SWSD), or narcolepsy. PROVIGIL is not a replacement for sleep and is not intended to treat sleep deprivation.
I’ll stick with blow thnx
Those of you thinking about trying this drug may want to check the following article
http://hosted.a...EMPLATE=DEFAULT
Thanks a lot Michael . I have no idea what Provigil is, but you can bet I am going to need some after working 20 hour shift for the last few weeks.
Watch out for your insurance company dropping you ASAP once you take it! I’m now without health insurance, and with a crazy diagnosis of Narcolepsy….
caffeine 2.0
work 20 hour days?
no thanks. i’ll stick to the coke and whores.
This post, brought to you by the good folks at ProvigilAT.
Nice one…, once in a while i like those posts which are non Technical.
Red bull helps a lot.
A person could die sooner, because of lack of sleep than lack of food. 88 hours hmmm.. that is really great..
Cheers, Nag
Same reason why Adderall, Ritalin are among some of the most abused prescription drugs in college.
“What’s so funny is that entrepreneurs apparently aren’t interested in typical drugs”
Oh wow you are way off.
Not just geeks using Modafinil (Provigil): http://en.wikip.../wiki/Modafinil
“several athletes were discovered allegedly using it as a doping agent”
“professional poker player Paul Phillips claimed that the use of modafinil and other medications prescribed to him for ADHD treatment made him a much better player and helped him earn more than $2.3 million in poker”
“French government indicated that the Foreign Legion used modafinil during certain covert operations”
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“Wake Up, Little Susie” article and reporter’s diary on taking modafinil from March 7, 2003 Slate magazine
“Get ready for 24-hour living” from 18 February 2006 New Scientist
Don’t you become clinically deranged after so many hours without sleep? The mind begins to wander more and more. You can be easily convinced of the most outrageous things. Maybe that accounts for all the crazy investments and business ideas out there.
i usually use adderall and thought that nothing was better than that, but i tried modafinil a couple times and it totally rocks. wish i had some right now actually…
i took one and i was up for a long time and i had some really good ideas. probably because you totally start to lose it after a while haha. if you stay up too long your mind really starts to play tricks on you, like you think stuff moves when it doesn’t. i definitely wouldn’t recommend it for everyone.
Modafinil is, without a doubt, extremely effective. Not ingested in awhile, but used during last startup extensively. It would cause a mild headache when overdosing, but notable but mild euphoria and increased desire to be social/verbal for the first hour after a dosage (once described as “blow without the ego”, which is spot-on.)
You can stay up pretty much as long as you want then hit the sack and sleep like normal. Craziest thing ever. Not a jitttery high, though. Just an abiding alertness and ability to continue concentrating. Want to stay up, though? No problem. Your body is aware that you are really fatigued, but its like its just sending you an email to let you know that you should get some sleep at some point… (”keep rolling if you want, just letting you know we’d like to get some rest at some point, dude. So, pull over when its convenient. No rush.”) It is extremely useful for international travel as an anti-jet lag when ingested upon landing. You’re good to go.
Downside that made me quit it forever: a several day depression and sense of listlessness that accompanied coming off a “bender”. Just not worth it. But, not everybody has this kind of reaction.
If you meditate, it will mess up your mojo bigtime. Like a TV with a bad tuner, alpha states are tough to achieve on modafinil.
It is _somewhat_ habit forming at a psychological level. People who say otherwise are probably not dosing very high or lying. No physical withdrawl, but if you have an addictive personality, you should monitor yourself very carefully for dependency behavior.
Also, it ain’t cheap… You’re popping a grande latte with every pill.
Oh, and people have heart-attacks and strokes, etc.
Definitely not a lifestyle drug or good for longterm use.
The way you describe it is spot on- I have been taking Provigil for two years to control excessive daytime sleepiness. I am, however, a college student at an elite university and I use it to stay up and study – whenever I start feeling tired I just take another one (lucky for me, it is covered by my insurance). It is really just your body that gets tired- I have pulled multiple all nighters on it, literally not sleeping for over 30 hours, and while sometimes I am somewhat out of it, I am pretty much fine.
Yeah, just watch out for the alcohol after your last final! talk about a major hangover!
I’ll stick to Adderall – almost fifty years of safe use by millions…
I popped that stuff like Pez and look where it got me!
is it really worth destroying yourself to get a little more work done?
Considering 90% of these startups amount to nothing, you might want to save some of the youth for when you get a real job.
I am very thankful to Michael Arrington . I don’t know about Provigil , But you are giving me nice information about Provigil because i am working in night shift and this shift very much lack ofsleep.
we used to pop xenadrins like little wussies. we called it zooming.
don’t i feel amateur now.
I’m speechless at how irresponsible this post. It might as well read as an ad for people to start taking this drug. Did you consult some medical experts before disseminating this info?
“There are few side effects to Provigil and it is supposedly not habit forming.”
You do realize that scientists are discovering that the affects of sleep deprivation on health are huge, do you not? You don’t suppose that the “side effects” of routinely taking a drug like this to avoid sleep may go FAR beyond the affects of the drug itself, do you?
Better question Mike, have/are you using it (or going to use it)?
Molly
This post is totally irresponsible.
You’re talking about medicine. Prescription medicine to be exact.
Are you a pharmacist? A doctor maybe? Do you have any bio chemistry education? “spurring weight loss” , “mood enhancing side effect” , “supposedly not habit forming” – All theses speculations that will now become mainstream, since “I read it on techcrunch”.
Are you sure you want to be responsible for liver failures, psychosis, and heart problems?
I use provigil when we have a large amount of work thats needs to be done. Typically over 3-4 days – but i need downtime on the weekend.
There are side effects – anxiety and alcohol doesnt appear to work (except the next morning when a horrible hangover kicks in.
Basically – dont drink alcohol on it and make sure you have some diazapam on hand in case you get over wired.
Its a great drug tho – i love it to bits – sure beats caffiene
Anyone has some thoughts on how Adderall vs. Modafinil vs. Blow compare?
…and in other news, doctors in silicon valley were mystified recently as hundreds of iphone toting narcoleptics littered sidewalks outside local walk-in clinics. When nudged awake and asked why they were there, one drowsy person said: “Dude, ya got any Provigil? C’mon man, just one more hit and my startup’s GUI will come out of ALPHA.”
It’s like Dexamphetamine, for every up there’s a down, you cannot survive without sleep and the piper is always paid
@22 adderall and modafinil for weekdays, blow for weekends
adderall has a more eurphoric effect and a different action to modafinil. id say modafinil is safer but adderall is great to have for when you need a real boost
Guys, here is some more info:
http://www.econ...ory_id=11402761
I’ve taken Modafinil extensively while I was launching my first start-up and still working full time. For six months I was waking up at 4am every day, working until 7am, having a one-hour nap, then off to work until 6pm… Bed-time around 10-11pm. I wouldn’t have been able to launch without Modafinil (I’m actually using Alertec rather than Provigil, it’s a bit cheaper). Those days I took up to 1.5 pills a day (150mg) – 1 pill 1 hour before waking up, to make the most of that 3-hour slot, then half a pill half-way through the day to allow me to keep productive at work.
I still use it occasionally, to boost a specific day’s productivity. I think taking it as described (and as I did while launching my first start-up) is abusing it and asking for trouble later, but using it to get an odd boost of concentration (which suddenly allows me to work like a beast for about 12 hours and get huge amounts of technical work done in that time, particularly in combination with a little caffeine) is ok and doesn’t have any side-effects – just make sure you drink plenty of water (sometimes on Modafinil thirst can also seem like a bit of a distraction, but you will get a mild headache if you don’t drink anything). Also, I only take half-pills now, so the max I ever do is 50mg in one day.
I’m in London, btw, not Silicon Valley.
It made me feel horrible when i took it. maybe it was just a fluke. I thought it would be like adderol or ritalin but i felt shaky and sweaty. I was drinking with it too though. Who knows… maybe i should give it another try? lol.
I actually did quite a bit of research into provigil while at uni. I’m generally not interested in drugs, but as a Neuroscience student, and one with a lot of work, I was quite interested.
Now that I’ve been working on a startup, it’s remained a very attractive option, but primarily the cost and the uncertainties (there’s always some aspect of a gamble) have kept me away from it.
But most people I know in bigger universities, or just highly-motivated people working on their grand projects, are keenly aware of provigil.
Interesting post Michael, and I personally wouldn’t call it irresponsible.
“I think drugs have done some good things for us, and if you dont believe drugs have done a good thing us then do me a favor: go home tonight take all your records and CDs and burn them.. you know why? all those musicians who made all that music that enhanced your life through the years? real fucking high on drugs” — bill hicks
same can be said for software
@18. David – go fuck yourself. If your definition of keeping the population safe is by not informing them of what is available to them then you are no better than one of those fucked up dictators. we are old enough to take care of ourselves thanks, and information wants to be free.
The higher the up the lower the downer is always going to be.
Jesus Christ, what a collection of misled sheep
dancing around another drug.
Ah, and yes, Mr. Freeman, go cry for your disaibility to differenciate.
I don’t care how supposedly ‘non-habit forming’ or ’side-effect free’ this drug is alleged to be. It is a drug nonetheless, and though maybe useful in specific circumstances, it HAS to have some negative impact on the individual in the long term. They all do.
#18, couldn’t agree more.
In small doses, yep, way better than caffeine.
For the curious, you can get an Indian brand modafinil “modafin” here, which is good.
[removed]
A good service behind a truly terrible website. Works, and has worked for many people I know, shipped from India to the U.S.
I would also recommend the economist article referenced in post 26.
i made a few modifications to the post. i guess I thought most (all) people would just assume that it’s sort of idiotic to take prescription medication without talking to a doctor.
Cool, more psychotic entrepreneurs is what the world needs, it’s been a while since going postal meant anything, so soon we’ll be able to say “he’s gone silicon valley”.
Back in the 80s and 90s a whole slew of “smart drugs,” or nootropics hit the market. Really pushed hard by the Mondo 2000 crowd and the life extension people like Pearson and Shaw. Wellbutrin, piracetam, ritalin, sulbutiamine, hydragine, vassopresin and health store staples like DMAE and phenylanine come to mind, google for more info. This is just the latest. Some are vaguely speed based or precursors. Some are ergotic like hydragine, courtesy of the late Albert Hoffman.
You can get wellbutrin from any doctor as part of a anti smoking program, and ritalin for ADD/HD. there are similar scams to get the rest.
I don’t recommend them for prolonged usage, or for sleep denial. Prolonged lack of sleep isn’t just dangerous, it leads to madness. For short term use during regular waking hours or during a transition to night shift they’re ok. The chief problem is the euphoria: it clouds your judgement about dosage and usage. Some people report teeth grinding and temper tantrums. Your milage with any drug not used for it’s primary purpose will vary drastically. Just like street drugs
Yes, I’ve tried most of these. I spent my childhood on ritalin and wouldn’t touch it again even if paid to. I do keep a bottle of DMAE liquid around for bad spells of ADD/HD, and have found a quarter dose is more then adequate for me. But I don’t use it for sleep deprivation, I use it to better make use of my waking hours so I don’t have to lose sleep.
Why do you need to work 20 hour days?
(that’s ridiculous and unhealthy)
is there some vital deadline that you procrastinated on…if not, then i’m pretty sure whatever you’re doing can continue tommorow
I’m a startup founder and I realised one of the great myths is volume of work = success. It doesn’t. What counts is the effectiveness of what you are doing. There’s no point putting in 20 hour days if you are running on the spot.
Overwork ruins creativity which is the lifeblood of a new company. Anyone who would indulge in it, let alone take drugs to support it, lacks the sense they were born with.
Looks like I’m the only one who tried working around the clock without some type of drug.
The joke is on me. I’ve been so naive. Damn.
This post is a great ad for promoting prescription drug use to grab an edge at start-ups. However, I don’t mind seeing coverage of our industry from all angles. Why not uncover the dirty tidbits every once in a while?
Doesn’t the drug spam usually go in the comments rather than the article body?
any knows what provigil is branded as in australia? surely not over the counter but has anyone in aus procured/used it?
yeah, yeah. Since the 60s, a succession of side-effect-less wonder drugs have been proclaimed only to show their ugly side. Nature intends us to sleep. There’s several million years evolution in this. The problem is not ‘how do I stop myself from get a regular night’s sleep?’ but ‘how to I reorder my priorities so I am not living/working this way?’
arrington you fucking rock. Kamakaze till the end
You can read about my Provigil trip at dvorak.org/blog
Hmm, sounds tempting.
Call me conservative. But as a clinical psychology student my thought is: If you constantly have to rely on that stuff there is something seriously wrong with the situation you are in or with the way you cope with it. Its sweet that you might be able to work 88 hours constantly with it. But guess what, sleep might be something positive after all. Dont underestimate the longterm effects of Stress and sleep deprivation is pure stress! I dont want to play the moral priest, most people use substances to keep them awake and they are fine with it. But there is always a thin line between just using it once and relying more and more on it. Just take a quick look in the DSM under Substance abuse.
And this is a prescription drug that directly affects your central nervous system, which means theres a myriad of possible side effects! So in my opinion a one sided article like this is unresponsible and it reads like the PR guy from Cephalon just wrote it.
Of course everyone should be abled to make their own decisions about their lifes but we have to make sure that it is an INFORMED decision. And this article certainly doesn’t help with that.
BTW: Its a nice world. We feed the kids Ritalin, we eat Provigil for a project and if it fails theres always Prozac…. What would we do without the wonders of the pharmaceutical industry