Modafinil is used to treat excessive sleepiness caused by narcolepsy, shift work disorder (SWD), and obstructive sleep apnea/hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS). It’s a prescription medication.
It is used in combination with other treatments to improve wakefulness. It can cause withdrawal symptoms when you stop taking it suddenly, so your doctor may lower your dose slowly.
Narcolepsy
Narcolepsy is a sleep disorder that causes excessive daytime sleepiness. People with narcolepsy may fall asleep suddenly during the day and lose muscle control, which can result in falls or other accidents. Modvigil 200 Signature is used to treat excessive sleepiness caused by narcolepsy and shift work sleep disorder
A medical history and physical exam are often used to make a diagnosis of narcolepsy. In addition, a polysomnogram or multiple sleep latency test (MSLT) can be used to confirm the diagnosis.
The MSLT measures when you fall asleep in quiet situations, and how quickly rapid eye movement (REM) sleep occurs. It is also used to check for hypnagogic hallucinations, which occur during REM sleep.
These hallucinations can be very frightening, causing feelings of dread or fear. They can also be accompanied by other symptoms, such as amnesia or forgetfulness.
Narcolepsy can affect work, school, and other aspects of your life. It can also cause problems in your intimate relationships. Symptoms of depression and anxiety are common in narcoleptics.
Obstructive sleep apnea
Obstructive sleep apnea is a disorder that causes episodes during the night when your breathing stops or is very shallow. The pauses cause lower oxygen levels in your blood and can increase your risk of heart disease, high blood pressure (hypertension), diabetes, and a variety of other health problems.
This happens because the muscles in the back of your throat relax too much while you sleep. These muscles support the tongue, the soft palate (uvula), and the tonsils.
These muscles block the airway, causing it to narrow or close and blocking the flow of oxygen to your lungs. This can happen as often as 10 times per hour during sleep.
This can cause you to feel tired and drowsy during the day and affect your work and other activities. If you have obstructive sleep apnea, treatment can help you get better sleep and improve your health. It may also prevent heart problems and other serious complications.
Shift work disorder
Shift work disorder is a type of excessive sleepiness that affects people who have shift work schedules. It is caused by misaligned circadian rhythms that occur when people work at atypical hours.
Circadian rhythms are your body’s internal clock that helps control when you feel tired and alert. Your body uses the sun’s natural light to determine when you should produce a sleep-promoting hormone called melatonin.
In shift work, a person may not be able to produce melatonin when they need to stay awake for work. This can prevent you from getting enough sleep and cause problems at work.
If you have a shift work schedule that causes you to become too sleepy, you should talk to your doctor about it. He or she can diagnose you with shift work disorder and prescribe medications to treat your symptoms.
Other conditions
A condition that causes people who work at night or on rotating shifts to be too tired during their work hours. It can also be used to help prevent obstructive sleep apnea syndrome, a condition in which a person stops breathing briefly and shallowly many times during sleep.
The medication comes as a tablet to take by mouth. It is usually taken once a day with or without food.
In a study of patients with shift work sleep disorder, modafinil reduced maximum levels of sleepiness during the night shift, level of sleepiness during the commute home, and incidence of accidents or near-accidents during the commute when compared to placebo.
Other off-label uses include cognitive enhancers, to increase concentration and focus, and as an assistive smart pill added to antidepressant medications in the treatment of depression. In addition, modafinil is sometimes used to treat excessive fatigue associated with medical conditions such as multiple sclerosis or cancer.