provigil (modafinil) aggression when coming off?

[stellarjules]

any advice or experiences that could help me understand would be really helpful please. My brother has started university to study architecture this year and due to the huge amount of nights he had to work, started going on modafinil. Now that the year is finished and he's not taking it however, he has become aggressive, irrational and rude. Does anyone know if this is because of the modafinil or if there's a link. He's changed so much and is doing irrepairable damage to our family, I'd just like to know why.

[stellarjules]

Hi there Madtram
He was prescribed it yes - general GP presecription and was told there are no side effects!
thanks for your answer

[madtram]

The precise mode of action for Modafinil is not yet known.  Modafinil is a complex drug which  appears to act on a large number of neurochemical pathways.  It has only been approved for sleep/ wake disorders such as narcolepsy and although there is plenty of anecdotal evidence of use by students, it has never been studied for use in the general population.

All this means that it's possible that modafinil's dopaminergic and noradrenergic effects could have an adverse effect on someone using the drug off label but no one can say with any confidence because there just isn't reliable data.

Was your brother prescribed the modafinil?  If he was getting it from other sources, the composition of the pills would obviously be less certain.

Either way, I hope he snaps out of it.

Best wishes.