
The rise in technological advancements has brought in various challenges and massive changes as well. These have affected our health in every aspect. Great inventions carried great responsibilities. We all are running in a rat-race trying to get through a neck-breaking competition which seems to have no end. Well, what we have is the perpetual thirst for succeeding and we are pretty determined to achieve the goals we have set for ourselves. To achieve the same, we need to polish our cognitive skills a bit. This is possible with the well-known medicine – Modafinil!
Modafinil is a FDA approved medicine which is used mainly for the eradication of excessive daytime sleepiness. People dealing with sleep issues such as narcolepsy, sleep apnea, insomnia often experience sudden sleep pangs that affect their routine. Also, sudden sleep bouts can be harmful and even life-threatening in certain cases especially when a sufferer is behind the wheels.
Millions of people have tried Modafinil and have positive reviews about it. Generally, it is safe to consume and causes mild side effects which are tolerable by almost all users. Nonetheless, there are certain medicines that you need to avoid if you wish to start taking the nootropic medicine.
This article is going to talk mainly about the effects caused by taking Modafinil and oral contraceptives together. Before we learn about the potential ill effects of combining these two medicines, we will learn some facts about Modafinil.
What is Modafinil? How does it work?
Available in the form of oral tablets, Modafinil is a nootropic medicines also known as smart drug. It is a wakefulness promoting drug which keeps a user awake for a decent amount of time. While keeping one awake, the medication also offers other benefits such as enhanced cognitive skills.
The nootropic is quite well-known for its tendency to make one ‘smarter’. However, the reality is the drug does not make you any smarter but it helps you to utilize your cognitive skill to their fullest to achieve professional and personal success.
Working mechanism of Modafinil
It is not clear yet how the drug works. But studies have estimated that the medicine might be working on various neurotransmitters especially dopamine, GABA etc. These neurotransmitters manage the sleep-wake cycle. Imbalance amongst these neurotransmitters leads to poor sleep pattern which causes excessive daytime sleepiness. Modafinil 200mg helps in clearing out the imbalance by prohibiting their re-uptake process. This is how the neurotransmitters stay in the brain for longer period of time and a user experiences lingering wakefulness and alertness.
How to take Modafinil to get maximum benefits out of it
You need to talk to your doctor regarding the dosage of Modafinil. It varies from person to person. Also, it majorly depends on the severity of daytime sleepiness issue you are going through.
Generally, Modafinil 200mg is the standard dosage which works almost for every user. But it is vital to talk to your doctor especially if you have health concerns such as kidney or liver disorders.
Swallow the Modafinil tablet as a whole without breaking or crushing with a glass of water. Do not take it with alcohol as this combination causes severe side effects such as drop in the blood pressure. Do not take more than one tablet in the time span of 24 hours. Modafinil stays in your system for longer period of time i.e. for about 14 to 16 hours. Taking more than one pill in a day has adverse effects on your night-time sleep.
What happens when you take Modafinil 200mg with oral birth control?
Birth control pills are used to prevent pregnancy. It is available in various forms such as patches, IUDs, oral pills etc. Birth control pills are the most commonly used birth control methods by women. These pills affect the hormones which are responsible for creating an environment for the future pregnancy. The synthetic hormones present in the oral contraceptives provoke the brain to stop producing such hormones. This is the medicines reduces your chances of getting pregnant.
Modafinil interact with various medicines and oral birth control pills aren’t an exception. Taking both the medicines together may cause some unwanted effects and certainly, you do not want that to happen. Most medicines are metabolized by the liver including birth control pills. Modafinil increases activity of the liver enzymes. Due to which the contraceptive pills get metabolized real fast than usual (when not taken with Modafinil 200mg). This results in less time left for the birth control to serve its purpose in your body. To sum it up, oral birth control pills when consumed along with Modafinil nootropic medicine show less effectiveness increasing your chances of unwanted pregnancy.
On the other hand, birth control pills might be affecting how Modafinil works in your system. Unfortunately, we do not have sufficient data to support the statement. The contraceptive may or may not affect the working of Modafinil. However, the nootropic medicine does affect the working of birth control and hence both the medicines should not be consumed together.
How to reduce the chances of unwanted pregnancies while being on Modafinil
Studies have estimated that the nootropic mediation interferes with the oral birth control pills. Hence, you can go for non-oral types of contraceptives to ensure no unwanted pregnancy while you enjoy the perks offered by Modafinil 200mg pills. There are several ways to prevent unwanted pregnancies. You can go for patches, or UIDs, or condoms. Talk to your doctor and find what suits you the best.
What are the possible health issues bestowed by Modafinil and oral contraceptives combination?
The first health effect of the combination is the increased risk of unwanted pregnancy. This may not be a health problem but it definitely is an issue for women who do not want to have a baby.
Modafinil may affect the unborn child. If you take Modafinil during your pregnancy or you get pregnant while taking the nootropic medicine, the medicine may cause birth defects in the baby.
To avoid these issues, you need to be quite careful when you take Modafinil while being on oral birth control pills.