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Brand: Provigil
Published 2025-12-23 · Last reviewed 2025-12-30 · 4 references
Content sourced from FDA labeling (DailyMed) and peer-reviewed literature.
Modafinil (Provigil) is a wakefulness-promoting medication indicated to improve wakefulness in adults with excessive sleepiness associated with narcolepsy, obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), or shift work disorder (SWD) (label).
It is a Schedule IV controlled substance. In psychiatric practice it is sometimes used off-label for fatigue or residual sleepiness, including as augmentation in depressive disorders, but use is individualized (clinical).
Serious rash and hypersensitivity reactions are rare but safety-critical; discontinuation is recommended at the first sign of rash unless clearly not drug-related (label).
Modafinil can reduce effectiveness of steroidal contraceptives via CYP3A induction; alternative or concomitant contraception is recommended during therapy and for one month after discontinuation (label).
The modafinil compare view, evidence feed, and print page support review of activation and interaction profiles.
Modafinil is widely available and can be clinically useful for excessive sleepiness, but careful patient selection is important due to psychiatric activation risk, serious rash warnings, and broad drug–drug interaction potential (label/clinical).
View labelExactRefer to the Glossary entry on Neurotransmitters for background on receptor systems involved in serious mental illness.
The precise mechanism is not fully established. Clinical descriptions often emphasize wake-promoting effects and effects on dopaminergic signaling (label/clinical).
In psychiatric augmentation, benefits are typically framed as improvements in fatigue and wakefulness rather than as a primary antidepressant mechanism (clinical).