As suggested myself and encouraged by the doc, I’ll take a fraction of a normal dose to check it out first. He signed off on any dose that is lower than the one he prescribed (30 mg in the morning), and the capsules are intended for opening and dissolving in liquid.
So, I’m very sensitive. Low dose opioids for a cough give me euphoria, and when I tried Modafinil, 1/4 of a pill (2 pills is normal!) turned out to be just right for me.
On one hand, I could really use the full productivity boost tomorrow, which would mean trying 1/4 of 30 mg, 7.5 mg. On the other hand, safer would be 1/8th again as it was with Modafinil. Then again, 1/4 of the Modafinil dose was “bearable”, it was not intense suffering.
Trying 1/8th in the morning and another 1/8th at noon if the effect is really as low as a cup of coffee could also be an option, with the risk of losing sleep. I tend towards that option.
Some of the worst hours of my life were on the minimum dose Venlafaxine (and many report that), so I’m careful.
What do you think? Doing the super-low 1/10th test at 4 pm would still take away my sleep, right?
Not a pharmacist or giving advice.
My psychiatrist started me off at 20mg of the slow release in January of this year and upped it to 30 a month ago (also slow release).
Is there a reason you are prescribed the 30 and not the 20? To me that makes more sense than expecting you to split a 30mg capsule four ways… Also if you have to spread it out throughout the day you might be better off with a rapid release tablet which can be cut more evenly with a pill cutter.
I found that taking mine as soon as I wake up gives the most beneift as it takes an hour and half before it starts working. Taking it after 09:00 makes me unable to sleep.
I don’t know why he does what he does, but he said that I should find the ideal dose, which often is between two capsule sizes. He encouraged me to take any dose lower than 30 mg for the first month, and after he sees me again to fine tune it by dissolving in water.
I dissolved it in some water in a protein shaker with marks, so I can take exact 3 mg doses (10 % steps).
Only thing I don’t like about this is that children are in the house, and there should not be deadly poison water standing around anywhere. The capsules are in a lockbox.
First test: 5 mg (~ 15% of 30 mg) at 8:30 am.
It kicked in really hard, like a thick line of quality speed. It didn’t feel like something that a doctor would prescribe. Got a lot done, then hard crash at 12:30, lying down and dozing off for 20 minutes. The mental effect was at least as good as it was with Modafinil: I tackled the most urgent todo without mental effort and little chores just “happened”. But with a high like from recreational drugs.
Maybe what contributed was that I did a quick, but intense workout.
So it was perfect - a very safe dose, yet also the productivity boost I needed for the day. 10 mg might also have been fine, but taking the entire 30 mg (or even 20) would have been a mistake. Certainly no risk to not feel anything.
I wonder if I should take another 2.5 mg for the afternoon, or just use tea and coffee as usual.
This strange effect regarding intensity and duration was no surprise - I observed that with other medication and drugs before, the doctor understood it and took it into account, thus the individualised instructions.