Modafinil may have many adverse effects on the health of the patients who are subjected to long term treatment using Modafinil. The most commonly found side effects in the patients suffering from sleeping disorders who are treated using Modafinil are nausea, headache, rhinitis, nervousness, diarrhea, back pain, anxiety, insomnia, dizziness and dyspepsia.
In the patients suffering from rhinitis, an inflammation of the mucous membrane lining the nose is observed. Insomnia is characterized by the lack of sleep in the patients. Diarrhea is accompanied by frequent and watery bowel movements. It can be a symptom of food poisoning or colitis or a gastrointestinal tumor.
Dyspepsia is a disorder of digestive function characterized by discomfort or heartburn or nausea. The adults who are given dosage of Modafinil may develop severe rashes including Stevens Johnson syndrome. When the adults develop severe rashes all over their bodies, they have to be hospitalized and the dosage of Modafinil has to be stopped in order to prevent further development of rashes in the patients.
Sometimes these rashes may prove to be fatal for some adults. These fatal rashes include Stevens Johnson syndrome, toxic epidermal necrolysis and drug rash with eosinophilia and Systemic systems.
The factors which would be capable of determining the possibility of the patients to develop rashes and the effect of Modafinil on the severity of rashes haven’t been determined yet.
The less commonly observed side effects of Modafinil are as under:
• Abnormal ejaculation – In the process of ejaculation, the round bodies at the end of penis get stimulated physically. The spinal cord receives the impulses and forwards these impulses to the ejaculation center which then sends impulses to the outgoing nerves as a result of which ejaculation starts in some time. But at times, ejaculation process may become abnormal due to some form of infections on the seminal or prostrate tract or due to the hypersensitive nature of the glans present at the tip of the penis.
• Amnesia – Amnesia is characterized by the partial or total loss of memory.
• Asthma – This is a respiratory disorder which is allergic in origin. It is characterized by wheezing.
• Chest pain – Chest pain can be of different types such as crushing, squeezing or pressure on the chest.
• Herpes Simplex – This disease is caused by viruses namely herpes simplex virus 1 and herpes simplex virus 2. The infection caused by this virus can be classified into different categories depending on the site where the infection begins. Oral herpes is characterized by the presence of blisters or sores on the face and mouth. Genital herpes is another form of this disease.
The other adverse effects of Modafinil on the patients who are subjected to long term treatment are chills, confusion, difficulty in breathing, difficulty in urination, dry skin, face muscle spasms, fainting, fever, gum inflammation, high blood pressure, irregular heartbeat, problems in joints, low blood pressure, severe pain in the neck, bleeding of nose, vision problems etc.