Short answer: The Provigil label dose is 200 mg by mouth once a day. For narcolepsy or obstructive sleep apnea it is taken as a single dose in the morning; for shift work disorder, about 1 hour before the work shift. Doses up to 400 mg have been tolerated without consistent added benefit. Severe liver impairment halves the dose. The label gives no missed-dose rule.
This is what the FDA label says. Follow your prescriber. Your prescriber may use a different dose or pace than the label's standard schedule.
What Provigil is approved for: Provigil is approved to improve wakefulness in adults with excessive sleepiness from narcolepsy, obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) or shift work disorder (section 1). In OSA it treats the sleepiness, not the blocked airway, and CPAP is continued where it is the treatment of choice. It is not approved for children for any use (section 8.4).
Source
PROVIGIL (modafinil) tablets, for oral use, C-IV, prescribing information and Medication Guide. Cephalon (Teva Pharmaceuticals). DailyMed, version published March 21, 2025. DailyMed setid e16c26ad-7bc2-d155-3a5d-da83ad6492c8
Provigil is a tablet taken by mouth once a day as a single dose, with or without food. It comes in 100 mg and scored 200 mg tablets (sections 2.1, 2.2 and 3; Medication Guide).
The Medication Guide says taking it too close to bedtime may make it harder to fall asleep, and not to change the time of day without talking to the doctor.
In sleep apnea, Provigil treats the sleepiness only; CPAP or other prescribed treatment for the airway continues (sections 1 and 17).
The table below is the label's schedule, from the Dosage and Administration section. Numbers are copied exactly; the section is in brackets.
| Condition or group | Dose | When |
|---|---|---|
| Narcolepsy or obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) | 200 mg orally once a day | Single dose in the morning |
| Shift work disorder (SWD) | 200 mg orally once a day | Single dose about 1 hour before the start of the work shift |
| Severe hepatic impairment | One-half of the dose recommended for normal hepatic function | Same timing |
| Geriatric patients | Consider lower doses, with close monitoring | Same timing |
Doses up to 400 mg/day as a single dose have been well tolerated, but there is no consistent evidence that 400 mg adds benefit beyond 200 mg/day.
Provigil can lower levels of drugs cleared by CYP3A4/5, such as hormonal contraceptives and cyclosporine, and raise levels of drugs cleared by CYP2C19, such as omeprazole, phenytoin and diazepam. Doses of those drugs may need adjusting, and INR is checked more often with warfarin.
The label says Provigil is not a replacement for sleep, and that it is prudent to avoid alcohol, since the combination has not been studied.
In one trial, no withdrawal symptoms were seen over 14 days after 9 weeks of use, although sleepiness returned in people with narcolepsy.
Tablets are stored at 20 to 25 C (68 to 77 F).
The Provigil label gives no missed-dose rule. Neither the prescribing information nor the Medication Guide says what to do if a dose is missed. The Medication Guide does say that a dose taken too close to bedtime may make it harder to fall asleep.
More on this: missed a dose of Provigil.
In Dose Track you set up Provigil as a protocol with the dose and schedule your prescriber gave you. A protocol can hold dose steps, each with its own dose and length in days or weeks, so a step-up plan like the one on the label can be entered once and the app moves to the next step on its own. Reminders follow the schedule, and every dose is logged with the date and time, so you can see which step you are on and when your last dose was. The app follows what you enter; it does not choose or change a dose.
This page is what the FDA label says, in plain words. It is not medical advice. Follow your prescriber, and ask them or your pharmacist about anything here.