FDA Adverse Events Reports (FAERS) Summary for PROVIGIL

These tables and charts are based on 17,022 total reports for PROVIGIL (MODAFINIL) received by the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) from 2004 through July 30, 2026.

This FAERS total includes 16,704 pharmaceutical company-submitted and non-U.S. FAERS reports and 318 U.S. consumer or healthcare provider-submitted MedWatch reports. Adverse events listed on this page represent serious and sometimes rare adverse events reported to pharmaceutical companies, and often do not represent typical side effects for the medication. Find common side effects in the most recent official drug label.

For a separate summary of the 318 U.S. reports filed via the FDA MedWatch voluntary reporting system, view our FDA MedWatch PROVIGIL summary report. (See notes section below for explanation of FDA’s mandatory and voluntary reporting system.)

Top 20 Adverse Effects Associated with PROVIGIL (reported in FAERS Database)

 Side Effect# of FDA Reports
1FATIGUE1599
2NAUSEA1193
3DRUG INEFFECTIVE1101
4HEADACHE965
5FALL939
6DEPRESSION843
7PAIN746
8ANXIETY734
9DIZZINESS733
10DROWSINESS728
11LACK OF STRENGTH AND ENERGY (ASTHENIA)618
12INSOMNIA612
13CONDITION AGGRAVATED587
14WEIGHT DECREASED579
15SHORTNESS OF BREATH561
16FEELING ABNORMAL553
17GAIT DISTURBANCE546
18DIARRHEA537
19VOMITING530
20MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS RELAPSE514

Latest Known Outcomes for Reactions Reported for PROVIGIL

Latest Known Outcome for Reported ReactionsNumber of Cases
1Unknown Outcome8647
2Patient has not recovered/symtoms have not resolved4197
3Patient recovered3136
4Patient is recovering/symptoms resolving1281
5Patient died257
6Patient has recovered but has consequent health issues56

Yearly FDA Adverse Event Reports (Table)

YearNumber of Reports
2004293
2005428
2006395
2007518
2008657
2009549
2010663
2011818
2012882
2013659
2014837
20151615
20163818
20171391
2018755
2019489
2020696
2021372
2022350
2023341
2024268
2025157
202671

Reports by Patient Age Group (Table)

Age GroupNumber of Reports
0-1045
11-20261
21-30675
31-401278
41-502086
51-602418
61-701399
71-80438
81-90133
91+15

Based on 8748 reports that included a patient age.

PROVIGIL Total Reports

 Male    Female    Unknown    Total  
 4764    11879    379    17,022  

Top Countries Reporting

 Country  Number of Reports
United States  12068
Israel  40
Belgium  13
United Kingdom  10
Ireland  7
Italy  6
South Africa  5
Germany  4
France  3
10 Finland  2

Outcomes for Reports

Serious: 9237
Not Serious: 7784
Note: A serious outcome means the adverse event resulted in death, a life threatening condition, hospitalization, disability, congenital anomaly, or other serious condition.

Top Indications      
Narcolepsy
Product used for unknown indication
Oxygen saturation decreased
Fatigue
Depressed level of consciousness

Top Companies Reporting

   TEVA

Safety-Related FDA Updates

FDA Approval Date: 1998-12-24

For serious adverse events, report them to the FDA by contacting the drug manufacturer or report directly through the MedWatch voluntary reporting form.

Notes

Events listed on this page represent serious and often rare adverse events reported to pharmaceutical companies, and do not represent typical side effects for the medication. Find common side effects on the most recent official drug label This report, created by AskaPatient.com, is derived from the cases for PROVIGIL reported to the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) FDA Safety Information and Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) and obtained from Open FDA. Data was last updated with reports received through July 30, 2026.

This summary includes ALL reports where the drug is a "primary OR secondary OR suspected interacting" drug. Typically, reports are filed for the most serious type or "event" and do not represent incidental or minor side effects. The majority of these reports are mandatory reports submitted by pharmaceutical companies, who receive complaints from consumers. The reactions, side effects, or "adverse events," represent up to the 20 most frequently occuring events in the database for a drug related to the event. This report also features counts of latest known outcomes associated with reported side effects, but does not provide the specific outcomes for specific adverse events.

Adverse Event Reports are submitted to the FAERS database by pharmaceutical companies (mandatory reporting is required by manufacturers, distributors, or importers). Health care providers such as doctors (voluntary reporting), and patients themselves (voluntary reporting) report to the FDA directly through the MedWatch program. Those MedWatch reports are coded and included in the FAERS database. This report mainly consists of the mandatory reports, because the MedWatch reports are a small percentage (3 - 5%) of total reports. Link to the MedWatch summary report at the top of the page for a summary of the directly reported (voluntary) adverse events for this drug.The number of reports included here might differ somewhat from the number of reports in the downloadable quarterly FAERS reports and in the online FAERS dashboard, due to lags in reporting, drug name differences, duplicates, and other factors. Open FDA states that it only includes the most recent version of a case report. It also adds the disclaimer: "Do not rely on openFDA to make decisions regarding medical care. While we make every effort to ensure that data is accurate, you should assume all results are unvalidated."

FDA uses the "MedDRA" classification system to describe reported adverse reactions. MedDRA is a standardized medical terminology that facilitates sharing of regulatory information internationally. In some cases, "patient friendly" terms for the layman designated by MedDRA have been substituted for medical jargon. Please contact us with questions or comments about this report.