Nootropics Mega-Thread

[calibrate]

13 hours ago, Rilles said:

Threw away the last of my Moda and Waklert, couldnt go a day without taking it, definitely a start of a dependency, been on it almost everyday for the last three weeks. I'll stick to coffee. Be careful with this stuff if you have an addictive personality. 

Modalert is really disappointing in general. In my opinion it isnt as good as modvigil + electrolyte sports drink.

Also, I think its safe to say modafinil > coffee unless your coffee is really fresh and you brew it yourself.

[Rilles]

53 minutes ago, calibrate said:

Modalert is really disappointing in general. In my opinion it isnt as good as modvigil + electrolyte sports drink.

Also, I think its safe to say modafinil > coffee unless your coffee is really fresh and you brew it yourself.

The more I took it the more it gave me a good ass whooping, you feel alot! yet at the same time you dont feel much at all, its very strange. 

[calibrate]

On 7/30/2020 at 10:29 PM, Rilles said:

The more I took it the more it gave me a good ass whooping, you feel alot! yet at the same time you dont feel much at all, its very strange. 

So true. There are many people on reddit who swear that certain batches of modalert are just sugar pills, but at the same time, their posts about testing those batches are so wired and analytical (as if they were on it). Definitely a strange substance

[Rilles]

14 minutes ago, calibrate said:

So true. There are many people on reddit who swear that certain batches of modalert are just sugar pills, but at the same time, their posts about testing those batches are so wired and analytical (as if they were on it). Definitely a strange substance

Self-Deception is very high in drug users. Especially something so subtle as Moda. 

 

Btw, Im not badmouthing Moda, Im just done with it personally. 

[Butters]

It may not be considered a nootropic but I started microdosing acid a few months ago and it's been absolutely wonderful. It has really helped me grow my consciousness in combination with building my business and creating my dream life.

It is relatively inexpensive and lasts throughout the day. Combined with N-A-C the effects are even better for me, creating amazing flowstates where I'm completely out of my head, able to look at reality with some detachment from ego.

The only thing with N-A-C is that you build up tolerance and should probably be cycled on and off for a few months at a time. You might build up a slight tolerance for LSD but it will always work. At this moment my stack looks something like this:

Day 1:

Morning: microdose MD, fish oil, magnesium, vitamin D3 and a complex multivitamin

Night: 5-htp, magnesium

 

Day 2:

Morning: NALT, fish oil, magnesium, vitamin D3 and a complex multivitamin

Night: 5-htp, magnesium

 

Pretty straightforward and inexpensive. As my consciousness grows, it's easier for me to feel my body-mind connection and know when to work out, when to eat low/high carb, do yoga, meditate, take rest and so on.

[Sreco]

I have probably 50+ different supplements at home. Some are for better health, some anti-aging and some as nootropics. Leo's video about nootropics really motivated me to investigate further This is how I see it:

There are some that actually improve your health and brain - they have long term effects and are probably beneficial to most. I see no problem with using them, except that a lot of money can be spent without actually knowing what is helping and how much. In this group would be Lion's Maine, PQQ, ...

Then there is another group of supplements which effects neurotransmitters and hormones (like Dopamine, GABA, Glutamete, Serotonin, Melatonin, ...). Effects of these supplements are quite fast and can influence mood and cognitive abilities in any direction you want. However what concerns me here are long term effects. Since they elevate specific neurotransmitter, what body might do is that it down-regulates receptors for that specific neurotransmitter and/or it starts producing less. I believe the effect is especially severe if some neurotransmitter is elevated way above what it normally would be. Typically it takes weeks to months to see those effects and the effect is that without the supplement your base level of that neurotransmitter activity is dropped. That means you start to have opposite effects as when supplement is taken. That is actually what happens with drug additions and I believe that some of nootropics can have effects in that direction if taken inappropriately (too much, too often or combinations of supplements affect the same neurotransmitter). So in long term damage can actually be done.

I would really like same feedback what do you think and which of the supplements are more problematic then others.

[Sreco]

To continue my previous post, I believe we can divide supplements that directly effect neurotransmitters to those who provide basic ingredients that body needs to syntheses them (amino acids, vitamins, ...) and the ones that influence production/decomposition,  re-uptake or even directly bond to receptors.

I suspect that the second group is more problematic, since that is what many of the drugs do and side effects are know to be quite bad (even for the prescription based ones). SSRI (Selective Serration Re-uptake Inhibitors) are example of one group, which increases levels of Serotonin. They are prescribed regularly to people with depression symptom, althoght in many cases issue is not serotonin being too low. Side effect are severe (actually I would not even call them side effects, they are simple the consequence of having to high serotonin). Ritalin does probably similar to Dopamine, so I believe does  There are also many working on Choline (Huperzine A).

The first group we can see as food. For example Tyrosine is amino acid which is in many foods and the body needs to go through two additional cycles to produce dopamine (Tyrosine -> l-dopa -> dopamine), so the effects might not be so severe ( taking L-dopa is one step further in the cycle). In the same way there are precursors for others (AlphaGPC for Choline, 5HTP fpr Serotonin). There are also some increasing calming neurotransmitters (GABA), like Glycine, or combining Glutamine with magnesium (GABA is synthesized from Glutamate which is excitatory). I believe calming one activate more parasympathetic nervous system, while excitatory sympathetic nervous system. Balance of both is crucial. Some care should be taken to keep balance between them. Note that every thought, the way we move and the way we breathe influences all of them.

However all that said I am still not sure if anything should be taken on daily basis long term. I am currently taking Tyrosine 500 mg twice daily (first time in the morning and around noon). It has nice effect on me, and I might even sleep better, probably because I wake up better in the morning so 24 hour circadian cycle  is reset. Calming ones I tale in the evening, but only if I feel I need them.

 

I would relay like some feedback from anyone with long term tyrosine use - should I cycle it or is it OK to take it all the time?

 

[Striving for more]

@Leo Gura I'm very intrigued by nootropics and have tried them on and off. 

However I keep hearing that IQ is largely genetic and my IQ is below average and I have a language processing impairment 

Whenever I try to look in to nootropics I feel like its equivalent to trying to buy duck enlargement pills or "increase my height" : basically a dead end game.

 

I'm not saying I'm right ^ I hope not  but it just feels that way ; that inshould just accept my low iq deficient slow brain

[Sreco]

On 1/9/2020 at 11:53 AM, Baotrader said:

 

 

On 1/9/2020 at 11:53 AM, Baotrader said:

 

On 10/21/2018 at 10:03 PM, Shiva said:

Found this interesting study on modafinil: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2696807/

It might not be completely safe for everyone. It leads to dopamine release in the brain, which can have an addictive effect. In other studies it caused increased heart rate and blood pressure. So, if you have a heart condition, be careful.

I might give it a try in the future, but for now will continue to do more research.

I find this study hard to believe even though I don't qualify as a chemist. Modafinil has been around for more than a decade and the dopamine thing is no joke. If modafinil has such an effect how it went unnoticed? 

 

It is not unnoticed, I think that increasing dopamine is how it works. So it is not side effect, it is what it does (maybe even the only thing that it does).  A lot of details in this podcast, where they call it Selective Dopamine Re-uptake Inhibitor:

https://bengreenfieldfitness.com/podcast/sleep-podcasts/modafinil/

On the other hand, many thinks  increase dopamine (including coffee, alcohol, ...), so it does not necessarily mean it is bad. It is about how fast, how much and how often dopamine is increased unnaturally. 

Edited November 27, 2020 by Sreco

[Sreco]

On 4/27/2019 at 3:33 PM, ValiantSalvatore said:

What I use/used

Bacopa

Lions Mane

L-Theanine
Iron supplements
Vitamin C / E + Magnesium.
Vitamin B complex.

Why Iron? Having too much Iron is actually very dangerous (most older man have too much iron even without supplementing). Have you measured blood Feritinin level?

Edited November 27, 2020 by Sreco

[Sreco]

On 10/22/2018 at 0:22 AM, kieranperez said:

 

Here’s what’s always stumped me as this was my experience when I was on ADHD medication for 17 years:

When I got off my Adderall, I lost all the “progress” I made when I was doing my meditation habit while on Adderall. I mean, after 17 years it was more of a bodily reliance to be at a baseline level of functionality. However, when I got off my medication and decided to get that shit out of my system, I not only lost all my progress in my meditation but I was in the negative.

Although I’m optimistic about all this stuff on nootropics, from my experience though this sounds very similar to the effect of things like PEDs where you make MASSIVE progress while on them but only so long as you’re on them and then when you get off it’s totally different story. 

If I were to use a sports analogy: to me, and please tell me if I’m wrong, like we’re getting better results from training  so long as we’re taking steroids. So we’re still putting in the hard hours every single day, that hasn’t changed, but those stunning results catalyzed by nootropics are only actualized so long as  we’re taking nootropics on some sort of basis. I could be a great runner and running 100 miles per week and training hard and smart and take say EPO (performance enhancing drug for those that are unfamiliar) which will help me run even faster had I not been taking EPO which takes me to the next level. However, I’m only running that fast so long as I’m taking EPO. So in reality, to contrast that with say meditation, I didn’t really develop say better concentration in a way that lasted.

Has this been your guys’ experience? 

I also don’t want to come off as though I’m making some sort of case for doing things “the old fashioned way”. So please don’t confuse this question with that.

 

I think you should separate the ones that just effect neurotransmitters and the ones that actually give basic building blocks or influence brain development.

For the one that just effect neurotransmitter you are probably right. They can still be used occasionally if you need special boost for some reason.

For the ones that give basic building block (fats, amino acids, vitamins, mineral) there should be long term benefits. To go to sport analogy - having proper diet does improve your performance in the long run.

[mmKay]

Beginners guide

https://www.reddit.com/r/nootropics/wiki/beginners#wiki_a_beginner.27s_guide_to_nootropics

 

https://www.reddit.com/r/Nootropics/

 

The site Leo mentions in his nootropic blog post :

https://www.longecity.org/forum/forum/169-brain-health/

 

^^^^ that's  the jackpot

Edited January 20, 2021 by mmKay

[calibrate]

Consumerists beware. The way they design some of these pill bottles is so fucking enticing its crazy. Be careful lol

[mmKay]

Does this look legit? Leo didn't mention modvigil in his vid but th site said it's the same 

[Mahyar]

Oh my god, Armodafinil is a blessing from the Heaven ?? I got my mind back. It’s back to my embrace. Can’t believe it’s so powerful. 18 hours after a 75mg dose still feeling so good. Haven’t felt like this for ages. I’m super motivated to start the work… Life Purpose, Self-actualization. 

[ItsNick]

@Mahyar Armodafinil has been amazing for me too. I've been able to work more than full-time (job, business, and work towards my life purpose).

 

Rarely it will make me feel really anxious or extremely horny and it makes it hard to get thing done, though. I haven't been able to figure out why it has a negative effect sometimes.

[Mahyar]

7 hours ago, ItsNick said:

@Mahyar Armodafinil has been amazing for me too. I've been able to work more than full-time (job, business, and work towards my life purpose).

 

Rarely it will make me feel really anxious or extremely horny and it makes it hard to get thing done, though. I haven't been able to figure out why it has a negative effect sometimes.

It's truly amazing. And the fact that it has almost no side effect even if you don't cycle it much, is what makes it even better. Before you get on it, you may feel like you have less control over your desires and emotions and you may fear getting attached, but once you take it, you will be so confidently and wisely cycle it as if there was never a fear of addiction. 

To me, it feels like the feeling I have the next day after a deep Infinite-Love-Realization Mushroom trip. 

In terms of productivity, Oh man.. all I need is a timer to remind me to get up and stretch. That's it.

What dose you taking? Do you cycle?

[ItsNick]

7 hours ago, Mahyar said:

What dose you taking? Do you cycle?

I usually take either 1/4 or 1/8 of a tablet (150 mg). So that's either 37.5 mg or 18.75 mg on a given day.

Mostly I use it once or twice a week. Rarely I will use it day on/day off when writing my thesis for example.

 

[mmKay]

bump

[mmKay]

a little unexpected one :

I've had a fever for the last two days, and surprisingly my mind is clearer than ever. The fact that I'm eating very little and my body is pumping adrenaline, endorphins , the increased metabolic rate to combat the disease is pretty neat.

MIND OVER MATTER BOYS