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Nootropics

#1
For the uninitiated, a nootropic refers to any sort of substance that can be considered to increase mental ability. 
Your mind might jump to coffee as an example, and sure enough, caffeine is a nootropic. 
And, following definition, since nootropics are banned either by law or by a more silent customs/import seizure, it's actually pretty hard to even buy caffeine pills in the Philippines.

My intro to the world of nootropics was typical, just shitloads of coffee. Then eventually I started buying caffeine pills and decaf coffee to mix together, since decaf was cheaper and I could buy 100x 200mg caffeine pills (100mg is like a normal cup of coffee) for less than ten bucks (7$ for the Americans) and when taken in pill form, your body metabolizes it all at once, so you feel helluva lot more 'rush' than you do when drinking coffee.

Now, problem with this is that caffeine, as most people know, can have some pretty negative effects both mentally and physically, at the cost of alertness. I'd get some pretty nasty jitters and increased heart rate which just wasn't pleasant, and another one of my friends who also took caffeine pills would get really bad anxiety.

Then, that friend discovered a little something called L-Theanine. It's a chemical that's found naturally in Green Tea and you can buy as a supplement in most health-food stores, something like 20$ a bottle for 60x 200mg. A little on the expensive side, but allegedly taking it in a 1:1 ratio with caffeine (basically 1 pill of each) would get rid of all the negative effects of caffeine.

And to this day, I swear by it. It's probably the easiest way to make the most of caffeine without feeling terrible if you ever experience negative effects. I could take em in the morning with my decaf, go about my daily activities, and just sit down and focus without getting jittery or feeling like I'm running on empty but still have that rush of energy from increased heart rate. Just normal wakefulness, even if I only got 4hrs of sleep as students typically do.

If you try this, you won't go back, it really does work wonders. I don't buy into health-food stuff often unless I can actually experience some pretty remarkable results, and this is only one of five things or so that I will shill until I die.



And that's when I started to get into nootropics and researching how the mind is affected by certain substances. I took a few psychology courses early on during first-year so I have at least a basic understanding of how some substances might work, but at the same time, there's all sorts of substances out there that people swear by as the 'best nootropic'. 

Thing is, it really does vary based on person and your own chemical balance in your brain. Caffeine might have predictable effects with people, but mileage may vary greatly based on dose, and only like two years ago or something did the U.S. Military claim that they figured out the formula for finding an 'ideal dose' for caffeine, and mind you, they're keeping it a secret. 

I haven't tried many nootropics, but I've tried most of the illegal ones.
  • Caffeine (+ L-Theanine)
  • Adrafinil
  • Amphetamine Sulphate (Adderall, Vyvanse)
  • Microdosing LSD + Psilocybin
  • L-Tyrosine
  • Creatine
  • Energy Drink Blends
Modafinil is a controlled/prescribed medication in Canada, can't quite get it over the counter like in the U.S. but that being said, Modafinil used to be sold as Adrafinil, which would then metabolize to Moda after about 90 minutes. This was also pretty common in the U.S. because it's what we used before we could actually create just Modafinil. Luckily, Adrafinil isn't on the list of controlled substances here, so I can actually just buy it on Amazon.

Amphetamines go either way. I don't have a prescription, and I don't like buying people's prescriptions since they sometimes need it too. That being said, ADHD is the most overdiagnosed disorder in the world right after anxiety, so some people just don't want their scrip, and will make that very explicit that they just sell it off because their insurance covers it anyway so they can get easy beer money. But when I can't do that, I order from other online markets, and quality is really hit or miss. Sometimes it's really clean, just pure focus, but other times it's adulterated with caffeine or other cutting agents, so it's 'dirty' and you do feel a lot more jittery and not as focused. An acetone wash usually fixes that.

Microdosing LSD and Shrooms is one of the more modern ways of thinking, and a lot of Silicon Valley engineers do it, according to some pop-sci news websites. In my experience, it does give one hell of a creativity boost if done right, but if you f*** up your dose, enjoy your trip to the astral plane. Also, it doesn't do much other than alter creativity. Sometimes, that's a bad thing. Sometimes, it's a good thing. It's not something for every scenario.

Most people think of bodybuilding when they hear about creatine, since it allows your muscles to soak up more water thus making your gains bigger and arguably making you stronger. But, little known fact: creatine has been shown to help brain function. In my experience, it's been a pretty subtle effect, but then again, I usually only use it for a week then off again, so maybe I'm just not being consistent enough with it.



So if you're using any nootropics, which ones? Are there others you've had experience with? What's been the most effective for you?
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#2
I've tried the L-Theanine + Caffeine combo. It works surprisingly well. I won't even think about doing a lot of caffeine without it.

Adrafinil is another good one that works, but the problem with this one is that the half life of it is so long that it makes it hard to get a good quality sleep the next night. That stuff will keep you awake for days. Strongly recommend smaller doses of it and not consecutively, because otherwise, your body won't be able to truly rest. A 300mg dose every other day is perfect, enough to work, but not enough to make it impossible to sleep.

The rest of them I don't really have much experience with. I try to be very careful when it comes to these sorts of things. I'm just afraid of where they could go.

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#3
Good morning, more than coffee, tea and Red Bull (original from Austria), I don't trust my body :-)


 
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#4
I remember loading up on No-doze and red bull to stay awake in classes. Never got crazier than that, and now I'm addicted to Red Bull. So maybe its a good thing I didn't try anything else. Tongue
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#5
(April 26th, 2020 at 8:10 PM)Darth-Apple Wrote: I've tried the L-Theanine + Caffeine combo. It works surprisingly well. I won't even think about doing a lot of caffeine without it.

Adrafinil is another good one that works, but the problem with this one is that the half life of it is so long that it makes it hard to get a good quality sleep the next night. That stuff will keep you awake for days. Strongly recommend smaller doses of it and not consecutively, because otherwise, your body won't be able to truly rest. A 300mg dose every other day is perfect, enough to work, but not enough to make it impossible to sleep.

The rest of them I don't really have much experience with. I try to be very careful when it comes to these sorts of things. I'm just afraid of where they could go.

Fair point. Lots of people also use nicotine as a nootropic to help clear their mind (myself included), or at the very least create a mental link with the feeling that they should use it to focus. But of course using patches and gum can lead to using cigarettes, and in less than a week of that you've got yourself a nicotine addiction. Lots of similar stories on Reddit, it's pretty common.

Me, I started smoking years ago when I worked at a restaurant in the kitchen. 17 or so.
Don't smoke often anymore, never really developed a full physical addiction like most people do, no matter what substances I was using (trust me, there are some pretty illegal ones there), but I see the concern that people have with it, especially since I do use gum as well when in class or when working with other people on something. It's one of those things I just don't recommend to people because the potential for abuse is so high, especially with its availability. People can get addicted to the weirdest stuff, crazy how the mind works.


(April 27th, 2020 at 4:58 AM)tc4me Wrote: Good morning, more than coffee, tea and Red Bull (original from Austria), I don't trust my body :-)

RedBull > any other energy drink. It has less caffeine than Monster and Rockstar, sadly, but all the other energy drinks are too sweet for me haha. All that sugar leads to a worse caffeine crash.

But Monster has new Tea flavours now, I've tried both the White Tea and Verba Mate and they're both really good. Not too sweet, and they actually kind of taste like tea. Not carbonated like soft drinks, either.


(April 27th, 2020 at 1:12 PM)Guardian Wrote: I remember loading up on No-doze and red bull to stay awake in classes. Never got crazier than that, and now I'm addicted to Red Bull. So maybe its a good thing I didn't try anything else. Tongue

Oh man, they always have No-Doze/No-Doz pills at every hackathon I go to for when they run out of coffee for the kids. I usually just go to the coffee table and ask for like five of them at the very beginning of the event because I know how fast they'll run out the second that the coffee supply finishes.

Good times.

I always end up being the only person in the group to pull a REAL all-nighter with no sleep. Everyone always dozes off for a couple hours near the morning. Thus, no one can blame me if something goes wrong or we don't have enough time, because I wasn't the one wasting time sleeping :P
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#6
Honestly, Nicotine is a fairly good nootropic, and while it's addicting, it's not terribly hard to quit. I've quit cold turkey many times. Mostly you just get very easily irritated for about a week. After that it's just occasional cravings.

It's hard to find anything good that isn't addicting. Sometimes you just gotta swallow it and realize that you'll feel like crap sometimes. Otherwise you become psychologically dependent on something external. But some things are good as long as they are used in moderation.

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#7
(April 27th, 2020 at 9:45 PM)Lain Wrote: I always end up being the only person in the group to pull a REAL all-nighter with no sleep. Everyone always dozes off for a couple hours near the morning. Thus, no one can blame me if something goes wrong or we don't have enough time, because I wasn't the one wasting time sleeping Tongue

I've pulled way too many "all-nighters"

In the Marine Corps, we have "Duty" where we stand watch/post for 24 hours straight. Well, usually you get off Duty and go right back to work. So, you staying up 36+ hours straight is not abnormal. I had duty 5 times one month. Tongue That shit really sucks.
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#8
(April 27th, 2020 at 10:18 PM)Guardian Wrote: I've pulled way too many "all-nighters"

In the Marine Corps, we have "Duty" where we stand watch/post for 24 hours straight. Well, usually you get off Duty and go right back to work. So, you staying up 36+ hours straight is not abnormal. I had duty 5 times one month. Tongue That shit really sucks.

Sounds like the dream
I love that adrenaline high you get after not sleeping for 24hrs or whatever haha. 
Wavy and slightly hallucinogenic, but man do you ever feel invincible for no good reason. Makes me feel like robbing my own house.
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#9
(April 27th, 2020 at 10:26 PM)Lain Wrote: Sounds like the dream
I love that adrenaline high you get after not sleeping for 24hrs or whatever haha. 
Wavy and slightly hallucinogenic, but man do you ever feel invincible for no good reason. Makes me feel like robbing my own house.

I always tended to get cranky and very short with people. Don't f*k with me the day after duty, I'm not having any of your $#!te. Tongue
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#10
(April 27th, 2020 at 9:45 PM)Lain Wrote:
(April 26th, 2020 at 8:10 PM)Darth-Apple Wrote: I've tried the L-Theanine + Caffeine combo. It works surprisingly well. I won't even think about doing a lot of caffeine without it.

Adrafinil is another good one that works, but the problem with this one is that the half life of it is so long that it makes it hard to get a good quality sleep the next night. That stuff will keep you awake for days. Strongly recommend smaller doses of it and not consecutively, because otherwise, your body won't be able to truly rest. A 300mg dose every other day is perfect, enough to work, but not enough to make it impossible to sleep.

The rest of them I don't really have much experience with. I try to be very careful when it comes to these sorts of things. I'm just afraid of where they could go.

Fair point. Lots of people also use nicotine as a nootropic to help clear their mind (myself included), or at the very least create a mental link with the feeling that they should use it to focus. But of course using patches and gum can lead to using cigarettes, and in less than a week of that you've got yourself a nicotine addiction. Lots of similar stories on Reddit, it's pretty common.

Me, I started smoking years ago when I worked at a restaurant in the kitchen. 17 or so.
Don't smoke often anymore, never really developed a full physical addiction like most people do, no matter what substances I was using (trust me, there are some pretty illegal ones there), but I see the concern that people have with it, especially since I do use gum as well when in class or when working with other people on something. It's one of those things I just don't recommend to people because the potential for abuse is so high, especially with its availability. People can get addicted to the weirdest stuff, crazy how the mind works.


(April 27th, 2020 at 4:58 AM)tc4me Wrote: Good morning, more than coffee, tea and Red Bull (original from Austria), I don't trust my body :-)

RedBull > any other energy drink. It has less caffeine than Monster and Rockstar, sadly, but all the other energy drinks are too sweet for me haha. All that sugar leads to a worse caffeine crash.

But Monster has new Tea flavours now, I've tried both the White Tea and Verba Mate and they're both really good. Not too sweet, and they actually kind of taste like tea. Not carbonated like soft drinks, either.


(April 27th, 2020 at 1:12 PM)Guardian Wrote: I remember loading up on No-doze and red bull to stay awake in classes. Never got crazier than that, and now I'm addicted to Red Bull. So maybe its a good thing I didn't try anything else. Tongue

Oh man, they always have No-Doze/No-Doz pills at every hackathon I go to for when they run out of coffee for the kids. I usually just go to the coffee table and ask for like five of them at the very beginning of the event because I know how fast they'll run out the second that the coffee supply finishes.

Good times.

I always end up being the only person in the group to pull a REAL all-nighter with no sleep. Everyone always dozes off for a couple hours near the morning. Thus, no one can blame me if something goes wrong or we don't have enough time, because I wasn't the one wasting time sleeping Tongue


RED BULL NO SUGAR !!!!!!  Cool , 

Red Bull without sugar and 12-15 coffee, Today only 10-12 coffee, I no longer like Red Bull


 
[Image: autism4all.png]
[x] <= Drive in nail here for new display!
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#11
(April 28th, 2020 at 4:12 AM)tc4me Wrote: RED BULL NO SUGAR !!!!!!  Cool , 

Blegh! Sugar free Red Bull makes me wanna hurl. Undecided
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#12
No sugar for me, neither in drinking nor in food


 
[Image: autism4all.png]
[x] <= Drive in nail here for new display!
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#13
(April 28th, 2020 at 3:19 PM)tc4me Wrote: No sugar for me, neither in drinking nor in food

The healthy way to go of course. Some things I just can't though. Tongue I don't have many vices, but sugar is one of them.
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#14
I have a problem with sugar and sugar substitute, my body is allergic to it, including lactose. I am also not allowed to eat bread (rye flour). Unfortunately, it would be very happy


 
[Image: autism4all.png]
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