I’ve taken these over the last couple of years and these are based on my personal experiences which are obviously affected by price and expectations.[/quote]
LEF’s Cognitive formula has ashwagandha in it. They are big believers in it.
Check out this month’s issue of Discover magazine, it has a 6 page article on nootropics. The ones mentioned are provogil/mofandil, things like brain stimulants such as adderal and whatnot, as well as 2 kinds of drugs that might increase creativity which are:
Hard drugs like LSD mescaline and other stuff that can be pretty bad for you
It also mentioned ropinrole for creativity so I might give that a try
Oh and tried vinpo the other night…it was ok. It made me think better, quicker, and have better memory, etc. I had no nauseau however. The only thing that stuck out with me was that it really helps your short term memory. I was referencing things that happened much more quickly. It also noticably increased my memory for music. I was able to hum out tunes of songs that I haven’t heard since I was a kid, as well as able to break down the notes of whatever was on the radio.
Oxiracetam is typically the best affordable and common *racetam. Pramiracetam is a bit harder to find and much more expensive. There are other weird ones that you can possibly still find like nefiracetam which supposedly has testicular toxicity, whatever that means. A partial/full list is here:
[quote]bushidobadboy wrote:
Wise Guy wrote:
It’s crazy how everyone is different. I can handle 30mg vinpo empty stomach no problem.
Yes it is odd how different drugs effect different people in totally different ways.
However it’s not a case of ‘handling’ vinpo on an empty stomach. Vinpocetine without food has an absorbtion of around 6%. Vinpocetine with food has an absorbance of around 96%.
If you don’t take your vinpo with food, you are wasting it.
BBB[/quote]
Agreed, but I think it still varies from 40% to 96%, doesn’t it? I suppose it depends on what food, when, etc. I suppose the best case might be to take it with a full meal, possibly a fatty meal.
It’s so hard to gauge this stuff partially because it’s really hard to do it on “feel” which isn’t always easy on stimulants or even near-stimulants (modafinil) anyways.
You’d have to do some objective or quantitative tests over several days to really know what is the best for you…
What I’m doing is what’s the most I can get for the least money per day. I can get a fair bit for less than $1: piracetam, vinpo, huperzine.
Often bacopa and DMAE; sometimes lecithin for choline. Aniracetam before and during exams. I have some other stuff that I don’t use too often.
Most of it I get in bulk powders, sometimes capped when it’s not too much more.
T Ham do you notice much from huperazine? I got some a week ago and don’t think I’ve noticed much of anything yet. It might be hard to notice anything though with my concomitant use of piracetam and vinpo…
Hmm… I wonder if it helps decrease the need to take choline supplements?
BTW, I’ve pretty much given up on heavy drinking on the nootropics. I get major hangovers now after being on piracetam for 6 months…
Huperzine really falls into that category that I was talking about for how it’s hard to notice which work and which don’t. But it isn’t too expensive so I think I’ll keep using it.
Yea, *racetams probably increase the effects of alcohol. That’s interesting that you’re getting worse hangovers though.
[quote]Thomas Gabriel wrote:
Anyone tried PEA here? It’s pretty popular on some boards. [/quote]
I have some I’ve been meaning to use, but I keep forgetting to use it.
It seems that people use it as more of a recreational thing than cognitive enhancement, right? I’ve also heard it doesn’t go quite well with phenibut which is alright for relaxing & recreation.
My Pira is clumpy and discolored now. It has a redish tint to it. It still works but do you think I should get some more? I’ve had it for like 5 months. Always tightly sealed but its been open a couple times a day.
BTW, Anyone have any opinions on L-Theanine? Green Tea? On the Blueberry studies linked above?
epitome.[/quote]
Hi, I am long time lurker but I really enjoyed this thread. As with so many others here I’ve done pretty much everything under the sun and have dabbled with nootropics before.
I work in a high stress environment where I have to deal with illogical people and unique situations everyday.
This is my functional day stack:
Vinpocetine 15mg
Zen Theanine 450mg
Matcha Green Tea 2grams
(I put the Matcha into pills myself and take with lots of water)
Throughout the day I drink Matcha green tea and hot chocolate. (I used to be a huge coffee drinker.)
The purpose of this stack is to keep me calm during the work day because emotions are expensive and exhaust you mentally faster than anything else. People are always trying to make you panic because they are. Everyday, someone’s promise becomes my emergency. You could think of it as my Zen - calm in the storm stack.
During unrealistic crunch times I use dexedrine. But be forewarned, get the structure of your project and game plan ready before you take the dexie.
This is only my opinion and what I do. I do not suggest this to anyone else but I hope this gives incite to other people in researching and planning for themselves.
I use Zen Theanine and Vinpo15 from www.aor.ca
Green Tea Powder (600g)from TenRen’s Tea (It’s not first harvest but at $20 a shot it is economical and I consume it in large amounts.)
Anybody have any troubles combining Power Drive with caffeine? I’ve tried adding in some caffeine, but I feel dull and not all there. Is there an interaction with the DMAE? Or the choline? I tried googling both, but nothing came up. Any ideas on possible interactions between the two?
[quote]bushidobadboy wrote:
lumbernac wrote:
So, BBB, would you say that Oxi is the best of the racetams? If not would you have a suggestion? thanks yo
You’d have to define ‘best’. Oxi is excellent for memory retention but not nice to live with. The sheer memory emphasis can, I find, actually slightly impede clear thought.
Ani is prized by me for its memory and cognition effects. However its chief benefit for me is its anxiolytic property. Taking this before an exam, has left me utterly unfazed by any of my final exams last year.
It seems almost to create a ‘disconnect’ between your brain and your ‘oh shit, lets dump some adrenaline into the system because this exam is seriously tricky shit’ system. And we all know how badly adrenaline can fuck up the thought process.
But then I haven’t tried the other racetams. Pramiricetam looks good though.
BBB[/quote]
crates a disconnect huh? It sounds like Ani isn’t really a stimulant at all from what you’re saying…i’ve heard over and over in this thread that the racetams are stimulants but oddly enough, your mentioning about the disconnect thing makes it sound like it is an anti-stimulant or what have you.