51 replies to this topic

[Destiny's Equation]

Well it looks like from now on I will be in a position to focus on longevity, not short-term performance enhancement I pay a friend $15 per hour to clean my room (or do whatever else I need done) now. (Although my room rarely needs cleaning now; I have discovered the "clean up as you go" method.)

What was happening before was, my mother would say “Finish cleaning your room quickly or I will (harm you)”. In that situation most people would think “Oh shit! I’d better hop to it!” and finish cleaning their room in a hurry. Not me. I would immediately stop cleaning it and become a non-functional crying shaking mess (hey, I’m an Aspie, I have meltdowns!). There was no explaining to mother that threatening me with abuse was highly counterproductive (she was too arrogant to listen to what anyone else had to say, she had her own ideas about everything). So the only way to get it clean at that point was to take something to calm myself down (before the bacopa abuse I was a drug user, surprise surprise).

At the time I did not have any local friends who could lend a hand because I rarely socialized (I was bedridden with chronic pain for 10 years).

[gamesguru]

In summer 2010, I took 7.5 grams of 20% bacoposide extract 2x daily for 10 days, totaling 150 g of extract in two weekends and one week. During this time I was drowsy and somewhat loopy, presumably due to the herb's effect. In order to evaluate its effectiveness at enhancing memory retention, I studied two difficult works: Russell's "problems of philosophy" and Ramanujan's "first notebook". In the end, it didn't seem to have any significant effectupon my memory, and I went back to a moderate dose of 1.5g daily. I don't think high doses are toxic to the body or highly intoxicating, but I don't think mega doses are good for learning or operating machinery.

[nupi]

I would not necessarily call 1.5g@20% bacopasides a moderate dose, either.

[gamesguru]

I don't think anything below ~40 mg bacosides daily is clinically relevant. I don't know the concentration of bacosides in the unextracted root, but I'd suspect you need at least 200 mg extract or 1000 mg plant. Maybe I use more like 1.3 g daily...it doesn't pack as densely as other powders. In most studies they use between 300mg and 3 g daily.

Edited by dasheenster, 11 March 2012 - 03:42 PM.

[Destiny's Equation]

A single 2500mg dose of bacopa is apparently safe according to studies. I wouldn't recommend it, but to each his own.

Do you have the link to the study?

I am considering taking a high dose just once for a very important scenario that will happen in the near future.

[ta5]

I'm also interested in the safety of high doses. I was taking 450mg 20% (90mg bacosides) x 7 tablets x 3 times per day = 9450mg per day (1890mg total bacosides). These are Planetary brand. I was taking Paradise brand before that. Switching to powder soon. I'm taking a break at the moment while I experiment with other things. I'm looking forward to taking it again.

If I graphed the positive feelings of 1 tablet up to 7 tablets, it's plateauing and maybe starting to go down. 5-7 tablets may be the best dose for me.

I first tried Bacopa a couple years ago, taking a typical low dose. I decided it did nothing for me and stopped taking it. That was a mistake. More recently I decided to try upping the dose until I noticed something, good or bad. Now I love Bacopa.

For me it's stimulating and calming. Unfortunately, some of the short-term stimulating effects that I like are a little too short lived. It winds down after about 3-4 hours. I take it around 7am, 12pm, and 7pm. So, I have gaps. I might add additional doses. I also want to try micro-doses, for example: 5 tablets at 7am, then 1 tablet every half-hour. That should be interesting.

[hooter]

I'm guessing you could burn out your thyroid. Why do people want to take megadoses of all this herbal stuff?

[ta5]

Math error. Darn, it's too late to edit my post. The Planetary tablets are 2 tablets per 450mg serving. So...

I was taking 225mg 20% (45mg bacosides) x 7 tablets x 3 times per day = 4725mg per day (945mg total bacosides).

Edited by ta5, 16 March 2012 - 06:23 PM.

[Kunal Chatkara]

Just took 15x 500mg 20% bacoside extract. Will do a full report tonight. Please do not replicate this stupidness.

T-30 min: No side effects, possible increased mood and awareness, not significant enough to distinguish from placebo.

End result?

Neurological Terminance? haha

[Destiny's Equation]

I'm guessing you could burn out your thyroid. Why do people want to take megadoses of all this herbal stuff?

Short-term performance enhancement: Important tests, situations that involve out-charming unsafe individuals, etc.

[slammer]

I came across the website shown below which might be of interest on Bacopa. I do not work
for the company. The validity of the info presented is up to you to decide.


http://www.wellcorps...a-Monnieri.html

[NeverSayDie]

I'm guessing you could burn out your thyroid. Why do people want to take megadoses of all this herbal stuff?

Can you cite any studies that would suggest this?

[deeptrance]

slammer: Thanks for that link, what a good source of information! It's a little over-the-top on the benefits of bacopa but doesn't seem biased; it's simply providing a summary of potential benefits and evidence for each.

For raw non-standardized powder, which most people don't buy but I did cuz I wasn't paying close attention, holistic-healing.com suggests 3-5 grams 3 times a day. That is a lot of herb to take, 9 to 15 grams! But it's still cheap when buying it online by the pound. I'm going to try taking about a gram 3-4 times a day and see how that works. Been taking a ridiculously low dose which probably hasn't had any effect at all, definitely none that I've noticed.

I've not seen reports of maximum dose but 55% bacoside extract have been tested at doses up to 400mg/day, from what I've read so far.

[nupi]

Considering that bacopa is notorious for scooping up heavy metals from the environment, I would strongly suggest to stay away from raw powders...

Edited by nupi, 30 April 2012 - 08:14 AM.

[Kunal Chatkara]

I've been taking 250mg bacopa(himalayan Brahmi brand) for about 40 days now, with no noticeable difference above placebo. Perhaps my lack of sleep(roughly 6 hours most nights) counters any benefit to be noted. Maybe I should up the dosage. Not entirely sure, but I have about 20 caps left and that's where that stands. Bag of bulk Piracetam powder just came in today, haven't experimented with any of the 'racetams' yet. So besides what i've read and researched here and there, I'm not expertly familiar with its' effects. At any rate, I plan to wait until the weekend to start dosing. Thinking 1.5g's twice a day. -Other concerns; I do take 15mg xr adderall 4 days a week and drink roughly one cup of coffee each day, give and take here and there. Any recommendations, enlightening knowledge, or suggestions therein are greatly appreciated. Cheers!

[HomelessRat]

Intensely aware almost to the point of being beyond human.

Sounds just like a part of the movie "Limitless"

[renfr]

Though not megadoses I took high doses of bacopa these recent days.

Today I took 2250mg of Bacopa (himalaya brand) and I can notice some particular effects :

- increase in yawning, a bit of tiredness but not that extreme

- less need for sleep, I slept about 2 hours less than usually

- makes me totally immune to stimulants : I took some nicotine which usually gives me a strong boost and it didn't do anything at all

- also makes me totally immune to alcohol for some reason : I don't get the mental effects of alcohol however I get its physical effects (muscle relaxation and tipsiness)

 

I don't know what to think of Bacopa, I'm unable to evaluate its cognitive effects, I think they are near to zero, all I have to say is that Bacopa is truly a peculiar supplement and I'd concur with those who say that Bacopa gives you intense awareness.

Edited by renfr, 17 April 2014 - 10:31 AM.

[renfr]

After evaluating its effects, I can say that Bacopa sucks, at least to me it does.
It lowered my dopamine concentrations to such an extent it caused massive lethargy as well as terrible brain fog, no wonder why benefits come only after 12 weeks, bacopa seems to work like a SSRI with maybe some additional function on cholinergic pathways.
I'm not going to use it again, ever.

If there's an effective indian drug that I could suggest, it would be celastrus seeds, these really enhance cognitive functions and doesn't seem to cause particular side effects.

[Strelok]

That sucks, renfr.  I think bacopa has slightly helped me in sleeping better.  For the most part, though, I don't really feel much from it.  I will continue to take it in hopes that the claimed benefits will appear at the 12 week mark (I've been taking it for about a month).  The only bad side effect that I have that might be attributable to bacopa is ocassional loose stool, but that could easily be due to some other thing, or combination of things, in my stack. 

[Senthuran Thevaseelan]

How long did the effects kick in after overdosing? and where there any immediate side effects 

[Senthuran Thevaseelan]

Aftertaking 20 pills throughout the day of 50% baccosids a and b 300 mg caps a couple hours after i took 5 at once i felt drowsy nd slept for 30 min woke up very nauseous then came a informative session of clarity i realized overdosing is not good as i vomited and had very bad diarrhea. safe to say im turning away from bacopa 4 good, i felt my brain have a little extra blood flow but way not worth it stick to the recommended dose guys.

[HungryHippocampi]

Acute dosing does not have much of an effect, but chronic dosing 1x/day over 12 weeks does:

 

Australian researchers conducted a double-blind, placebo-controlled, 12-week trial utilizing the same patient selection criteria and same dose of Bacopa extract (300 mg daily) containing 55-percent combined bacosides. Forty-six healthy volunteers (ages 18-60) were randomly and evenly divided into treatment and placebo groups. The same series of tests administered in the acute dosage trial were administered at baseline, five, and 12 weeks after treatment began. At the end of the 12-week study, results indicated a significant improvement in verbal learning, memory consolidation, and speed of early information processing in the treatment group compared to placebo. These effects were not observed at baseline or at five weeks. These results may be attributed to Bacopa’s antioxidant properties and/or its effect on the cholinergic system.21