4 replies to this topic

[dr_erni]

First of all, thank you all for making this forum so great! I've been reading thread after thread of great info and just wanted to say thanks.

I have a few things on order, but also got a few supps locally. Right now, I'm looking at recreating a similar effect as a RockStar Roasted Mocha drink. I find it stimulating but not overbearing. Basically: mood lift, energy, concentration and clarity. What are your thoughts on this:

taurine - 1000mg
caffeine - 100mg
korean ginseng - 500mg
ginko biloba - 120mg
l-tyrosene - 500mg

Also, when it comes to l-tyrosene it seems like quite a few folks have benefited from it. What are your experiences?

[chrono]

Welcome to the board! Looks like a good place to start. Most of the effects will come from the caffeine and taurine. Personally, I've found that theanine works better with caffeine, as taurine can blunt a lot of the positive effects in the process of "taking the edge off."

Taking some tyrosine first thing does help some people. I do it sometimes, and honestly I never really notice much that I can attribute to it.

[dr_erni]

hmmm... I'll have a look and see if I can find any theanine today. I'll add that to the stack and report back.

I tried some tyrosene by itself yesterday and noticed a long, dull and mild headache most of the day. It may have been from bad night's sleep, so I'll give it another try before making a decision.

[manic_racetam]

Personally I find l-theanine to be really sedating in normally capsuled amounts. I usually see it in 50-100mg capsules. 100mgs will knock me out all night and make it difficult to wake up in the morning. I've never tried it during the day but I can only guess what would happen. Don't get me wrong, it's an awesome supplement but I usually just measure out 25mgs now and if you can buy it in such doses I'd suggest doing that.

For some reason I'd missed L-tyrosine all these years. About a month or two ago I realized that it was a precursor to dopamine production (not sure how that escaped me) and got some 500mg capsules. It works wonders for me with motivation and energy level. I might be deficient or something (I have ADHD quite bad)? Not sure, but I find myself more likely to finish projects when I'm taking it. I don't take it everyday because I worry about tolerance even though I've seen reports of people taking 2g's/day for over a year and reporting no noticeable tolerance.

Just keep in mind that there are two servings per can in those rockstars, which means that a 16oz can has 160mg caffeine and 2,000mg taurine. It'll be interesting to see the effect it has without 50gs of sugar. If you find it less effective than the rockstar you should try it with a couple cans of coke to see how much of the effect is from the sugar content.

[chrono]

Personally I find l-theanine to be really sedating in normally capsuled amounts. I usually see it in 50-100mg capsules. 100mgs will knock me out all night and make it difficult to wake up in the morning. I've never tried it during the day but I can only guess what would happen. Don't get me wrong, it's an awesome supplement but I usually just measure out 25mgs now and if you can buy it in such doses I'd suggest doing that.

This is definitely true for me, as well. I find theanine to be not only sedating, but somewhat emotionally flattening in the same way taurine can be. The only time I take it at all is with caffeine (which gives me crazy anxiety, probably due to a metabolic polymorphism), and it ameliorates this effect fairly strikingly when I hit the dosages right. Usually in the 100-200mg range for a 50-100mg dose of caffeine.

EDIT: I do sometimes use it to help me get to sleep at night, though I haven't experimented with that application very thoroughly yet.

Edited by chrono, 17 November 2011 - 06:33 PM.