13 replies to this topic

[Methodician]

I apologize for the simplicity of my question; I couldn't find any old questions that suited my curiosity.

 

So, after several days of generalized research, I'm ready to try Nootropics. What's a good place to start?

 

My first instinct is to just get some Piracetam and give it a try, possibly adding a choline supp (though I get a lot from my diet). It's pretty much the original nootropic and if it has stood the test of time and is still in popular use today, it must be just about as safe and effective as my research suggests.

 

My primary goal is to improve focus, memory, and alertness. Pretty straight forward. Motivation is a nice bonus but I don't particularly suffer in this area. I'm primarily concerned with my ability to quickly assimilate new skills (currently learning programming in spare time, for instance) while performance in the workplace is secondary (I don't struggle with it but, if I could complete my tasks more quickly and accurately, I'd have more time to sit in my cubical learning about programming, visiting cool forums, etc...) Lastly, I want to use said programming (C# at the moment) to build an academic website which would further facilitate my insatiable hunger for knowledge and possibly alleviate my need for 9-5 employment.

 

Would a different nootropic be more effective for each task or one-size-fits-all? One for workplace performance, another for learning new skills, another for the creative yet technical process of building something like a website or new invention? I'd prefer not to do a "stack" since I want to avoid developing a tolerance or dependence and don't want to feel like the base state of "me" is inadequate. I'd like something I can take some days and skip others, so short term effects are preferred over cumulative effects, but that's not a requirement.

 

So, what's a good place to start? Should I just get some piracetam and see how that works or is something newer, better, and safer preferable? I'm seriously concerned with long-term side effects or cumulative wearing on my brain. I want my brain to work well into old age.

[ZHMike]

Piracetam is always a good start, for me it seemed to wear of pretty quick, as with other racetams. The only racetam I still take is phyeny, but this is only as needed, and I probably wont re-order when my current supply is gone. With phenyl for me at least tolerance developed very fast, and it takes usually a week or so for the tolerance to wear off, its really weird. 

 

Ciltep is great for focus, alertness, motivation,  and possibly memory but definitely the first three. I would think this would also help with learning new skills, but not sure. 

 

Modafinil is amazing for alertness, motivation, it also seems to give you a feeling of confidence which is helpful at work. My current stack is adrafinil 300 mg in the AM(the prodrug of modafinil) Ciltep in AM and more Ciltep mid afternoon.  I usually take 100 mg of caffeine mid morning, and I am very happy with this stack for now, although I have only been on the ciltep for about a week.

 

Good luck, it doesn't hurt to give the piracetam a shot, its very safe nothing to lose. If that doesn't give you what your looking for look into my stack. Good luck, keep us posted, I am always interested in what works for people. 

 

[Ritchie]

If your looking for acute effects, look into stronger racetams like phenylpiracetam because piracetam has subtle effects which are culmulative. Also look in to citicoline, it's one of the ingredients in 5 hour energy and has been shown to improve memory and cognitive performance. You could also check out sulbutiamine as people have great results with it for memory and fatigue.
If I were you I would try to combine a bunch of different nootropics as they tend to complement each other. If you want to only take one substance to fulfil all your needs than take a look at a strong racetam or modafinil.

[thomasthomas]

> My primary goal is to improve focus, memory, and alertness.

 

In my experience, Piracetam will help the most with alertness, feelings of 'wakefulness', and

a 'quicker' mind.  

 

For focus and memory, I would supplement some with other nootropics. 

 

I haven't tried CILTEP, but it's supposed to be very good for learning and memory.

 

For focus, I would have suggested Noopept or Pramiracetam, but both a relatively newer

and the long-term effects are still unknonw.

[ModaMinds]

How much are you struggling with focus and motivation? If it's minor, and you feel like you just need a little boost, piracetam may be a great choice for you. If you're like me and are often tired after short periods of work (especially programming, which does wane my energy quickly), modafinil may be a better choice. I've often gone on programming sessions for six hours straight and not noticed how much time passed, whereas without modafinil I'd stop every 30 minutes.

 

That said, if you're learning new skills, modafinil and piracetam are great in tandem. Modafinil will help store and retrieve information quickly while you're on it, and piracetam will help with neuroplasticity to solidify your new skills and knowledge.

[ron45]

 

Modafinil is amazing for alertness, motivation, it also seems to give you a feeling of confidence which is helpful at work. My current stack is adrafinil 300 mg in the AM(the prodrug of modafinil) 

I'm curious, did you have experience with modafinil before switching to adrafinil? I have read on this forum that it's a step down from modafinil and in another thread you can't get real adrafinil in the states. I'm curious about both. Especially if either can replace many of the other elements in someone's stack.

 

Ron

[ZHMike]

Hey Ron yea in college I had access to modafinil, and it was pretty great, this was 8+ years ago. Due to the legal consequences of importing to the US, (albeit the consensus on this forum is that importation seems to be hassle free) I have started taking adrafinil.  Basically, if I got caught with a controlled substance, my current employment would be over.As mentioned before I am getting from SDFT. Some people have worried about liver concerns, I have had my liver function tested during use and it was WNL. 

 

Adrafinil is definitely a step down from Mod, but is is better than nothing. I don't know what your situation is, but if you are braver than I get some mod from one of the links mentioned on longecity, let me know how the process goes. If you can get some give it a shot, it is really a great chemical. 

 

GL Ron, let me know what you go for. 

[YOLF]

Welcome to LC Jacob! Great to have you and good luck!

[ron45]

GL Ron, let me know what you go for. 

 

I sure will thanks for the response. I'm going to try to get a prescription for it. I've been to the VA no help, and my personal  pharma pimp about concentration/focus issues. So maybe I can get it that way. Be nice if Humama would pay for it. But I doubt that. Let you know either way. 

 

Ron

[Methodician]

How much are you struggling with focus and motivation? If it's minor, and you feel like you just need a little boost, piracetam may be a great choice for you. If you're like me and are often tired after short periods of work (especially programming, which does wane my energy quickly), modafinil may be a better choice. I've often gone on programming sessions for six hours straight and not noticed how much time passed, whereas without modafinil I'd stop every 30 minutes.

 

That said, if you're learning new skills, modafinil and piracetam are great in tandem. Modafinil will help store and retrieve information quickly while you're on it, and piracetam will help with neuroplasticity to solidify your new skills and knowledge.

 

The first is an interesting question. I focus pretty good on what's got my interest and that usually seems to be something important (to me, not my employer)... I fear that to correct this "problem" would help me be a more idyllic employee but hamper my aptitude as an adept human. Will I be trading my wonderful ADHD shifting interests for robot-like employee awesomeness? I really should do more work at work but would hate to give up a part of my I have learned to appreciate.

 

Another concern is that this superhuman ability to do intense programming tasks for 6 hours without breaks or distraction sounds decidedly unhealthy. Ideally, you should avoid staying seated in one position for more than 20-30 minutes at a time. Your 30 minute "stop" is your body sending you a very important signal. You may be shaving years off your life by hyper focusing like that.

 

However, your suggestion to combine modafinil and piracetam sounds rational. Where to buy modafinil?

[ModaMinds]

 

How much are you struggling with focus and motivation? If it's minor, and you feel like you just need a little boost, piracetam may be a great choice for you. If you're like me and are often tired after short periods of work (especially programming, which does wane my energy quickly), modafinil may be a better choice. I've often gone on programming sessions for six hours straight and not noticed how much time passed, whereas without modafinil I'd stop every 30 minutes.

 

That said, if you're learning new skills, modafinil and piracetam are great in tandem. Modafinil will help store and retrieve information quickly while you're on it, and piracetam will help with neuroplasticity to solidify your new skills and knowledge.

 

The first is an interesting question. I focus pretty good on what's got my interest and that usually seems to be something important (to me, not my employer)... I fear that to correct this "problem" would help me be a more idyllic employee but hamper my aptitude as an adept human. Will I be trading my wonderful ADHD shifting interests for robot-like employee awesomeness? I really should do more work at work but would hate to give up a part of my I have learned to appreciate.

 

Another concern is that this superhuman ability to do intense programming tasks for 6 hours without breaks or distraction sounds decidedly unhealthy. Ideally, you should avoid staying seated in one position for more than 20-30 minutes at a time. Your 30 minute "stop" is your body sending you a very important signal. You may be shaving years off your life by hyper focusing like that.

 

However, your suggestion to combine modafinil and piracetam sounds rational. Where to buy modafinil?

 

 

Rather, the only reason I go on long programming stints is because I don't have the staff to offload projects on to and I have many clients that have deadlines. I either can choose to stop every 30 minutes, as in I stop and may not get started again for another 30-60 minutes, which greatly drags out time to production and upsets customers, or I'll program for several hours and knock out the remaining work for a project or two in a day. Not healthy, perhaps, but the only currently viable solution to keep various departments of my business functioning fluidly. We sell Modalert at ModaMinds.com.

[Methodician]

Welcome to LC Jacob! Great to have you and good luck!

Thanks! I hope to explore the forum/site in greater detail at a later time. I'm hugely interested in longevity, transhumanism, and immortality.

 

 

How much are you struggling with focus and motivation? If it's minor, and you feel like you just need a little boost, piracetam may be a great choice for you. If you're like me and are often tired after short periods of work (especially programming, which does wane my energy quickly), modafinil may be a better choice. I've often gone on programming sessions for six hours straight and not noticed how much time passed, whereas without modafinil I'd stop every 30 minutes.

 

That said, if you're learning new skills, modafinil and piracetam are great in tandem. Modafinil will help store and retrieve information quickly while you're on it, and piracetam will help with neuroplasticity to solidify your new skills and knowledge.

 

The first is an interesting question. I focus pretty good on what's got my interest and that usually seems to be something important (to me, not my employer)... I fear that to correct this "problem" would help me be a more idyllic employee but hamper my aptitude as an adept human. Will I be trading my wonderful ADHD shifting interests for robot-like employee awesomeness? I really should do more work at work but would hate to give up a part of my I have learned to appreciate.

 

Another concern is that this superhuman ability to do intense programming tasks for 6 hours without breaks or distraction sounds decidedly unhealthy. Ideally, you should avoid staying seated in one position for more than 20-30 minutes at a time. Your 30 minute "stop" is your body sending you a very important signal. You may be shaving years off your life by hyper focusing like that.

 

However, your suggestion to combine modafinil and piracetam sounds rational. Where to buy modafinil?

 

 

Rather, the only reason I go on long programming stints is because I don't have the staff to offload projects on to and I have many clients that have deadlines. I either can choose to stop every 30 minutes, as in I stop and may not get started again for another 30-60 minutes, which greatly drags out time to production and upsets customers, or I'll program for several hours and knock out the remaining work for a project or two in a day. Not healthy, perhaps, but the only currently viable solution to keep various departments of my business functioning fluidly. We sell Modalert at ModaMinds.com.

 

You gotta do what you gotta do. I strongly suggest watching the clock and forcing yourself to stand up, stretch, and maybe jog in place for 2-4 minutes every 20-30 minutes. It may also help with cognition.

[Louie A]

This was the perfect thread i was looking for. I'm a network admin so we both know how we could get busy with studying and always looking at the computer. Did you ever figure out what stack you went with? 

 

At the moment I was looking to get on Aniracetam and Choline since I read on the forum that's the best for short / long term when studying. Please let me know what worked for you.

 

 

 

[Adrastus]

I'm getting a package of noots tomorrow, my first time trying any nootropics other than PEA or phenibut (if those can even be considered noots).  Going to be trying alpha gpc, aniracetam, oxiracetam, noopept, and pramiracetam.

 

Will definitely post results on this forum.