6 replies to this topic

[DeanHarmon]

Longtime lurker first time poster. Been reading up on nootropics for months now. Decided to order some to try them out. I have social anxiety, depression, and add. 30 year old male. These problems are not chronically bad but getting rid of them would definitely improve my quality of life. Here is what I have tried so far

Phenibut. 1g- felt nothing. 3g- very mild 'drunken' feeling.
Phenyl piracetam. 150mg- felt nothing. 600mg felt nothing.
CILTEP- (natural stacks formula) felt nothing.
L-theanine. 200mg. Felt nothing.

I have some ashwaghanda on the way but as nothing as worked for me I don't have high hopes for that

Should I be trying out higher doses at this point?
Should I be combining anything else to try to get effects?
Am I completely SOL?

It's really frustrating so far as it seems the majority of folks get at least some benefit from the noots they take. I realize that some take time to see results but from what I understand the ones I have tried should have more rapid effects. Any help would be appreciated

Fwiw I take these supplements for general health outside of anything nootropic

Fish oil
Vitamin e
Coral calcium
St. John's wort (no effects after one month so far)
Spirulina

[Jeoshua]

Some people are non responders to the racetam family of nootropics. They're not the only avenue of exploration you could try.

Ashwagandha, I had my doubts on, too. For me, it was pretty noticeable. It didn't add anything, but it did take something away: anxiety. It also made it hard to feel stoned or drunk or caffinated or sleepy. It does an amazing job of leveling you out, and is very resilient to what you can throw at it. Anything from stress to booze will have less of an effect if Ashwagandha has been taken.

Now, as to why you're not feeling anything:
What are you expecting to feel?
Are you going on gut feelings and expecting something drastic and definite like a drug?
Are you testing your intelligence and challenging yourself?
Are you taking the fat soluble substances with a meal?
Are you taking the racetams sublingually or orally?

[DeanHarmon]

I'm expecting to feel anti anxiety from phenibut and l-theanine. Hell even a small amount of elevated well being from either of these. I'm expecting to feel a combination of energy/focus/motivation/concentration from the phenyl-p and ciltep. Focus/concentration would be great for my ADD. I tested these two by doing some reading and it seems as if it's the same as always- can't fully concentrate on what I'm reading

The l-theanine and ciltep were already capped but the phenibut and phenyl-p I capped myself. Been taking all of these on an empty stomach but with the phenyl-p I tried both full and empty

[BlueCloud]

Nootropics are not for helping depression and anxiety, that's a misunderstanting that's been spreading a lot lately. By definition a nootropic is a substance that enhances cognitive function. 

There are other supplements that may work for depression/anxiety. Once that is taken care off, you can try some nootropics/racetams for enhancing cognition.

[Jeoshua]

For the racetams, you might try opening up any capsules you buy and sticking them under your tongue, and taking the powder sublingually. That would make them faster absorbed and the subjective feelings would be more noticeable. That would only work for water soluble compounds tho. If that doesn't work it's possible you're a non-responder. Some people are, and there are likely a lot of different reasons for that, ranging from bad nutrition to genetic differences from responders. I do recommend only buying small samples of pure powders until you find something that you like, and even then sticking with bulk powders, as pre-made pills and stacks have an extremely high markup, and cost you a hell of a lot more than the bulk powder stuff.

[DeanHarmon]

I will try the sublingual method

As for noots for anxiety..... It's not a big issue for me if those don't work. I really want to find something for cognitive enhancement. It's funny but I need to find something that works for me do I can participate in psychotherapy for my anxiety. As of now it's hard for me to focus and concentrate. If noots don't work I'll just have to go with adderall even though I'm not fond of its side effects and such

[Ritchie]

I will try the sublingual method

As for noots for anxiety..... It's not a big issue for me if those don't work. I really want to find something for cognitive enhancement. It's funny but I need to find something that works for me do I can participate in psychotherapy for my anxiety. As of now it's hard for me to focus and concentrate. If noots don't work I'll just have to go with adderall even though I'm not fond of its side effects and such

For anxiety, the strongest supplement I can think off is Kava. It acts as a GABA agonist and up regulates GABA in the long run. Traditionally it was used to "get drunk" and have a good time. But really low doses works wonders for anxiety.

The strongest supplement I can think off for focus/concentration is Mucuna Pruriens. It contains the direct precursors to dopamine and serotonin. It can cause acute effects of heightened dopamine(sense of well-being/mild euphoria, increases focus, increased motivation, increases confidence etc.). Though it will cause dopamine down regulation in the long term just like adderall. And while it is certainly less damaging for the heart than adderall, I'm sure it will have similar side effects to most dopaminergic substances(eg. It can cause psychosis).