I'm pretty new to all this...
Diagnosed in youth with ADHD and had access to Ritalin all my life. Prescription when I was little was for 20 mg 2x/day... 40mg of Ritalin, if you don't know, is a pretty heavy daily intake for a little kid! Going into high school and college I started mixing it with lots of caffeine. Also started drinking pretty heavily (maybe 3-7 drinks/day, 4 on most days).
Cleaned up for a while, tolerance almost disappeared. Now 5mg Metylphenedate is noticeable. Half a cup of coffee too. And 2 drinks get me tipsy, 3-4 and I could be drunk.
Started Piracetam about 2 weeks ago. Added CDP Choline this week. Planning to experiment further.
I find that I'm very alert and focused if I mix and match very small dosages at will. Too much caffeine and I don't feel good. Same with the others.
About 3-6 ounces of coffee and 5 mg methylphenidate does the trick nicely. Mix it with 750 mg Piracetam, 250mg CDP Choline, and I can do this 2-4 times per day... I usually taper them too, not taking all at once (maybe 1-3 hours apart depending on mood) and I use whichever ones in whatever order I want without any strict schedule. I just don't use large amounts ever. Anything wrong with this?
I have to admit, sometimes I feel a little weird when 3-5 things are hitting me just a little each (could include alcohol and/or marijuana).
My real question is: is it better to take somewhat larger doses of one or two drugs, or smaller doses of many as I've been doing? I also consume alcohol and marijuana in small doses. Usually 2 drinks and one big hit per night. Rarely even one ounce of liquor in the morning (weird I know but it can be sort of nootropic)...
As I start to experiment with other nootropics/cognitive enhancers, naturally I'll have to be wary of drug interactions and their implications on a case-by-case basis. I'm enjoying the freedom to use what I want when I want depending on my subjective needs. I don't like sticking to conventional schedules and paradigms. I don't eat 3 square meals a day either...
My tolerances for everything stay extremely low. How many regular coffee drinkers get a buzz from half a cup of coffee?
Drawbacks of increasing dosage are mainly cumulative tolerance and increased incidence of side effects. Drawbacks of mixing and matching is widely varied and sometimes unpredictable results... and the fact that I haven't diligently researched each interaction and more often than not, there simply isn't reliable data out there!
Just looking for general thoughts and advice moving forward. I notice most people on this forum follow strict paradigms and rigid schedules (and dose much higher than me). As an enthusiastic lifehacker, I've learned that these approaches dampen my flexibility and adaptability. I like to "play it by ear" as I always say...
