45 replies to this topic

[Anewlife]

I took 12mg Astax without even knowing it crosses the BBB along with 25mg beta-carotene for over a month. It had a pretty decent nootropic effect on me, higher functioning, more energy and such. I had to stop it AND caffeine because I was just too socially dominant and high strung, I could not mentally unwind although going to sleep was fine.

 

I saw my GP and he agreed I was focused. I saw my shrink and he told me my eyes are darting over to think more than usual.

The problems I encountered were:

Too quick to put my foot down with friends

pre-hypertension

unable to meditate

mind always racing (I think a lot usually)

Unable to concerntrate to drive safely if on an empty stomach (I did not notice this until I ran a red light for the 1st time in 10 years of driving)

Need to eat fats frequenty such as peanut butter or brain doesnt work right

 

Benefits:

Better social skills

No social anxiety at all

More composed body language

More fluent writing and speech

No brain fatigue if I had ate

More physical energy

Much less inclination to sit at my computer

Much more extroverted

Social dominance

Wired without the amphetamine social ineptitude or robot walk.

Seemingly high metabolic rate for some of the above reasons

 

 

To see if it wasnt just me being a fruit cake I gave some to my friend, I usually split the dose in half for 2x a day. I gave him my whole days dose during a high fat meal for absorption. I explained what it did to me btw.

My friend got upset over a minor sleight AFTER A GOOD MEAL, we argued all the way home until I realised it was the Astax which he strongly denied. I went to my house and returned to give him some codeine and he said "What did you give me? I feel so wired". I was in a fit laughing.

 

My other friend who has been taking 25mg beta-carotene has noticed a bit more energy and had an aggressive episode while drunk. A 3rd friend has noticed NOTHING on BC and Astax.

 

So it seems hit and miss I still need to offer it around more but I think its worth trying just in a dose no higher than 4mg a day. I will start taking it again at 4mg twice a week.

 

However I must say do not take it in high doses with caffeine, and I would recomend not to stack it with any nootropics or stimulants.

 

This all might sound hard to believe but keep in mind:

 

This supp is poorly researched despite being known for a while.

"It is 800times more powerful than CoQ10 AND crossed the BBB." Although this is the quack Mercola's words.

 

Edited by Anewlife, 10 August 2014 - 10:58 PM.

[MizTen]

Yeah, Astaxanthin is probably pretty good for certain things, and 12 mg daily is a strong dose. I take it primarily for cardiovascular and energy benefits.  I can't really say if your results are replicated in my experience, as I take quite a few other things. But for sure astaxanthin prevents sunburn, almost completely in me. I am fair and could never tolerate much sun without burning until I started taking astaxanthin.

 

[Anewlife]

I took it for my skin too and would have avoided it like the plague if I knew it crossed the BBB.

The recommended dose on the packet is 6-12mg daily which i agree is too high. But I see too high doses being a trend for supplements: long term fish oil and vit d for instance. I think due to trials being too short term.

 

I gave some to my friend again and he described the benefits as physical energy and mental clarity. I think this stuff once in the brain mops up all the shit(oxidative stress) and fertilizes the neurons, for a layman analogy.

 

I am still unsure why it doesnt work for some people, gonna hand it around to more friends and see what they are eating.

 

[Anewlife]

So an update to this, I believe there may have been some neurosculpting going on. http://en.wikipedia....oconstructivism

 

 

My shrink seemed a bit surprised I did not go manic. He said I have a little bit of everything and he is still trying to figure me out. I have ADD and Autism tenancies.

I really am not sure if I have been insane this week or not. From the sounds of it I am a fruit cake, I signed up here because of that its not due to the Astax by the way.

 

Anyway if had a gradual improvement back to normal since stopping Astax. If I stay how I am today then the rewiring was a success, I guess it was like a spring cleaning for my brain.

 

Continued benefits:

Clarity with thoughts

Much better speech

More witty and articulate

 

Cons:

Need to eat more frequently

Had to quit fish oil because mind was going too fast

[niner]

My shrink seemed a bit surprised I did not go manic.

Well, you certainly sound hypomanic.  Maybe the astaxanthin is causing it.  Lots of things can induce a hypomania.  They're very fun, while they last.

[Anewlife]

I meant psychotic then.

 

Yea too bad I cant afford to go manic otherwise I could turn in to Patrick Bateman.

It was a bit scary, I felt like I was ready to run a law firm.

I got too much muscle tension. It also became abit unsafe to drive because you get stuck in thought. I ran a red light.

 

I walked in to a shoe shop and had 2 sales assistants looking after me. Controlling the room. I was the only customer though but one was just standing there doing nothing.

 

I have a friend who is wanting more astaxanthin, I only gave him 4mg today because I dont want him flipping out like I did.

Edited by Anewlife, 19 August 2014 - 11:17 AM.

[bocor]

Well it seems astaxanthin increases proliferation of neural stem cells interesting the thing that concerns me is might this algae that makes asta also might be contaminated with bmaa? A neurotoxin I wander if this has been tested I am interested in maybe trying it for nerve pain and tremors due to nerve damage

[serp777]

I took it for my skin too and would have avoided it like the plague if I knew it crossed the BBB.

The recommended dose on the packet is 6-12mg daily which i agree is too high. But I see too high doses being a trend for supplements: long term fish oil and vit d for instance. I think due to trials being too short term.

 

I gave some to my friend again and he described the benefits as physical energy and mental clarity. I think this stuff once in the brain mops up all the shit(oxidative stress) and fertilizes the neurons, for a layman analogy.

 

I am still unsure why it doesnt work for some people, gonna hand it around to more friends and see what they are eating.

 

Many people on this forum follow the philosophy: more == better!

[bobz1lla]

Bump.  Anewlife, got a status update?

 

I'm considering ordering some at lower dosage to start.  Anyone else care to chime in on Astaxanthin through personal experience?  I haven't heard many users promote a nootropic experience.

Edited by bobz1lla, 02 September 2014 - 11:44 AM.

[Adamzski]

As a smoker would this be a risk?

It is fairly cheap so i might try 30 days of it

[zorba990]

Never did this for me.  Good skin tinting effect though.   I took 24mg an hour ago but I doubt I will see anything happen....

[Anewlife]

I would suggest swtching to snus or snuff as astaxanthin does convert to beta-carotene somewhat or at least could very well carry the same long term interactinon.

An update: it does seem to possess some sort of negative effect. My friend looks like he has acute stress disorder. I have told him to stop and start meditating.

I strongly suggest starting this stuff on a regular meditation ROUTINE to track negative side effects.Peanut butter helped for some reason, 4mg every other day is what I consider a strong dose at the moment.

Im not offering it anymore and not gonna touch it. stick to salmon imo.
inb4 off the market.

Edited by Anewlife, 03 September 2014 - 11:40 AM.

[airplanepeanuts]

Controlling the empty shoe shop. Alpha Male behaviour!

[nushu]

I take 12mg of astaxanthin a day. It does not make me manic, but I love the color it gives my pale skin and prevents sunburn. It's one of my top supplements, and I only take a few.

[Anewlife]

Lol I was alpha as Fuck for a basement dweller.

[jonnyD]

Hmm just tried 12mg Astaxanthin for the first time and it definatly does something in my brain.

Feeling a little bit more alert currently.

[Anewlife]

Stop! Srs

[jonnyD]

Stop! Srs

???

 

I do not get it... 

[Anewlife]

I had to go on risperidone after and my friend is hooked on valium. It does something negative to the brain at a supplamental dose.

Take it once a week and meditate.

I ran a red light. I could not calm my mind. It's taken me a bit to recover. This stuff is gonna get pulled. You are better off taking Modafinil or amphetamines.

[Yeshe Rabsal]

I take Astxanthin as part of an ocular health supplement ("Super Zeaxanthin" from Life Extension Foundation) these other uses are news to me, thanks for sharing.

[Lufega]

This is one of the best and worst supplements I've used.  I took one single dose of 4 mg and I felt more focused, energetic and even noticed a deepening of my voice (Testosterone?).  All this was great.  However, I also got joint pain, a dead libido and developed a couple of tender, sore lumps on my chest.  I thought not taking another dose would help but its been a week and the joint pain remains.

[Yeshe Rabsal]

I guess I should mention that I intermittently take 6 mg and 18 mg at a time though never longer than a month stretch without a break and I have noticed no ill effects. One of the beneficial effects that may be attributed to the "Super Zeaxanthin" is that I went from being required to drive with corrective lenses (for the past 20 years) to passing the DMV eye exam without squinting a bit... so there is that. 

[nickdino]

Wow, im a bit worried now. I've been on a few new supplements for about a month now.
I take 1 or 2 nordic fish oil soft gels, 1 source naturals astaxanthin 2 mg softgel, 1 spoon (5 g) of neocell type1&3 collagen with my morning tea and half a teaspoon of creatine. For the past two weeks or more my fingers are a bit swollen and painfull when i wake up, making a fist takes more effort and some tendons wil pop if i do. After some movement though it goes almost normal but they remain less painfull. It has done a lot for my skin, astaxanthin gives a nice tint and the collagen makes my skin more oily, less wrinkles, less flakyness. Its obvious to others.

So astaxinthin could be messing with my joints?

[Lufega]

Possibly. It works like resveratrol by affecting the aromatase enzyme and decreasing estrogen levels.

You might consider stopping AT for a few weeks to see if the dryness in your joints improves.

[Yeshe Rabsal]

Thanks for the info; another reason I am glad I have a large amount of Astaxanthin in my fridge.
 

http://www.ncbi.nlm....es/PMC2525623/ 

[ironfistx]

Yesterday I took 8mg of astaxanthin for the first time I had tried it and didn't notice anything different.

[deeptrance]

The extreme variation in response to astaxanthin, as reported in this thread, could be due to the fact that a large percentage of branded supplements do not contain what they say they do. The OP's reaction, in particular sounds suspicious to me. It's such an outlier. In addition, reports of obvious manic/psychotic symptomology such as "controlling the room" in a shoe store when one is the only customer and there are only 2 salespeople, might be indicative of the OP having an especially strong reaction to whatever was in the so-called astaxanthin supplement (which may well have been astaxanthin, or who-knows-what) or it could have been coincidental to other psychological factors. Also, the suggestion that amphetamines are safer than astaxanthin is... psychotic!

 

Anecdotes can be very interesting and entertaining. They can even be useful if enough of them are gathered without a confirmation bias effect. But they're not conclusive, and they don't even necessarily provide any evidence in support of any particular hypothesis. What I'm personally taking away from this thread is that astaxanthin could be useful for skin and eyes, and it might trigger manic episodes in people who are bipolar or otherwise susceptible. Now I'll look for research that might support either or both of these notions, and then maybe I'll make a buy. Recommendations welcome. I won't go near most branded products that aren't from highly reputable companies, and often prefer to buy wholesale powders from my trusted sources.

Edited by deeptrance, 13 November 2014 - 06:14 PM.

[Anewlife]

I am certainly a neurological outlier but that's not to say this stuff doesn't deserve a fair warning... You need some level of oxidation in your body to be healthy.
I do have some psychotic symptoms but subclinical.

[caruga]

Huh, the name astaxanthin sounded familiar; yes, it's in krill oil.  I saw another thread where people had diverse responses to it, that they figured was down to purity/quality.  Perhaps the astaxanthin concentration is another reason.

[unregistered_user]

According to this blog post, astaxanthin inhibits the enzyme called 5-αlpha reductase, and 5-α is the enzyme that converts testosterone into a more potent androgen, dihydrotestosterone (DHT). This is not a good thing for males (unless you have prostate issues).