4 replies to this topic

[Palmer Eldritch]

So I am about to travel from the US to Heathrow Airport, passing through Toronto.  I saw an older post about 'noots on vacation, but this isn't a vacation.  At least not the first first half, where I have to do public speaking, which I dread.  After the conference is over I plan to take most of a week to chill out on a mini-vacation and can probably benefit from 'drying out' on the noots.  So, that's my dilemma.

 

Everything I take currently is in bulk powder form but I bought a capsule-making machine just for the this trip (or should I say, inspired by this trip, because guzzing this stuff like shots of whisky was getting tedious anyway).

 

Currently I take a combination of Piracetam, Choline bitartrate, Noopept, ALCAR, Theanine, and Glycine (in the evenings).  I only recently added the Theanine and Glycine and can probably drop them (although the Theanine is kind of amazing).

 

I could bring my large amber bottle from Newstar Nootropics to 'proove' that what I have is Piracetam (ditto with the very small cannister of Noopept), but somehow I don't think either TSA or the customs people will be impressed. 

 

I also take prescription meds - antidepressants and mood stabilizers for which the noots are helping me to taper off, slowly - and normal nutritional supplments like a multivitamin, fish oil, magnesium.  So long story short, I already have a pill organizer full of stuff.  Are they really going to question the presence of some unidentified powder capsultes?  I suppose I will just prepare myself to have them taken away.  It's a drag, because booth Piracetam and Noopept are legal to bring into the UK for personal use, but I sure don't want the hassle of trying to explain that. They can throw you in a back room just for looking at them funny now.

 

The problem with capsuled piracetam is that it takes a good 6 or 7 capsules to get to a 4.8 gram dose.  Choline is covered with 2 caps.  But all that looks kind of insane in my pill-planner compartments.  However, since I really only *need* enough for three days of a conference, I might spread that dosage out across the 7 days -worth of compartments, and then put them back where they belong when I get to my destination. 

 

I'll also be packing melatonin in a bottle, which they should be plenty used to seeing.  And possibly Glycine in a bottle -- it's an old empty bottle but I have bulk glycine and lots of caps I can fill.

 

Of course it occured to me that I could just mix my piracetam caps in with the melatonin and glycine, but - a) If they stop to question it, it looks I am trying to hide something, and b) I'm not entirely sure I'll be able to tell them all apart when I need to resort them!

 

I will really benefit from the boost to concentration while preparing for my presentation, and hopefully get the loosened-tongue effect once I start talking that will make it flow pretty naturally (I'll be reading from scripted notes anyway).  But if the nootropic plans all go to hell, I suppose I could just... Drink some vodka before I get up to talk??

 

thoughts, reflections, always appreciate

 

 

[Dan1976]

You could arrange with someone in the UK to order small quantities of the nootropics you need in advance so you have them available when you arrive

[p3x888]

I made all my own pills and then put them in empty suppliment bottles. I have traveled to London and Asia without issue.

[Aurel]

Put all your stuff into a normal package (you call it parcell?) and send it to the uk. If you dont know anybody there you get easily get a virtual office for 15bucks there. They take your package and forward it to an adress of your likings. 

Actually I have such an inbox in the uk right now for 2-3 more weeks (I ordered a one month membership to get some legal work done, where I needed to have an uk address). If you like we could try to pull that thing off with that provider. I would have to check how much they charge for forwarding packages (it costs extra as far as I know). The address is in London anyhow, so maybe you could just go there and get it?

[Palmer Eldritch]

Sorry folks for not getting back to this thread / almost abandoning it.  I didn't have time to post here while I was traveling.

 

Aurel, my trip was too short to mess around with the mail,  and while I appreciate the offer it frankly sounds like a dicier option than just bringing it with me.  We're talking about a 10-day supply here.  I honestly think the worst that could have happened was that they would confiscate it, even though according to everything I had read it is perfectly legal to come into the country with these noots as long as it's not a massive amount.

 

To summarize:  I had no problems whatsoever.  I made my own caps using a capsule press.  I had an empty Glycine bottle, so I put the glycine caps in that.  I brought two weekly-planner medication organizers with me, and in those I placed my piracetam and choline, along with fish oil, multivitamins, and some precription medication.  I was prepared to write down everything that was there if anyone asked, but they didn't. 

 

The UK went on "elevated threat" alert at all their airports when I was traveling back, and yet I still had no problems.  I imagine they had more important things to worry about than somebody with weird supplements, but then again maybe not.  Due to confusion about my airline relocating its terminal at Heathrow, I was flustered and forgot to empty my thermal water bottle when going through security.  They took every last thing apart in my backpack and didn't even glance twice at my medication and supplements.  Luckily I had arrived at the airport three hours early so the hold up didn't impact me in any way.  I don't even know what ended up happening with that "elevated threat level", a lot of people seemed to think it was just political posturing in the end, but either it means they had more important things to worry about than a guy with a bunch of unidentified supplements in his carry-on, or else it really is no big deal.

 

My philosophy has always been that if I am not breaking any laws, then don't act behave as if I am breaking any laws and I won't attracted unwanted attention.  This is easier said than done these days when everyone is a suspect until proven otherwise, but for this trip at least I had nothing but pleasant travels.