1st Timer. Stack arrives tomorrow. How did...
newleaf 30 Apr 2014
Noopept
Pramiracetam
Choline Bitartrate
Caffeine Anhydrous Powder
L-Theanine
ALCAR
Green Tea Extract Powder
5-HTP
There you have it. I'm not quite sure how to put this together. At the very least I will start with 10mgs of Noopept, and only add the Choline if headaches occur later in the week.
My goals for the stack are to have something that can help me settle into a focused groove reading books of dense subject matter. Ruby programming, business books / accounting / marketing and of course increase recall of said material.
As an aside, I'm in reasonably good shape. I exercise, eat well and occasionally meditate once a week.
Curious to know what you guys think, what are my hits and what are my misses?
Chat soon.
Godof Smallthings 01 May 2014
First: I have no personal experience of pramiracetam and caffeine anhydrous (I stick to coffee and tea for my caffeine), and I have not taken 5-HTP over an extended period of time. Green tea extract has been part of some supps I've taken, but I have not isolated its effects. So I won't comment on those.
With noopept, people have wildly varying experiences.
Some people respond very positively from the outset with heightened senses and general anti-anxiety effects, whereas others tend to experience mostly negative effects such as reduced working memory. However, for most people, the negative effects are reduced after 10 days or so, and after that the positive effects on memory become more noticeable. I would make sure to start on Noopept well before any important tests, so as to avoid having the break-in period with potential negative side effects coincide. In fact, it is a bit of a gamble to go on any nootropic very close to an important test.
If you intend to start with noopept as you write, then go for that and leave out the other noots until you've evaluated noopept on its own. As you suggested, adding choline might be a good idea.
If it were me I would start with ALCAR instead, for a week. Starting dose 500 mg. Note its effects. If no effects, raise the dose 100 mg at a time. Don't go over 2000 mg per day (in fact you may only need 500 mg, more is NOT always better). Then add on others.
Choline bitartate is a form of choline I have not tried, and as each choline supplement tends to have slightly different effects, I won't make specific comments on that. But generally speaking, if you have experienced episodes of depression or suspect you have bipolar, you should be careful with choline supplementation, as in that case, it is likely your choline is naturally elevated already.
L-theanine goes great with coffee for sustained focus without jitters and for reducing the caffeine crash, but since it is dopaminergic, you want to avoid taking it together with other supps that affect the dopamine system. If I take it with ginkgo biloba, sulbutiamine or Mucuna Pruriens, I tend to get a headache. L-theanine is also good for insomnia. Generally a dose of 100 mg is enough to feel effects, however you can increase a lot with this one if necessary, as it is remarkably free from side effects.
Hope that helps to some extent. Let us know how you go.
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newleaf 02 May 2014
Awesome tips. Thanks!
I will start with 100mg Caffeine Anhydrous + 200mg L-Theanine
I hope to add Noopept in the following week, but I am interested in trying ALCAR soon as well.
It seems that both L-Theanine and ALCAR are dopaminergic? ... and so they may not play well together?