13 replies to this topic

[Mark123]

Hi guys, bit of a noob here,
a few people in my school take things like phosphotidylserine and vinpocetine - the kind of things that are available on amazon; are these any good?

i have read here that modafinil/modalert is really good for concentration and work energy etc...

i really need have a lot of revision to do over the next two months



any advice and recommendations would be greatly appreciated,

thanks, mark

[chrono]

Hi Mark! Yes, the things you mention all work. Modafinil is a pharmaceutical with quite a noticeable effect on concentration. The others two wouldn't be near the top of most people's list, I don't think.

Many here work at designing a combo (stack) of nootropics with complementary effects. Start with what others suggest, do some reading, pay attention to if/how they combine.

Look through the first couple pages of topics, there are many recent topics addressing this very question, with many recommendations. Search for terms like concentration, study, focus, reading etc to find some of the older threads (this gets brought up so many times, each thread has different suggestions depending on who bothers to respond). Use the search feature to find out more about the dosage/usage/side effects of each substance. Take notes with something like OneNote, if you have it, or even in a word file.

I'll mention piracetam and ALCAR. Not as strong as modafinil, but they are well tolerated and will have a positive effect for studying, with almost no downsides.

[Jurence]

I recommend piracetam, l-tyrosine and ALCAR daily. Vinpocetine is something I take, however I wouldn't classify it as a nootropic but more as a neuroprotective substance. I recommend cycling DMAE and Rhodiola, taking each once (maybe twice) a week when you are planning on long study sessions. Adderall would also be very helpful.

Don't neglect study method. Learning is not all chemistry.

[Runner]

it really annoys me when people come on here and just ask for people to do the work for them.

Do your own research.
Find out about things and plan, come up with ideas.
Then ask if there are any misconceptions you may have that need clarifying or that you cannot easily find out yourself..

Your just being lazy.

[chrono]

It does seem like 1/3 of the new topics these days can be answered with "UTFSE." But it doesn't help that there's no "read before posting" sticky in this forum, with a few words about how to use this resource generally, and discouraging posting without searching.

It seems like basic etiquette to me, but then again, I've had the internet for 18 years. Doesn't necessarily hurt to be a little nicer about it, though.

[zm3thod]

ALCAR, Piracetam, and CDP Choline work well together for me

I don't notice anything definite from Vinpocetine

DMAE does not have a strong effect on me

From what I've read, supplementing PS is a waste

[Rain]

^ ALCAR did nothing for me but make me sleepy (which makes no sense...) so i didn't like it.

Otherwise yeah piracetam+choline, maybe tyrosine and modafinil/ritalin a few times a week (which ritalin i find to be muuuuucchhhh better in terms of it gives an intense concentration and motivation, with other weird effects) whereas modafinil just deletes tiredness and not that intense concentration.

[Mark123]

Hi Mark! Yes, the things you mention all work. Modafinil is a pharmaceutical with quite a noticeable effect on concentration. The others two wouldn't be near the top of most people's list, I don't think.

Many here work at designing a combo (stack) of nootropics with complementary effects. Start with what others suggest, do some reading, pay attention to if/how they combine.

Look through the first couple pages of topics, there are many recent topics addressing this very question, with many recommendations. Search for terms like concentration, study, focus, reading etc to find some of the older threads (this gets brought up so many times, each thread has different suggestions depending on who bothers to respond). Use the search feature to find out more about the dosage/usage/side effects of each substance. Take notes with something like OneNote, if you have it, or even in a word file.

I'll mention piracetam and ALCAR. Not as strong as modafinil, but they are well tolerated and will have a positive effect for studying, with almost no downsides.

hi!! thanks for the reply, really appreciate it! I have since ordered some Modalert from medstore.biz! hopefully this is ok. I just checked the tracking information and it says it has come from bombay :S is that something to be concerned about? I have also done a lot of revision by myself without anything and it is goign well, i did well last year without anything, it is just that i would like to experiment with these things after reading about smart drugs all the time in the newspapers. if anything, i would say they encourage more students to take them!!!

http://www.guardian....dafinil-ritalin

thanks!

[chrono]

hi!! thanks for the reply, really appreciate it! I have since ordered some Modalert from medstore.biz! hopefully this is ok. I just checked the tracking information and it says it has come from bombay :S is that something to be concerned about? I have also done a lot of revision by myself without anything and it is goign well, i did well last year without anything, it is just that i would like to experiment with these things after reading about smart drugs all the time in the newspapers. if anything, i would say they encourage more students to take them!!!

There's some debate about whether you can trust modalert from overseas pharmacies to be what it purports to be. There was a thread on this forum recently about that, shouldn't be that far down. Getting things through customs is always iffy.

Like I said, it's a psychostim, so it's probably one of the most "abusable" things which could be called a smart drug. Just use it wisely and don't get carried away.

I'd still encourage you to do some reading about nootropics here, they're more sustainable and good for your brain, in many cases.

Edited by chrono, 13 April 2010 - 11:25 AM.

[Rain]

hi!! thanks for the reply, really appreciate it! I have since ordered some Modalert from medstore.biz! hopefully this is ok. I just checked the tracking information and it says it has come from bombay :S is that something to be concerned about? I have also done a lot of revision by myself without anything and it is goign well, i did well last year without anything, it is just that i would like to experiment with these things after reading about smart drugs all the time in the newspapers. if anything, i would say they encourage more students to take them!!!

There's some debate about whether you can trust modalert from overseas pharmacies to be what it purports to be. There was a thread on this forum recently about that, shouldn't be that far down. Getting things through customs is always iffy.

Like I said, it's a psychostim, so it's probably one of the most "abusable" things which could be called a smart drug. Just use it wisely and don't get carried away.

I'd still encourage you to do some reading about nootropics here, they're more sustainable and good for your brain, in many cases.

i bought modalert from an online pharamcy, slightly improved concentration and completely deleted all fatigue for about 12 hours as if the feeling had never excited, although did get pretty bad time distortions. had 200mg, they aren't too bad, but ritalin is 100x times better.

[Jurence]

it really annoys me when people come on here and just ask for people to do the work for them.

Do your own research.
Find out about things and plan, come up with ideas.
Then ask if there are any misconceptions you may have that need clarifying or that you cannot easily find out yourself..

Your just being lazy.

I have to agree.

[Mark123]

hi!! thanks for the reply, really appreciate it! I have since ordered some Modalert from medstore.biz! hopefully this is ok. I just checked the tracking information and it says it has come from bombay :S is that something to be concerned about? I have also done a lot of revision by myself without anything and it is goign well, i did well last year without anything, it is just that i would like to experiment with these things after reading about smart drugs all the time in the newspapers. if anything, i would say they encourage more students to take them!!!

There's some debate about whether you can trust modalert from overseas pharmacies to be what it purports to be. There was a thread on this forum recently about that, shouldn't be that far down. Getting things through customs is always iffy.

Like I said, it's a psychostim, so it's probably one of the most "abusable" things which could be called a smart drug. Just use it wisely and don't get carried away.

I'd still encourage you to do some reading about nootropics here, they're more sustainable and good for your brain, in many cases.

Hey Chrono!
Thanks for your advice, you seem to be really friendly and knowledgeable and i really appreciate your advice!
My modalert came today at 08.45 in the morning! This is 2 days after ordering/being shipped which is AMAZING!! From india shipping is very fast, and i went for standard shipping too! I was impressed - faster than amazon lol!
I split the 200mg pill in half, no crumbling at all, it seemed good quality, genuine etc.. and i just had the 100mg! I can feel the effect and have done a LOAD of work today and am continuing soon! I love it!

I just wanted to ask your advice on dosages and tolerance as I have read contrasting posts :S I am planning on taking 100mg a day now until the end of june.. will I develop a tolerance or should i take less?
also, would vinpocetine be something i could combine it with or should i stick to just one thing?

thanks,

mark

[LabRat84]

hi!! thanks for the reply, really appreciate it! I have since ordered some Modalert from medstore.biz! hopefully this is ok. I just checked the tracking information and it says it has come from bombay :S is that something to be concerned about? I have also done a lot of revision by myself without anything and it is goign well, i did well last year without anything, it is just that i would like to experiment with these things after reading about smart drugs all the time in the newspapers. if anything, i would say they encourage more students to take them!!!

There's some debate about whether you can trust modalert from overseas pharmacies to be what it purports to be. There was a thread on this forum recently about that, shouldn't be that far down. Getting things through customs is always iffy.

Like I said, it's a psychostim, so it's probably one of the most "abusable" things which could be called a smart drug. Just use it wisely and don't get carried away.

I'd still encourage you to do some reading about nootropics here, they're more sustainable and good for your brain, in many cases.

Hey Chrono!
Thanks for your advice, you seem to be really friendly and knowledgeable and i really appreciate your advice!
My modalert came today at 08.45 in the morning! This is 2 days after ordering/being shipped which is AMAZING!! From india shipping is very fast, and i went for standard shipping too! I was impressed - faster than amazon lol!
I split the 200mg pill in half, no crumbling at all, it seemed good quality, genuine etc.. and i just had the 100mg! I can feel the effect and have done a LOAD of work today and am continuing soon! I love it!

I just wanted to ask your advice on dosages and tolerance as I have read contrasting posts :S I am planning on taking 100mg a day now until the end of june.. will I develop a tolerance or should i take less?
also, would vinpocetine be something i could combine it with or should i stick to just one thing?

thanks,

mark

Edit: see the modafinil thread that was bumped.

Edited by LabRat84, 15 April 2010 - 03:17 PM.

[chrono]

Glad I could help, but most people appreciate it if you do a little searching first and then ask for help if you can't find answers. I've only tried modafinil a couple of times, so the thread LabRat indicated can answer your question about tolerance better than I can.

As far as vinpocetine goes, the thing to be careful with is combining it with other vasodilators, as there's a small chance of cerebral hemorrhage. Some drug info websites list vasodilation as a side effect in 1% of modafinil users. So I suppose there is some risk if you're in that 1%. I'd say try vinpocetine by itself and see if it's even worth taking that chance. I'm fairly risk-averse, so I probably wouldn't.

There are many other nootropics discussed here which don't cause vasodilation. Check some modafinil threads for what others have found useful in combination, or just start reading about basics like piracetam and ALCAR, and go from there.