Greetings!
I have been a lurker in this forum for a few months now and I have soaked up quite a bit of information but before I begin my first stack I wanted to get some feedback from some seasoned users. BTW I am not an evil monster, my profile photo was from a recent halloween photo session.
Before I begin with my questions I first have to explain that I have Ulcertive colitis which also comes along with arthritis of the large joints/spine. I also have really bad brain fog and I'm tired most of the time. My brain fog is deeply effected by how tired I am. Sometimes I simply cannot think straight. I go into a room and I forget why I walked into a room and sometimes why I am standing up. Its very frustrating when I cannot remember the name of someone I just met and who told me their name just 3 seconds ago for the 2nd time. I often feel like I need to "cache" up part of my conversation in my head before I say something or there will just be too many awkward pauses. These examples are of course on the days when I am at my worst.
I seem to be much more sensitive to medications than the average Joe. As a way of comparison it only takes me a sip of beer to become instantly buzzed. It makes me a cheap data but I have to watch how much I consume.
My goal has always been to clear up my brain fog, get rid of the arthritis pain and keep my UC symptoms at bay. Strangly if there was a cure I would only have to treat the UC and the rest would fall in line. Because I deal with UC my system doesn't absorb vitamins and nutrients like it used to, so I do take supplements. I have to constantly take Vitamin D, calcium, magnesium, Iron, fish oil and occasionally MSM just to keep from getting worse. That doesn't even include the Canasa I take for UC. I cannot take multi vitamins because there is always something in there that makes me sick. I have to get my vitamins from my food. My diet is very restrictive which makes things more difficult. No milk, eggs, nightshades, fake sugars, limited red meat, limited bread, limited citris, no gassy foods or stimulants.
After 3 months of forum lurking and personal research I took the plunge and purchased Moringa, Choline Bitartrate and Sam-E. They all seem to be in the right direction and two of them are considered mild to low Nootropics. To my surprise Moringa helped clear up my brain fog and gave me more energy. After a few days It really made a difference but it by far wasn't clearing all of it up. Next I tried Choline Bitartrate. Stuff was cheap so why not? WOW, this stuff really gave me energy, focus and I got part of my memory back. I was feeling about 85% of what I should be feeling which for a bad day, is pretty outstanding. One unexpected benefit was that I could barely feel my arthritis, in fact I felt like running! I didn't do it because if it was masking the pain, it would have turned into more pain later. I'm very impressed with Choline and how it has effected me.
Unfortunately it also gave me head pressure that seemed to grow as I went from 300mg - 1200mg. The head pressure made my eyes heavy and almost felt like I was about to get a headache. I also yawn for about an hour after I take it. It lasts for about 12-14 hours in my system. Not horrible side effects, just not very comfortable nor natural feeling. I'm planning on trying Alpha GPC to see if it works better.
Next I took 200mg then 400mg of SAM-e the next day. I didn't notice anything so I'm not sure if its working or it has a cumulative effect. Keep in mind that I try everything alone before combining them. I have since stopped taking SAM-e. Pitty because it is so expensive and it looked so promising.
I have recently made a large purchase which includes the following:
Pterostilbene
Acetyl-L Carnitine
Inositol
L-Theanine
Full Spectrum Lion's Mane
Alpha GPC
Ashwagandha 4.5%
Moringa
L-Tyrosine
My goal is to clear up my brain fog and hopefully get some mild nootropic effects going. My primary focus will be memory recall and enhancing my creative thinking. I will try the synthetic stuff like Noopept later, but for now I want to try and do this with what I have.
My question to you all is:
1. Will any of the above interact negatively with each other?
2. Of the above?What is the recommended starting dose, max dose and what dose has proven to be effective for you? I realize that everyone is different but I want to make sure I'm not over doing it with my first dose.
3. My final stack will have 4-6 of those listed above. It will depend on which ones I respond well to. Which ones would you recommend?
4. Am I missing anything important?
Thank you everyone for reading!
Edited by Insight, 14 November 2013 - 02:29 PM.
