I have been an avid nootropics researcher and user for a few years now and am always intrigued by other noot user's stories. My story is I started taking noots to see if I could improve my job performance. I don't think I was necessarily operating at a deficit, but my diet sucked and I was tired a lot resulting in a little brain fog and lack of motivation. I started off with ZipFizz then started researching noots. My local shop had Aniracetam so that was my first purchase. While it wasn't overwhelming it definitely had an effect, improving mood, energy, and motivation for me. That started me down a long but fun and rewarding path.
Since then I've tried:
Piracetam - noticeable, makes me chatty
Coluracetam - like it, good all around racetam with improved motivation, concentration and a little energy/mood
Oxiracetam - like it, good for any analytical tasks
Pramiracetam - this one didn't have much of an effect on my, but only tried a couple of times
*ALCAR - big fan of ALCAR for energy
Noopept -- caused a little brain fog and irritability, going to try a different version
*Ciltep - like it, subtle but I can tell a difference between taking this and taking nothing
Happy stack -- like it, really gives me a mood boost and energy
Sam-e - no effect on me
Sulbutiamine - no effect on me
*Herbs/shrooms: Lion's Mane, Bacopa, Cordyceps, Ashwa, Gotu Kola, Maca, Rhodiola, Ginko
Vinpocetine - not much to report here
Huperzine-a - not much to report here
DMAE - not much to report here
Alpha GPC - take this in the happy stack or with a racetam
C60oo -- had high hopes for this but didn't notice much of anything
Niagen - felt better generally but nothing acute
*LLLT + PQQ/CoQ10 -- I really like this combo, I notice my brain functions better when doing this consistently. Memory, word recall, analytic thought, and ability to easily explain complex topics all seem improved
MB - nothing very noticeable for me with this
*AOR multivitamin -- a good quality vitamin can make a world of difference
The ones with the * I take regularly. Please share what's really helped you.