Hi Everybody --
New member, long-time lurker: I've been surfing the Longecity forum for a couple of years now, reading thread after thread about novel nootropic substances and trying out these substances in my own daily regimen. At first, I'd considered simply adding to existing threads, but I want to start my own because I've taken a LOT of nootropics & wanted a place to cover them all & pickup feedback from others.
MY BACKGROUND:
I'm an IT/digital marketing executive who does a ton of hands-on work with systems, people, etc. I work at a small company, which gives me a diverse role that I really enjoy, but the downside is having to not only maintain specialization across a ton of disciplines, but also remember where various projects are at. What ads are running, what systems are doing, how it all connects, etc. It's not brain-surgery, but it definitely takes a toll on your concentration & focus after a while. That probably doesn't make me special, so hopefully my anecdotes will educate & inspire others the way you guys have inspired me in the past.
So how did I get back into Nootropics, not having taken them in many years?
I started lifting weights 3 years ago after a 10-year vacation from the gym - I'm 41 now, was 38 back then, and suffering from stress & exhaustion at work. So I started lifting again, and was doing great - and after about 6 months of lifting, both of my knees went out on me. I went from squatting 300+ pounds down to less than 200, because anything more than that caused serious pain. Tried glucosamine, no help - so I ended up popping an Aleve tablet every day before the gym, which helped, but not much.
I started doing research into various supplements, got into the Longecity forums, and started taking a solid multivitamin (Centrum) plus DHEA, Pregnenolone, Lion's Mane Extract, and Vinpocetine: within a few months (like 4 months, if I remember right), the pain was completely gone, and I was doing a 450+ pound max on squats. A year later, more experimenting, I reached 500+ pounds on the rack, and 250+ on bench.
But the benefits weren't just physical: my "gym supplements" turned out to have a major effect on increasing mental stamina, flexibility, and reducing fatigue. I used to get "brain fog" by 2 in the afternoon every day - now I rarely get it ever. It's also much easier to switch between diverse tasks (like writing marketing copy & building a server, for instance). So what started as an exercise-benefit become a nootropic project = and a big THANK YOU to everybody on Longecity who has made that possible!
NOOTROPICS I'VE TAKEN:
Back in college:
- L-Glutamine
- Ephedrine and/or Ma Huang
- Gotu-Kola
- Siberian & American Ginseng
- Misc Naturopathic Herbs (too many to list)
Earlier In My Career:
- Piracetam
- Hydergine
In the last 3 years:
- Dihexa
- NSI-189
- NA-Semax
- Noopept
- Vinpocetine
- Lions Mane
- Methylene Blue
- Standard Process Neuroplex
- Standard Process Neurotrophin
- Astragalus Root
- DHEA
- Pregnenolone
- Myo-Inositol TrisPyroPhosphate
- BioPQQ
- Phosphatyldiserine
- Suntheanine
- Acetyl L-Carnitine
- Ashwagandha
- Bacoba
- Sublingual B-12
- Garcinia Cambogia
- Astaxanthin
- Adrafinil
- Coluracetam
- Fasoracetam
Those are the noots, more or less. I might be forgetting a few :o) I've also taken various antidepressants (with prescriptions) over the last couple of decades - I take Cymbalta now, and have to be careful what I mix with it. I do NOT drink, do NOT smoke weed, or anything like that. My focus is on cognitive performance & goal accomplishment, for me those things would be detrimental.
"But Tim," you ask, "isn't it expensive to take all those supplements?". Well, YES to be honest, but you have to view nootropics from a return-on-investment (ROI) perspective. Have has taking the nootropics led to increases in performance & decision-making that's offset the cost? Absolutely, many times over. So they've paid for themselves, although it's taken a lot of reading + trial and error to get there.
MISC NOTES:
- What works best for me: exercise + DHEA, Pregnenolone, Lions Mane, Standard Process Neuroplex & Neurotrophin (bovine/porcine brain hormones), and Noopept. These are the ones that I really "feel" if I miss them, and honestly I could live without Noopept - it's pretty short-acting in duration.
- Dihexa: I was REALLY excited about this, bought some from Nyles7, and in his words, "it does something". I felt the same way - there's SOME effect at work there, although not 10,000 times more than BDNF. Not sure if it helped, to be honest. I did sublingual, and I believe Nyles supply was a little on the old side, though, so that might have played a role. I'm considering ordering this from another vendor to see if the issue was the batch that I took. I may also mix with DMSO, as Dihexa does NOT like to mix with things, and I suspect it doesn't absorb very well sublingually.
- NSI-189: This was originally developed as an antidepressant. So after reading the thread, I tried this, and realized the "profound effect" that a lot of folks reported was really an antidepressant effect. You feel GREAT when you take it - for about 6 hours. Then, for me, felt like crap and decided not to try it again. Currently sitting in a box downstairs in my "failed experiment" bin.
- Methylene Blue: I cycle on & off this periodically. The fish product is relatively pure, seems to have a beneficial effect, but not at the micro-doses described online. I did micro-doses of this for about a month before switching to a 100x stronger dose (still way below what they used to prescribe it for medicinally), and then it seemed to help. It's a pain in the rear to handle, though - turns everything blue, including fingers & teeth.
- PQQ: At the supplement doses they sell this at, it did zero, nada, nothing.
- NA-Semax: I have this in my fridge right now. I have the weaker mix. It seems to work, but it's VERY subtle, like others have said. Is it worth $38 online? I don't think so, but your mileage may vary.
- Lions Mane: I CANNOT recommend this highly enough. Get Swanson's full-spectrum, it's cheap & absolutely works. The first night you take it, you'll have really vivid dreams, and if you take this for a few weeks, you should definitely see an effect. Try 2 to 4 capsules a day - that seems to work well, and anything more doesn't seem to have much additional effect.
- Vinpocetine: I first read about this back in the 90's, and it was kind of a letdown when I first tried it. They sell it at health-food shops now. Boy have things changed. I suspect I haven't been taking enough, though: I took 6 months off from this, just re-introduced it at a 2x dose, and it seems like it's doing something. Supposedly it helps cerebral blood-flow: so I wonder if it's not much different than taking Bayer as a blood-thinner. Not sure...
- Adrafinil: I bought this from Nootropics source, and it didn't appear to do ANYTHING, at least not for me. Was hoping for something to fight that "afternoon crash", but it doesn't seem to do anything.
- Garcinia-Cambogia: They sell this in 5x to 8x strength now at Rite-Aid. It works for energy & focus, but I've found that if I take it for more than 3 days it makes me seriously pissed off. I believe that's a classical "overstimulation" side effect. So it works, but at a cost, so I'm not taking it for a long while until I figure out a dosage that works. Others tell me it makes them cranky too...
- Coluracetam: Visual effects? I suppose: a little over-rated in my opinion. I was hoping this would really help my graphic design, but honestly it didn't seem to have much effect. I still take it every few days, probably won't order more when I run out.
- Fasoracetam: Works, easy to overstimulate (headache, brain-fog, all that stuff). A few folks swear by this, but I just couldn't get the dosage right, so it went in the failed experiment box.
- Ashwagandha: This is supposed to be "adaptogenic" and "anxiety-relieving", but I would describe the effect more honestly as "tired & sleepy all day, even taking it before bedtime". In other words, it tends to knock me out, which is the opposite of the performance boost I am looking for. Failed experiment bin...
- Piracetam / Noopept: Back in the day, I used to take this, not sure that I never noticed much of a positive effect from it. Noopept works MUCH better - the only downside being that Noopept only lasts for about an hour.
YOUR TURN:
I'd love comments on your experiences with these, or suggestions on what I might try next. I like focus & concentration, but not looking for "tunnel vision". Honestly, if I wanted that, I could just take a stimulant & focus all day long. I'd rather find something that helps me juggle complex diverse tasks and helps with neuroplasticity.
