12 replies to this topic

[Rick05]

how do you supplement for issues with focus and short term memory? Like you read a book and you can't say what you have just read? I don't mean people who study, I mean in general any book or poorly remembering details from even enjoyable book after 1 month. Is that serotonin/dopamine related? 

 

Aniracetam, pramiracetam, phenylracetam (whatever the name), noopept, choline? writing this I can't remember now the simplest supplement- lecitin? 

 

[Grandmaster]

Noopept is known for  causing short term memory impairment so thats probably last one you should look for. Lecithin which is source or choline or just choline wouldnt work good for memory unless you have depletion of it in organism i think. Pramiracetam for me hasnt improved short or long term memory even when taken in as high dosages as 1000mg. If we are talking about "natural nootropics" then Bacopa monnieri for me worked in small dosages for short time but then gave brainfog, same with rhodiola and lions mane(unfortunately). Also i dont suggest taking PRL 8-53 as its a reasearch chemical and personally it gave me only side effect which is high body temperature, good that i got refound for this piece of crap. Also i dont recommend huperzine A - for me only good effect was good recall of dreams and nothing more - no procogitive effect in matter of memory of any kind. I haven't tried Aniracetam and phenlyracetam yet but the phenyl one is more a stimulant than pro-memory drug.

[jack black]

1 month later is NOT short term memory

OP, are you referring to episodic memory problems?

https://en.wikipedia...Episodic_memory

I always considered myself as having poor memory (in the episodic memory sense) and even forgetting newly learned things way too easily (I guess it's semantic memory too).

https://en.wikipedia...Semantic_memory

I can tell you after trying hundreds of various supplements and drugs in the last 2-3 years, there is nothing that fixes bad memory outright.

but it's not all bad news. if you deal with your anxiety and depression (pseudodementia), memory formation and recall benefits greatly.

[jack black]

i see the OP forgot to come back to the forum. the problem must be real indeed.

[Heisok]

Rick05, do you have any history at all of head injuries, which might or might not have resulted in a concussion or loss of consciousness? It is a long thread to go through, but you might want to look through Lostfalco's thread:

 

http://www.longecity...iments-curated/

 

His recommendations go well beyond injuries, I was just curious.  He shows research to support his ideas. Given your condition, start at his profile page which gives a summary of some things. I have gotten good results from trans-cranial LED light therapy, but the PERCEIVED anecdotal benefits did not persist after discontinuing.

 

Profile: http://www.longecity...1887-lostfalco/

Edited by Heisok, 18 July 2017 - 08:20 PM.

[Tasi Tsuinao]

To flip this discussion around, by the way it was started, please don't put the cart before the horse as the expression goes.

 

All the supplements in the world won't really help unless you get to the root of the cause.

 

So what is your lifestyle, and health like?

 

First you want a Lifestyle change, and loads of exercise, and brain exercises, then supplements last...

 

Sorry if you already understand this many people don't, they are just looking for a fast answer in a pill and there is none...

[Grandmaster]

In my opinion lack of exercise or sport(im practicing 2 sports since 12 years ago and being advanced in them so its not my case) cant be source of serious memory problems, especially when you are young male. Most of scientists have studied or worked in laboratories for whole days(best example Tesla who studied 20 hours a day with 4h polyphasic sleep, Cavendish, John Von Neumann etc) without cognitive problems, all i have mentioned sentence before had extraordinary near eidetic memory.Of course they were kind of special case but anyway if one is eating well and make mind workout(logical problems, studying etc) then it shouldnt trigger strong memory impairment.

[Rick05]

Hello everybody again, sorry yes I forgot about that post, its kinda funny but true. And the problem is still there

 

1.Episodic memory - Yes! Its like I often forget which day it is (I would call that a general problem) and trying to recall events its quite hard to place them in some timeframe, I don't feel much of a continuity between events. Well at least not that I can quickly access the events in my memory as I used to (I'm 32 now, it started around 30), recalling a movie requires some effort now, not like you instantly recall most of the plot that you jump from one place to the other, I get lost much easier because of it, also it probably degraded my personality cause now I know what it really means to be lost in general. Conversation details were so hard to remember at some point I had to record everything. Even now the details quickly fade and even get deformed when I recall things. When I was a kid or even 25 I could recall everything instantly never lost geographical orientation, never lost a track in the movie or a book. So I think that episodic memory is probably the thing cause it feels like the brain is poorly flashed/recorded. It does sound quite logical cause because I forget alot about what I was/am because of the past events I am more prone to risky behavior, nonchalant spending etc etc. boundaries are far more intellectualized than they were before so that gives some hope regarding the wikipedia article.

 

2.Exercise well yes, it gave me great boost and feeling but- when my memory problems started the exercises stopped giving me plasure anymore (dopamine), just like coffee that 5 years ago was getting me literally high, just as workouts, now not at all despite the efforts and bigger progress than before

 

3.To me brain exercises are mostly computer games and logic games that goes along with them, haven't tried that much yet. But my lifestyle day to day is around 1 km walk, all the rest is sitting behind a computer to be honest (well working out also but I have 3 week pause now)

 

4.No head injuries, clean MRI, EEG shown dominating theta waves, just some sporadic alpha from time to time, thyroid ok, kidney creatinin in upper norm, high blood pressure (140-158/100), pulse around 70

 

5.Treated with various racetams for months. Some small improvements. Got worse after dropping them. Anhedonia slowed down during the treatment I guess to some extent, I also noticed some geo-orientation improvement that was also impaired in the beginning. 

 

6.I heard about the lasers but I'm a little confused about how that works. I also heard some advice that it could help my condition. I will have to try it

 

7.I'm quite scared that the only probable solution and with all risks associated is that only prozac-like drugs can help my condition (serotonin-inhibitors?), got recommended http://psychotropica...l-ad-algorithm ICES rhodiola cannabidiol https://selfhacked.com/blog/depersonalization-its-causes-and-potential-solutions/    Also considering DHEA, Tolcapone, Donepezil

Edited by Rick05, 22 July 2017 - 09:19 AM.

[Rick05]

Funny. Seems that DHEA did hit the placebo effect? For one day I felt again the old emotions - for example I worked on a computer and watched movie, could easily divide attention and movie easily grabbed my attentionspan, even unwantingly and felt good after workout and felt the effect diminished somewhat after coffee. For example now it vanished I even have problem focusing my eyesight with absolutely zero change of divided attention with movie playing in the background. Although DHEA stopped the really bad feelings of sadness, it could just aswell just be short placebo effect or high magnesium.

 

I supplemented magnesium more excessively during the weekend, while now I don't. Coffee seems to flush magnesium but I'm astounded by the rampant effects, Also I'm back to shorter sleep cycle 8 hours which should be more than enough but I feel more tired waking early and when slep 6-7 felt even worse (hightened effects of forgetfullness and limited attention-span). My body is kinda more "shaky" after just one coffee for example hands seemed a little bit. Why my body does require so much

 

 

Edited by Rick05, 04 August 2017 - 07:00 PM.

[jack black]

I can tell you after trying hundreds of various supplements and drugs in the last 2-3 years, there is nothing that fixes bad memory outright.

but it's not all bad news. if you deal with your anxiety and depression (pseudodementia), memory formation and recall benefits greatly.

 

I came back a few months later to qualify my previous response.

Recently I came back from my usual summer vacation/traveling. I take 3-4 weeks off at a time. typically, I don't remember my (many different) passwords at work when I come back from vacation. This is exactly why I keep a scrambled file with all passwords. this time, i remembered them all without the file. shocking indeed. i'm taking a lot of supplements, so it's hard to pin point which one made the difference, but i suspect it's low dose lithium. chronic Lithium therapy has been shown to result in gray matter growth, so it totally makes sense.

Edited by jack black, 19 September 2017 - 06:59 PM.

[Deaden]

i see the OP forgot to come back to the forum. the problem must be real indeed.

omg hahaha

[Rick05]

DHEA seems to do wonders regarding endurance and skin youthfullness but about 3 days after workout things start to get bad and muscles get tired easily. Not sure if thats some post interferon issue (1 year after). Memory can be somewhat boosted by higher dosages of racetams but doesn't help for "soaking" the moment (mind is always barely engaged in everything, reading a book can be a nightmare) and there is also an issue with memory pitfalls, after month or two if some event wasn't rehearsed or repeated it might be forgotten like it didn't exist. 

[kurdishfella]

how long do muscle memory last for skills not muscles like gaming? I noticed when I get really good at something I tend to get lazier and thus worse.

Edited by kurdishfella, 16 July 2021 - 05:26 PM.