Nootropics - Any personal experiences?

I was just wondering if anyone has/had any experience with taking Nootropics, I've steadily been gaining interest in them, and am considering trying a Piracetam/Choline regime.

For those of you who don't know what Nootropics are, they are essentially smart drugs, in that they can help improve brain function, you can find a lot of information on the net about them.

Basically, though I've been reading up on them for a while I'd like to get some opinions on them from people in a community I'd like to think I can trust to give valid information on them.

Thanks for reading

 

Looks like the word "Nootropics" can cover a wide variety of drugs.

tl;dr:
If it's synthesised in a lab, stay the FUCK away (dopawhatthefuckaketalolzgethighmothafuckameine).
If it comes from the warm loving heart of mother nature, sure but make sure it's balanced (omega3's, everyone should eat more omega3's and vitamins).

 

Cheers Vex'd but like I said i'm specifically interested in Piracetam and Choline, I'm know Choline can be found readily in natural products like eggs and milk, but Piracetam on the other hand is a lab synthesized drug that originated in the 60's, I'd also like to point out I'll consult my GP before going near any of this stuff, I just wanted to get some opinions before hand

 

so eat some eggs and drink some milk



p.s. G.P.'s are paid to sell you drugs.

 

Choline is more of a supplement that's used to eliminate side effects of Piracetam, like headaches and such, it isn't known to have much of an effect on it's own, especially in the low amounts that can be gained via natural means.

 

Why would you even want to take them?

 

Well, a lot of people take them to unlock their true mental potential, I want to take them because I have trouble maintaining focus on work for long periods, and sometimes have trouble articulating myself while using my full vocabulary, both of these are things that Piracetam has been known to rectify, I guess it stems from feeling like I'm not achieving as well as I should

 

I won't make any replies past this as i'm detracting from the purpose of the thread, but I just don't see the point or merit. There are so many different things you can do, especially to your general lifestyle, to generally feel better and "perform" better mentally and academically; and you really don't need to dope yourself up to do so.

With the least harshest intentions in saying this, all i'm reading in to these drugs is "I want to perform better mentally and academically, but can't be arsed to make significant lifestyle changes, so i'll just drug myself to fix the problem".

 

Here's a good nootropic stack in case anyone is interested.

http://www.braintropic.com/how-to-create-a-beginner-stack/

Helps my gaming performance anyways. Not really "doping" yourself to avoid making lifestyle changes, most of the nootropic community makes all those lifestyle changes and just want to push themselves to their maximum potential. You are missing the point in thinking that one should expect everything to change from some simple supplements that are merely meant to SUPPLEMENT your lifestyle changes.

 

You see when i was researching these, i had a hard time finding unbiased stuff, a lot of the people reviewing them were sellers themselves hence i looked to other sources and eventually asked on here once i'd checked out hard medical evidence on the effect they have on your brain as well as side effects.

 

Undoubtedly, in the supplement industry there are some extremely stretched claims being made. Obviously, these things are not quite up there with a stimulant like Ritalin or Adderall, but having tried Brainstack (amazon link below), I can say they do a hell of a lot more for my attention span and memory than caffiene alone and are very, very close to prescription drug strength. I don't know about Alpha Brain, but I was extremely impressed with the effects of a supplement with Brainstack.


Brainstack Nootropic Supplement


The thing is, a lot of the reason why, as you said, if this stuff really works, why don't we see it in stores and everyone using it then? Alot of it is because these supplements are new. The supplement Brainstack is not more than a few years old. Tim Ferris, author of Four Hour Workweek/Body practically invented the smart supplement and nootropic niche with his first supplement company.

I attribute it to two main factors among many.

1) FDA approval. It is extremely hard for things to pass this approval, especially if the pharmaceutical companies are not pushing behind it with all their lobbying power, so a lot of the more popular and effective nootropics (racetams) stay unknown with no FDA approval because the big companies can't make as much money off it for it to be worth the long process of getting something approved.

This means you won't see this stuff in a store being sold for human consumption anytime soon. But online, where regulations can be more lax and avoided, there is a whole community of nootropic users.

2)General disapproval as cheating by using nootropics.

The general public sees using nootropics as cognitive enhancers as immoral. I don't really think I need to explain this one in depth because we already had one person in this topic who clearly had a moral issue with nootropics. They see it as cheating because traditionally it is thought that higher brain power is only achieved through hard work, and anyone trying to gain more easier is cheating. Like with steroids.

 

That borderline conspiracy theory explanation or the more reasonable explanation is they don't work and peoples positive experiences with the drug is nothing more than the placebo effect.

 

Go read the longecity forums. Plenty of evidence and many people who will back up what I am saying.

I think you are confusing "doesn't work" with "doesn't completely change who I am, give me a new robotic brain with superpowers, or give me real life h4x."

They work. They won't change who you are and what potential you have, but they can help supplement your life in ways to make your brain chemistry such that it is more effective for cognitive tasks.

Maybe saying they help is more accurate than they work.

 

Oh yes, I was just using Brainstack as an example. It is expensive, but you are paying for convenience. That Braintropic site review has a 20% off discount if you use their affiliate banner I believe.

Noopept and Sulbutiamine are both extremely cost effective and the most noticeable from what I have used personally. Piracetam is also good and CHEAP (though I believe noopept is cheaper). But those two are my personal favorites, as they don't take weeks or month to notice real effects.

 

I would like to see studies on whether nootropics aid learning in individuals who already have techniques for memorising information efficiently, and the long-term effects of nootropic use (neither of which seem to actually be available).

Also, I don't think I would take them even if they were shown to be as good as they are being made to be. I'm very proud of a lot of my successes, and I believe that if I took nootropics I would end up questioning my own unaugmented abilities and whether I would have been capable of achieving what I do without them.


[/introspection]