139 replies to this topic

[Yearningforyears]

I am pretty impressed by this nootropic. It has been far more effective than any previous nootropic I have tried (piracetam, aniracetam, dmae-the epileptic hypomania trigger, ALCAR).
Not like it is turning me into a real (or imagined...) genius but rather it´s giving me a stable good mood, more goal oriented thoughts, a relaxed way of reasoning, more friendly, social and positive in general.
With piracetam it was often this kind of weird feelings like:"uh oh thoughts are getting distorted, time for a refill!"
Bacopa feels more even and reliable in terms of effect.

Suddenly you just see those small things that tie together everything into a meaningful whole
Think of a pleasurable smell or taste (or even better... taste something you desire). It may set of a little burst of happiness or positive emotions or memories, who knows?
"oh this is the kind of chocolate my dear old grand parents used to give me on those weekends in my childhood".
That kind of things are returning. Not only increased ability to recall learned information, but also some sort of emotional memory retrieval.
Same thing happened when I went crazy crazy manic on zoloft, but this is much milder and it stays in the non paranoid / non agitated zone.

Will definitely be bacopa for more.

Anyone else with similar results?

[bgwithadd]

I got it in powder form but it tastes so horrible. I have some kind of weird social avoidance, not sure if it's really anxiety, and I have been wondering if something might help. How long does it last? Piracetam seems to sort of work but it doesn't last long.

[Yearningforyears]

Oh... Just dissolve it in a lot of water and try not to breath while drinking it =)
There are a lot of spices you cantry to hide the taste too. Don´t let taste stand in the way of better knowing ^_^
You do get used to it after a couple of times. Smoking also tastes like crap but after a while every cigarette is a welcome breath down the lungs ironically.
Bacopa does not have an instant effect. It takes several weeks before any memory improvement can be noticed (according to studies and my own experience). 5-12 weeks maybe with daily use (twice daily).


One herb that helped me very much with social anxiety was gotu kola. Great stuff! (and instant effect) Calming and relaxing without being sedating. A unique combination. Unfortunately I became allergic to it, but will soon try again for old times sake.

Ginkgo biloba tea is also a good one when agitated anxiety is present and together with gotu kola you can´t go wrong (unless using blood thinning medicine), but gotu kola is an absolutely top notch mental anxiety eliminator.
There is one tiiiiny drawback on it (the gotu kola). While it is not dulling there is something that gets a bit tuned down. It made me focused, calm, aware,stable and all of that, but had a dulling effect on the mental spark. Like decreasing your feeling of spontanity, though still letting you act spontaneously (even more so than using the herb). Weird indeed, but awesome stuff.
In combination with alcohol the spark returns three fold. Some kind of synergy maybe?


As for now my social anxiety / depression / cyclothymia-regimen is as follows:

4 capsules of fish oil
One vitamin C pill
B-vitamin complex / Zink + magnesium
Bacopa (roughly 300 mg) twice daily
Rhodiola rosea (boosting those neurotransmitters). Brand: Arctic root (high quality)
St johns wort on occasion
cat nip on occasion: great for relaxation before bed time
Exercise at least twice per week

Rhodiola I believe is a pretty good mood elevating herb too.

Edited by Nicholas, 07 November 2008 - 10:52 PM.

[bgwithadd]

Thanks for the info. Maybe I will try the gota. It seems like the Indian aveureydic herbs all seem at least somewhat effective, I've noticed.

[Connor MacLeod]

Thanks for the info. Maybe I will try the gota. It seems like the Indian aveureydic herbs all seem at least somewhat effective, I've noticed.

You should be aware that gota kola and bacopa monniera are not the same. See for example:

http://indigo-herbs....a_monniera.html

Bacopa monniera is the authentic Brahmi, it is often confused with Hydrocotyle asiatica/Gota Kola which is also known as Brahmi in North India.

For its purported nootropic effects, bacopa monniera is what you are looking for - not gota kola.

[Mouser]

I've noticed easier thought processes and short term memory (especially things like remembering numbers) in stressful situations. But, it's not clear its from the bacopa. Could also be from ~20mg pregnenolone started at the same time. Or of course it might all be placebo effect.

[g3k_]

For the taste, try crystalized ginger.

Edited by g3k_, 17 November 2008 - 08:58 PM.

[edward]

I have taken bacopa for awhile and I really have noticed nothing from it other than its tendancy to make me sleepy (so I take it at night). The positive brain effects from the most impressive Bacopa study I've read... see this thread "bacopa for the win" http://www.imminst.o...opa for the win
show that the effects occur over time and last for awhile after you stop taking it, hence leading to the conclusion that it doesn't matter what time you take it and that the effects are cumulative and not immediate and dependent on blood levels.

[VespeneGas]

I'm taking it every evening. I've only been at it for about 2 weeks, so I'm only getting a nice little anxiolytic effect. Crossing my fingers on massive cognitive improvements! yeah.

[amere]

I took bacopa every day for 3+ months this year. Were there massive cognitive improvements? Iffy.
My recall was generally improved, with many many major 'madeleine moments' as mentioned above. Thoughts also arrived quicker, easier, sharper... sometimes almost in a rush. But since there was no real change in their depth, breadth, insight or creativity I can hardly say I felt any more intelligent.
I've found a good PS plus omega 3 to be more worthwhile, giving a broader, steadier clarity of mind than bacopa or gotu kola ever did.

[Guacamolium]

I had a stack in 1997 which was comprised of Gingko, Gotu, Korean Ginseng and Garlic that really had strong potency for an herbal stack, so a few months ago when I got Bacopa I decided to try that stack again but with Bacopa added on, and the Bacopa really stood out as a nootropic over the other ones. It brought a clean, relaxed sharper focus effect. I've yet to stack it with Ashwaghanda, anybody have any reports on those two taken together?

[bgwithadd]

I take those two, with ALCAR. I think aside from the omega 3s that those three are the most effective supplements by far.

[Elusive]

Well Nic I agree with you! Bacopa is the finest herb to date that has such broad specturm nice depth producing effects in memory focus and building understanding of things, situations, concept and also holistic knowing! I have taken gotu kola with ginkgo and experienced the very similar effects that you mentioned. One thing that you must try is vinpocetine with bacopa. I am one of those healthy and highly sensitive individuals with a chemistry inline with the phrase "Less is More!" so i have tried 3mg of vinpocetine, 100mg of Bacopa and 5mg of Acetyl L Carnitne. I cant begin to tell you the effects. Just to get a glimps ....it was like a mind that is blissfully enlightened and running like Audi S8. But there is a prerequisite to it and thats the thing which sets the stage for it. That prerequisite is the multivitamin ADAM from NOWfoods which i take daily (one tablet only). Probably because it provides 25 mg of Lipoic Acid, 50 mg of B5 and a good dose of Folic acid plus 125 mg of Methyle cobalamin which is different than regular B12. The only other vitamin that has these ingredients in similar dose is SWISSE from Australia. Vinpocetine and B5 in a high dose gives a very enlightening state of mind..... and bacopa adds fuel to the fire so to speak ...plus ALC is an added turbo charge ...but take it in little quantity. I also take Resveratrol 3 to 5mg in the afternoons twice a week, its doing a lot of good and i can sense it. When you are done with your experiment do let me know what did you feel... have fun! My email is wisecore@gmail.com

Oh... Just dissolve it in a lot of water and try not to breath while drinking it =)
There are a lot of spices you cantry to hide the taste too. Don´t let taste stand in the way of better knowing ^_^
You do get used to it after a couple of times. Smoking also tastes like crap but after a while every cigarette is a welcome breath down the lungs ironically.
Bacopa does not have an instant effect. It takes several weeks before any memory improvement can be noticed (according to studies and my own experience). 5-12 weeks maybe with daily use (twice daily).


One herb that helped me very much with social anxiety was gotu kola. Great stuff! (and instant effect) Calming and relaxing without being sedating. A unique combination. Unfortunately I became allergic to it, but will soon try again for old times sake.

Ginkgo biloba tea is also a good one when agitated anxiety is present and together with gotu kola you can´t go wrong (unless using blood thinning medicine), but gotu kola is an absolutely top notch mental anxiety eliminator.
There is one tiiiiny drawback on it (the gotu kola). While it is not dulling there is something that gets a bit tuned down. It made me focused, calm, aware,stable and all of that, but had a dulling effect on the mental spark. Like decreasing your feeling of spontanity, though still letting you act spontaneously (even more so than using the herb). Weird indeed, but awesome stuff.
In combination with alcohol the spark returns three fold. Some kind of synergy maybe?


As for now my social anxiety / depression / cyclothymia-regimen is as follows:

4 capsules of fish oil
One vitamin C pill
B-vitamin complex / Zink + magnesium
Bacopa (roughly 300 mg) twice daily
Rhodiola rosea (boosting those neurotransmitters). Brand: Arctic root (high quality)
St johns wort on occasion
cat nip on occasion: great for relaxation before bed time
Exercise at least twice per week

Rhodiola I believe is a pretty good mood elevating herb too.

Edited by lesterlong, 10 February 2009 - 04:23 PM.

[bgwithadd]

5mg of alcar? That is crazily low. I take around 2g a day. It really gets your evved up in a non anxious way at high levels, but the effective doses are generally considered to be 250mg+ at a time.

I have a kg of alcar arginine on the way. It seems to have the effects of alcar and idebenone rolled into one, if the studies and speculations can be believed, and unlike idebenone it's water soluble. That is one I look forward to, though I'm not sure how long the halflife will be.

[nootrope]

I think I've had good results from bacopa, although I've been trying other nootropics at the same time.

One question I have for other bacopa users:

I have some bulk bacopa powder. However, I've noticed that the taste/color has changed a little. Does anyone know if the active ingredients and effectiveness decay? Would it be better to get capsules?

[ajnast4r]

someone just asked me for a bacopa source, so i figured i would post a few good ones:

50%, 45%, 20%


also i take bacopa in this product

Edited by ajnast4r, 11 February 2009 - 07:09 AM.

[Lufega]

For me Bacopa didn't work in every brand. I got the memory improvement when I used this product. I switched to this 50% version and it's done nothing for me! Nothing at all!

[hamishm00]

I'm stacking like this atm:

650mg Rhodiola in the mornings

then a couple of stacks through the day of:

600mg Bacopa
500mg Centrophenoxine
300mg NaRala
600mg ALCAR
600mg ALCAR Arginate
50mcg Huperzine A
1600mg Piracetam
2grams high potency EPA/DHA fish oil

Occasionally some trans dermal nicotine.

Plus other suppls, including Melatonin at night.

Seems to work.

I recently through the Bacopa into the mix and it definitely has an anti-anxiety and improved focus effect.

Edited by hamishm00, 12 February 2009 - 10:32 AM.

[Zaxxus]

I finally found the best Bacopa product after few experiments: it contains a special enriched extract called BESEB I think, and apparently is the one originally developped by the Indian CDRI, and verified in 'gold standard' clinical trials (Stough et al, 2002 and 2008). I really like this products, it built up gradually all desirable facets of cognition and mood, and it makes me feel more healthy, plus slightly horny. I am a supporter of the evidence specificity, always try to source a product that has proven something on clinical trials, not only in vitro o animal studies. Only sold in Australia though, so I get it by mail through.

For me Bacopa didn't work in every brand. I got the memory improvement when I used this product. I switched to this 50% version and it's done nothing for me! Nothing at all!

Edited by Brainbox, 28 February 2009 - 10:22 PM.
Removed probable commercial details

[studmaster]

Not like it is turning me into a real (or imagined...) genius but rather it´s giving me a stable good mood, more goal oriented thoughts, a relaxed way of reasoning, more friendly, social and positive in general.

Anyone else with similar results?

Couldn't have described it better myself. I don't respond much to racetams but Bacopa give me a more stable goal oriented mood, which in the end helps me get more done and am happier about doing it. This might turn into a staple for me.

[brotherx]

That's interesting!
How much bacopa do you take? Which concentration? And which brand do you use?

Cheers

Alex

Not like it is turning me into a real (or imagined...) genius but rather it´s giving me a stable good mood, more goal oriented thoughts, a relaxed way of reasoning, more friendly, social and positive in general.

Anyone else with similar results?

Couldn't have described it better myself. I don't respond much to racetams but Bacopa give me a more stable goal oriented mood, which in the end helps me get more done and am happier about doing it. This might turn into a staple for me.

[spaceistheplace]

I tried bacopa but it just made me tired all the time (hard to notice nootropic effects when all you want to do is take a nap!). And this was just from taking it at night.

Add: My sleep requirements while taking bacopa shot up from 7.5 hours to 11

Edited by RADIOACTIVE, 26 February 2009 - 02:15 PM.

[studmaster]

That's interesting!
How much bacopa do you take? Which concentration? And which brand do you use?

Cheers

Alex

Not like it is turning me into a real (or imagined...) genius but rather it´s giving me a stable good mood, more goal oriented thoughts, a relaxed way of reasoning, more friendly, social and positive in general.

Anyone else with similar results?

Couldn't have described it better myself. I don't respond much to racetams but Bacopa give me a more stable goal oriented mood, which in the end helps me get more done and am happier about doing it. This might turn into a staple for me.

Sorry I thought I subscribed to this thread. I have tried a couple different brands, but the one I first noticed it with was Solaray 20% Bacosides A and B - 100mg. From what I read now I think that isn't very much. I was also taking it with Rhidola. I found the effects were intensified after aerobic activity. I'm going to take it tomorrow morning before exercise and will report back.

[doctordog]

didn't want to start a new thread so thought i'd give this one a bump; i've been taking bacopa for the past 2-3 nights with some pretty great results. in fact, like many people have stated, it's one of the few supplements where i can be certain of the effects it's having - increased clarity, focus, inner peace etc. only problem is i feel almost *too* calm, almost to the point of complete self-sufficiency. i have no real urgency or desire to engage with others, and feel pretty content just lost in my thoughts. i assume this might be an effect of increased acetylcholine? i don't wanna stack too quickly (i'm only taking 1-2ml of bacopa a night) but i was wondering what i might try balancing it out with? something like Rhodiola comes to mind, though last time i tried it, i was too scattershot in my dosing and ended up just making myself more anxious

[Phreak]

Nicholas, how much Bacopa are you taking a day?

I too have it in powder form but have put 100g of it into capsules and take around 3g a day. The recommendation on the packaging and the recommended dose as an 'adaptogen' is about 4-5g (6g at absolute most) so I'm wondering if I'm taking enough...? I've been taking for 3 weeks now without any noticeable effect, except maybe a calmer and more stabilized mind...

I also have Ashwagandha powder which I've heard goes very well with it; recommended dose is between 4 and 10 grams a day. I have taken this, at ~5/6g, occasionally but also haven't noticed much - most likely due to non-sustained usage... Has anyone tried the combo and got effects? At what dose?

The current thread on the Bacopa:Ashwagandha mix isn't very informative on dosage, time to feel effects and specific benefits...

[Happy Gringo]

Sorry to revive this thread, but I wonder if anyone has tried Mentat by Himalaya, which has Bacopa as the first ingredient. It is the only form I can get here in Costa Rica and I would like to know about dosing it properly for effect.

[Mr.Bananas]

Sorry to revive this thread, but I wonder if anyone has tried Mentat by Himalaya, which has Bacopa as the first ingredient. It is the only form I can get here in Costa Rica and I would like to know about dosing it properly for effect.

Since its a mix of herbs its hard to know the dosage, especially since everyone responds differently, but follow the instructions on the bottle and adjust as desired.

[NDM]

I am trying to rule out possible confounds so here it goes: has anyone noticed acne-looking facial skin bumps from taking Bacopa?

[nito]

I am trying to rule out possible confounds so here it goes: has anyone noticed acne-looking facial skin bumps from taking Bacopa?

nope

[mentatpsi]

Sorry to revive this thread, but I wonder if anyone has tried Mentat by Himalaya, which has Bacopa as the first ingredient. It is the only form I can get here in Costa Rica and I would like to know about dosing it properly for effect.

there's a medicine called Mentat?!

that's awesome!