85 replies to this topic

[DanielSon]

Which of the following would you regard as the best all-purpose nootropic compound and more to the point - why?

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[Thorsten3]

Have you asked Mr Miyagi for such wisdom?

Sorry I realise how unfunny that was

It would have to be something that has benefits all across the board. But then it would come down to an individual thing. Not everything works for everyone.

[DanielSon]

Have you asked Mr Miyagi for such wisdom?

Sorry I realise how unfunny that was

It would have to be something that has benefits all across the board. But then it would come down to an individual thing. Not everything works for everyone.

Yes I certainly agree with you that there is no "right answer". I simply want to gauge a level of popularity and/or "following" for each of the most established and touted nootropics.

[soulfiremage]

No science in my reply. On a daily basis, this gives me the maximum return on my investment, enabling hours of concentration where I need it most-provided I'm not dragged off on a dozen directions.

Note: I can multitask verbally on it-what gives? I typed an assessment set and answers-I was designing, whilst listening to a phone conversation that I accurately recall even now. That's quite an advantage.

[aLurker]

No science in my reply. On a daily basis, this gives me the maximum return on my investment, enabling hours of concentration where I need it most-provided I'm not dragged off on a dozen directions.

Note: I can multitask verbally on it-what gives? I typed an assessment set and answers-I was designing, whilst listening to a phone conversation that I accurately recall even now. That's quite an advantage.

You didn't say what you voted for.

[health_nutty]

No Nootropic has met my hopes. My expectations may have been unreasonable. I was imagining / hoping that I would feel much more awake and focused (like caffeine but with better cognitive boosting). I was also hoping it would noticeably improve my memory. I've tried Piracetam, aniracetam, alcar, alpha-gpc, lecithin, methylene blue, bacopa, DMAE, huperzine-A, nicotine, caffeine.

Piracetam had a strong negative effect initially, and after much experimenting it had seemed to have some small positive effect (which could have been placebo).
Aniracetam made me have trouble with double vision, and didn't seem to help.
ALCAR gives a noticable but very mild increase.
Alpha-gpc did nothing noticable.
Lecithin did nothing noticable.
DMAE gives me a small but noticable energy boost.
MB gives a small increase in focus but nothing like nicotine.
Bacopa works great for anti-anxiety, not sure about memory effects even after 4 months of use.
Huperzine-A had no noticable effect and I don't feel comfortable taking it long term.
Nicotine has an effect on motivation, but it has tolerance, addiction, and possible health issues (increased BP, negative vascular effects)
Caffeine is my favorite, I can definitely feeeeel it.

To test memory effects I really should have done some standard before and after tests. Even that is difficult because just practicing Dual-n-back gives you a higher score.

I guess I am just disappointed overall.

[Logan]

You should have included moderate to intense exercise, that is my choice.

[longevitynow]

When used occasionally (say once a week), sublingual deprenyl gives me an amphetamine-like sharpness withing minutes. Unfortunately, when taken more regularly, the intensity of this effect is reduced dramatically. Interesting long-term effects in research studies with low doses, especially if you are a mouse or a beagle.... If I were to be reborn as a mouse I'd want to be in the non-placebo branch of a deprenyl experiment....

[soulfiremage]

No science in my reply. On a daily basis, this gives me the maximum return on my investment, enabling hours of concentration where I need it most-provided I'm not dragged off on a dozen directions.

Note: I can multitask verbally on it-what gives? I typed an assessment set and answers-I was designing, whilst listening to a phone conversation that I accurately recall even now. That's quite an advantage.

You didn't say what you voted for.

My bad

Modifinil .

I stack this with piracetam, galantimine, subultamine and lion's mane.

At night I use melotonin-heavy, long sleeps-making the moda go further

[matter_of_time]

Cerebrolysin by far

[unregistered_user]

No Nootropic has met my hopes. My expectations may have been unreasonable. I was imagining / hoping that I would feel much more awake and focused (like caffeine but with better cognitive boosting). I was also hoping it would noticeably improve my memory. I've tried Piracetam, aniracetam, alcar, alpha-gpc, lecithin, methylene blue, bacopa, DMAE, huperzine-A, nicotine, caffeine.

Piracetam had a strong negative effect initially, and after much experimenting it had seemed to have some small positive effect (which could have been placebo).
Aniracetam made me have trouble with double vision, and didn't seem to help.
ALCAR gives a noticable but very mild increase.
Alpha-gpc did nothing noticable.
Lecithin did nothing noticable.
DMAE gives me a small but noticable energy boost.
MB gives a small increase in focus but nothing like nicotine.
Bacopa works great for anti-anxiety, not sure about memory effects even after 4 months of use.
Huperzine-A had no noticable effect and I don't feel comfortable taking it long term.
Nicotine has an effect on motivation, but it has tolerance, addiction, and possible health issues (increased BP, negative vascular effects)
Caffeine is my favorite, I can definitely feeeeel it.

To test memory effects I really should have done some standard before and after tests. Even that is difficult because just practicing Dual-n-back gives you a higher score.

I guess I am just disappointed overall.

My list is much the same as yours and I too have been met almost exclusively with disappointment.

[health_nutty]

My list is much the same as yours and I too have been met almost exclusively with disappointment.

I was especially disappointed in the racetams. I got my hopes up because they used to be prescription (so they have to be strong right!???)

Edited by health_nutty, 25 October 2010 - 04:05 PM.

[Thorsten3]

Melatonin for me. Can't underestimate the benefit of a good night's sleep I have also been dissapointed with nootropics. I have had more success with anti-oxidants which have helped the most with making my brain more sharper. ECEG, idebenone, resveratrol and curcumin - lets just say this has an effect each day. Sometimes I feel like I'm jumping out of my skin I'm so alert. My memory is the best it has ever been which has suprised me, it's like I have instant recall. I take Perika too, but I have experimented and the effect I achieve by this combination of agents minus the Perika is very noticable.
I came to the conclusion that any cognitive problems I was experiencing were mainly related to the depression which I had. Things like piracetam, huperzine and all things like that were not neccessary for me. Some people on here though swear by them and they can help you immensely if you need them I suppose.

Cerebrolysin? I don't know too much about it but I was under the impression it was the Real Madrid of noots

Edited by Thorsten, 25 October 2010 - 05:57 PM.

[Dom]

I chose caffeine because modafinil gives me nasty side-effects that involve my bowels and needing to urinate frequently. Most stimulants seem to affect me in this way but caffeine to a much lesser extent than modafinil.

[Animal]

No Nootropic has met my hopes. My expectations may have been unreasonable. I was imagining / hoping that I would feel much more awake and focused (like caffeine but with better cognitive boosting). I was also hoping it would noticeably improve my memory. I've tried Piracetam, aniracetam, alcar, alpha-gpc, lecithin, methylene blue, bacopa, DMAE, huperzine-A, nicotine, caffeine.

Piracetam had a strong negative effect initially, and after much experimenting it had seemed to have some small positive effect (which could have been placebo).
Aniracetam made me have trouble with double vision, and didn't seem to help.
ALCAR gives a noticable but very mild increase.
Alpha-gpc did nothing noticable.
Lecithin did nothing noticable.
DMAE gives me a small but noticable energy boost.
MB gives a small increase in focus but nothing like nicotine.
Bacopa works great for anti-anxiety, not sure about memory effects even after 4 months of use.
Huperzine-A had no noticable effect and I don't feel comfortable taking it long term.
Nicotine has an effect on motivation, but it has tolerance, addiction, and possible health issues (increased BP, negative vascular effects)
Caffeine is my favorite, I can definitely feeeeel it.

To test memory effects I really should have done some standard before and after tests. Even that is difficult because just practicing Dual-n-back gives you a higher score.

I guess I am just disappointed overall.

My list is much the same as yours and I too have been met almost exclusively with disappointment.

I'm sorry but to expect anything other then negligible cognitive gains with that list of 'nootropics' is unrealistic. If you really want noticeable effects you're going to have to evaluate what you are willing to risk in your pursuit of a cognitive reward and experiment with pharmaceuticals.

[Georgina]

There is no one nootropic that can address all my needs. Having said that if I was forced to make a decision I would have to say Adderall. At least with Adderall I have a lot of mental energy and can be very productive. A very close second to Adderal and one that is not on your list is Lion's Mane. I have found Lion's Mane to be cognitive enhancing - I really feel smarter when I take it. I tend to retain information better esp when I am reading. A close third and another one not on your list is DHA.

I have recently added Bacopa Monniera to my nootropics regime. It is still too early to evaluate its effectiveness but it is very promising. This may become one of my top five.

[nito]

There is no one nootropic that can address all my needs. Having said that if I was forced to make a decision I would have to say Adderall. At least with Adderall I have a lot of mental energy and can be very productive. A very close second to Adderal and one that is not on your list is Lion's Mane. I have found Lion's Mane to be cognitive enhancing - I really feel smarter when I take it. I tend to retain information better esp when I am reading. A close third and another one not on your list is DHA.

I have recently added Bacopa Monniera to my nootropics regime. It is still too early to evaluate its effectiveness but it is very promising. This may become one of my top five.

Which Lions mane product are you taking if you don't mind me asking? u can inbox me the link alternatively!

[Georgina]

There is no one nootropic that can address all my needs. Having said that if I was forced to make a decision I would have to say Adderall. At least with Adderall I have a lot of mental energy and can be very productive. A very close second to Adderal and one that is not on your list is Lion's Mane. I have found Lion's Mane to be cognitive enhancing - I really feel smarter when I take it. I tend to retain information better esp when I am reading. A close third and another one not on your list is DHA.

I have recently added Bacopa Monniera to my nootropics regime. It is still too early to evaluate its effectiveness but it is very promising. This may become one of my top five.

Which Lions mane product are you taking if you don't mind me asking? u can inbox me the link alternatively!

Well I have been using New Chapter's Mental Clarity in which lion's mane is the primary ingredient. This is the old formula of New Chapter's product (not the new and "improved" version they sell now). I found someone on Amazon selling the older formula and bought it. I have tried New Chapter's new formula but it was not as good as the original one. Not sure what I will do when I run out of the mental clarity. I think any lion's mane product will probably work I just think the older New Chapter product was superior.

[luv2increase]

I don't feel right choosing a "single" substance from the list. Why? Well, a lot of the substances have SYNERGY so it is almost impossible for me to truly gauge the effectiveness of any "single" substance.

If I am taking substance A for awhile and add substance B and notice a huge difference, who is to say that substance B on its own would have elicited the same psychoactive effects?

I don't think there are many people who take nootropics that only take just a single one of anything above.

To give an accurate representative, each person would have to just take ONE of the above for a few months without taking anything else and keep a journal of the results. Then, they would have to discontinue for a period of time to go back down to baseline and repeat with another substance for a few months. Obviously, this isn't realistic.


I would say a more realistic poll would be for us to evaluate the main combinations people use.

[Ark]

best overall

Cannibis
LSD
Bacopa
L-thenine
Ashwangda
Semax
Selank
Pilicome
Prevagen
Nuvigil
Ritilin
Adderal
Colostrom
Coconut Oil
Seal Oil
Krill Oil
Reishi
Lion's main
Arkogen
St John wart(special German Extract)

[Ark]

Stablon
Dephery
Lithum

[nito]

[quote name='Ark' timestamp='1292484825' post='445124']
Stablon
Dephery
Lithum


Dephery? Whats that??

[kikai93]

I tagged "another racetam". Stand alone I've probably gotten the most benefit with the least side effect from aniracetam. Add to that aniracetam's bang for the buck and it beats the close second, modafinil.
I've gotten the best results from a "stack" of several nootropics, herbs, etc however, and I question the efficacy of the single agent model when using nootropics.
Single agent cognitive enhancers I don't question, and in some cases it is likely preferable, particularly when dealing with potent pharmaceutical drugs.

I think what most people go looking for in nootropics is Cortexifan, and that this and reliance on subjective perception to assess effects accounts for the wide-ranging disappointment many experience.

[The Likud Is Behind It]

best overall

Cannibis
LSD
Bacopa
L-thenine
Ashwangda
Semax
Selank
Pilicome
Prevagen
Nuvigil
Ritilin
Adderal
Colostrom
Coconut Oil
Seal Oil
Krill Oil
Reishi
Lion's main
Arkogen
St John wart(special German Extract)

So much new stuff to google. You're my kind of poster.

Cannabis = creativity. I won't argue with you. Not the biggest nootropic in my experience. I can't even remmber where I put the spoons, peanut butter, and chocolate syrup.
Why LSD? Wasn't there something about taking 1/10th the dose required to trip and getting a memory enchancing effect? Or are you talking trip like doses?
Bacopa = Thank you India, than you.
Theanine = Increasing GABA relaxes. I suppose it would quiet your mind to help you focus if you're anxious. Clearly no memory enhancing effect. Why do you list it as a nootropic?
Ashwaghanda = Multiply synapses again. Thank you India. Wish I had a little genetic Indian in me.
Semax = need to look it up. your experience?
Selank = ditto.
Pilicome = ditto.
Prevagen = ditto.
Nuvigil = pro-histamine. I was not a fan. The psych gave me about 10 "free trial" sample boxes and told me to take it for a month off label because it would never be covered by my insurance for the off label use. I really did not like this at all. I take it as a sign something is wrong given that I used to be apparently sensitive to high levels of histamine. I want to take it again because my body has had some physiological changes you wouldn't believe since the time I got this a little over a year ago. I don't htink I'd be hyper-sensitive to histamine any more.
Ritilin/Adderall = blah. Amphetamine is short for (A)lpha (M)ethyl (phe)nyl e(t)hyl (am)aline. It's the Methyl-PEA. Cool stuff. PEA isn't just a natural ampehetamine. Amphetamine is a methyl version of PEA. Anyway, Amphetamines have actually stopped working for me. Seriously. I need to be taken into a lab and tested. Don't believe some asshole on the internet. This shouldn't be believed. It's got something to do with the biological changes that happened with polypeptides. I need a science degree and a lab to figure out how this happened.

Colostrom = unfamiliar with it. Your experiences?
Cononut Oil = The medium chain triglycerides get metabolized by the brain, a byproduct of which is the production of ketones. Producing ketones in the brain (which never happens when the only source of energy is glucose) supposedly produces some structural changes. or does it? Is this the theory? I've actually been eating coconut oil since I came home. I haven't noticed antyhign. I only remember readning some Alzheimer's Board where someone was recommending coconut oil.

Seal Oil = unfamiliar with it. Your experiences?

Krill Oil = this is glorified DHA, right? Is there something active in it other than DHA? I don't get why to take it over regular old fish oil.

Reishi = interesting stuff. It did not do anything noticeable for me. I don't take it as a nootropic. I still respect it for other reasnos.

Lion's main = Agreed. Also, someone was saying Oyster mushrooms might be beneficial for memory.

Arkogen = unfamiliar with it. your experiences?

St John wart(special German Extract) = what's the difference between your extract and the normal forumla? I'm only familiar with its use as an anti-depressant.


THANK YOU IN ADVANCE.

Edited by oompaloompa, 20 March 2011 - 03:23 PM.

[d4minated]

I like Picamilon and Sulbu taken with meal rich in b-vitamins best, since they're the least annoying I've tried.

[Steve_86]

My favourites are:

Selegiline
Bacopa
Cordyceps
Dexamphetamine
Extra Virgin Coconut Oil
Fish Oil
Lion's main
St John's Wort
Lemon Balm

[nezxon]

I voted another-racetam (I've had great results with Aniracetam). In response to members who mentioned disappointment in various nootropics, finding the right combination of nootropics is a shot in the dark right now. There's very little information available about the individual nootropics, and pretty much zero information on their simultaneous application, so taking even two or three nootropics simultaneously is essentially uncharted waters, but we do have reason to believe they have synergistic properties, so where any single nootropic may not have a pronounced effect, two or more may.

[_Obelix_]

LSD and Cannibis as nootropics?

I'd call those very questionable in the memory and cognition-enhancing categories. While they may increase artistic creativity, in terms of information storage, recall and processing I'd say they have a highly negative effect in the vast majority of people.

I've done large quantities of both. I'm still studying at a post-graduate level at university, and while my brain still works pretty decently, there is no question that I've had a significant drop in mental performance when comparing pre- and post- drug usage days.

[testsubject3]

I've been taking piracetam and aniracetam for about a week now and I haven't noticed anything.I constantly try different math problems etc in my head since I started on both and don't think I'm solving them any faster. I still find myself having to take a minute or two to think of memories that happen years ago. I've tried to glance at a study sheet and remember the whole page, but that's not working either. I'm starting to think this stuff doesn't work. I was looking up some more nootropics today and found something called "briteSmart" has anyone tried this? the only reviews I've been able to find seem fake/made by the company. Also I'm really wanting to try provigil because I want something that has instant effects(meaning noticeably within 30mins to 1hr after taking). Has anyone had any good experience with this stuff and if so have you been able to find some for cheap?

[nezxon]

I've been taking piracetam and aniracetam for about a week now and I haven't noticed anything.

What dose and how often for each? Did you take choline (Alpha GPC, CDP Choline, eggs, etc.) with them? Your body weight would also help in determining a more effective dose. The racetams are said to have a bell-shaped effectiveness curve, so you might be either taking too much or too little to reach optimum efficacy.

Both methods you've described to test the efficacy are completely subjective. Math in your head is influenced by a subjective perception of time.

I don't think testing memory recall is possible, subjectively. In order to know what you are able to recall before and after you take nootropics, you'd need a complete catalog of your memory. We all constantly remember things we didn't think we knew, even without nootropics.

There may be a problem in expectation. It's not an exact science, we're throwing darts here. Not to say there's NO science behind it, but there's a serious lack of information that allows us to accurately predict dose->response. There's a ton of research and science behind the drugs, they DO change the brain, it's just difficult for us to predict magnitude and subjective experience. Maybe it won't affect the speed of your working memory, but there are infinite aspects of cognition. Maybe you'll do them more accurately, without mental fatigue, or with larger numbers and more complexity. Or maybe it'll have absolutely no effect on your math skills, perhaps visual acuity, smell, creativity, mood, patience, pitch recognition...

We can't say how nootropics enhance cognition, only that they do in a variety of ways. Kind of like being a mutant in X-Men, maybe we don't get the power we want, maybe we have to learn how to use what we get. This awesome forum and others like it at least let us collectively figure out what works and what doesn't, and why people have different reactions. I know a sub-par response can be discouraging, but I really think it's a matter of finding the right dose or combination of nootropics rather than a question of whether or not they work.