Word to the wise on this stuff.
Schizandra is more potent than rhodiola, or piracetams, or depreynl, or anything. period.
It trounces upon huperzine. Schizandra, caffeine, and fish pills and you are pretty much good to go. If you mix schizandra with something like rhodiola, especially if sensitive to rhodiola or taking it the first time, or something more pharmaceutical like depreynl or adderall, gelantamine, or anything dopimnergic, you may induce a manic state. It is not a bad manic state, and could be likened to the mental effects of LSD, (not that I would know, I am just speculating).
Schizandra may work at odd times of the days, and it may make you sleepy at times. It can wear you down. It will cause severe insomnia. It worked for me mainly later in the evening or night, at first. In the day it would make me sick, agressive, panic prone. Eventually I developed a tolerance to the stuff.
My health had been going to pot for the last 12 years, and this stuff seemed along with rhodiola like a god send, however, my health is now REALLY bad, and I am wondering if it was the schizandra that put the straw on the camel's back so to speak. So just be careful and do not overdo it.
Thanks for sharing your experience but a lot of what you mention isn't typically what's associated with using Schizandra.
Perhaps your declining state of health wasn't helped by your self medicating? These Chinese herbs shouldn't really be messed around with without guidence but generally they are pretty harmless and should in most cases be life enhancing (depending on your source/batch/issues).
Shizandra is supposed to enhance sleep and it did for me even after chronic use. I never noticed anything fatiguing about it or particularly energy enhancing but then I don't take the concentrated Schizandrol A and I also eat properly and look after myself so I don't at this moment suffer with much CFS/inflammation/depression.
Schizandra, being the whole fruit is going to have other nutrients in it too. I actually found it worked beautifully with rhodiola.
Schizandra is a AchEI and I notice improved memory anecdotally which I always tend to do with AchEIs. I don't notice it being pro-depressive in any way which I normally find with AchEIs.
Schizandra is best taken chronically and will enhance sleep, libido (to some extent), wellbeing/mood and cognitition (to some extent). All in all it just feels brain healthy and if you can handle Rhodiola with it, awesome.
Edited by Thorsten2, 04 October 2011 - 08:06 PM.