(This is the start of the long-winded version. You can skip to the stars if you're only here to read about Craze.)
The phrase that jumped out at me was "like Adderall at the gym". Again, I don't work out, and even though I love playing sports, I don't play as often as I'd like. But I have PTSD (got diagnosed when I signed up for a paid PTSD study), anxiety, and general lack of motivation, and I've spent years thinking there was nothing that could help me. I didn't want to get put on meds that would make me fat and compound my problems. But I knew I wanted more than the way things were (are).
I only heard about Adderall about six weeks ago. I actually thought "Limitless" was completely the stuff of dreams. But there it was, again and again in forum after forum: this magic pill that helps you do anything, everything, and more importantly, helps you feel better.
Naturally, I wanted it. I was even more excited when I found out that PTSD symptoms mirror ADHD symptoms, and that Adderall has been prescribed, off the record, for both anxiety and depression. I was desperate to get it.
The trick was (and is), no insurance. No insurance, no doctor's visit, no prescription. And I didn't think buying it off the street or the web was a good idea.
So I wandered around, googling this and that, and someone in some thread was like, "Well, pre-performance supplements work just as well as drugs!"
So I googled a bit more and found this thread.
I read the whole thread, took note of all the pros and cons, then bought Craze on Amazon that same evening. When it got to my place two days later, I was sitting there, having just eaten a bunch of junk a couple of hours ago (a whole pack of waffles w/syrup, blah, blah, blah), and was feeling pretty lethargic.
(A little more background info: I was in the middle of a move, with two days left to get everything together. So I definitely shouldn't have just been sitting around. But that's the nature of the beast; there's a lot you'd like to do, but just can't seem to make yourself.)
Here we go, I thought. Let's see if this stuff works.
* * * * * *
So I carefully measured out a scoop, mixed it in a glass of water, and braced myself for the worst. Everyone had said it tasted horrible, so I was ready for anything. But it's just like some sort of grape-ish Tang; really not bad at all.
So after the scoop of Craze, I went back to my chair and sat down. A few minutes later I got back online. But about ten minutes after that...
Out of the corner of my eye, I suddenly noticed some sort of smudge on the wall that had been there for months. I'd seen it tons of times, but didn't feel like doing anything about it.
But all of a sudden, I was like, "I could just get a sponge and clean it up." So I did. And then I looked to the left and saw more disorder. "What's that doing there? That shouldn't be there. I can just put it away."
All at once, everything was so easy. Obstacles that would have usually stopped me didn't even phase me. The whole afternoon (and evening, and late night) was one long stream of "I could just".
"That chair is in my way. I could just move it."
"It bothers me that that table is dirty. I could just clean it."
"I need to sell these things on Craigslist, and I only have one more day. I could just post ads."
So I did. I ended up taking another scoop about an hour after the first one, but then I was "driven" for the rest of the day, like a little machine. All the while, I just kept watching myself in amazement. I was organizing. I was getting things done. A friend called me, and even though I enjoyed the conversation, my head kept turning towards the work I still needed to do. (Lest everyone think it was silly to be so focused on cleaning, again, I was moving in two days, and I had done next to nothing.) Best of all, I felt calm and quiet, with no anxiety or stress or anything. It was... so cool.
But it was only that one day.
I tried it again the next day, and I felt jittery and tired. (To be fair, it could have been how little I slept that first evening.) I read about magnesium helping counteract tolerance, so I went out and got some, and it was easier to get to sleep that night; the first night, my heart was thudding in a pretty weird way. I still got a lot done, but nothing like that first day. I've read about people spending their whole lives trying to recreate their first 'high', and now I know how they feel. I'd give anything to have a day like that again.
These days, when I take Craze, it has a pretty intense laxitive effect, and the "focused" feeling only lasts about ten minutes, followed by irritability.
I'm trying to eat better (more protein, fewer carbs), so I don't think that's it. I ordered the promotional AddieUP tablets, too, but those just give me a headache.
So there we are. That's my experience with Craze as a a nootropic. I'm going to keep tweaking it every week or so (a half-scoop? on an empty stomach? two hours after eating?) until I get it right, or until I run out of it.
Someone said it's a Gaba-inhibitor. Does that mean if I take Gaba, it will work again?
Anyway, I realize this wasn't exactly body-building material, but maybe it'll be helpful to someone.
Edited by Kolin, 02 November 2012 - 04:34 AM.
