Noopept is my favourite nootropic, and I've tried a lot of them! But I've noticed especially after using noopept daily for several months (a little less than half a year), a lot more good effects than simply the cognitive enhancing effect I sought after when first starting.
First I want to shortly discuss the cognitive effects I've noticed. Noopept for me seems to work on several different levels. It enhances my perception quite remarkably. Vision is most noticeable. It's like I not only notice details more, but the overall picture becomes clearer. This is hard to explain, but it's a clear effect when visiting crowded centres where a lot of peripheral motion is present. My mind seem to be able to keep track of the relative motions of all the people in my periphery, as well as the details I'm focusing on at the moment. When starting dosing I found myself thoroughly examining the patterns in the side-walk and walls. Here the detail is more pronounced.
Other senses are affected as well. My olfactory sense seems to be able to distinguish certain scents to a larger degree, it's almost like the resolution has been turned up. Hearing was one of the things that clearly was affected when starting, but it is not as noticeable after long term dosing for me. At the start though, it was bizarre.
I tried some high dose experiments (40-50mg) the first few days and I seriously thought I had gotten some strange psychedelic RC instead! When listening to music there were a clear 'distortion' and my mind felt almost a little bit tripping. But no hallucinations were present, strange indeed. After a while I came to the conclusion that what really was happening was I had acquired a more selective ability to focus. The apparent distortions of music were in fact the result of my attention rapidly shifting to the environment to my thoughts and back to the music and causing a noticeable difference in the experienced music (does this make sense to someone else?).
After a few days (and lowering of the dose) the strange psychedelic effects did lessen sharply and I were more confident that it was actually noopept (mushroom smell). A friend after trying for a few days were really surprised that it worked (he's always been sceptical to my claimed effects of racetams and other nootropics)! He did say that the experience was like the "cognitive improvements from LSD without the hallucinations".
When it comes to memory I really notice a strong effect. It's not like I have a constant feeling of my present memory capabilities, but memories I thought were long lost suddenly appears in a vivid fashion. Also, it's much easier to keep track of how I got to a certain place in my mind, my spatial memory is clearly affected. I haven't measured direct learning though, but I have all reasons to expect it is improved.
After some week something totally unexpected happened. It suddenly were A LOT easier to deal with people! To understand the revolution here you must understand that I've always had great problems with understanding other peoples irrational rules (social customs) and behaviours, and therefore I've had a hard time accepting them. Also, I've a really hard time memorizing faces as well as understanding speech, they don't come as naturally to me as for other people. This leads to not an insecurity with people (not in the sense of ordinary social anxiety/phobia) but an unwillingness to be in crowded areas and confrontations because I simply don't understand behaviours or rules I'm supposed to align to (it's like a mystery). This has all changed DRAMATICALLY. With long term dosage, I more and more feel like "I get" humans so to say. I no longer have the constant sense that I'm caught in a herd of faceless animals when visiting crowded places and I can hear what people are saying over phone.
Another surprising effect is on my feelings. I wouldn't really call noopept directly euphoric, but definitely indirectly. I can suddenly find myself crying of joy on the bus because of the wonders of the existence of the mind and the universe. It's like I see the world more of the machine that it is, and the gears really are wonderful. Also people - they too are quite euphoric (someone said MDMA-like affections which is understandable).
Another effect is the pleasure derived from music. Before I of course enjoyed music, but now it's on a different plane. Music (especially orchestral) can at times feel like a really good massage for the eardrums (hard to explain the feeling, but it's pleasurable). Also I feel like I hear all the instrument at the same time to a greater degree.
I've read of some peoples experience with a lowering of the libido, and to some degree I agree but not entirely. For me I can maybe find myself overall less sexual, but when aroused there's no difference (no impotence so to say). Also there's a very clear shift in how much time I spend looking at pretty women when outside for example. It's like I more understand and appreciate the beauty and sexuality of the attractive gender.
When it comes to dosing daily over a long time, I find that taking a break on weekends (that is 2/7 days a week) seems sufficient. Tolerance builds up for sure, but I'm not really of the opinion that this is a result of a lesser sensitivity to the drug as to a more accustomed mind. I do mostly take these breaks because the effect on Monday is profound (with the crying and all) and to limit a possible tolerance (although I think it would be perfectly usable daily without breaks).
There's one clear side effect though, and that is the irritability. I as many others, have noticed an irritability especially directed at other people. This I do not have great problems with, and it's definitely worth to trade off for everything else. I'm suspected it has something to do with an increased perception (real or not) of intelligence, and therefore an irritation directed at those less fortunate (at the beginning I could have some serious rants at stupidity - not any more). Another reason I suspect is that as the focus are deepened, the irritation spawns from the distractions (which often are people). I'm glad to say however that with daily dosage it's a lot easier to handle.
Over long time I find an increasing effect though (as opposed to pure tolerance). Sure, I don't notice the direct effects as much but it really lingers and builds up which is noticeable when I compare my mindset now to that of the time before starting this experiment. I completely believe that noopept is causing some lasting changes in the brain. I'm suspecting this has to do with some build-up of neurotrophic factors (NGF/BDNF) but I don't have some scientific basis for that claim. It would though both explain the build-up and lasting effects I notice, as well as the initial euphoria (often reported from cerebrolysin users). I sure as hell wouldn't say that it looses it's effect after time, but yes, it's clearly less noticeable. That makes sense to me though, since we mostly thrive on difference and not a static state or slow build-up.
A summary of all of this would be a general feeling of a greater existence. It's like me and my mind are more 'there' in the environment and the world as a whole. I live, feel and experience more so to say. If being drunk is a low level of existence (I actually feel like it is), this is the exact opposite.
Oh, the doses I've been taking is mostly (95%) one time daily (at morning) of ~30mg.
So, thought about this? Is someone else having profound long term effects and thinking that they have finally found THE nootropic for them?
