I've been taking NSI-189 for 5 days.
Most of what I've experienced is very similar to what Therein has posted on this thread. Although questions about how much of the effect is placebo are valid, I know I have enough self-awareness to rule that out for reasons stated below.
Overcoming PTSD is the primary reason I've been trying the various nootropics in the last several months.
The effects of NSI-189 at first were notable because of the change in my thought and response patterns. Negative mind chatter diminished a lot, sometimes disappearing altogether. I also just felt much better emotionally. It seems that the perpetual vigilance of being poised between fight or flight simply vanished.
It is as if all the mindfulness practice I've done over the last few years finally took hold and now works continously (and without conscious effort). This sounds paradoxical, because mindfulness is, in part, about making at least some small conscious effort, at least to initiate mindfulness.
Unfortunately I did not start my usual log for evaluating something new, which I had intended to do with NSI-189. Right after I started the NSI-189 unexpected events occurred that were very stressful and pulled most of my focus and energy away from optimizing my life and threw me into survival mode instead.
In the past, these kind of events, along with the ensuing survival mode, would have triggered full-blown PTSD symptoms for days, if not weeks or months. But that didn't happen this time. Even under normal circumstances I sometimes have mild PTSD symptoms. I had only been taking the NSI-189 for about 1 day when the s**t hit the fan in my life. I was able to handle the situations that arose without any mental struggle or emotional shut-down.
I have worked hard for years to eradicate the PTSD, using many different modalities. Though some things were very helpful I never quite achieved my goal of eradicating PTSD. No doubt, that for me, chronic PTSD causes some kind of brain "damage." I strongly suspect that NSI-189 is making part of my brain a lot more efficient at processing emotional states in real time.
There's potential with this drug to heal certain mental health conditions, especially with supportive modalities, such as CBT, mindfulness training, etc. I also see how this could be very useful for exercise and learning practice, because the negative mental tracks are pretty much erased or at least silenced. So you can train yourself without all of the self-doubt bogging you down, but retain healthy self-awareness and common sense for your safety and well-being.
It is helping me achieve balance and calm without removing pleasure and without making me too "Zen" or robotic.
It's a little like therapeutic drugs and mind training I've taken in the past for anxiety, ADD, and PTSD, but also very different because it seems to have a wide area of effect on the brain and has not, thus far, felt like too much.
It is not exactly like a stimulant, an anti-depressant, an anxiolytic, a sedative, or a nootropic. No intense drive, pleasant hypomania, euphoria, or chill to the point of emotional numbness. But it is somewhat like all of the above with a difference that I can't yet figure out. Maybe it's simply that it has such a broad-spectrum effect that it's hard to define.
I'm taking 40-50 mg twice a day soon after eating. I think that lower doses may be equally effective. I'm watching the pile of sample diminish and wondering what will happen when it's gone.
I am not experiencing any tolerance effect. But I have gotten used to it's broad spectrum effect. Now that things have calmed down in my life I am working on NSI-189's potential for enhancing my mental and emotional functioning. I will start logging effects in a more systematic fashion now.
If this is truly harmless and is working for others as I've experienced, I would rate it at the top of brain healing and brain enhancing drugs. Especially if it helps optimize (for the long term) other goals and strategies, like learning, physical training, and creative skills.
Sorry if I've detracted from the goal of objectivity that others have stated. But I am pretty sure I will participate in the 2nd group buy and a little worried that availability of this drug may diminish.
Note to people who drink alcohol while taking any nootropics: mechanism of action is not always clear with these drugs, but an increase in brain cell permeability does happen with some, so if your brain cells have become temporarily more permeable as a result of some nootropics you're taking, you might want to consider how much alcohol and how often you want to also permeate your brain cells...
No alcohol or extreme moderation seems wisest to me, maybe even more so with NSI-189 because both excess alcohol and NSI-189 are known to affect the hippocampus.
Edited by MizTen, 17 August 2013 - 07:27 PM.
LongeCity
