11 replies to this topic

[VMAT2]

Hey Everyone,

 

Long time reader, first time poster.

 

I've been using Nootropics for about 18 months, never found anything that really worked consistently. Now that I'm being more focused with it, I think I might be figuring some stuff out.

 

I did the Braverman test and got these results:

 

Dominant:

 

Dopamine: 36

Acetylcholine: 42

GABA: 29

Serotonin: 27

 

Deficient:

 

Dopamine: 8

Acetylcholine: 7

GABA: 27

Serotonin: 9

 

I've been wondering why all the choline and dopamine precursors I was taking, for example L Phenylalanine in Natural Stacks CILTEP were screwing with me, anyway, this seems to mean that what I really need to do is up-regulate Dopamine and Acetylcholine, without adding to the tank WHILE boosting GABA.

 

I'm looking to create a daily stack, here's what I'm currently thinking and wanted some feedback on it:

 

Once a Day:

 

2 Caps of Mind Lab Pro (find this forms a great foundation that covers a LOT of the bases, it's expensive, however the formula seems to get my brain WORKING)

100mg Magnesium

Decaf Bulletproof Coffee (I'm on RoarAmbitions TestoFuel & Instant Knockout which has a tonne of Caffeine in it already)

 

Twice / Three times a Day:

 

325mg Aniracetam

10mg Noopept

500mg L-Glutamine

??mg Forskolin

??mg Artichoke Extract

500mg L-Glutamine

 

And I was looking at maybe adding Picamilon for GABA boost instead of L-Glutamine? I've tried L-theanine and just don't like anything that makes me feel like a tranquillised horse. Or what I imagine they feel like.

 

And I'm looking at taking Sulbutiamine when needed. This stuff is crazy, but I haven't found a way to kill the tolerance (yet, any ideas?)

The purpose of the stack is to help me have an intense focus with fluid intelligence that I can direct to use anywhere while being anxiolytic so I can run my business which involves a lot of public speaking/email copywriting/sales...

 

I literally have the full pharmacy of racetams here (so any suggestions welcome) and thus far have found Ani & Noopept to provide the best effects, I think Oxi does well too, however I don't just want a focus for numbers, I really need to be effective at communication in every form. Do you think it's worth adding Oxi to this stack?

 

I would so appreciate the help, I've literally managed to fry my brain at points by taking too many dopamine precursors (before I understood what L-Phenylalanine was and took NS Ciltep + Dopamine Brain Food - silly boy me), which actually inspired me to really take a look at this and figure out a consistent stack I could take everyday and didn't really need to think about.

 

In terms of Modafinil, I get rashes immediately when taking it, even on the smallest dose, so I'd like to stay away from that.

 

Thank you in advance for your help :-)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[OneScrewLoose]

I just looked at that braverman test, and as someone with a B.S. in Cognitive Science, I can tell you with 101% certainty that test is a bunch of horseshit. You cannot determine someone's neurotransmitter levels by linking them to stereotypical personality traits commonly associated with those neurotransmitters. it is FAR more complicated than that. One example I can give you is that high dopamine can be good in a normal person, where it would be bad in someone with Bipolar. So even if the test had some basis in reality, it's implications that these deficiencies applied to everyone equally would still be garbage.

 

Just throw this away and take a step back. Let me help you out, I'd be glad to.

 

My first piece of advice is to not start a 'stack'. To many people do that around here, and then you can't tell what is effecting what. My first question is, why do you want to take nootropics? What do you feel is lacking and/or problematic? From there I can make some recommendations/

Edited by OneScrewLoose, 10 April 2016 - 11:20 AM.

[VMAT2]

@OneScrewLoose (great name btw)...

 

Thanks for the guidance!

 

So I'm an entrepreneur where most of my day is based on communication, public speaking, copywriting, sales calls etc

 

What I've found when I'm in the zone with nootropics is a feeling of my brain has been unlocked and the anxiety that comes from being an entrepreneur disappears and my mind can access all the information I've learned about communication effortlessly and my focus is unbelievable. The best bit about it is that my focus is fluid, I can focus on writing an email, get a call from a team member and then get on a sales call and my focus can move immediately with the same intensity and presence.

 

I hope my explanation of the feeling gives you an idea, I'm not sure of the scientific mechanisms that lead to that.

 

What I want is that ability every day, I need something that I can take consistently to help me run & grow my business. Hence I went with Mind Lab Pro and Aniracetam initially.

 

Give me some ideas... :-)

 

 

[OneScrewLoose]

Well, Aniracetam is pretty good, but it's half life is pretty short. A drug's half life is how long it takes the body to remove half the drug from your system, and is usually how long the effect of the drug lasts. I would take a look at Aniracetam's more well known Piracetam, which lasts much longer. It has to be taken with a choline source. Since Citicoline seems to be the major ingredient in Mind Lab Pro, you can use that as your choline source. Here's where I recommend getting them:

http://www.powdercit...powder-benefits

http://www.powdercit...holine-capsules

You'd want to take about 2g of piracetam and a capsule of citicholine at the start of the day. You can then play around with the dosing, or splitting the dose up during the day, to see what works best for you. Get back to me and see if this helps, and if needed I'll have more recommendations.

Just promise me one thing. You won't become one of these nootropic junkies with these huge stacks of 20+ noots, like some around here, hoping nootroopics will fix everything and anything in their lives.
When it gets to that many, it becomes impossible to discern what nootropic is really helping with what.

P.S. I am basing these recommendation on the assumption that you had good luck with Aniracetam and Mind Lab Pro. If not, let me know.

Edited by OneScrewLoose, 10 April 2016 - 06:56 PM.

[VMAT2]

My problem is, I don't really get along well with Piracetam for some reason, hence me using Aniracetam... 

[OneScrewLoose]

Try Oxiracetam + Citicholine then. It has a much longer half life than Aniracetam.

[VMAT2]

Got it! Will it be anxiolytic as Aniracetam and is it true that Oxi is for logical processing and not really for public speaking etc? Or am I wrong...

 

 

[OneScrewLoose]

I wouldn't say any of the racetams are for any particular thing. That's what happens when you get one person in a forum claiming that this racetam did something for them, which biases the next person, who repeats the claim, and so forth and so on. Unless you can give me double-blind studies demonstrating specific racetams do specific things, it's all conjecture in my opinion.

 

But it is true that the effects of the racetams vary. The problem is that they vary from person to person. So to truly know, you'll have to try them for yourself. Give the Oxiracetam a shot.

[VMAT2]

Taken Oxi today.

 

Feel good locked in and focused, but feel like I don't really want to talk to anyone. Just get shit done.

 

Which is good, however my job being a business owner based on a high level of communication, I think I need something that makes me happy to talk to people.

Any ideas?

[OneScrewLoose]

Are you taking it with the citicholine?

[VMAT2]

I have Mind Lab Pro as my basic stack daily for brain health...

 

I've been taking Oxiracetam, what should be the effects I'm looking for and what dose should I be taking?

[OneScrewLoose]

I'm not a fan of kitchen sink approaches like Mind Lab Pro. You're trying to treat a problem, right? I would say it would be safe to conclude that that problem has a cause, right? Well, are you satisfied with just making the problem go away, or do you want to know a little about the cause of the problem? If you use something with ten ingredients to treat the problem, you'll never know which of them is really working, and you'll never start to either uncover the cause, or at least find out what kinds of supplements help you.

 

The racetams have to be taken with a source of choline. Mind Lab Pro seems to have enough citicholine to satisfy the choline requirement as long as you are taking the full dose. But I would dump the mind lab pro and work with individual supplements, as I said.

I wouldn't be llooking for effects per say, other than a general idea of what it -might- do. These things vary greatly from person to person. What you need to be looking for is, is it helping you?

 

The racetams tend to help some people with memory, alertness, processing and brain fog. Though it's rare it helps a single person with all of these, and for many (such as myself), they do absolutely nothing, like taking a sugar pill. But, as I just mentioned, what i just listed isn't very relevant. Is it helping you, and if so, how is it helping you?

Edited by OneScrewLoose, 16 April 2016 - 05:38 PM.