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Ask HN: Do you take nootropics?

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Re: Ask HN: Do you take nootropics?

#211

Post by Igglyboo »

KaiserPro wrote: post #100
Igglyboo wrote: post #33

I've been taking vyvanse(before that adderall) for the past 10 years. I wouldn't have been able to graduate from highschool without it, I can barely function at my job(devops) without it. I haven't noticed any long term affects, it definitely works though. It's scheduled so it's not easy to get but it definitely works compared to some of the more hit or miss OTC nootropics. I'm willing to answer any questions if anyo…

As a fellow devop, I say that you shouldn't need drugs to do your job. IF you have to stay that late all every day, its time to rip it all out and start again... to quote from drugs.com: "Lisdexamfetamine is a drug of abuse and may be habit-forming." But that said, you've heard these all before. To new users; Long term use usually requires higher doses, the longer you're on them the worse the withdrawl symptoms. The…

I've never had to change my dosage of vyvanse for the past 4 years and have 0 withdrawal symptoms (I don't take them on the weekends or holidays, i've stopped for over 3 weeks before with 0 withdrawal symptoms).

Re: Ask HN: Do you take nootropics?

#212

Post by Igglyboo »

codewithcheese wrote: post #45
Igglyboo wrote: post #33

I've been taking vyvanse(before that adderall) for the past 10 years. I wouldn't have been able to graduate from highschool without it, I can barely function at my job(devops) without it. I haven't noticed any long term affects, it definitely works though. It's scheduled so it's not easy to get but it definitely works compared to some of the more hit or miss OTC nootropics. I'm willing to answer any questions if anyo…

How do you feel at work when you don't take it?

Very unfocused, I can't spend more than 5-10 minutes on any single task without getting distracted. It is almost impossible to get "in the zone" without my medication.

Re: Ask HN: Do you take nootropics?

#213

Post by Igglyboo »

a5seo wrote: post #55
Igglyboo wrote: post #33

I've been taking vyvanse(before that adderall) for the past 10 years. I wouldn't have been able to graduate from highschool without it, I can barely function at my job(devops) without it. I haven't noticed any long term affects, it definitely works though. It's scheduled so it's not easy to get but it definitely works compared to some of the more hit or miss OTC nootropics. I'm willing to answer any questions if anyo…

I just started adderall for add-inattentive. So far I don't notice a pronounced effect. I've tried Modafinil in the past and 10mg of Adderall 2X daily doesn't really compare. From what I understand, the effect should be something like putting on glasses when you have myopia. What was your experience with Adderall and why did you switch? Vyvanse is an all-day dose, right? Did it affect your sleep?

Adderall worked well but gave my headaches and some other minor side effects, my doctor recommended Vyvanse and it worked pretty much the same without the headaches. It does not affect my sleep at all.

Re: Ask HN: Do you take nootropics?

#214

Post by Igglyboo »

pyromine wrote: post #41
Igglyboo wrote: post #33

I've been taking vyvanse(before that adderall) for the past 10 years. I wouldn't have been able to graduate from highschool without it, I can barely function at my job(devops) without it. I haven't noticed any long term affects, it definitely works though. It's scheduled so it's not easy to get but it definitely works compared to some of the more hit or miss OTC nootropics. I'm willing to answer any questions if anyo…

Okay, so I'm a college freshmen who graduated high school in three years but did that in a combination of excelling and getting absolute 0's in classes because I'm not able to concentrate. I believe I have adhd, for many reasons, how realistic is it getting diagnosed at 18? Also, is there really not many noticeable long-term side effects, because I took vyvanse once and holy god it was the first time I was able to si…

I've been on these drugs for at least 10 years and there are no noticeable long term side affects. The only thing you have to worry about is that they do kill your appetite so if you're taking them on a daily basis you'll have to force yourself to eat sometimes or risk being underweight.

Re: Ask HN: Do you take nootropics?

#216

Post by dpeck »

fpgaminer wrote: post #135
FidesFacitFidem wrote: post #106

Not a nootropic per say but I've noticed a huge difference since focusing on my general health; 1) 7-8 hours sleep per night. 2) 1 hour of exercise per day (some days cardio, other days weights(focus on compounds; squat, deadlift, bench press, shoulder press, pullups, rows)) (for people thinking "I'm too busy to spend an hour of my day exercising". I think the productivity increase of clearing your head doing this ex…

> for people thinking "I'm too busy to spend an hour of my day exercising" Arnold Schwarzenegger has a great quote here (paraphrased): "If the President of the United States has time to workout, _you_ have time to workout."

the President has a monumental staff to deal with every part of life that doesn't directly involve his job, most people do not.

Re: Ask HN: Do you take nootropics?

#217

Post by vldx »

MarcusVorenus wrote: post #93
hellodevnull wrote: post #3

Modafinil. Works great (14 hours of focus and productivity). At $5 a pop it's not something I can afford daily. If something cheaper becomes available I'd use it.

You shouldn't take modafinil daily though as you can develop a tolerance. You should take it 3 consecutive days and then rest the other 4 days of the week. Also extreme focus kills creativity so the rest days allow for a productivity/creativity cycle.

Can you elaborate on this? What are the specific positives of cycling Modiafinil, instead irregular single use?

Re: Ask HN: Do you take nootropics?

#218

Post by alexweber »

PlzSnow wrote: post #23

NO! I investigated nootropics extensively. If you want to know the fruits of my research: * anything that "works" has a very pronounced psychoactive effect on the brain. Which is scary in the long-term. * by far the biggest cognitive boost you can get is SLEEPING WELL! Do this FIRST! It's easy to fix and gives a huge boost in output. * caffeine works as well as many nootropics, with little to no side-effects if taken…

Personally, I'm curious about other supplements that can improve my caffeine usage… e.g. prolonging effect, adrenal precursors, etc.

Re: Ask HN: Do you take nootropics?

#219

Post by dev-ious »

dpeck wrote: post #216
fpgaminer wrote: post #135

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> for people thinking "I'm too busy to spend an hour of my day exercising" Arnold Schwarzenegger has a great quote here (paraphrased): "If the President of the United States has time to workout, _you_ have time to workout."

the President has a monumental staff to deal with every part of life that doesn't directly involve his job, most people do not.

the NSA is now following you.

Re: Ask HN: Do you take nootropics?

#220

Post by tripzilch »

coryl wrote: post #116
Lewton wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Regardless, my experience was that its only value is the placebo effect. If a substance actually does anything real, and there is potential for a pharmaceutical company to patent and profit from it, then you can generally rest assured that it will be scheduled to require a doctor's prescription. For just about everything, the over-the-counter options consist of vitamins and quackery. So either blatantly break the la…

I have a weird experience with melatonin. It puts me out quickly, but I wake up about 4-5 hours later in a half drugged state. For the next few hours I'm awake but drowsy.

Like others said, play with the dosage. First time I tried it, I had 2.5mg (or maybe 3mg I forget) tablets. I had a somewhat similar experience, I'd get drowsy, but when in bed I'd feel cold and couldn't sleep very well at all.

The next year I got 0.1mg tablets, experimented a bit and found that 8 of those (0.8mg) was the sweet spot for me (taken about 2 hours before I want to sleep). I generally used it in the winter, when it gets dark at 16:00, which apparently can throw my cycle a little out of whack if I don't pay attention, the melatonin seemed to help to fix this a bit.

I have to say, I've never noticed really strong effects like "puts me out quickly". Just a general feeling after an hour or two, that "yeah I could sleep". If I listen to that feeling, I sleep very well. If I stay up anyway, it goes away again, and I don't really get the benefits.

One thing I noticed, after a few weeks, was when I knocked over and broke a glass of water for the third time. I wondered, "hey that seems to happen quite a lot lately..". And always in the evening after I had taken the melatonin, so I guess it does do something to my coordination or perhaps alertness. This was easily solved by taking a bit more care where I place my drinking glass after taking melatonin :)

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