Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Ask HN: Do you take nootropics?

news.ycombinator.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

41–50 of 223 posts

Re: Ask HN: Do you take nootropics?

#41

Post by pyromine »

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 sit down and work on something straight for more than three hours without getting distracted other than things that I would naturally get in the flow with.

Re: Ask HN: Do you take nootropics?

#42

Post by tmikaeld »

sasas wrote: post #12

Not a nootropic as such, but fuelling my brain on ketones rather the glucose has made an incredible difference in concentration and cognitive ability. (Ketogenic = High fat, carb restricted diet)

Having been burning Ketones more than Carbs for more than 2 years now, i can absolutely attest to that.

Previously i had to use Caffeine and occasionally Ephedra to stay properly focused on programming tasks. But the people around me often thought i was angry and annoyed easily, that is completely the opposite now that i'm "on" Ketones.

Re: Ask HN: Do you take nootropics?

#43

Post by Lewton »

sumitviii wrote: post #40
Lewton wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, luckily there's a drug for improving sleep too http://www.gwern.net/Melatonin

MIT has a patent on doses less than 1 mg and some(not exactly >1 mg) higher doses can have harmful effects.

Source on the harmful effects? I have not seen any credible study showing any significantly harmful effects.

Did not know about the MIT thing. That explains why it seems impossible to find melatonin in reasonable doses. It took me a long time even to find something as low as 1 mg pills here in europe (why would anyone ever want to buy 8 mg melatonin pills??)

Re: Ask HN: Do you take nootropics?

#44

Post by ch »

sumitviii wrote: post #40
Lewton wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, luckily there's a drug for improving sleep too http://www.gwern.net/Melatonin

MIT has a patent on doses less than 1 mg and some(not exactly >1 mg) higher doses can have harmful effects.

It is possible to patent the quantity of dosage for a given chemical? There must be more to this than you let on, no?

Re: Ask HN: Do you take nootropics?

#45

Post by codewithcheese »

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?

Re: Ask HN: Do you take nootropics?

#46

Post by ncza »

josephagoss wrote: post #31

I take Modafinil every now and then. It's very powerful and can give me an amazing level of focus. Even though research suggests that they have little negative long term side effects I do worry about taking them and would prefer a more natural method to get the same result. Basically it's like this; If I get home from a 10 hour workday almost falling asleep, I can take one pill and suddenly it's like the day starts o…

Health is your biggest asset. No career will be fun if your health is ruined. Be careful and treat your body well!

Re: Ask HN: Do you take nootropics?

#47

Post by EGreg »

Never took any drugs. Found that hot chocolate worked better for me than coffee to wake me up. However, the one safe drug I keep hearing about is modafinil. How safe? I don't know.

All it takes for me to get focus when I'm sleepy is the glow of a computer screen. It turns out that light hitting your eyes tells your brain it's not time to sleep.

http://sleepdisorders.about.com/b/2013/01/26/30-days-to-bett...

Re: Ask HN: Do you take nootropics?

#48

Post by EGreg »

Never took any drugs. Found that hot chocolate worked better for me than coffee to wake me up. However, the one safe drug I keep hearing about is modafinil. How safe? I don't know.

All it takes for me to get focus when I'm sleepy is the glow of a computer screen. It turns out that light hitting your eyes tells your brain it's not time to sleep.

http://sleepdisorders.about.com/b/2013/01/26/30-days-to-bett...

Re: Ask HN: Do you take nootropics?

#49

Post by Jhsto »

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…

You sure your high does not come from clearing out your withdrawal effects? To elaborate, smokers seem to be anxious before they get nicotine, but to what I understand the relief itself does not really come from nicotine, but because your brain is not used to not have it on hand.

Re: Ask HN: Do you take nootropics?

#50

Post by sasas »

josephagoss wrote: post #27
sasas wrote: post #12

Not a nootropic as such, but fuelling my brain on ketones rather the glucose has made an incredible difference in concentration and cognitive ability. (Ketogenic = High fat, carb restricted diet)

How large a difference? I'm willing to try anything that gives me the focus of Modafinil without actually taking drugs.

For me personally - a significant difference. My productivity has increased due to rarely incurring cognitive fatigue due to fluctuating energy levels (i.e that afternoon slump after lunch goes away, skipping a meal has little or no consequence). I can code for 8 straight hours without having to eat where before if I skipped a meal I'd start getting hazy.

Additional benefits include weight loss while eating as much as you want, never getting hungry, being able to do a 10km run on an empty stomach and still be full of energy ..

Post reply on HN