r/NootropicsHelp

There's a nootropic subreddit, the one missing the "r" in the name where the mod has a company that sells researchy sounding drugs with alphanumeric soup for names. To protect the innocent, let's call this company "Everyscam".

Ever wonder how Everyscam gets away with selling big-pharma's prized research drugs without being sued into oblivion to protect their intellectual property?

Most of those drugs are abandoned. Basically failed pharmaceuticals being sold as nootropics. The rights to some of them have been sold to different companies, who try to find a use for them. There's one, let's call it JUNK-356 that was first tried as a treatment for MDD. When that didn't work it got trialed as an adjunct for MDD. Then it got trialed for various deficits like autism. The original creator dumped it.

So what's the chances that JUNK-356 will make you smarter? Probably zero. But the placebo effect is strong. Nobody is immune to it. If you think it is making you smarter, you might actually study harder and do better on tests, just because you think you can. So I guess that's worth something.

At least most of these failed drugs are probably safe. The creators conduct extensive safety trials before the actual testing begins.

Summary:
Caffeine consumption 30-60mg it’s prior to Sabroxy is the best way to capture its stimulatory effects (Dopamine transport inhibition and KOR antagonism) at the expense of its pro neurogenesis and BDNF. If the goal is to increase focus and attention we want to avoid the A2A agonist properties, preloading with a competitive antagonist at A2A (like caffeine) prevents this A2A agonism by blocking the orthosteric site on the receptor. This increase arousal by preventing inhibition of key nuclei involved in the release of norepinephrine, acetylcholine, serotonin, and histamine all of which collectively contribute to concentration and focus by maintaining the conditions for wakefulness.

Sabroxy® is a premium standardized extract derived from the bark of Oroxylum indicum, delivering exactly 10% oroxylin-A (ND product overview)

In vitro studies showed that oroxylin A inhibited DA uptake similar to methylphenidate, a dopamine transporter blocker, but did not influence norepinephrine uptake unlike atomoxetine, a selective NE reuptake inhibitor.

Citation:
Yoon, S.Y., dela Peña, I., Kim, S.M. et al. Oroxylin A improves attention deficit hyperactivity disorder-like behaviors in the spontaneously hypertensive rat and inhibits reuptake of dopamine in vitro. Arch. Pharm. Res. 36, 134–140 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12272-013-0009-6

Overall, oroxylin A might regulate BDNF production in cortical neuron through A2A receptor stimulation
[…A2A agonist] which promotes cellular survival, synapse formation and neurite extension

Citation:
January 2012Biomolecules and Therapeutics 20(1):27-35
DOI:10.4062/biomolther.2012.20.1.027

A2A receptors are inhibitory G of i/o leading to decreased activity.

A2A receptors are expressed in key brain regions associated with arousal (energy and wakefulness NOT sexual arousal) and attention, specially the Tuberomammilary nucleus (TMN) responsible for histamine release a key neurotransmitter associated with consciousness/wakefulness and is generally precognitive, locus coeruleus (LC) the primary source of Norepinephrine (NE) in the brain which is probably equally if not more important for arousal and sustained attention and is one of the three foundational neurotransmitters/neuromodulatory involved in sustained attention and concentration, as well as the Dorsal Raphe Nucleus (DRG) the primary source of serotonin/5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) Brain also invoked in modulating the excitability and sensitivity of neuronal circuits throughout the brain.

Lastly, we have the Lateral Dorsal Tegmental Nucleus (LDT) and the pedunctopontine tegmental nucleus (PPT) these are big sources of acetylcholine.

NE+DA+ACh are the core neurotransmitter needed for focus and attention. Sabroxy blocking this receptor leads to reduced levels of arousal

A lesser known fact is Baicalein is a KOR antagonist. Kappa opioid receptors function like brakes on the dopamine system so reliving this inhibition would increase DAergic activity

In the study, we found that the isolated compound baicalein (3) has shown the most potent and competitive antagonistic activity at 20 mg/kg dose in vivo experiments. The acute dose of 3 (20 mg/kg) and pan opioid receptor antagonist naloxone (20 mg/kg) block the morphine-induced antinociception and the paw withdrawal latency decreases up to 8.3 s and 9.6 s, respectively. The in silico studies also support our in vitro data that compound 3 binds with MOR and KOR.

Citation:
Singh, K., Yadav, A., Khan, S., Shukla, A., Alam, M., Verma, A. K., … Dev, K. (2025). Baicalein isolated from Oroxylum indicum acts as a potent µ- and κ-opioid receptor antagonist agent via the reversal of agonist-mediated cAMP inhibition. Natural Product Research, 39(23), 6837–6845. https://doi.org/10.1080/14786419.2024.2396452

DRI+KOR antagonism+GABA-A NAM work together to increase focus and now with the A2A agonism blocked you can fully harness the stimulatory benefits. I also like to take a cold shower with Sabroxy to promote NE+DA release and with the DRI effect they work synergistically.

Also, my guess is that the MOR antagonism may be partially responsible for the increase anxiety reported and if you’re actively taking opioids this may intervene with the analgesia due to reduced cAMP suppression from Baicalein.

1. It’s not the Limitless pill.

2. It does two interesting things: it wipes out fatigue and keeps you “in the zone” with whatever you’re doing, which can be pretty useful if you’re actually getting stuff done.

3. It tanks your libido. This might be very individual, but after taking it I didn’t even think about sex.

4. Its half-life is the absolute worst. To give you an idea, it’s 20–40 hours, so if you decide to take it daily it builds up until one day it just won’t let you sleep at all. It’s like a debt collector with interest.

5. It wrecks your sleep quality—massively—and it also makes you sleep less.

6. The increase in heart rate is no joke. I have a good VO2 max, so I figured nothing would happen. I was dead wrong—if I had done intense exercise I would have thrown up.

7. It has the weirdest bottleneck I’ve ever seen. Because of its LONG half-life, it accumulates day after day—this can vary between 2 or 3 days. So basically, after 2 or 3 days in a row it becomes functionally useless. Not only will it tank your sleep quality or flat-out keep you from sleeping, you’ll also get tremors and generalized anxiety.

8. Related to the last point, don’t try to offset this with anti-anxiety meds or sleeping pills—you can create conflicting reactions in your nervous system.

9. According to studies, it reduces lateral or “creative” thinking, so if you’re an artist or any type of creative, this could be an issue. I also felt "emotional numbnes" the first days, nothing serious.

10. I don’t get the hype. The people who talk about taking it daily are either lying or they microdose, and their one and only problem is lack of energy or sleep, because its nootropic value is… really low. The most it’ll do is give you energy and at best get you hooked on doing something, but at least in my case I didn’t feel anything that significant—10 percent, 20 percent tops.

11. The first time i take it, i feel "infinite energy", so use wisely the first dose.

Conclusion: I’d only recommend this drug as a nootropic for “emergency” situations—days when you know you’re absolutely screwed and you’ll have so much work that by the end of the day you’ll be wrecked, or in the hypothetical case where you have to cram for multiple days without sleep. For anything else, it’s impossible to take it daily. I don’t know if armodafinil fixes these problems, but for me it’s been kind of disappointing. It’s interesting for very specific cases, but the accumulation bottleneck just kills anything cool you could do with it, and trust me, your body will eventually collect on that sleep-quality debt.

6/10

I’m researching supplement routines for a wellness project and I’m curious about this: what supplement do you genuinely believe works, but you hate taking because of the format?
For example:
powder is annoying to mix
capsules are too big
gummies have too much sugar
tastes bad
upsets your stomach
hard to travel with
you forget to take it
serving size is too many pills/gummies
What supplement would you take more consistently if the format was better?

Hi I been wanting to get into nootropic I’ve tried modafila addrall and thats about it i wanted to try more things but I can’t seem to find anyone who has it or even knows what im talking about is there any sites yall recommend to buy them only ?

Phenibut turned on me last week as I was rapidly tapering from around 10g per day (zero consistent dosing for a period of 5 months, was previously taking more than that daily, never the same amount in one day basically) because Phenibut had stopped producing positive mental effects and was starting to cause some muscle spasming and extreme insomnia.

I started taking my gabapentin rx (600mg 2-3 x a day) again as I tapered to deal with the pretty mild withdrawal symptoms of anxiety, insomnia, and muscle tension and honestly found it pretty easy to get down to 3g per day in 2-3 doses with the Gabapentin buffer. Then one night, the Phenibut fully turned, and I could not sleep at all for 24 hours with EXTREME muscle spasming, burning nerve pain in my entire upper body and head, shaking, anxiety, depression etc. Since that point, I have been in a cycle of taking my Phenibut dose, feeling bad but slightly less bad for a few hours, and then as soon as it starts to wear off a few hours later dealing with muscle cramping, insomnia, anxiety (and anxiety spikes about 20 mins after taking the then too), taking the gabapentin and then being in (what I thought was) full withdrawal complete with shooting nerve pain.

It’s been 24 hours since a Phenibut dose or a Gabapentin dose (trying to give my brain a break) and physically I’ve felt better than I have in a while, but I’ve got the shakes, anxiety and insomnia. I took Gabapentin only today and guess what… extreme nerve pain and muscle spasming (upper body - phen muscle spasms tend to be in the abdomen and legs for me, and no nerve pain when taken alone). The gabapentin has been causing the severe pain and feelings of sadness/anxiety all along, not the low Phenibut dose. So what gives? Is Gabapentin permanently off the table? Because my brain freaks out every time I take anything other than a minuscule dose of either, and taking both together is hell on earth. Agmatine, magnesium, l-theanine and NAC do nothing btw. I want to jump off the phen but now that I don’t have the Gabapentin crutch I’m scared of what will happen.

What can I do to get these gaba channels/receptors to stop freaking tf out? I know that they use the same transportation channels but even staggering these meds and taking long breaks between doses is not helping. And I guess both gaba an and gaba b are involved somehow? This sucks bc drugs acting on gaba/calcium channels are the only things that have helped me with chronic pain and anxiety in my life. SOS lol

UPDATE: wrote this post this am, this evening almost 3 days after Phenibut CT following rapid taper it felt like all of the glutamate cleared my brain at once. One minute I was feeling awful, in pain, anxious, sad, and then literally the next minute I immediately felt completely, 100% normal since the first time I touched this shitty drug 6 months ago. Like it never even happened at all.

I think I was in withdrawal for weeks before my taper because my brain was refusing to absorb most of it, and I thought that inter-dose low period was my baseline without this shit. Feels like waking up from a nightmare you can hardly remember tbh, but what a relief. The acute withdrawal from this shit is awful, but snapping out of it all at once in a better mood than I’ve had in months instead of some extended PAWS situation is truly insane and honestly preferable lol

New to the space, interested in combining things to aid/max out my studies

Looking for stuff that boosts/improves the following

- Makes learning feel effortless, as if my mind is a sponge

- Strengthens memory

- Makes achieving flow state easier/easier to tune out distractions

- More mental energy (as in reducing the feeling of needing to take breaks or naps)

- Boosts creativity

I suppose all of this is general stuff everyone here in the sub is looking for, idk if its right to label these as "college specific needs", but just stuff that would make learning, studying, the college academic venture smoother to excel in

Im open to supporting supps/methods as well, as in things that may not specifically target my goals, but aid in a synergistic way (for example I hear ALPFA GPC complimented a good majority of noots around the sub)

If it matters Im a Business Admin and Public Policy double major. I suppose addiotnal things I would benefit off is any social boosters, which I dont really struggle with, and ik you don't get social skill out of a drug/supp, but I've heard in the past of there being such a thing that helps ppl open up even further. Not super important to me as the others mentioned earlier as its not really a need or struggle for me, just open to hearing

I constantly dopamine seek and have low motivation due to my ADHD and my naturopath wants me to try DLPA (Source Naturals brand). Anyone taken this before? How does it make you feel?

I have had a pretty bad problem with addiction my whole life and it started from a very very young age and I feel like it has completely messed up my brain. I struggle with very bad brain fog struggle to stay focused struggle to remember things and hold onto information I feel like I can’t recall something from a conversation I had earlier that day. I have now been clean of everything for a little over a year expect weed witch I’ll smoke a few times a week. I am starting to get my life back together and starting school in about 2 months. What are some things I can take to help me bring these things back up. I have heard of some peptides such as selank and semax m. I am open to any and all ways I can start building these things back up.

Started saffron gummy worms from olly after trying a pill form that made me really groggy and the olly ones are doing the same

It’s like clock work about an hour after taking the fogginess kicks in and I’m just kinda out of it all day but I feel good and happy when I wake up in the morning before taking them again

Has anyone had this issue and pushed past it or found a solution?

Only been a few days and I see people say it takes 2-6weeks for therapeutic effects but I don’t know if I can make it that long lol

Engineering student stack + have some personal/business goals i am trying to achieve thoughts?

modafinil for an avg day

Armodafinil (longer day)

TAK-653

Bromantane

Tropisetron

CDP-Choline

Magnesium L-Threonate

Creatine

acd856

Af710b

NSI-189

weekend only creatine and magnesium.

Decided to try methylated vitamins, 1.2mg. First few days everything was fine but after that I started getting agitated, sleepless like my CNS was on fire and couldn't calm down. My 8 hour sleep turned into forced 3-4 hour sleep.

i take Vyvanse 30mg but it never caused this for me, no other stimulants. I haven't become psychotic or anything but damn that was awful. Why does methylfolate cause this? I know Vyvanse also plays a role in exacerbating this but still.

Does anyone here have experience with this T booster? I have reasons for not using T.

I bought L-theanine from Sports Research several months ago. I did not notice a strange smell or appearance previously, but I can’t say I inspected it that closely.
Today I noticed it has a strange smell, like a sweet caramel smell is the closest thing to describe it. The capsules also do not look uniform, like it has separated inside the capsules, like dots or crystallization.
Is it safe to consume? Has it gone bad?

The side effect is bone loss and impaired formation. This was studied in rats and in vitro cells (https://sci-hub.sidesgame.com/10.1016/j.taap.2018.04.006, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36142172/).

To make you understand how concerning this is, look at the data on rats:

Trabecular vBMD (femur/tibia)	~30% reduction
Trabecular bone volume (BV/TV)	~45-55% reduction
Trabecular number	~55% reduction
Cortical vBMD (femur shaft)	~18% reduction
Cortical thickness	~20% reduction
Trabecular bone strength (compression)	~30% lower max load, ~45% lower stiffness
Cortical bone strength (3-point bending)	~30% lower max load, ~30% lower stiffness

It's actualy very concerning because if the effect it has on rats would translate 1:1, it would have major implications. This probably doesn't translate 1:1 to humans, but it's still very concerning since there are still no humans studies on this.

If i'm not wrong, we can compare these rats with young adult humans taking 100mg modafinil 5x a week for some years as their bones are still developing (human bones finish devloping at around 30).

There is also a similar effect with amphetamines that has actually been proven in humans too, but Modafinil is working through an additional mechanism, which might mean the effect is actually even worse.

Two pathways have been found responsible for mafinil's effect on bones: one pathway triggers bone resorption through adenosine receptors and the other (which is the same one seen in amphetamines) inhibits bone formation through sustained heightened levels of norinepherine, which has been shown to inhibit bone formation.

This is particularly concerning because it means modafinil attacks bones from two sides, and there is a potential for it being even worse than what is already confirmed in amphetamines.

In fact, based on this, I think modafinil is pretty high risk, and here's why:

- longer half life than amphetamines

- two pathways being triggered: one that inihibits formation and another that triggers resorption

- if we translate the dosage to humans, the rats were taking 100mg of modafinil, not 200mg, which is what most people take

- not many younger people using modafinil, so less anecdotal data compared to amphetamines

Personally, i've used Modafinil for quite some years, even though not every day, and I've felt for a long time that my bones don't feel that strong, which would also be weird since my diet is dialed in, I take D3 and K2 and I work out.

One example of this is that whenever I do barebell Scott curls in the gym for multiple weeks in a row, I start experiencing some bone pain in my forearms.

It's not that concerning for me (that exercise is quite brutal on bones), I still think my bones are decently strong, but it realy makes me wonder what the situation would look like if I were to continue using it, which is why I'm stopping using it.

This post is for warning you guys against something I'm seeing no one talk about and also to know about your experience. Do you use modafinil and have experienced some bone pain or similar indicators of weakening bones?

I'm looking to build a more structured approach to cognitive enhancement for studying, and would love some input from people who've been through this transition.

My only "nootropic" experience so far has been generic caffeine sources — mostly Monster Energy before study sessions. It works, but it's unstructured (inconsistent dosing, sugar/additives I don't need, crash afterward, and I suspect my tolerance is creeping up since I also train 5-7x/week and use a caffeine-based pre-workout).

I'm looking for a genuinely beginner-friendly stack that's well-researched, not overhyped, and that I can build good habits around (consistent dosing, timing relative to study blocks, maybe some tolerance-management strategy from the start rather than learning the hard way).

A few specific questions:

1. Is caffeine + L-theanine actually a meaningful upgrade over plain caffeine for focus/attention during long study sessions, or is it overrated?
2. For someone already consuming caffeine daily (pre-workout + occasional energy drinks), does it make sense to reset/cycle before starting a "real" stack, or just adjust dosing going forward?
3. Beyond the caffeine-theanine basics, what's actually evidence-backed for sustained focus (not just acute energy) — things like alpha-GPC, citicoline, bacopa, etc.? Curious what's worth the money vs. what's marketing.
4. What was YOUR personal experience moving from "just caffeine" to a structured stack? Did you notice a real difference, or mostly placebo?

Not looking for anything exotic or risky — just want to move from chaotic energy-drink-fueled study sessions to something more deliberate and sustainable. Appreciate any input, especially from people who've made a similar transition.

I am quite specific in what I am looking for. I do not want something that mimics the feel of THC, Such as something like Oleamide. I learned about NAC but I want to ask you guys to see if it actually works or not. People hype up nootropics only for them to barely make a difference. I want something that acts along the lines of a Glutamate/GABA/endocannabinoid reuptake inhibitor. I think NAC is some type of glutamate reuptake inhibitor and that could help because my long term weed use over my teenage years could cause a low glutamate baseline But maybe there is supplement that acts as a endocannabinoid reuptake inhibitor. I just want something that will give me that 'spiritual' or 'magical' motivation weed gave me.

I have been on this reddit community asking a lot of questions about nootropics all related to recovery. When I got out of rehab I was constantly researching about nootropics that could replace the drugs I quit. nowdays, I am trying to find nootropics that can actually help me and not something I can abuse.