serotonin noradrenaline alone is not enough, we need the third major neuralchemistry dopamine involved.
I’m a relatively severe lifelong insomniac. Over the last year or so I’ve been studying sleep physiology and pharmacology, and I recently learned about gaboxadol. From Hamilton Morris’s writings about it to reading the actual studies, I’ve become very interested in it for its medicinal use as a hypnotic to improve sleep quality (namely sleep onset latency) and architecture. Unlike Z-drugs and benzodiazepines, it does not suppress deep sleep or dependence. It actually robustly enhances N3 sleep, but unlike say phenibut, gabapentin, etc. does not seem to cause addiction/tolerance, preserves REM and overall produces a much more physiologically natural sleep architecture, and does not have the harmful neurological effects of α2δ calcium channel inhibition. In fact, it really has very few downsides to speak of compared to other hypnotics or CNS depressants, with the exception of orexin antagonists, and has uniquely beneficial effects on sleep architecture. This might be due to its selectivity for δ-subunit containing GABA_A receptors, which are highly expressed in the arousal/wakefulness-promoting regions in the thalamus, or due to its tonic GABA_A inhibition rather than the phasic inhibition of other drugs. It might also be because the α4β3δ receptors for which gaboxadol has the highest selectivity and activity are positively modulated by histamine, so agonizing them might cause a homeostatic braking effect on the histaminergic tuberomamillary nucleus, but that's just a hypothesis I invented.
I think orexin receptor antagonists (both DORAs like daridorexant, lemborexant, etc.) and 2-SORAs (seltorexant) are excellent drugs with broad applicability and terrific therapeutic indexes, but I wish they were powerful enough for severe insomnia like I have. Instead I have to partially rely on drugs like trazodone, zaleplon, and zolpidem which create concerns for long-term use. And while ORAs were an improvement over Z-drugs by not significantly suppressing slow wave sleep (Z-drugs do so slightly, but less than benzodiazepines), they are known more for increasing REM. Again, while this does not come at the expense of SWS, it is not optimal either. N3/SWS sleep is most implicated in brain function and cognitive health, via mechanisms like glymphatic system activity, memory consolidation, synaptic pruning, metabolic restoration, well as other physical health benefits like exercise recovery, insulin sensitivity, etc. You can actually completely kill your REM sleep with an MAOI and be more or less fine, but lack of deep sleep is terrible. True that gaboxadol is not the only drug that increases delta and theta band power; other agents include GHB, phenibut, gabapentin, and pregabalin, but these all have profound downsides which gaboxadol apparently does not. Ultimately, I think gaboxadol is unmatched in its ability to promote restorative sleep.
Is pretty well studied in humans (at least by the standards of the stuff we usually talk about in these circles…), and while it definitely has some recreational/abuse potential, it seems people are taking around 80mg+ to get mild hallucinogenic effects compared to 10–15mg for sleep. I really recommend reading Hamilton Morris’s article, or even just the Wikipedia article. He even said that after publishing it, more chemists and employees from Merck reached out to him to express confusion as to why they abandoned phase III trials given how well it was doing. Development of gaboxadol for insomnia was cancelled during a time when there was heightened fear among regulators (and pharmaceutical executives, apparently) of parasomnias caused by Ambien, but gaboxadol does not cause these. Not only is it a superior to zolpidem as a hypnotic, but it also seems to have less abuse potential. And zolpidem's is already pretty low in my opinion...
I have not been able to find it on the grey market for a remotely reasonable price. There are research chemical suppliers (i.e. actual research chemical vendors like Sigma-Aldrich who sell only to legitimate institutions and registered businesses, conduct customer audits, do not ship to residential addresses, etc.) selling it for about $200 per 100mg (about ten doses worth). It is completely legal as a research chemical and unpatented, although the synthesis might be a little tedious.
Often in this space there are compounds that sound interesting but are stymied by safety problems. Sometimes, compounds seem promising but lack safety data to provide necessary peace of mind. Some compounds may have an auspicious-sounding mechanism, but lack research to actually confirm that they work as expected or are even effective. And then of course there are completely safe supplements that do absolutely nothing. And, if you know where to look, you can usually find someone willing to sell you any of these questionable substances with even more questionable authenticity and purity. Gaboxadol is a drug with a well understood mechanism, confirmed safety and efficacy in large-scale human RCTs, and extremely promising benefits superior to most current options—but I still can't get my paws on it!
Not here to trash the herb. Works for a lot of people. Just sharing because I couldn't find honest talk until I dug... Ashwagandha could harm you.
45, healthy, train mma, no alcohol. 600mg daily for 8 months on the usual recommendations. First weeks felt calmer. Then things drifted.
Flat mood. Music didn't hit. Training mechanical. Libido low. Restless sleep even though I was "calmer." Blamed work, age, travel.
A friend told me her doctor made her stop it two weeks before surgery. That snapped me out of it. Why does a gentle herb need a washout before anesthesia?? So I read.
What I found:
NIH LiverTox lists it as a probable cause of liver injury. 23 hospital cases.
Denmark banned it in April 2023. Sweden, Finland, France, Germany, UK all reviewing.
It hits GABA and serotonin pathways. Same families as benzos and SSRIs, weaker but real. People report anhedonia and libido crash lasting months after stopping.
It pushes thyroid up and stimulates the wrong arm of the immune system for autoimmune patients (if you have issues with Thyroid it can be more dangerous)
Stopped. Mood coming back. Libido returning. Slower than the 20 year olds posting about this, but moving.
Not telling anyone not to take it (or am I?).Telling you it is not a gentle herb. It is a neuroendocrine modulator with receptor effects and a real regulatory paper trail. At 45 you do not have the recovery runway you had at 20. If something feels off on it, trust that signal.
Been looking at this nootropic blend and wanted opinions from people here who actually know their stuff. The label looks impressive, but I can’t tell if it’s genuinely well-formulated or just trying to cram every trendy ingredient into one product.
Per 6 capsules:
For context, I’m mainly interested in:
Would appreciate honest feedback before I waste money on this.
Hey everyone,
I'm new to this whole nootropics thing so I need someone to help me out and choose one that is best for me. I'm currently in med school in my 3rd year (med students would know lol) and it's been pretty hard to keep up with the constant exams and assignments and the millions of lectures that are held every week.
I'd like to know for productivity, better recall, better memory, and just overall better cognitive performance, which would work best? Adderall or Modafinil? I'd really appreciate it if someone could help me out on which one has the most benefits and least amount of side effects.
Also, please don't recommend me any other nootropics that may seem "safer" or better for "first timers".
My doctor mentioned I could just get astaxanthin over the counter instead of needing a prescription, so I’ve been trying to figure out the best option.
My mom and grandma are huge vitamin people so they already had a bunch at home, but most of them are super low dose and I honestly don’t want to take a ton of capsules every day just to stay consistent.
I also tried softgels for a bit, but carrying multiple supplements around daily gets annoying fast. At this point I’m mostly trying to find something simple enough that I’ll actually keep taking long term instead of forgetting about it after a week.
Does anyone have experience cycling Adderall with Bromantane? Let’s say 4 days on Adderall and 3 days on Bromantane in a week, after already building up on Bromantane daily for a few weeks.
I’m wondering whether this would improve tolerance to Adderall or worsen it. Is bromantane going to up regulate my endogenous dopamine production or is it going to affect the same circuits that Adderall does?
*Ive tried bromantane and found that it’s the second most effective thing after adderall/vyvanse for me. Just wondering whether taking it on off days is a good idea.
I have taken 30mg Vyvanse for a long time and it appears to be the best dose for my ADHD and it doesn't make me anxious if there are no outside stressors like social situations but if there are, I get into this mildly anxious, hypervigilant state, especially when it's peaking. Higher doses are worse and lower doses are not very effective.
To be fair, I'm a naturally more anxious person, stims just amplify it a little bit. Is there a substance that will help significantly with that without claiming your soul? I've tried benzos and they definitely help but that's a slippery slope so that's a no.
What other things I have tried:
L-theanine 400-800mg - probably the biggest difference. It has a calming effect a tiny bit reminiscent of benzos but it just doesn't cut it and doesn't last long at all (maybe two hours).
Saffron 15mg extract - that's what I take right now. It helps with baseline anxiety, i.e. not feeling anxious without stressors, but doesn't seem that useful for situational anxiety. I keep the dose low because it boosts catecholamines and can mess with how ADHD meds work. However, I may try upping the dose.
Ashwaghdanda - works for baseline anxiety only like saffron but has huge downsides in the form of anhedonia. Stopped using it because of that
Diet, exercise, taking Vyvanse with a meal. Doing all that of course.
Hello everyone,
For the past year, I’ve been dealing with pretty severe anhedonia and apathy. Last year, there was a school shooting at my university, and ever since then, I feel like something in me has gone missing.
I have very little interest in doing anything, but the hardest part is that I’m a PhD student and a poet, and I feel like words no longer speak to me. It’s difficult to describe, but it feels like my brain has slowed down and my creative connection to language is muted as fuck.
I have severe ADHD and currently take Vyvanse and dextroamphetamine. I also work out consistently: 5 days of lifting and 2 days of 4x4 Norwegian HIIT. I’m also on TRT.
I used saffron for about a year because SSRIs blunted me badly and made it hard to write poetry, but I’m starting to wonder if saffron may have blunted me too. Wellbutrin gave me panic attacks and hives. Buspirone made me forget my mother’s name lol.
I’m fortunate to have a psychiatrist who was willing to try pramipexole with me. We’re slowly titrating the dose. I’m currently at 1 mg and will likely increase to 1.5 mg within the next week. So far, it may be bringing back some interest in writing, but it’s still early.
My current stack, besides TRT (0.2 mL every 3 days), Vyvanse (40 mg), and dextroamphetamine (2 x 10 mg) is:
At the moment, I’m not taking magnesium, taurine, or saffron because I’m trying to figure out whether any of them were contributing to the apathy/anhedonia.
I’m honestly desperate to find something that helps with the anhedonia and especially with my ability to write and feel creatively alive again.
I’ve been considering:
P.S. I'm already seeing a therapist. And my insurance is kind of an ass so no rTMS or esketamine.
P.S. 2 - My labs are fine
Hi,
Has anyone here used Redline Micro-Burst?
It’s marketed as a fat-burning and cognitive enhancement supplement with a multi-stage release system for both fast and longer-lasting effects. Claims include increased energy, improved focus, and support for fat loss in one capsule formula.
Sounds interesting, especially as a combo of stim energy, mental clarity and cutting support.
Looking for real feedback on how it actually feels in practice and if it stands out compared to other fat burners or just ends up being another underwhelming stim product...
I know this has been written about a bunch but since things change pretty rapidly in the world of nootropics. Ever since Cosmic Nootropics stopped delivering to the US, I haven’t been able to find trusted sellers. What do you use to buy nootropics like racetams, peptides, Nooept, etc.
After experimenting with various nootropics over the past couple years, I’ve noticed something interesting. The compounds that scare me the most aren’t necessarily the euphoric ones. It’s the ones that quietly make life feel… manageable.
Modafinil was the first thing that made me realize how much energy my brain normally wastes fighting basic task initiation, cognitive fatigue, context switching etc. Not in a “limitless pill” way. Honestly the opposite. It just reduced friction.
And weirdly, that can become psychologically dangerous in its own way because once your brain experiences long periods of calm, sustained functionality, your old baseline suddenly feels broken by comparison.
That realization alone sent me pretty deep into the nootropics, all trying to answer the same question: what level of cognition is actually “normal” for people now?
Feels like modern productivity culture shifted from “how do I work harder?” to “how do I maintain functional neurochemistry consistently?”
Thoughts?
I have spent many years in drug abuse via opioids & Thc. I as well have been in a fair amount of accidents over the years that have caused some debilitating back & Neck pains. I don’t take any prescription drugs, drink, smoke or take sketchy z drugs anymore. I’ve been through a 90 day rehabilitation and have been on the up and up since.
The body pain definitely is still prevalent however “magnesium glycinate” seems to knock a good dent in aiding some of these issues with its calcium channel regulation, nmda receptor antagonism & Gaba modulation makes for soothing reaction when I’m in a good deal of pain. I typically use this at night as it can relax me a little too well given the day I suppose.
(7/10)
An even better tool for chronic pain I’ve found is “Magnolol” extract. Possibly the strangest nootropic I have ever come across in my life, given its effectiveness for me as well as its wide range of benifits. It’s a powerful anti inflammatory, antioxidant, GABA A modulator, endocanebanoid modulator, neuroprotectant & an anti cancer agent. And I’ve noticed it to help for occasional panic attacks however it’s anxiolytic and muscle relaxation benifits are what stopped me in my tracks about it not to mention the sleep.
(10/10)
“Ashwaghanda” is a nifty tool to have on hand however not as effective or therapeutic as magnolol but it is one of the few nootropics to cause a noticeable difference. Mine is a combination of Withania somnifera & Ksm66 it’s a light gaba modulator as well as a powerful antioxidant. Helps me stay asleep on nights where I get up and have issues going back to bed. Also the cortisol lowering is a magical thing for stress which I find myself in often.
(7-8/10)
The “B-Complex” & “CoQ10” have an amazing synergy of energy for me I’ve noticed. I’m extremely sensitive Caffine and have swarm off for a few weeks working myself down with a taper. So these two guys do some heavy lifting for me and I typically take them in the morning as not to keep me up at night and it gives me clean sustainable energy through out the day without crashes, jitters or anxiety.
(9/10)
“Nac” was a last ditch effort for relief during my post acute withdrawals from opioids and I couldn’t really tell that it was helping me out anyway but I took it just to make sure out of desperation however it’s a great antioxidant and I’m sure has many uses and benefits for others !
(😟/10)
“L-Theanine” an absolute classic and should be in every back pack or purse of anyone with anxiety disorders. I would say just to use sparingly as needed as many report fast tolerance build up however suntheanine doesn’t have this problem for most. Also there is definitely a bit of a mental clarity and focus that come along with it lending itself to many study stacks all across the world.
(8-9/10)
“Omega Complex”
Seems to help me with depressive symptoms a fair amount not to mention as well as supporting brain cognition (great anti-inflammatory as well)
(7/10)
“Vitamin E”
Antioxidant protection, Cardiovascular support, skin health/repair, immune function, neurological protection & eye health.
(10/10)
rasagiline 0.5 mg
clonidine 200mcg
memantine 5mg
piracetam 800mg + citicoline 500mg
Anyone here tried ordering from Modaboost recently? been thinking of grabbing some modalert from them since my old vendor shut down. Their prices are kinda hard to ignore compared to most places but i can’t really find many recent posts/reviews about how their service Is shipping/support worth it?
Hi all,
I started parnate May 2nd for melacholinic depression with severe anhedonia induced by bpc-157. PET imaging shows moderate hypo-metabolism of the bilateral medial temporal lobe with hippocampal volume loss. Claude Opus 4.7 model believes my the reward pathway is under active at the hippocampus level projecting into the VTA due to the scan and the fact that ketamine helps me some (it disinhibits the VTA). Pre frontal and basal ganglia are functioning normally. But unfortunately ketamine doesn’t last and only has partial response.
First few days on parnate I felt optimism but days later it turned into sedation, dead dick, and general apathy and fatigue. It feels like a SSRI to me and this happened early on Nardil which is why I switched to parnate. I raise the dose and I feel a little better when I first take the dose but later turns back in the sedated feel. I am at 15mg now and will discuss with my doctor today raising the dose.
Does anyone know about this type of response? I want to push through to the therapeutic dose but I am getting worried I will just have a serotonin dominant response to MAO and just get worse.
Any comments appreciated
The effexor and creatine is for depression and cognition. The antihistamines are for brain fog, D3 is because my doctor said I'm deficient, zinc for low libido and fatigue, omega 3s for memory. I've used nicotine regularly but now have two 15mg pouches a week. I regularly drink monsters and ghost energy drinks as well as occasionally gorilla mind. I have uridine but am out of Alpha GPC which is usually taken together. How should I tweak my stack if I'm mainly interested in enhancing intellectual endeavors (studying, reading) and depression/annehdonia? Would I be better tapering off effexor for something like armodafinil or adderall/alprazolam?
So I just got an order of Artvigil 150mg to try and help me with studying and school work before finals. I have practically no experience with nootropics or anything of the sort, but I was surprised by the lack of effects it had. I know its not a stimulant like adderal, but I honestly felt next to nothing from it, I was still tired throughout the day and wasn't really able to work for long stretches of time. For clarification, I've taken it multiple times, the two most recent ones day after day on an empty stomach, but I felt no difference. Is there anything that could be decreasing the effects for me, like sleep or diet, or maybe other supplements or drugs I'm on?
