A drug that aids cognition? Sign me up

[Poki]

trust me it fucking wasn't fun at all.

Made me think of someone in a car telling passenger to buckle up this will be fun as he hits 200+ and passenger is screaming in fear.

 

[Opal]

You, too, could be Bradley Cooper.

 

[miss fortune]

I'm too smart for my own good as it is...

nope... adderall is good enough for me... I don't want anything else

 

[Cellmold]

You, too, could be Bradley Cooper.

Or maybe a Lucy! Wait was that one even a drug?

I'd try it then use my improved cognition to realise I shouldn't have.

 

[EcK]

I'm too smart for my own good as it is...

nope... adderall is good enough for me... I don't want anything else

Adderall is a nootropic!!
Stimulants nearly dont have any effect on me after thr 3rd or so time.
It s odd

 

[Opal]

Adderall is a nootropic!!
Stimulants nearly dont have any effect on me after thr 3rd or so time.
It s odd

Adderall is a way stronger CNS stimulant than Modafinil...

Qualitatively different, though.

 

[EcK]

modafinil-the-future-of-neuroenhancement

I just read this article and I thought it would interest a few here.



Read the rest at the link.

If there you could get this drug without prescription, would you use it?

For having researched this quite alot and having a stock of modafinil i must say it works great the first times but then in some ppl: At least in me it stops really doing much of anything.
Same was reported by alot of ppl.

Effects include:
changes in ur personality: u become more "focused " but also less attentionate/loving.
Ppl who know you usually make remarks that you're not being yourself.
Also tends to, for some reason, make you much more verbose in emails etc. And give shorter answers when chatting with ppl.

And the added focus can mean anything: u can spend 5 hours researching some sub culture of base jumping in south korea.

It doesnt really make you any smarter btw. Maybe it does with stupid ppl, i wouldn't know.
It just "focuses" u a bit

 

[miss fortune]

Adderall is a nootropic!!
Stimulants nearly dont have any effect on me after thr 3rd or so time.
It s odd

it actually slows me down enough that I don't rush off unnecessarily!

wouldn't say it makes me any smarter... just more tolerable for those who are stuck spending time with me

 

[evilrubberduckie]

ehhh, why not. Life is only relevant to how you use it, not the time you spend in it.

Might as well jump off the bandwagon and see where it takes me. Who knows? It might be paradise.

 

[EcK]

Adderall is a way stronger CNS stimulant than Modafinil...

Qualitatively different, though.

Alot of people report prefering modafinil to adderall due to the "clean energy" of modafinil and almost absence of serious side effects (u can get a headache sometime which can be prevented quite easily)

 

[SearchingforPeace]

For having researched this quite alot and having a stock of modafinil i must say it works great the first times but then in some ppl: At least in me it stops really doing much of anything.
Same was reported by alot of ppl.

Effects include:
changes in ur personality: u become more "focused " but also less attentionate/loving.
Ppl who know you usually make remarks that you're not being yourself.
Also tends to, for some reason, make you much more verbose in emails etc. And give shorter answers when chatting with ppl.

And the added focus can mean anything: u can spend 5 hours researching some sub culture of base jumping in south korea.

It doesnt really make you any smarter btw. Maybe it does with stupid ppl, i wouldn't know.
It just "focuses" u a bit

Sounds like what happened with my son on Adderall. Here stopped being focused on school work and instead became hyper focused on his own overheats, as well, leading him to engage in increasingly difficult behaviors over time and not doing any class work.

Doesn't sound good.

 

[EcK]

Sounds like what happened with my son on Adderall. Here stopped being focused on school work and instead became hyper focused on his own overheats, as well, leading him to engage in increasingly difficult behaviors over time and not doing any class work.

Doesn't sound good.

Modafinil is different to adderral. It doesn't 'excite you' it doesn't really make you angrier. Adderral is an amphetamine with all that tends to imply.

Modafinil just makes you more 'awake/present' (it has to be taken in the morning as it has a long half life, the 'insomnia' issue only occurs with wrong dose or perhaps at the very start while adjusting) and more focused.

(edit: it's often described by users who tried both as 'cleaner' without the 'jittery' energy of adderall' and a more 'stable/longer' effect throughout the day)

I've read about positive outcomes with ppl with adhd/add preferring it to adderall by far etc but I'm no doctor and have not conducted a statistical analysis, just saying what i've read on several specialized forums, so still anecdotal.

edit: keep in mind not being 'school oriented' is not some kind of illness. I've always loathed school. I thought of it as a complete sham/waste of my time. I still do. I don't see it as justifying being 'jailed' 8 hours a day for 15 years + college (a choice, so that's fine, but still half of it was a waste of time to get the diploma). I'm sure some people would have diagnosed it as some kind of adhd. It's not adhd it's just extreme boredom and not being open to being brainwashed as to the supposed benefits of traditional schooling.


At the end maybe 1% of what i've learned there is actually useful. So I wouldn't really see someone who hates school as 'sick'.

What exactly is ur son's issue? has he been diagnosed by a professional (aka not some quack who diagnoses 20% of kids with adhd)

 

[Kullervo]

modafinil-the-future-of-neuroenhancement

I just read this article and I thought it would interest a few here.



Read the rest at the link.

If there you could get this drug without prescription, would you use it?

As something of an involuntary authority on this - I would urge people not to be fooled by the claims you see marketers make online. No drug has been proven to have a true "cognitive enhancing" effect in humans. What these substances will do is increase your energy levels (racetams, Modafinil) or improve selective attention (amphetamines). They won't make you smarter.

Also, nothing comes free. Amphetamines cause tachycardia and can raise systolic blood pressure significantly. Racetams give you temporary dopamine highs which lead to bad headaches after they have been metabolised. Modafinil is guaranteed to cause insomnia. Often, these side effects worsen if you take the drug for long periods of time.

I know for a fact that stimulants are over-prescribed by about 500% in the U.S. If a kid is angry, male and causing trouble in school, the assumption over there is that he has AD/HD.

 

[Opal]

As something of an involuntary authority on this - I would urge people not to be fooled by the claims you see marketers make online. No drug has been proven to have a true "cognitive enhancing" effect in humans. What these substances will do is increase your energy levels (racetams, modafinil) or increase selective attention (amphetamines). This may give you an edge but it won't make you smarter.

Also, nothing comes free. Amphetamines cause tachycardia and can raise systolic blood pressure significantly. Racetams give you temporary dopamine highs which lead to bad headaches after they have been metabolised. Modafinil is guaranteed to cause insomnia. Often, these side effects worsen if you take the drug for long periods of time.

I know for a fact that stimulants are over-prescribed by about 500% in the U.S.

The racetam bit is off, but I agree with your general sentiment; exercise, sleep, hydration and proper nutrition are the healthiest ways to be alert and happy.

 

[EcK]

As something of an involuntary authority on this - I would urge people not to be fooled by the claims you see marketers make online. No drug has been proven to have a true "cognitive enhancing" effect in humans. What these substances will do is increase your energy levels (racetams, modafinil) or improve selective attention (amphetamines). They won't make you smarter.

Also, nothing comes free. Amphetamines cause tachycardia and can raise systolic blood pressure significantly. Racetams give you temporary dopamine highs which lead to bad headaches after they have been metabolised. Modafinil is guaranteed to cause insomnia. Often, these side effects worsen if you take the drug for long periods of time.

I know for a fact that stimulants are over-prescribed by about 500% in the U.S. If a kid is angry, male and causing trouble in school, the assumption is that he has AD/HD.

Modafinil related insomnia's are mostly due, in my experience, to taking it too late, or after a meal. By the time it's absorbed it's 12/1pm add a 15 hour half life to that and u get insomia. Take it at 8 in the morning 30min/1h before an actual breakfast and you'll be fine. It's also about dosage.

I agree that these 'drugs' don't actually make you any smarter. The effects on anything 'intelligence' related are slight and can probably be attributed to the added 'focus' they give.

I also agree that, from the info I have, it seems like the USA is ever-so-slightly over influenced by pharma lobbies when it comes to prescribing useless crap to perfectly healthy people.
Since when is 'having alot of energy/disliking school' an illness? It just seems like 50% of healthy male teenagers.

 

[Kullervo]

The racetam bit is off, but I agree with your general sentiment; exercise, sleep, hydration and proper nutrition are the healthiest ways to be alert and happy.

I am speaking from experience here; are you?

 

[Opal]

I am speaking from experience here; are you?

Yes, from experience and research. My third forum thread (I think) was about nootropics.

 

[SearchingforPeace]

Modafinil is different to adderral. It doesn't 'excite you' it doesn't really make you angrier. Adderral is an amphetamine with all that tends to imply.

Modafinil just makes you more 'awake/present' (it has to be taken in the morning as it has a long half life, the 'insomnia' issue only occurs with wrong dose or perhaps at the very start while adjusting) and more focused.

(edit: it's often described by users who tried both as 'cleaner' without the 'jittery' energy of adderall' and a more 'stable/longer' effect throughout the day)

I've read about positive outcomes with ppl with adhd/add preferring it to adderall by far etc but I'm no doctor and have not conducted a statistical analysis, just saying what i've read on several specialized forums, so still anecdotal.

edit: keep in mind not being 'school oriented' is not some kind of illness. I've always loathed school. I thought of it as a complete sham/waste of my time. I still do. I don't see it as justifying being 'jailed' 8 hours a day for 15 years + college (a choice, so that's fine, but still half of it was a waste of time to get the diploma). I'm sure some people would have diagnosed it as some kind of adhd. It's not adhd it's just extreme boredom and not being open to being brainwashed as to the supposed benefits of traditional schooling.


At the end maybe 1% of what i've learned there is actually useful. So I wouldn't really see someone who hates school as 'sick'.

What exactly is ur son's issue? has he been diagnosed by a professional (aka not some quack who diagnoses 20% of kids with adhd)

Then this might work.

My son was diagnosed with ADHD professionally 8 years ago, then autism spectrum disorder 4 years ago, and then started developing schizophrenia 15 months ago (looking back, it is clear), but started becoming increasingly difficult over the last year. He went inpatient this summer. His current meds seem to be working.

His twin is still on Adderall, as well mood stabilizers. He was diagnosed similarly to his brother, but reacts very differently to meds. He is likely a ESFP. Unfortunately, said twin is increasingly violent and dangerous. I suspect he will be inpatient soon.

 

[SearchingforPeace]

I also agree that, from the info I have, it seems like the USA is ever-so-slightly over influenced by pharma lobbies when it comes to prescribing useless crap to perfectly healthy people.
Since when is 'having alot of energy/disliking school' an illness? It just seems like 50% of healthy male teenagers.

Big pharma is pure evil. I had the misfortune to dig deep into the raw data on a cancer drug trial once and saw how they massaged the data each level, so the FDA got something that had been sanitized 5 or 6 times. Every adverse reaction was excused by the doctors as unrelated to the study medication, even though the reaction was almost immediate.

So many deaths from kidney failure just to get an largely ineffective new cancer drug. All excluded from the trial.

Worse yet, the older drug did the same job with zero kidney failure...

They really just wanted the new drug for its useful side effects, that they could use on a extension.

Still, just be aware that the side effects they list in the drug ads are very common

 

[EcK]

Then this might work.

My son was diagnosed with ADHD professionally 8 years ago, then autism spectrum disorder 4 years ago, and then started developing schizophrenia 15 months ago (looking back, it is clear), but started becoming increasingly difficult over the last year. He went inpatient this summer. His current meds seem to be working.

His twin is still on Adderall, as well mood stabilizers. He was diagnosed similarly to his brother, but reacts very differently to meds. He is likely a ESFP. Unfortunately, said twin is increasingly violent and dangerous. I suspect he will be inpatient soon.

Well interestingly while there is indeed a strong genetic component brains tend to express different genes differently as they develop. Which explains how two twins might have alot in common but still alot of different traits and personalities. So what one twin gets the other twin is not condemned to get as well.

I wouldn't be the right person when it comes to true 'medical' needs. As there are alot of neurotransmitters interacting and I haven't really dwelved into the biochemistry of it as applied to 'special cases'.
I've only read testimonies of ADHD sufferers who seemed to prefer it. Once again as it was a specialized forum and threads on modafinil mostly there is certainly selection bias.