What are they? They are drugs that basically increase focus, alertness, and wakefulness for extended periods of creative activity. They fall under the category of "Nootropics" and are not considered stimulants.
Side Effects: Not entirely known because they've only been around since the 70's without much widespread scientific review. Also, some people experience absolutely no side effects as long as they provide their body proper nutrition because some of these drugs cause an increased brain activity which requires more fuel. But some include Headache, Arousal, Diarrhea, Skin Rash, and there's more.
Legality: In Canada and the USA some are available by prescription or black market.
Personally, I would like to see absolutely no restrictions on these drugs and any other drugs as it is my body, my life, and my choice what to do with it. But I was wondering if anyone here on the forum has tested any of these types of drugs on themselves and what kind of results you obtained? I am very curious about them.
Please share your experiences in as much detail as you can so that we may all benefit from this information. Myself, I have never used them and have only found out about them yesterday. My interest is peaked. It turns out that some people at Google use them too, among other successful Silicon Valley start-up companies.
Only ever recommended to me by stoners and pseudo-intellectuals. No experience for myself, but I'd wager a bet that they're complete and utter bullshit. Just the next "fad."
Personally, I would like to see absolutely no restrictions on these drugs and any other drugs as it is my body, my life, and my choice what to do with it.
There are no restrictions to how you can obtain these drugs (both legally and illegally). Kind of a weak argument to allow complete openness and permission purely based on your own interests rather than a societal view (which is the whole goal of laws in paper).
Vasopressin hasn't only been around since the 70s, just sayin'. Pretty sure it's been around for longer than mammals have been around
In all seriousness though, calling these chemicals "brain steroids" is pretty goofy... edit: Just read the little blurb on his website. He seems full of shit. Seems interested in selling his own image and book, etc., rather than pushing science
Looks pretty interesting, but until they come up with a ton of scientific, peer-reviewed studies to answer the remaining questions, to complement the usual sensationalist news story, I'll be keeping my distance. Medication affects different people differently, and until there's extensive medical knowledge on layman use for the pill, I'll stick to leading a healthy lifestyle.
Yeah there doesn't seem to be much info on these and I'm really curious as to what they are, exactly... And yeah, obviously there's the idea of that kind of mental drug's effects... interesting though from what I know, I can't really buy into it.
Ten years ago I went on a quest to become an expert on coffee and to sample as many different ways of making it and as many different varieties that existed. I tried everything from the French Press to the Coffee Siphon, Hawaiian Kona to Jamaican Blue Mountain. But unsatisfied with mere coffee, I went on a quest to find out how to use chemicals to enhance my mind. It had its roots in old high-school days when I'd bring a sixpack of Jolt cola to a computer-programming marathon: cramming together study halls and lunch breaks in my senior year. The nootropics of that era were caffeine, sugar, cortisol, dopamine, epinephrine and norepineprhine, and the last four in that list were all natural hormones my body was making itself....
Very interesting overview of some of the major nootropics. It's also fairly responsible and lays out some of the potential harms of using them.
On March 10 2013 12:45 Aerisky wrote: Yeah there doesn't seem to be much info on these and I'm really curious as to what they are, exactly... And yeah, obviously there's the idea of that kind of mental drug's affects... interesting though from what I know, I can't really buy into it.
I can say for certain that from that list of compounds, some of them are fairly well defined. Vasopressin for example, is a naturally occurring substance implicated in things like mood, sexual activity, social activity, etc. One of the things on the list is a drug used in treatment of Parkinson's.
I'm sure all of the things on the list do have effects on the brain, but if they were really that useful for boosting IQ points (lol?) or acting as "brain steroids", I think there would be pretty big incentive for a lot of studies into these effects, which just isn't the case. The spokesman dude says on his site:
I blog about how to be a more powerful entrepreneur and human by upgrading your biology at The Bulletproof Executive. I spent 15 years and $250,000 of my own money hacking my biology to gain an unfair advantage in business and life.
I upgraded my brain by >20 IQ points, lost 100lbs, got ripped and became an expert in mental performance, setting my career on fire. My advice has helped hundreds of people upgrade their careers and lives.
...really. Based on that he doesn't appear to know a damn thing about neuroscience, so I would not take advice from the guy on drugs for the brain
From what I know from a friend that takes some nootropics, and talks with my dad (he is a pediatrician) basically I've heard that they don't know the long term effects of the drugs, but it most likely isn't too harmful. However, it does give you a little boost, but it is often over-exaggerated. It is basically a very damp version of taking a drug stimulant such as adderall, which is a combination of Amphetamine and Dextroamphetamine.
Ten years ago I went on a quest to become an expert on coffee and to sample as many different ways of making it and as many different varieties that existed. I tried everything from the French Press to the Coffee Siphon, Hawaiian Kona to Jamaican Blue Mountain. But unsatisfied with mere coffee, I went on a quest to find out how to use chemicals to enhance my mind. It had its roots in old high-school days when I'd bring a sixpack of Jolt cola to a computer-programming marathon: cramming together study halls and lunch breaks in my senior year. The nootropics of that era were caffeine, sugar, cortisol, dopamine, epinephrine and norepineprhine, and the last four in that list were all natural hormones my body was making itself....
Very interesting overview of some of the major nootropics. It's also fairly responsible and lays out some of the potential harms of using them.
On March 10 2013 12:45 Aerisky wrote: Yeah there doesn't seem to be much info on these and I'm really curious as to what they are, exactly... And yeah, obviously there's the idea of that kind of mental drug's affects... interesting though from what I know, I can't really buy into it.
I can say for certain that from that list of compounds, some of them are fairly well defined. Vasopressin for example, is a naturally occurring substance implicated in things like mood, sexual activity, social activity, etc. One of the things on the list is a drug used in treatment of Parkinson's.
I'm sure all of the things on the list do have effects on the brain, but if they were really that useful for boosting IQ points (lol?) or acting as "brain steroids", I think there would be pretty big incentive for a lot of studies into these effects, which just isn't the case. The spokesman dude says on his site:
I blog about how to be a more powerful entrepreneur and human by upgrading your biology at The Bulletproof Executive. I spent 15 years and $250,000 of my own money hacking my biology to gain an unfair advantage in business and life.
I upgraded my brain by >20 IQ points, lost 100lbs, got ripped and became an expert in mental performance, setting my career on fire. My advice has helped hundreds of people upgrade their careers and lives.
...really. Based on that he doesn't appear to know a damn thing about neuroscience, so I would not take advice from the guy on drugs for the brain
Some nootropics show promise, but they most certainly aren't going to do what this guy claims.
Ten years ago I went on a quest to become an expert on coffee and to sample as many different ways of making it and as many different varieties that existed. I tried everything from the French Press to the Coffee Siphon, Hawaiian Kona to Jamaican Blue Mountain. But unsatisfied with mere coffee, I went on a quest to find out how to use chemicals to enhance my mind. It had its roots in old high-school days when I'd bring a sixpack of Jolt cola to a computer-programming marathon: cramming together study halls and lunch breaks in my senior year. The nootropics of that era were caffeine, sugar, cortisol, dopamine, epinephrine and norepineprhine, and the last four in that list were all natural hormones my body was making itself....
Very interesting overview of some of the major nootropics. It's also fairly responsible and lays out some of the potential harms of using them.
"However, small percentage increments in performance can lead to significant improvements in functional outcome; it is conceivable that a 10% improvement in memory score could lead to an improvement in an A-level grade or degree class."
My personal testament is that methylphenidate (ritalin) is awesome and worked for me and I know a bunch of people from Oxford, Cambridge and London universities who have used it to benefit.
I really hope people read literature rather than look for all the pop-science, tabloid and blog shit with which to form opinions. C'mon guys, prove you are better than the average member of the general public.
Vasopressin? Interesting. I am an ICU RN, we use this drug for ACLS protocols during cardiac arrest (usually during asystole along with another drug called atropine). I would assume that you would not be taking the vaso in high doses. Because Vaso is a 'pressor' or a medication that at a certain dose range clamps down on the vasculature to increase blood pressure. Most pressors (levophed, norepi, ext ext) are some nasty drugs. Normally they cannot be given peripherally, and in doing so you are damaging many organ systems, and peripheral extremities of the body when used for long periods (which can be a short as a number of days.)
So low dose vasopressin? I have heard of it used at some point for septic shock, but have no practice with it. So tacking vaso.... gives you an increased blood pressure. At lose dose I suppose that it could cause increased urine production. But normally vasopressin given at the clinical level clamps the renal artery down so hard, that you can throw a patient into kidney failure, from lack of blood passing through the kidney. (Imagine twisting a garden hose too tight... no water, or in this case blood goes through to the kidney.)
As for the rest of the drugs, they are usually used in urinary retention, and some for the treatment of narcolepsy... but other than vaso, i have very little clinical practice with any of them. If your looking to 'enhance' your brain function and activity- i would think a much safer, healther and cheaper way would be the following:
8 hours of sleep, 8 glasses of h2o a day, exercise.
But for the lasy people- you can always go and get some pseudoephedrine- this is the over the counter stimulant.
Found in:
Dayquil, pseudophed. That will give you a kick.
Edit:
Also holy shit, i was just looking through the ops list again, and i saw this-
Selegiline
That is an MAOI inhibitor. Normally last line in the use for anti-depressive medications. After SSRI, and tricyclics i think. (Not 100% sure on this, as i don't work psych) From what i remember from nursing school, MAOI's have some serious side effects, as well as dietary effects (ie eating certain foods, like cheese) can cause some wild idiosyncratic effects.
The fact that normal people would advocate the use of these drugs.... is pretty weird. Clinically, we use stimulants to increase function. Not any of the above.
On March 10 2013 12:30 Epocalypse wrote: Here's another video of the same guy in the OP video... He seems dopey to me, and I wouldn't take him as the best spokesman. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JiY5uFLQG2E
That dude talks like a computer. And it looks like he's staring into space the whole time. Also, why'd he shave half his eyebrows? That shit don't look good at all.
They went to far when the guy, who had been taking a drug for years, suddenly went cold turkey and the withdrawal symptoms he felt during that time was "claimed" by the reporter to be equal to how a normal functioning person with no withdrawal symptoms would feel, and how he felt better when he went back on the drug and that they took that as a "proof" of that the drug was working. What a load of garbage.
EPT
