# does anyone use nootropics (smart drugs) **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 7, 2003, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-use-nootropics-smart-drugs/205990 "2003-10-07T03:01:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2003, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-use-nootropics-smart-drugs/205990/1 "2003-10-07T03:01:07Z")
What ones have you used and are they any good? right now i’m just using creatine because it can increase short term memory but i’d rather use other stuff. I’m thinking of adding DMAE & vinpocetine too. I mainly want something that helps me concentrate, any drugs good for that? WHo here has tried nootropics and what were the effects on you? And, in case anyone says ‘learn to concentrate instead of take drugs’ feel free to show me tricks and tactics to do that. ---
**Author:** ![MmmDonut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d6d6ee/32.png) [@MmmDonut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MmmDonut)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2003, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-use-nootropics-smart-drugs/205990/2 "2003-10-07T04:12:00Z")
I’ve used hydergine, piracetam, DMAE, choline, vinpocetine and deprenyl. Piracetam definitely had a noticeable effect on memory and the fluidity of my speech. DMAE seemed to increase my energy, but I can’t say whether it had an effect on my memory. The rest had no effect that I noticed. I plan on buying more piracetam. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2003, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-use-nootropics-smart-drugs/205990/3 "2003-10-07T04:12:12Z")
Don’t need to! ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2003, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-use-nootropics-smart-drugs/205990/4 "2003-10-07T12:16:17Z")
ive tried piracetam but did a low dose (800mg combined with 750 mg choline) it helped me concentrate for a little longer, which is mainly what i want. Creatine is helping me out a little, my short term memory is somewhat better. i dont have to review info as much to make sure i am memorizing it. When you took piracetam, what dose did you take and did you combine it with choline? ---
**Author:** ![Testy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c37758/32.png) [@Testy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Testy)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2003, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-use-nootropics-smart-drugs/205990/5 "2003-10-07T18:32:19Z")
I just bought two boxes of this stuff and ate 800mg to see what it would do. That was about 15 minutes ago. (Nothing yet! _S_) Another drug that is supposed to be good is Ritalin. According to Scientific American, this drug is frequently crushed and snorted by HS and college students. What is the choline supposed to do? Are we talking choline bitartrate available at GNC? I’d like to experiment with nutropics if I can get some good information on double-blind study results. So far, the only things I’ve found are “studies” done by someone selling the drugs. All the best Testy ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2003, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-use-nootropics-smart-drugs/205990/6 "2003-10-07T20:07:58Z")
most people use addrall instead of ritalin to concentrate based on the people i know who have used it for college. Choline is supposed to work in sync with piracetam [http://www.lef.org/magazine/mag97/may-abst97.html](http://www.lef.org/magazine/mag97/may-abst97.html) Those subjects given only choline (100 mg/kg) did not differ on the behavioral task from control animals administered vehicle. Rats given piracetam (100 mg/kg) performed slightly better than control rats (p less than 0.05), but rats given the piracetam/choline combination (100 mg/kg of each) exhibited retention scores several times better than those given piracetam alone. there are other studies saying more or less the same thing. And those doses seem very high. that is 10 grams a day of each for a 200 lb person. ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2003, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-use-nootropics-smart-drugs/205990/7 "2003-10-07T20:40:16Z")
Creatine probably won’t make much difference if you eat a fair amount of meat, cause meat contains creatine. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2003, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-use-nootropics-smart-drugs/205990/8 "2003-10-07T21:03:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ultrafilter \* > \*\*Creatine probably won’t make much difference if you eat a fair amount of meat, cause meat contains creatine. \*\* i dont eat alot of meat and meat has about 1 gram per 8 oz. at that rate i’m barely getting 500mg a day. I’m taking 5-10 G a day of supplement however. ---
**Author:** ![Testy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c37758/32.png) [@Testy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Testy)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2003, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-use-nootropics-smart-drugs/205990/9 "2003-10-08T12:13:51Z")
I ate 800 mg of this stuff last night around 9 or so and didn’t get to sleep until 0200. Uggh! When I **did** manage to go to sleep I had the strangest dreams, very vivid. I’m going to get some cholinbe today and see if that changes things. Regards Testy ---
**Author:** ![MmmDonut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d6d6ee/32.png) [@MmmDonut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MmmDonut)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2003, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-use-nootropics-smart-drugs/205990/10 "2003-10-10T22:41:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Testy \* > \*\*I ate 800 mg of this stuff last night around 9 or so and didn’t get to sleep until 0200. Uggh! When I **did** manage to go to sleep I had the strangest dreams, very vivid. I’m going to get some cholinbe today and see if that changes things. > > Regards > > Testy \*\* I took 4800mg… 1600 3x a day. What I noticed almost immediately is that my vision was greatly improved. I’m mildly nearsighted and most things are blurry from a distance. The piracetam sharpened my eyesight so that I could read street signs much better, basically eliminating my need for glasses while driving. I let some friends try it, including one that was nearsighted… he was pretty amazed at that effect. Another friend noticed that it was “easier to talk”. I would say certain nootropics can be beneficial. ---
**Author:** ![SirMuffinMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ab992/32.png) [@SirMuffinMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SirMuffinMan)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2003, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-use-nootropics-smart-drugs/205990/11 "2003-10-10T22:52:09Z")
Where can I get these smart drugs? ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2003, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-use-nootropics-smart-drugs/205990/12 "2003-10-11T02:28:54Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by SirMuffinMan \* > \*\*Where can I get these smart drugs? \*\* [beyond a century](http://www.beyond-a-century.com/faqs.html) sells most of the pretty cheaply but doesn’t carry piracetam (which is considered the standard in nootropics). [This](https://uniquenutrition.net/store/comersus_listCategoriesAndProducts.asp?idCategory=3) is the best deal on piracetam i’ve seen. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2003, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-use-nootropics-smart-drugs/205990/13 "2003-10-11T02:30:43Z")
however i see you’re in australia so i have no idea if either company ships internationally