Posted 28 October 2013 - 02:38 AM

Usage Patterns Change

"Natural" Alternatives

Continued Use

Conceptualizing Usage

I know EXACTLY what you're describing.(Piracetam, Pramiracetam and Hydergine have worked great for me)I could note that I started using Smart Drugs about 20 years ago (After reading the Ross Pelton "Mind Food and Smart Pills" and Dean / Morgenthaler "Smart Drugs & Nutrients" books).My initial "stack" (I first heard that term used years later) was something like 1200 mg Piracetam, 4.5 mg Hydergine, 3X Lecithin (all in divided doses) + a comprehensive range of dietary supplements and nutritional oils. ***This was an incredibly powerful combination for me - with mood enhancing effects, as well as cognitive enhancement properties.***I was using "full" dosages when I started law school, but not long after experiencing this kind of social and intellectual prowess, I began thinking along the lines of what you describe, and I became troubled by the notion that I was somehow "cheating" - not unlike a professional athlete secretly using steroids to boost physical performance. And along with that "ethical" or "personality integrity" issue,***I also became concerned that there could be "no free lunch" and that over time, the effects would wear off - leaving me with the inability to sustain a life I had built based on the "extra" ability I was realizing***- and I was worried about possible side effects of long term use as well.First, I started cycling and off, sometimes going off for a few months or even years. And I also discovered that I could get a noticeable and useful effect with a relatively small amount of Piracetam - perhaps as little as 100 to 200 mg of powder under my tongue.In my mind, I could rationalize this category with my "integrity bug" and I also believed that "over the counter" items would be generally safer in the long term.And so going beyond B vitamins, Choline, and Fish Oil, I tried Ginkgo, DMAE, Pyroglutamic acid, L-Tryosine, L-Phenylalinine, Gotu Kola, Ginseng, and then eventually Vinpocetine, Phosphotidylserine, Acetyl-L-Carnitine, R-Lipoic acid, Grape Seed Extract, Resveretrol, SAM-E and many more.Unfortunately, although I had positive results with some, none of these things really approached the experience I had with the true SD's.- and I still use them for various periods of time, usually in relatively small amounts for limited periods of time, sometimes days - sometimes many months (i.e., "challenging" work projects or social situations, new jobs, going to court)*** We are all in a competitive evolutionary environment - The sensible libertarian view is that you can do put whatever you want in your body to benefit yourself and pursue your goals of happiness - as long as you aren't harming anyone else.***In response to my inner voice that would say I'm getting an unfair advantage, I would say:Well, I have a pre-disposition towards depression, so in a sense I'm simply self-medicating my mood disorder. Or I would say that all of us enter this world with genetic advantages and disadvantages - or privilege (or lack of privilege) relating to circumstances of birth and the like. And so, my deployment of means to gain an advantage is merely compensating for disadvtanges I might have experienced.***Another way I've thought about it is:In other words, SD's are (part of) what I'm about; SD usage - and pursuit of the bleeding edge of personal enhancement - is a part of my identity.So my bottom line for me is that although I remain troubled by these notions at times, I'm still fascinated by SD's and definitely still use them.

Edited by thomasanderson2, 28 October 2013 - 02:45 AM.