[WiredWeirdo]

Hi Everyone. So i'm looking for suggestions on some different nootropics to keep myself awake for third shift that I'm on right now. I was off for a little while, but now i'm trying to get back into it and am having issues with stuff sticking.

I usually religiously drink one to maybe two cups of coffee a day, but i've taken a break the past couple days. I found that caffeine pills, which usually wake me right up and keep me going for several hours, didn't have any effect when I took it recently.

I've also been chewing nicotine gum, which has been helping a lot when i've used it, is starting to lose potency since i've been using it a few days straight now on shift. Before I would just take it very sporadically and seldom, which i think helped keep its' effectiveness.

I do also have some Modafinil, which I've taken a couple times before. The first time it didn't help keep me awake at all. The second time it didn't really help with general wakefulness, but would wake me up when I was getting close to nodding off. It caused some weird pressure/sensations in a couple different parts of my brain that i've never felt before.
I'm kind of weary to take it because i've heard it will keep you up anywhere from 8-12 hours, and I only think to take it a few hours into my shift and I try to sleep right after my shift is over.

Anybody have any recommendations on any other possible stimulants/nootropics that I could cycle with these to help with wakefulness and alertness/motivation?

[Fallon]

Modafinil, caffeine, and Nicotine are pretty much the heavy hitters. I can't imagine you'd find much success with the others if those aren't working. As far as other stimulating Nootropics, Phenylpiracetam and Theacrine are worth a shot for sure. If you're attempting to push yourself past exhaustion and perform on little sleep nothing short of the really traditional stimulants are going to cut it. In that line you can look into 2-FMA. If Modafinil isn't working you can try Armodafinil, Flmodafinil, and Adrafinil.

If you want my personal opinion you're setting yourself up for serious burn out, but I understand you gotta do what you gotta do. The Modafinil and 2-FMA are great short term. One tip for Modafinil is take it a few hours before your last shift so it has time to wear off, it's something I would take at the beginning of your day, not at the end as its very long lasting. For the pressure and headaches be sure to stay hydrated, some people find taking a small amount of Choline helps. Nicotine patch is good short term, but as you noted the effectiveness wears off rather quickly and tolerance builds up fast. It's also too addicting to be regarded as a sustainable solution.

Optimizing whatever small amount of sleep you're getting is also a good idea. The problem with these more hardcore stimulants is you rack up a sleep debt very fast, and they may prevent you from falling asleep when you need to do so. Then you find yourself in a vicious habit of getting maybe only a few hours of sleep and taking stims to compensate.

Maybe try some 1P LSD and meditate on your future...lol. I'm kidding, but also not.

[Mags]

Have you heard of Dynamine from Nootropics Depot?

[WiredWeirdo]

@Fallon Phenylpiracetam i've tried 300 mg recently and it didn't seem to have a noticeable effect, or it was very subtle if it was. Theacrine i've heard of but haven't tried yet. Didn't realize it was a wakefulness/energy agent. I do have some Armodafinil that i got as samples when i order my Moda, so i might try that

I'm not trying to push myself past exhaustion. Just trying to feel awake on my overnight instead of half tired and ready to fall asleep from switching back and forth from my weekends. Want to have as many options as possible to cycle through so I don't get too tolerant of any specific one. I take naps and try to fully sleep whenever I can, but i'm just looking for something for my work nights and my weekend days.

@Mags I actually haven't. But from just from doing a quick search, it looks like it's even more effective than Theacrine, and definitely caffeine. Longer half life than caffeine it looks like, and one site said Dynamine was hard-hitting than Theacrine. Both of those facts make it sound great! Might try this instead of theacrine first.