Narcolepsy Support Group

Hello all,

It's been over a year since I've posted to these forums. To be honest, I didn't find it to offer the kind of practical help I was seeking in dealing with my narcolepsy symptoms. In any event, I felt compelled to return to tell all of you about my super-effective, prescription-free regimen.

Since around January of this year, I've felt like a new person. I sleep like a baby and usually wake up refreshed. Even if my head is a little groggy in the morning, upon taking my supplements and having my cup of coffee, I feel ready to go and even look forward to the day! Even when I get tired near the end of the day, it's a "normal" tired, not that debilitating pressure on my brain. Overall, I feel like a completely new person insofar as what the future holds and what I'll be capable of in life and career.

So, without further delay, the following is the regimen that has been so helpful for me and that may be able to help you (asterisks indicate what I think have been most effective for me (even though I'm not 100% certain)):

-Ginkgo Biloba 120 mg *

-N-Acetyl L-Tyrosine 300 mg *

-Lecithin 1200 mg *

-Magnesium Citrate 400 mg *

-Coenzyme Q10 100 mg

-Super E-Complex 400 IU

-Vitamin D-3 5,000 IU

-Alpha Lipoic Acid 300 mg (twice daily)

-Fish Oil 1,200 mg (make sure the Omega-3 Acids constitute at least 50% of each capsule!)

-Vitamin C with Rose Hips 1,000 mg

REMEMBER THAT NOT ALL OF THESE WILL TAKE IMMEDIATE EFFECT! BE CONSISTENT AND WAIT AT LEAST 2 MONTHS BEFORE DECIDING WHETHER THESE WORK FOR YOU.

One final note: Before moving to the above products, I was experimenting heavily with the racetam family of drugs (piracetam, aniracetam, oxiracetam and pramiracetam). They also did excellent things for my brain, but wreaked havoc on my digestive system (apparently a rare side effect). Ultimately, I had to discontinue use for this reason. I highly suggest Googling to learn about this interesting family of drugs. (Incidentally, I stocked up heavily on Oxiracetam before realizing that the side effects were too much for me. Now I'm looking at a shelf full of unopened bottles I can't use. If anyone is interested in giving this a shot, let me know and I'd be happy to work out a reasonable price.)

Anyway, I hope that at least someone out there can benefit from any of the above. I know the crippling, depressing daily grind that most of you experience, and I'm telling you that there may be light at the end of the tunnel. The key is to keep researching and experimenting to figure out what works for you.

Best of luck,

Frank

Post edited by: smd, at: 04/07/2013 12:54 PM

Yes, prices are reasonable. None of these supplements or vitamins are prescription drugs. All can be found on Amazon for around $30 or less. Good luck.

I was just wondering what fish oil brand you used.

i am going to try this out.

Thanks,

Amy

Hi Amy,

At the time I used Kirkland, but I've varied it up since then. The important thing is to make sure the Omega-3 content is over 50%. Check out Amazon to do some research on the right product.

I'd also recommend trying out the following supplements for energy and overall health: NAC, l-theanine and ubiquinol.

Good luck!

I've also been investigating nootropics for about a year. My primary concern was improving memory but I've had some improvement in the sleepiness field as well. I just wanted to let all the people who might be interested in trying out nootropics to know that its not a great idea to jump into another persons stack.

Ideally, you'll want to start with one thing (fish oil would be a good first choice), use it for a week, then add the next. Everyone's chemistry is different, and if you start with the whole kit and kaboodle, and you find your sleep disrupted or have digestive issues or irritability, it will be pretty much impossible to figure out which supplement is causing the problems.

Also, its important to research all of the supplements you are thinking of taking. A lot of times the amount contained in each capsule is more than is needed. You'll have to find out what amount is right for you. You might need to get a bunch of empty capsules and divide then accordingly. For instance, if I take a 5000mg B-12 pill I'll be intensely sleepy all day. But if I take 1000mg, I'm fine.

In terms of this specific stack listed here, I found that R-Alpha Lipoic Acid worked better for me than Alpha Lipoic Acid. Neither Tyrosine or N-Tyrosine is effective for me. I haven't tried Ginko for years, but may give it another go.

My current stack is:

1000mg Enteric Coated Fish Oil 2x day

300mg Alpha GPC

300mg Citicholine

1000mg B-12

100mg of liquid magnesium

50mg B-6

800mcg Folic Acid

1250mcg Biotin

100mg B-1

10mg R-ALA

I've tried a whole host of other nootropics and many of them had various side effects that made them unusable. I like the advice that you should use each new supplement for awhile before deciding, but 2 months would be absolutely unfeasible for me. There are lots of supplements that messed up my sleep, and if that effect didn't go after a few days, I had to give them up. Even something as basic as Niacin made me toss and turn, so to each his own, I guess. My guess is that if something isn't working after a week or two, then it probably isn't for you.

I tried the racetams as well (a lot of people swear by them) but they didn't work well for me. Piracetam and Oxyracetam made me very irritable. Also, the effect were unpredictable. Some days they worked great and on other days they would make me super sleepy. Aniracetam ended up being more recreational than anything else, with enhanced colors and music sounding great, but no great help with anything else.

There are some things that might work that I'm going to reinvestigate like Bacopa, Lion's Mane, Picamilon and Sulbutimine, but that I stopped taking for one reason or another.

Also, I really loved CoQ10 and Idebenone in terms of wakefulness but had to stop using them due to shortness of breath, inability to sleep at night, and some issues with mucous. Another thing that was great for wakefulness for me was American Ginseng, but I also had to stop using that due to side effects.

Cheers

Post edited by: monostereo, at: 08/19/2012 06:22 AM

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