Best Stim Usage Methods Forum

[BmoreOrLess]

What's your method? I've been going with two cups of coffee in the morning and an energy drink around 1. I seem to struggle around 7 or so, but the caffeine still keeps me up at night. Looking for some good (and background check passable) stim usage ideas both for the start of cramming as well as exams.

[sirstynkalot]

What you're describing is based on your own biochemistry and tolerance levels. You'd probably do better day-to-day by not drinking any caffeine and getting more sleep. Work with your natural rhythms as much as possible. I'm kinda screwed for school that way because I'm nocturnal, but oh well...


Now for the horribly unethical advice regarding cramming:

I would suggest avoiding daily use if you're serious about using that for an end of term boost. You'll need a lower quantity for the same effect. Also, gallons of coffee is bad on an empty stomach - do something less acidic. I pretty regularly have to pull 24-hour shifts for my job (not a student yet) and do best if I consume caffeine as infrequently as possible until I really need it and then consume huge amounts, tweak my eating schedule to reset my biological clock (info about that on...google?), and keep a headache cure on hand.

Just so you know, doing this repeatedly has severe medical consequences. It's linked to the development of cluster headaches later in life, for one. Caffeine is still a drug and abusing it in the way you're asking will have side effects. I know it's legal and lots of long nights are common among motivated students, but it isn't safe. Remember that before you set a study schedule that requires it over and over for three years.

For more information regarding your question, I suggest you hit up erowid rather than TLS. Better place for this kind of inquiry. They also cover illegal stimulants on that website, though I would not recommend their use if you're serious about school. Caffeine and nicotine affect your rationality least of any stimulants I know of. You may be able to find good information on there about herbal supplements and stimulants and, more importantly, the site does a pretty good job cataloging known risks associated with use.

https://www.erowid.org/chemicals/caffei ... eine.shtml

[NotMyRealName09]

Caffeine pills - you can regulate your caffeine intake because each pill is a precise amount of caffeine, and they don't irritate the stomach like coffee or other energy drinks. Don't let the pill scare you - it's no different than pounding coffee. Just don't over do them and you'll be good.

And NAP when you feel like napping. Seriously, if you're tired you're studying inefficiently, get rest, wake up, get back to it.

Oh, and get yourself an ambien prescription. I'm not saying caffeinate so strongly that you need ambien to sleep - don't do that, don't take caffeine in the run-up to bed time. I'm just saying that for me, it was awesome KNOWING I could get to sleep at X hour no matter what - otherwise, under stress, I have trouble getting full restful sleep, which is KEY come finals day.

[sirstynkalot]

Caffeine pills - you can regulate your caffeine intake because each pill is a precise amount of caffeine, and they don't irritate the stomach like coffee or other energy drinks. Don't let the pill scare you - it's no different than pounding coffee. Just don't over do them and you'll be good.

And NAP when you feel like napping. Seriously, if you're tired you're studying inefficiently, get rest, wake up, get back to it.

Oh, and get yourself an ambien prescription. I'm not saying caffeinate so strongly that you need ambien to sleep - don't do that, don't take caffeine in the run-up to bed time. I'm just saying that for me, it was awesome KNOWING I could get to sleep at X hour no matter what - otherwise, under stress, I have trouble getting full restful sleep, which is KEY come finals day.

I was doing my best not to suggest depressants to counteract the stimulants (very few substance-savvy folk would), but if you take this advice then test it out before finals day. Sleeping pill hangovers are a common side effect. Depending on the person it can be completely counterproductive.

[NotMyRealName09]

Caffeine pills - you can regulate your caffeine intake because each pill is a precise amount of caffeine, and they don't irritate the stomach like coffee or other energy drinks. Don't let the pill scare you - it's no different than pounding coffee. Just don't over do them and you'll be good.

And NAP when you feel like napping. Seriously, if you're tired you're studying inefficiently, get rest, wake up, get back to it.

Oh, and get yourself an ambien prescription. I'm not saying caffeinate so strongly that you need ambien to sleep - don't do that, don't take caffeine in the run-up to bed time. I'm just saying that for me, it was awesome KNOWING I could get to sleep at X hour no matter what - otherwise, under stress, I have trouble getting full restful sleep, which is KEY come finals day.

I was doing my best not to suggest depressants to counteract the stimulants (very few substance-savvy folk would), but if you take this advice then test it out before finals day. Sleeping pill hangovers are a common side effect. Depending on the person it can be completely counterproductive.

That may be true for some - consult a doctor - but for me I wake up from ambien fresh as a fricken daisy. You allude to something valid - I'm uh, not a rookie when it comes to dealing with substances and planning for their effects. And let me be clear - I would not take caffeine within six hours of bed time whether I was going to take ambien or not. That is a bad idea. I was not suggesting ambien as a counter to caffeine, but rather as a separate, unrelated thing to get a full night sleep (the topic was drugs in aid of study so I felt the ambien germane to the subject).

So if I had an exam at 1pm, I knew that ambien would let me sleep for 7 hours and I needed an hour and a half to get to get my shit together and get to the test site, so I'd study until like 4:30 am, pop the pill, and be fresh as hell when I got up at 11:30.

I'd arrive to an exam and half my peers looked haggard and exhausted, while I was fresh off a long deep rest. That had to have been a help come the stress of test time. I'd take a pre-test dump, slam a red bull immediately when the exam began, and then was off. It worked for me, but you gotta do what works for you.

[dowu]

This is like the 15th thread I've seen talking about stimulants. Go lift weights dude. 1 hour 3-4 times a week. Watch your energy levels shoot through the roof. I recently started lifting again and I've noticed huge energy boosts throughout the workday.

[sublime]

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[sublime]

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[BmoreOrLess]

Might try the ambien route. Melatonin, while it knocks me out, definitely gives me like a one to two hour hangover where I just feel really groggy in the morning. I'm starting to think sleep is the the major issue. I wind up getting real anxious while laying in bed, so I imagine ambien would help with that. The last time I take caffiene is usually around 1, or 3 at the latest, so I don't think that should be the issue going to bed at midnight.

I'm on student health insurance, can I just go into whatever our student health center is and tell them I can't sleep? Or do I need to go to someone else/a real doctor?

As far as cutting back on caffeine prior to finals, I might give that a go. I cut off caffeine a week before a 10 mile race this past year and then didn't really see any performance increases on race day or any diminished tolerance after the race, so maybe I need more time? Finals season effectively starts November 14th due to fucking graded LRW, so hopefully 3 weeks will be enough to break my tolerance.

Sublime, that is an outstanding price for Caffeine pills, thanks! And dowu, I fucked up my back pretty bad last year, still nervous to lift again (hence why I'm not a regular in the fitness thread anymore). Waiting till next semester. I run a ton now, which seems like gives me most of the same peripheral benefits of lifting.

[hopefulsplitter93]

Might try the ambien route. Melatonin, while it knocks me out, definitely gives me like a one to two hour hangover where I just feel really groggy in the morning. I'm starting to think sleep is the the major issue. I wind up getting real anxious while laying in bed, so I imagine ambien would help with that. The last time I take caffiene is usually around 1, or 3 at the latest, so I don't think that should be the issue going to bed at midnight.

I'm on student health insurance, can I just go into whatever our student health center is and tell them I can't sleep? Or do I need to go to someone else/a real doctor?

As far as cutting back on caffeine prior to finals, I might give that a go. I cut off caffeine a week before a 10 mile race this past year and then didn't really see any performance increases on race day or any diminished tolerance after the race, so maybe I need more time? Finals season effectively starts November 14th due to fucking graded LRW, so hopefully 3 weeks will be enough to break my tolerance.

Sublime, that is an outstanding price for Caffeine pills, thanks! And dowu, I fucked up my back pretty bad last year, still nervous to lift again (hence why I'm not a regular in the fitness thread anymore). Waiting till next semester. I run a ton now, which seems like gives me most of the same peripheral benefits of lifting.

When I used melatonin on a regular basis I did not experience that "hangover" feeling you describe. However when I used it every now and then I would experience said feeling. I'm a naturally anxious person so I have a Xanax prescription. Xanax (in small doses because of similar effect listed above) really does the trick for me when I am unable to sleep. If you don't really experience anxiety I wouldn't bother with them, but if you are tossing and turning and feeling anxious they definitely do the job. I have sometimes described it as a "night before christmas" type of feeling, even if I don't have anything particularly exciting/stressful to do the next day.

[LABATT]

clothmo thread. wtf

[sirstynkalot]

What is this clothmo you speak of?

[dp714]

A couple of Adderall's around lunchtime should do the trick. Or alternatively, a short nap.