Medication to help with concentration and alertness.

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chkwoot
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Re: Medication to help with concentration and alertness.

Post by chkwoot »

Provigil (Modafinil) would probably help, but the side effects might make you feel worse and can be dangerous.

About 10 years ago I went back to the states and got a prescription for 200 mg Provigil (not generic) tablets. It was extremely expensive! A quick Google search shows prices of over $700 for 30, 100 mg generic Modafinil tablets. Real Provigil is over $1700! Through trial and error I found that cutting the tablets and taking only about 25 mg, once or twice a day, but not every day, helped keep the side effects to a minimum. I quickly realised that this medicine was not economically feasible, and focused on treating the cause of my mental and physical fatigue. Now I only take it a few times a year.

What I now take daily is caffeine. I've tried caffeine tablets which are very cheap, and easy to find in Cambodia, but are too strong for me. 2 or 3 cups of strong coffee in the morning keep me sharp and lucid until the early afternoon. Some can drink all day, but I can't sleep at night if I drink even a little coffee in the afternoon. Energy drinks have way too much sugar(s), and can cause glucose spikes and "crashes".

Don't do meth! Don't even experiment!

In my opinion, you should try to figure out why your energy levels are low, and fix the problem(s), instead of just treating this symptom.

Good luck!

PM me if you need more info.
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A10
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Re: Medication to help with concentration and alertness.

Post by A10 »

When I was suffering from being unable to take ADHD meds when I first moved here, I would down massive amounts of coffee at first. This wasn't the best thing to do and I was very irritable (on top of my natural personality), and switching between various types of energy drinks and exercise supplements wasn't a good idea either because of how unregulated the industry is on that front.

Some drinks would do nothing, others would give me a stomach ache, some worked okay for temporarily reliving my ADHD symptoms, but mostly it was a lost cause for a long term cure. In terms of my "favorite", I liked the M-150 drinks for $.50 because they felt the most "clean" when helping me clear up the brain fog but those effects lasted maybe 4-5 hours at best and only worked for 2-3 days before I had to "detox" and move on. There was a Cherry flavored sports drink only in powder form (forgot the name, I was to say something like "Blitz") with caffeine in it that worked okay too, but that gave me headaches and a racing heart rate if I overdid it.

In terms of being "clear" and focusing, I found that a combination (have to experiment with your body as everyone is different) of Gingko Biloba tablets and Paracetam (not Paracetamol) would sometimes work, but only for 2-3 days and that's if I hadn't taken them for a few weeks.

I guess the point is, nothing really was a fix but rather a bandaid to help me through the workday, but that's my experience in Cambodia trying to work around not being able to get ADHD meds. Whenever I could, I'd get my prescription written at the max single prescription amount possible (i.e. 60 mg tablets x 3 a day) even though my normal dose was 15 mg 1 or 2 a day. This allowed me to have 4-5 months of meds at a time, but of course they'd run out afterwards and a trip back to the doctor was warranted, which I would delay and then go in the cycle of experimenting with various energy drinks, tablets, and coffee and the cycle would repeat...

My experience
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chkwoot
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Re: Medication to help with concentration and alertness.

Post by chkwoot »

I've found real Ritalin here (an in-law is probably ADHD). $3 per 10 mg tablet. Not extended release. $180-$360 per month is way too much for me to fund. I think most locals with ADHD are incorrectly diagnosed with depression. Fluoxetine is dirt cheap. Oh well.
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Re: Medication to help with concentration and alertness.

Post by explorer »

A lot of people read this forum other than the original poster (who has said he is not interested in herbal supplements). For these other people:

Ginkgo biloba is a herbal supplement with a number of uses, including to prevent or minimize deterioration of brain function in old age.

Ginkgo biloba is used in Chinese herbal medicine and Western herbal medicine.

It is available in health food shops and supermarkets in Australia.

It is available in pharmacies in Cambodia.
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Re: Medication to help with concentration and alertness.

Post by fax »

Uppers are banned because they can be used to make meth. Don't try importing headache pills containing Efedrine...

Look at smart drug alternatives like Piracetam available at the usual 110/Monivong.
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Re: Medication to help with concentration and alertness.

Post by chkwoot »

explorer wrote: Thu May 23, 2019 5:50 am A lot of people read this forum other than the original poster (who has said he is not interested in herbal supplements). For these other people:

Ginkgo biloba is a herbal supplement with a number of uses, including to prevent or minimize deterioration of brain function in old age.

Ginkgo biloba is used in Chinese herbal medicine and Western herbal medicine.

It is available in health food shops and supermarkets in Australia.

It is available in pharmacies in Cambodia.
"There’s no conclusive evidence that ginkgo is helpful for any health condition.
Ginkgo doesn’t help prevent or slow dementia or cognitive decline, according to studies, including the long-term Ginkgo Evaluation Memory Study, which enrolled more than 3,000 older adults and was funded in part by the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH).
There’s no strong evidence that ginkgo helps with memory enhancement in healthy people, blood pressure, intermittent claudication, tinnitus, age-related macular degeneration, the risk of having a heart attack or stroke, or with other conditions.
Ongoing NCCIH-funded research is looking at whether a compound in ginkgo may help with diabetes."
https://nccih.nih.gov/health/ginkgo/ataglance.htm

A current ongoing study without any conclusions yet:
http://coah.jhu.edu/research/projects/gem.html
http://www.nccam-ginkgo.org/

"Unsubstantiated claims
There may be benefits that have not yet been proven through research.

Ginkgo biloba has been studied for a lot of uses. A large study, called the Ginkgo Evaluation of Memory study, found that the ginkgo biloba product studied didn’t lower the risk of dementia. It didn’t reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease or cognitive decline. It did not lower the risk for high blood pressure.

Another large study was done by the National Institute on Aging. It showed no improvements in memory in 200 adults over the age of 60 who took ginkgo biloba for six weeks.

Some small studies have shown that ginkgo biloba may be somewhat helpful in easing leg pain due to arterial disease in the legs. But other studies haven’t shown this benefit.

Ginkgo biloba extract (GBE) has flavonoids. It also has the terpenes called ginkgolides A, B, and C. GBE is used to treat cerebral insufficiency. This causes trouble with memory, dizziness, tinnitus, anxiety, and headaches. GBE is used to treat dementia, blood flow problems, and bronchoconstriction. GBE may increase clotting time and lower the risk for stroke."
https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/encyclop ... nkgoBiloba

I only trust web sites that don't have ads, and aren't trying to sell me something. Even then, I take everything with a grain of salt.

If a placebo works for you, then go for it.
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Re: Medication to help with concentration and alertness.

Post by Ravensnest »

xandreu wrote: Tue May 21, 2019 9:56 pm According to myth and legend, one of the more famous things that Cambodia is known for is the ability to buy over-the-counter drugs at will, without the hassle of getting a prescription from a doctor, as we'd usually have to do in the west.

I'm not a big drug taker of any kind - I'd have to have a serious migraine just to take some Dolipran, and have no interest in illegal substances for recreational use.
I'm not sure what you mean by "myth and legend" because the Laws here are pretty relaxed and you can get a ton of different drugs that in western countries you need a script for.

I find it a little odd that you don't like an Aspirin equivalent for a headache but want basically western legal meth so you're not tired sometimes and don't want to try simple herbs first. That's a big leap and I have a feeling you will hate the feeling it will give you if you're not used to taking chemical substances such as medications. What you're looking for is very strong.

I had an issue a few years ago of always feeling down and tired. I started doing research in my family and with a doctor. Idk yours, but I had a low water intake and that can cause you to be sluggish mentally and physically. I also had low iron and didn't know that ran in my moms side of the family. Low iron and a bunch of other minerals can cause this too.
Just drinking more water daily after 2 weeks (it's not instant) made a huge difference by itself. After I found out about the iron I started a daily vitamin and I couldn't believe how much better I felt after a few weeks of taking them. I was around 40 at that time, when my body started changing.

Good luck in your endeavor
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Re: Medication to help with concentration and alertness.

Post by Cruisemonkey »

Rx -
Eat a balanced diet and get enough sleep.
:hattip:
You could be next.
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fax
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Re: Medication to help with concentration and alertness.

Post by fax »

Cruisemonkey wrote: Thu May 23, 2019 7:28 am Rx -
Eat a balanced diet and get enough sleep.
:hattip:
Yea, that'll cure an imbalanced dopamine production.

Like telling suicidals to look at trees and be happy.
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Re: Medication to help with concentration and alertness.

Post by Cruisemonkey »

Lack of sleep has been shown to reduce concentrations of neurotransmitters, including dopamine, and their receptors.
You could be next.
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