Higher productivity through Stimulants

[IntrepidTraveler]

Perhaps it's just a discrepancy in semantics. What does SWIY consider "speedy?" SWIM calls Ritalin more speedy because it makes him feel less jittery, less anxious and less able to concentrate. It does, however, produce nice euphoria.

Adderall puts him in the zone. In fact, the physical shakes that SWIM gets sometimes on stimulants like Ritalin and Cocaine actually seem REDUCED when using adderall. SWIM always assumed that the less speedy, more concentrated effects of adderall were the main reasons Docs are now perscribing adderall more often than Ritalin.

[Brettfavor]

SWIM is a naturally energetic person and does not enjoy stimulants because they make him jittery and edgy. He finds them euphoric and can increase his productivity, but ultimately the jitters provide an overall uncomfortable and nervous tension that is present throughout his experiences whether the substances were used for recreation or productivity purposes. SWIM has tried most all of the stimulants on the list for both purposes and finds this is a common theme in each substance/experience. SWIM would like to add the most productive substance to him to the discussion, although this may be unique to him(or a minority of people) based on the aforementioned tendency. Small doses of of opiates give SWIM a boost in energy and sometimes creative thought that is not dulled or edgy. SWIM finds a great deal more interest in his classes, reading, writing, debate, etc. It makes him have a balance of productivity and quality of work(which I believe is correlated with increased interest). SWIM is not an opiate addict so this increase in energy/productivity is not do to lack of energy without said substance, but more likely do to his unique personality/brain chemistry that makes him a generally more hyperactive person therefore not in the need of "traditional" stimulants in order to achieve a certain level of activeness.

SWIM preferred opiates/dosages are oxycontin/10-20mgs and Hydrocodone/20-30mgs respectively. Although he has tried methadone, hydromorphone, fentanyl, codeine, etc. He finds hydromorphone and fentanyl to be too sedating. Codeine to be too distracting due to itchiness. Methadone makes him feel like death so he avoids it like the plague.


Kratom and Kava both also work very well for swim in the productivity department.

Sorry this is a bit off topic, but I feel it is related enough to the threads general idea.

[Bajeda]

Ah, that seems like the problem. Swim agrees with you in that he can't focus as well on Ritalin, for various reasons, but the reasoning you gave is why swim would refer to adderall as being more speedy. To swim, a 'speedy' drug is something that makes him jittery, more anxious, causes his mind to jump all over though with things like adderall he can still focus if he doesn't overdo it. For instance, 10mg of adderall is good for swim to help him focus, but once he gets above 20mg to 30mg with no tolerance he is the definition of 'speedy'. If he takes alot of ritalin he just gets a headache and doesn't feel so good.

[IntrepidTraveler]

Opps. Scratch that: SWIM AND SWIY still disagree. He meant to say ritalin made him more jittery and anxious. Well, all drugs treat people differently.

SWIM's parents make an interesting case study in this. His mom and dad both tried numerous perscription drugs to help them overcome adult add/lack of motivation/mild depression, and his dad determined that adderall had few side effects while his mom stuck with Ritalin. To each his own! --Though SWIM would hate to be one of the 11 posters in the poll who voted cocaine as the best stimulant for concentration. He would grow very poor during exams, indeed.

[Triple7]

SWIM tried 20mg Ritalin for the first time. SWIM said it made SWIM wanting to do something, rather than being able to focus. SWIM thinks Ritalin could be nice when SWIM is lazy. On the other hand (as stated above), codeine helps SWIM to focus.

[x cynic x]

Amphetamine is speed in swims productivity.

[Benga]

From following this poll for a while, swim finds it is starting to seem a little like an endorcement for the north-american prescription amphetamine & relatives study aids / attention disorder.

From reading this forum and other articles it really seems like they are so commonly used and available that it is really always a little baffling to those of us that have never even heard of people taking prescription amphetamines throughout their years in highschool and university.
Their value as such is not under discussion here, just wanted to point out that it's quite interesting how the most valued stimulants of this poll are, to some of us outside north america yet living in western nation, quite exotic.

Where swim lives prescription amphetamines where removed from the medical codex 30 years ago ( with the exception of of maybe a few thousand children treated with methylphenidate, airtight prescription via hospital psychiatry dept...). Swim's mother did take prescription amphetamines in the 1960's for her highschool graduation exam, so this phenomenom did exist at some point, but now this is pretty much unheard of...
This was to be expected, but if this poll is really influenced by availability of substances, with the worldwide commodity caffeine coming in third, in swim's opinion it really does outline the availability, and trivialization of prescription amphetamines and derivatives (if not generally of comfort / enhancement substance) use in the U.S.A., which is really intriguing, and also seems like it is becoming a real cultural tradition.

b

[Bajeda]

Originally Posted by benga

in swim's opinion it really does outline the availability, and trivialization of prescription amphetamines and derivatives (if not generally of comfort / enhancement substance) use in the U.S.A., which is really intriguing, and also seems like it is becoming a real cultural tradition.

Its a far cry from becoming a cultural tradition. Its been a social, political, and economic mainstay since the psychopharmacological revolution during the mid portion of the last century.

Mental illness is seriously messed up in the US, and the fact that I used the word 'illness' to describe it as such is proof of this, specifically the medicalization of the field of mental health, which then helped pave the way for its blatant commercialization.

You could write volumes on this topic. One note about the less common use of ADHD medication in Europe, its also true that there are FAR fewer cases diagnosed in Europe, for whatever reasons, its debateable. I have some interesting papers you may want to read relating to this topic (I wrote one myself but it needs alot more work) that I could send you if you wanted.

[Benga]

I see what you mean, and would love to read up on the subject.

what i meant by cultural tradition is that, from what i've been reading and not observing, it does really seem like amphetamine use as become part of college culture to some extent, present, available and sold on the black market and not so rarely used in these structures- and also by younger students- for pulling all nighters etc...
i've never been in a north american university, so my views are probably warped, my info comes mostly from close friends, either north americans or bi-nationals who who went at places like Duke, Columbia etc, stuff i've read and experiences stated here, and this is "drugs" forum after all, so it may not be as widespread a phenomenom as I feel it is of course.


on the question of diagnosis and treatment of attention disorder, whatever the causes and implication maybe, what I find deeply interesting is that, from what I've been reading, there doesn't seem to be a correlation between scholar results of nations and their position towards psychopharmaceutical approaches to ADHD related issues.
Academic results are far from standardized, and this is very delicate to measure, but it does not seem like countries that have to this day strongly refused psychopharmaceutical approaches (such as Germany, France or Japan) are lagging behind countries which are favorable to them.
Again, this is a very delicate factor to measure, and closely linked to educational and social context, yet it does perhaps underline that the motivations behind the prescription of such pharmaceutical is probably deeper than simply ensuring a student better educational potential / results through a normalisation of attention capacities.

b

[IntrepidTraveler]

It's certainly become a cultural tradition in America's more competitive Universities. SWIY should have seen the number of geeked out people in SWIM's college library last night working past 4 am. SWIM probably overheard four or five unrelated people openly babbling on about their adderall use as if it were part of their daily workout routine. SWIM sees a conservative backlash against rampant study drug "abuse" on US campuses coming soon.

[bob_arctor]

SWIMs irregular sources of income, which is the only field were "productivity" is necessary, consists of rote data input (OCR and correcting, transcribing, coding open answers... steps pre-data processing, for market research and such).

Adding stimulants to this only makes SWIM more conscious of back pain, monotony, as well as to obsessive on each little step. Less systematic error is introduced, but on the other hand, the data might not become prepared in time at all!

Coffee can be useful if working in an office environment, as it is enables powerful needs to go to the bathroom, which often is viewed as a viable excuse from work... welcome to the precariat, today you have to ask the boss permission to use the toilet, tomorrow you won't be allowed to even raise the thought.

[SuprSonik]

SWIM voted for Adderall, however he would have voted for Modafinil had it been on the list. It provides a good amount of mental stimulation and enhances concentration without the side-effects one might get from Adderall or other amphetamines. SWIM often finds himself getting distracted when studying on Adderall, especially on Wikipedia where he will find himself clicking on all sorts of links to read up on other things. Interesting for sure, but not good when you're trying to get a paper done and you find yourself reading something completely unrelated to the original topic.

Modafinil keeps SWIM focused and alert, like he might feel right after waking up from a nice nap. It's much more natural feeling than the stimulation from Adderall and other amphetamines.

[Bajeda]

^^^^^^^^

This thread is for higher productivity, though some may be gauging it as study improvement. Things that make you focus better on studying might not make you more productive, though many stimulants do.

Look at this thread.

[SuprSonik]

Oops, SWIM is still new to this forum and hasn't visited the Nootropics, so he didn't see the thread dedicated to studying. SWIM apologizes for not reading more carefully.

Modafinil is great for studying, but if SWIM needs to get things done for work or around the house, he would vote for amphetamine. SWIM has not tried methamphetamine so he can't compare it to that, but pure dextroamphetamine as in dexedrine makes for better physical stimulation than adderall, ritalin, ephedrine or caffeine in SWIM's experience. SWIM admits that he is a bit of a slacker when it comes to household chores like doing the laundry and mailing out bills and such. SWIM often takes amphetamine once a week for the sole purpose of getting those things done.

[Pino]

SWIM ones used speed to study some mathematics. It was really fun, SWIM used speed the whole day and SWIM studied the whole day. Speed also makes cleaning fun. Ritalin does the same.

However swims favorite is caffeine.

Cocaine makes swim only want to make some fun. Sometimes programming is really nice on cocaine.

[MadShroomer]

Originally Posted by Pino

SWIM ones used speed to study some mathematics. It was really fun, SWIM used speed the whole day and SWIM studied the whole day. Speed also makes cleaning fun. Ritalin does the same.

However swims favorite is caffeine.

Cocaine makes swim only want to make some fun. Sometimes programming is really nice on cocaine.

Adderall XR (30mg) = a 12 hour sustained release mixture of 4 types of amphatemine salts (Dextro, Levo, Acetate, Sulfate) and when combined with caffeine (Coffee) is very 'productive' as far as focusing on goals and objectives, then complete them.

[cyndi]

Have to go for coffee on this one. Swim can't function and is cranky without her morning brew. The other stimulents make swim obsess on things that are not productive or weird for lack of a better word. Swim natually is hyper without any drug, speedy type of drugs weirdly make swim lazy and obsessive. Adderall however, swim can do some productive work such as figuring the meaning of life and a million calculus problems. Ritalin gives swim the jitters and swim hates that stuff.

[Pino]

SWIM also tried BZP now. Which seemed to be in the middle of amphetamine and cocaine, it made SWIM work, but not too eager. He was more prone to have fun. However when SWIM did do some work, he did it really fast and efficient.

SWIM understand the effects of BZP aren't between cocaine and amphetamine, but he means the way it reacted with SWIM's productivity is between cocaine and amphetamine. Cocaine makes SWIM want to make fun and amphetamines make him work for hours obsessively. (Look how the s transfers from "cocaine makes" and "amphetamines make", really strange.)

[tayo]

that's interesting, swim's experience with piperazine blends, (london underground XXX) was more psychedelic than anything else, definitely swim wouldn't have been able to get much done as far as productivity.

[Pino]

Originally Posted by tayo

that's interesting, swim's experience with piperazine blends, (london underground XXX) was more psychedelic than anything else, definitely swim wouldn't have been able to get much done as far as productivity.

It was not a blend. SWIM has plain BZP powder. SWIM have never tried one of the blends. SWIM thinks the BZP high is not as clean as amphetamine, there are some psychedelic glitches, but all are quite minor. SWIM took subsequent dosages of 50 mg during the day.

EDIT: SWIM sees, in the London Underground XXX Pills, there is a lot more bzp (200mg) and some other stuff, mbzp. SWIM think those 'glitches' are getting more to the foreground when taking more. SWIM also combined it with caffeine, that can also be a factor.

SWIM also likes the duration -4/5 hours or so-. It is longer than normal speed and it seems to dampen pain or make it more tolerable. So sitting for ages in the same position becomes possible, which is of course a bad thing.

[laws0n]

SWIM used Adderall XR for school and work. In SWIM's opinion adderall makes the boring stuff seem fun and a challenge. SWIM feels like he accomplished alot when being productive and using time well. Adderall also helps SWIM prioritize and keep a line up of what SWIM is going to do next. Aside from a day or two of not using adderall after daily use for a couple of monthes SWIM feels it is not addicting, or if it is SWIM can get over it. The crash isnt fun though, it feels like SWIM focouses on all the bad things in his life and over exaggerates. SWIM sweats alot when taking adderall also.

SWIM now is free of Adderall and realized that SWIY's mind can control how SWIY feels. For example if one says "I have no energy I feel tired this sucks i dont want to do this" SWIY will preform bad. But if one says "I know I have to do this, lets make the best of it and find fun ways to get through it" SWIY will realize that SWIY will not need Adderall.

Adderall is not a good long term use for stimulents, espessily if SWIY doesnt have ADD or ADHD. If SWIY is taking Adderall for energy purposes SWIM would recomend looking at SWIY's eating, sleeping, and excersize habbits and go from there. Maybe the reason why SWIY has no energy is because SWIY doesnt sleep for a reasonable amount of time, eats fast food all the time, and never excersizes. SWIM believes that depending on Adderall will hurt SWIY in the long run like it has hurt SWIM.

SWIM feels way more accomplished when he is actively making choices in his life to change it and working hard rather than taking a pill to solve all SWIY's problems.

[Natt Pang]

I haven't tried every drug but for i'd definately have to say it meth/amphetamines! Id like to hear from someone who disagrees!

[cyndi]

Originally Posted by Natt Pang

I haven't tried every drug but for i'd definately have to say it meth/amphetamines! Id like to hear from someone who disagrees!

Ohhhh can swim raise both hands on that one???? Meth/amphs definitely is not good for swim and work much less productivity. OH yes my swiy at first you will think what a bang up job you are doing then you find you are banging your head on the wall after a while. Swim's vote is still the morning coffee, nothing like java to get the day going and be productive and work. Tweaking and working don't mix my friend.

[beentheredonethatagain]

Cyndi your partly correct but partly wrong, swib can does a good bit more work if he has good clean crank (methamphetamine). When he was studying for a trade he would read and read and learn learn learn. many nights without sleep paid off, as he can now repair many types of air conditioning, refrigeration,and ice machines just to name a few.
I vote for legalized Methaphetamine, but not if your spun and cause problems .

[doggy_hat]

ignore this post.