Bacopa

[kaffiend]

I seem to be having some improvement in cognition & working memory with bacopa monnieri. It's inexpensive and there's a fair amount of research on it, considering it's a supplement. I do cognitive training games a few days a week and the scores have improved noticeably. I've also been finding myself doing my work lately (programming, analysis of neuroimaging data).

The interesting part is that I can still crash the next day from doing too much mental work, only the crash doesn't affect my cognition nearly as much. So, it's a bit of a double edged sword.

 

[leaves]

great to hear that! how much are you taking?

 

[kaffiend]

great to hear that! how much are you taking?

Two 200mg pills; one with breakfast and one after lunch. I don't notice anything in particular, such as feeling more awake or alert as one might feel with coffee. So, I don't think it has a stimulant effect. I just find myself making simple decisions more normally, such as pressing the buttons on the microwave instead of staring at them and wondering why I'm there in the first place.

 

[maz]

Did bacopa continue to help? Also, was your sleep affected or do you not have any sleep issues in the first place? So many supplements make my insomnia worse!

 

[happy]

I've been taking bacopa for more than a year now, it helps me focus at work and with general cognition like original poster mentioned. I used to take ginko biloba with it and it was a fantastic combo, but unfortunately I don't tolerate that anymore.

I take 3 tabs of Himalaya Bacopa every day (iHerb). Insomnia used to be an issue for me, but much less so in recent years. I don't think bacopa had effect either way.

 

[maz]

Thanks for replying! I have a supplement graveyard of all the things I tried but had bad side-effects and no benefits. Like many of us I'm so sensitive so I try to research side effects before I buy now. I will report back when I've tried bacopa.

 

[maz]

Bacopa trial did not go well.. I felt really unwell and I got major brain fog from it, worse than any usual brain fog episodes. The dumbest thing I did under the influence of Bacopa was to fill a hot water bottle, pull the fabric cover over the hole (while keeping the actual stopper still in my hand), then put the bottle behind me as I sat down. The result was an inch and a half by 2inch blister on my butt! Ouch! I tried it twice to make sure it was the bacopa I was reacting to. I think I will keep off nootropic type supps from now on, it never turns out well for me! Ibuprofen makes me brighter but my hair started falling out when I took it every day for around 10 weeks.

 

[happy]

Bacopa trial did not go well.. I felt really unwell and I got major brain fog from it, worse than any usual brain fog episodes. The dumbest thing I did under the influence of Bacopa was to fill a hot water bottle, pull the fabric cover over the hole (while keeping the actual stopper still in my hand), then put the bottle behind me as I sat down. The result was an inch and a half by 2inch blister on my butt! Ouch! I tried it twice to make sure it was the bacopa I was reacting to. I think I will keep off nootropic type supps from now on, it never turns out well for me! Ibuprofen makes me brighter but my hair started falling out when I took it every day for around 10 weeks.

Ouch, I'm sorry it didn' t go well for you

 

[Hope4]

My report:

I tested Bacopa, from Paradise Herbs.

Test method: open capsule, dump contents into small jar. Finger lick test with tiny amount, much less than a pinch of salt. Lick finger and swallow. Take mental note of entire process and experiences.

Experience: almost instantaneously, feeling oddly "high" and a bit "drugged". The smell of the bacopa, is, to me, quite off-putting. I repeated the test, in about ten minutes. Same results.

Will be giving the bottle away. Wasted $21.

The sensations and feelings of the reaction were in a completely different realm/sphere, than the calm from minerals or GABA. I use Thorne PicMins, Source Naturals Magn. Malate, glycine, GABA, and lithium orotate. None of those supplements has a whiff or a trace of the effects of that bacopa.

Again, I'm back to basics: enzymes, minerals, certain amino acids, CoQ10, and some particular vitamins. The herbs are always tricky, thin ice for me. Only one that doesn't cause bad reactions is chamomile.

 

[Hip]

Test method: open capsule, dump contents into small jar. Finger lick test with tiny amount, much less than a pinch of salt. Lick finger and swallow. Take mental note of entire process and experiences.

Experience: almost instantaneously, feeling oddly "high" and a bit "drugged". The smell of the bacopa, is, to me, quite off-putting. I repeated the test, in about ten minutes. Same results.

To me that sounds more like a placebo/nocebo effect that you experienced. Perhaps you had some concerns about it before you took it. Either that, or you may have multiple chemical sensitivity, which may be based on smell.

With that tiny fraction of a capsule you consumed, you would not expect to have any effects, let alone instantaneous effects.

I've taken up to 2 fully heaped teaspoons (10 grams) of Bacopa monnieri, and noticed very little. Bacopa should be taken on an empty stomach in order to be best absorbed, by the way.

 

[Wayne]

The smell of the bacopa, is, to me, quite off-putting.

Hi @Hope4 -- Thanks for letting us know about your trial run with bacopa. Your comments about its smell reminded me of the time I bought some valerian powder, and one of my kitties came over to sniff it out. The kitty almost instantaneously jumped off the sofa, ran toward our other kitty, and gave it a good swat on the top of its head. Our sweet kitty had never done anything like that before, and it was clear it was from the valerian. Poor other kitty--had no idea what was going on. But it didn't take long for them to make up and be pals again.

 

[MonkeyMan]

Dr. Klimas’s computer models suggest bacopa hits “all the points”. For some interesting discussion, check out Cort's write-up at https://www.healthrising.org/blog/2...-fatigue-syndrome-guld-war-bacopa-etanercept/