Stimulants Paraxanthine (caffeine substitute) safety & efficacy?

[Mycophile]

So, I've had a problem with caffeine for years now. Yeah, I know, how much of a problem can you have with caffeine? Well, it gives me anxiety, wrecks my sleep and makes me really irritable and yet without it I can't function, and it's the only drug other than my prescribed meds that I take every day. It messes up my life.

But I just heard of something called Paraxanthine which is a metabolite of caffeine produced in the body when we drink caffeine, and supposedly all studies so far have said it's SAFER than caffeine with fewer side effects, no agitation, shorter half life, and just plain cleaner. It has good reviews on the sites that sell it, but it's obviously expensive compared to coffee.

Has anyone here ever taken it, and if so, how was it? Did you notice any side effects? How would you compare it to caffeine?

I mean, I'd honestly like to quit coffee, but I've tried many times and it's hard as hell, so I'm thinking this could potentially be a better alternative in the meantime.

 

[Mycophile]

I just ordered some so I'll see how it goes and report back, but in the meantime, if anyone else knows more about this I'm all ears.

 

[Snafu in the Void]

Bit off topic but have you tried taking l-theanine with your caffeine? For me it completely negates all the side effects of caffeine like anxiety, irritability, and insomnia without effecting the positive effects like stimulation.

 

[Mycophile]

Bit off topic but have you tried taking l-theanine with your caffeine? For me it completely negates all the side effects of caffeine like anxiety, irritability, and insomnia without effecting the positive effects like stimulation.

I was just thinking about that as it's recommended in one of the threads on Paraxanthine, but yeah, I've mixed in L-Theanine powder with coffee and I didn't really feel like it got rid of all the negative side effects. It's been quite a while, so I think maybe I'll give it another shot, but generally speaking, when I take L-Theanine I feel like it makes me a bit more tired but also a bit more relaxed. However, I think I still get the caffeine crash and jitters to some extent. I should try it again though.

Let me ask: even though Paraxnathine doesn't seem to YET be FDA approved, if you look it up you'll see that a number of studies have been very promising showing it to be safer than caffeine in mice, so I'm thinking it should be safe, but most of all, it's a metabolite of caffeine.

So, without knowing anything about bio-chemistry or anything like that, would people who know more about how metabolites work say that generally speaking, if a drug is a metabolite of another safe drug that that usually means that metabolite is probably also safe?

Are there cases where metabolites of certain drugs were more dangerous to take than the drug itself, or do metabolites of most drugs usually have a similar safety profile?

Cause I'm fine to try this stuff out, but I'm not sure if I'm going to want to drink it EVERY DAY like I do coffee (assuming I can afford it and that it works how I want it to...). I'd rather just quit caffeine or learn to moderate if possible, but I have never been able to get off it or even really moderate, so if this stuff is like caffeine without the negative side effects, then that would really help me.

 

[Pastel]

Bit off topic but have you tried taking l-theanine with your caffeine? For me it completely negates all the side effects of caffeine like anxiety, irritability, and insomnia without effecting the positive effects like stimulation.

I switched to matcha from cappuccino. While I miss the taste of coffee, I am so much better off without it.

 

[FuckinAcidMan]

I was just thinking about that as it's recommended in one of the threads on Paraxanthine, but yeah, I've mixed in L-Theanine powder with coffee and I didn't really feel like it got rid of all the negative side effects. It's been quite a while, so I think maybe I'll give it another shot, but generally speaking, when I take L-Theanine I feel like it makes me a bit more tired but also a bit more relaxed. However, I think I still get the caffeine crash and jitters to some extent. I should try it again though.

Let me ask: even though Paraxnathine doesn't seem to YET be FDA approved, if you look it up you'll see that a number of studies have been very promising showing it to be safer than caffeine in mice, so I'm thinking it should be safe, but most of all, it's a metabolite of caffeine.

So, without knowing anything about bio-chemistry or anything like that, would people who know more about how metabolites work say that generally speaking, if a drug is a metabolite of another safe drug that that usually means that metabolite is probably also safe?

Are there cases where metabolites of certain drugs were more dangerous to take than the drug itself, or do metabolites of most drugs usually have a similar safety profile?

Cause I'm fine to try this stuff out, but I'm not sure if I'm going to want to drink it EVERY DAY like I do coffee (assuming I can afford it and that it works how I want it to...). I'd rather just quit caffeine or learn to moderate if possible, but I have never been able to get off it or even really moderate, so if this stuff is like caffeine without the negative side effects, then that would really help me.

I would say it's probably plenty safe since it's processed by your body everytime you drink caffeine. It sounds like a lot of the benifits of caffeine might be from this new metabolite you're talking about, and cutting out the caffeine, moving toward just the desirable metabolite just makes the experience better since your body doesn't have to break it down.

 

[Mycophile]

I would say it's probably plenty safe since it's processed by your body everytime you drink caffeine. It sounds like a lot of the benifits of caffeine might be from this new metabolite you're talking about, and cutting out the caffeine, moving toward just the desirable metabolite just makes the experience better since your body doesn't have to break it down.

That's what I'm thinking, and while it doesn't seem to be FDA approved just yet, it has passed certain tests with mice, enough that it is already being touted by many as safer than caffeine, and being sold by very well known vendors. Now I guess we should be a bit skeptical being that it's "new" (not really though as a metabolite) and caffeine is ancient, but that's science for you—figuring out a way to make everything better.

This should arrive in the mail in a couple days and I'm interested to see what it's like to replace at least some of my daily caffeine intake with this stuff. If possible I will switch entirely to paraxanthine if it's really that much better.

 

[Dreamflyer]

Wow, I've never heard of that one. I avoid caffeine (and ephedrine, Adderall or any other stimulant) because of my anxiety attacks. Aside from the occasional Coca Cola, Dr. Pepper or Mountain Dew, I stay away from uppers of any kind.