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What drug will hurt your ability to learn more?

F

Fried Man

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Joined
Sep 29, 2002
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1,464
To start off, I take d-amphetamines for ADHD. I am a college student and use 10-40 mg everyday to study. The amphetamines (even 10 mg sometimes) keeps up at night, have trouble sleeping.

Right now I have three options at night for sleep. If I have trouble sleeping, I'll either take some diphenhydramine (50 mg) or smoke some weed. OR I'll try to sleep naturally, which often results in little/no sleep.

So I'm trying to think of which is worse for the day after, the weed, diphenhydramine, or 0-6 hours of sleep.

I know that all three can mess with the ability to RETAIN information one has learned the day before, and it can also mess with your ability to learn information the day after. I'm more interested in which drugs mess with your ability to RETAIN information.

I know that sleep is important for retaining information. I just feel that if I pull an all nighter and study and get little sleep, I feel that I can pump myself full of amps and get the job done. I feel a bit depressed/wired/edgy/weird/sluggish the next day, but in the short term, I can "get by" by doing this.

The next option is diphenhydramine. With 50 mg, I usually can fall asleep and get a nice 6-8 hours of sleep. Sometimes I feel groggy and very sluggish in the morning, even with some amphetamines. To counteract this, I usually need 10-15mg more amps. What I am wondering about is how much does diphenhydramine mess with your ability to retain information since it has big anti-cholegenic effects. From studying some psychology, I know that the drug can mess with your ability to learn, but is 50 mg enough to hurt me significantly?

And the last option is weed. Obviously this drug has been shown to mess with memory and your ability to learn. But if I study my ass of for a test the day before, smoke lots of weed to get a decent night of sleep, then wake up the next day, study more and take the test, will this be worse than my other two options?
 
All three are bad, though I would think the Diphenhydramine would be the least destructive of the three to cognitive processes.

However, they ARE all bad.
 
If your amphetamines are stopping you slepping, then you're dosing to high, or too close to bed time. Lower doses of diphenhydramine should have no effects on muscarinic receptors, so I wouldn't be concerned about that; more, it's just it's longer half life that would be a worry.

My advice; drop your stimulant dose. Amphetamine is very strong, and classical ADHD should respond just as well to something like amitriptyline, though adult users usually report it doesn't "work" because they prefer the stimulant effect, (the fact that tricyclics work in ADHD is supported by clinical trials; the fact that adults reject it is based on information from clinicians).

You shouldn't be pulling all-nighters in the first place, especially if you having sleeping issues to start with. Keep the amphetamine dose low, go to bed at regularly times, with a 30 minute cool down (i.e. read a book, watch TV), then go to bed. Try 25mg diphenhydramine at the start of your cool down perioid for the first couple of days, to get you into a rhythm.
 
i've been taking amps for years, I'm aware of my actions as well. Part of my sleeping problems are because of the amps, but also because of my actions ,lifestyle..I don't need to get into it.

Don't need to be lectured either....

jusssssst wondering what affects your ability to retain info the most.
 
Try GHB, if you've got access to it. I've read somewhere that GHB-induced sleep is as natural as it can get. No other drug does not even come close (well, maybe except melatonin). Plus, GHB does not affect memory in any way after the effects are gone. Or try melatonin, it is another good option. Not sure if it helps in your case though.
 
Zopiclone(Imovane), or Lunesta, Ambien etc.

I found they have no impact on my ability to retain information from studying - even when studying in bed after taking the pill.
 
All three are gonna screw with your head. Amphetamine has a reinforcing effect on manual labor but if u cannot sleep at the end of your stint then the next day u are gonna be feeling wiped-out. Diphenhydramine shouldnt be bad at all but if u become an habitual user then the NMDA antagonsim is gonna change the way u perceive reality. Weed will also do this but is incapable of having far reaching consequences. Weed might be fine for people studying art but if u genuinely have to learn material to make u smarter and creativity is not an issue, then it is gonna have a negative role to play on cognitive function.
 
Loki Laufey said:
Try GHB, if you've got access to it. I've read somewhere that GHB-induced sleep is as natural as it can get. No other drug does not even come close (well, maybe except melatonin).
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I've heard likewise on GHB's ability to induce and sustain sleep. But beware of the withdrawals! I've read some nasty shit here on BL that sounded very alcohol/benzodiazepine-like.
 
Haven't tried it enough. I thought ghb had a rebound-effect when it wears off because of a rush of dopamine or something? It's like you only sleep for 3-4 hours or so? Is this common at all?
 
^ No, that's almost certainly a mistake. Or at least over-stated. It's caused by the fact that when GHB is metabolized, it stops activating the GABA-B receptor, and only effects the GHB receptor. GABA-B receptor activation knocks you out; GHB receptor stimulation should be stimulating.
 
I find that though amphetamine increases my productivity (as long as the work does not require too much thought), it actually decreases my creativity. Moreover, if I am taking it frequently (which I rarely do anymore due to problems with abuse), I can't think as well when I'm not on it. However, I don't really think it hurts my ability to learn; rather it saps my motivation to carry out the actions that would result in learning.

One class of drug that I do think hurts my ability to learn are MD-class substances. That shit totally fucks up my short-term memory for about a week afterwards.
 
Smyth said:
All three are gonna screw with your head. Amphetamine has a reinforcing effect on manual labor but if u cannot sleep at the end of your stint then the next day u are gonna be feeling wiped-out. Diphenhydramine shouldnt be bad at all but if u become an habitual user then the NMDA antagonsim is gonna change the way u perceive reality. Weed will also do this but is incapable of having far reaching consequences. Weed might be fine for people studying art but if u genuinely have to learn material to make u smarter and creativity is not an issue, then it is gonna have a negative role to play on cognitive function.
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What?? am I missing something?

---

As for GHB - bad advice. Trust me, you do NOT want to be dependant on this shit/elixir.

Chances are, with the stimulation from the rebound, you won't be able to take your amphetamine because of the extreme peripheral stimulation.
 
^^^^^^
Many chemical sleep aids have their obvious problems. Benzo don't provide the proper stages/sleep cycles for a proper rest. Other Hypnotics work better such as Ambian/Stilnox, but once again are something that should bot be used every night due to tolerance issues.

I can comment from personal experience that GHB or even 14b would NOT be safe for everyday use. I used regularly (5+years) on a weekend basis but after one particular weekend with my complacency from regular use took it for over two weeks+ straight. The end result and withdrawal was horrible. Truly the worst experience I ever had.

I'm still learning and slowly studying my pharmacology so please forgive my simplistic answer but to achieve deep sleep with GHB people often take FAR to much leading to what BliZOR talking about, especially if they are trying to counteract a stimulant. Knocking yourself out like this puts you in a state which is potentially very dangerous.

Things such a severely lowered respiratory rate providing you with not enough Oxygen (to your brain) could pose problems That might be a bit over the top but perhaps of greater concern is that you are in a state unable to look after yourself. Say you roll onto your back, choke on your tongue.

There are also some other alternatives. Using Melatonin being one. And one of the best natural source of this is found in Cherry concentrate. Reputably this works better than melatonin found in tablet form as it is metabolized more effectively. In my layman's terms is it's like gaining nutrients from a food source rather than a multi vitamin pill. Taken about 1 - 2 hours before bedtime. Max dose required is 1-2 tablespoons. This option would produce the least damage that I can think of.

I'd be interested on some responses to what people thinks of my answer. My contributions are more from personal experience so I'd be interested to hear peoples comments
 
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Loki Laufey said:
Try GHB, if you've got access to it. I've read somewhere that GHB-induced sleep is as natural as it can get. No other drug does not even come close (well, maybe except melatonin). Plus, GHB does not affect memory in any way after the effects are gone. Or try melatonin, it is another good option. Not sure if it helps in your case though.
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Yeah, good luck getting a Xyrem script. And I hate paying money for drugs that I 'need' (i.e. was on benzos for awhile non-legit, and I needed them, and it pissed me off dearly spending my money on something that was medical, even though I got them semi-cheap, it wasn't insurance prices)...

Melatonin, I've been looking to try, but heard of a rebound effect/it wearing off. Is extended release melatonin affordable/available widely?
 
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