Mucuna Pruriens

[anonk]

Anyone remember Meridian Botanicals? I found a sealed bag of mucuna pruriens of theirs that I never tried. Anyone have any experience with using it? I was always afraid of the not so fun side-effects from too much dopamine like tachycardia and agitation.

[herbalhippie]

Moving to Off Topic

[Babel-17]

I've used small amounts here and there in the past, and afaik I still have some left in a bag of it I bought ... let me check, lol, May 2018.

Asking about its safety is an excellent thing to do, but if you haven't studied up on what can make it risky to use, I'd avoid it. If you have any tendencies or history of taking more than you originally intended to of anything, I'd avoid it. You won't miss it once you stop taking it, I didn't, so maybe avoid having to be concerned about taking it, by not taking it. That being said, as an occasional mood boost, motivation enhancer, I found it to be OK, and I was careful to stay within the recommended amounts, and to not take it every day.

It sometimes gets referred to alongside supplements like Ashwagandha (often considered an alternative to Ginseng), Rhodiola, St. John's Wort, and SAMe (S-adenosyl-L-methionine).

Both St. John's Wort and SAMe need to be taken with an awareness of dosages, the bad side effects of taking too much, or responding adversely to them, the need to start with small amounts, and to not mix them together, but generally speaking they aren't widely known for coming with the potential risk that L-Dopa carries with it.

Rhodiola can put you way too on edge if overindulged with, but again, not known for the kind of risks that comes with L-Dopa. Ashwagandha afaik has a benign reputation, and not known for bad side effects.

But if you really want to try boosting your dopamine levels, and are concerned about safety, L-Tyrosine might offer a safer alternative, though of course you'd still need to practice moderation, and all the normal protocols for when experimenting with powerful supplements.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyrosine# ... d_hormones

NOW Supplements sells a powdered version that is very inexpensive per serving.

One last caveat. Ironically, the supplements that benefit you the most are the ones you need to ration the most. If you responded well to anything that affected your neurotransmitters, that can be good, but it's also a signal that your body is going to counteract that boost if you overdo it.

[brassy]

I have used it and still have a bottle or two left that I bought from Swanson's Vitamins. It wasn't particularly effective for me. I take a lot of supplements including that are said to improve mood. Been taking 1200 mg of NAC a day for years (not for mood but it is said to be antidepressant -- it definitely improves my focus and I have ADHD) and I also take theanine/caffeine capsules at times when I used to have coffee. (I don't know why but my coffee suddenly sucks).
In terms of getting a bit of a rush/mood boost, I thought Rhodiola was rather nice (but I developed a tolerance almost immediately so it was kind of useless). Lion's Mane is said to be the same -- excellent at the start, but if you don't cycle it A LOT, you build up tolerance.
One thing that works for me is Yerba Mate -- not the tiny little tea bags, but if I brew whopping amounts of it the traditional way. I go to an ethnic supermarket and buy the two kilo bags (about $12 -- I think they have them on Amazon for about the same price now).
No matter how many years I drink it though it still tastes like pond scum to me (not as bad as Kratom but not far behind either).
I brew it with mint leaves and plain monk fruit extract (no erythritol added).
It's the theophylline in it that is the most psychoactive. It does contain caffeine also but the energy boost has a completely different feeling.
Back when I was drinking a whole extra large French Press at a time, it worked about as well as an antidepressant for me.