Nootropics

[santaman2000]

Polypharmacy is too many drugs. One drug works, but has side effects, so another is prescribed to mitigate those. Meanwhile another condition has arisen and lo and behold those pills too have a knock on effect...and so on ad infinitum in the old age of many.

Confusion in the older patient: a diagnostic approach

Confusion is a common problem in persons over 65 years of age. The decline in normal cognitive ability may be acute, or it may be chronic and progressive. In older persons, confusion is usually a symptom of delirium or dementia, although it may be due to major depression or psychosis.

www.gmjournal.co.uk

M

As I suspected it’s different from here. Polypharmacy here is when a patient gets his meds at more than one pharmacy. It usually led to one pharmacist not knowing that the prescription had already been filled and often meant a double
issue of drugs.

What you describe is a bit to common here as well.

 

[Toddy]

It's becoming more common here now for GP's (or the practice Nurse ) to call in the older folks and do a run through of all their medications every so often. They're aware that sometimes the unintended interactions aren't always in the patient's best interests. Also, it gives them some idea of the 'off the shelf' type extras that they take too. A lot of them themselves add something not always beneficial into the chemical soup.

We still call the pharmacy "The Chemist' here.

 

[santaman2000]

It's becoming more common here now for GP's (or the practice Nurse ) to call in the older folks and do a run through of all their medications every so often. They're aware that sometimes the unintended interactions aren't always in the patient's best interests. Also, it gives them some idea of the 'off the shelf' type extras that they take too. A lot of them themselves add something not always beneficial into the chemical soup.

We still call the pharmacy "The Chemist' here.

Yeah the doctors here always ask at every visit for a complete listing of all medications (both prescription and over-the-counter meds and supplements. Also the pharmacies make a secondary check when they fill any prescription. It’s one of the areas where computerization has helped a lot (automatic red flags raised when meds with known adverse reactions to each other are prescribed) There are still some gaps in the system but it’s getting better.

 

[Robson Valley]

Fairly water-tight here: I have a medical history, meds included, that the medical community can read.
All pharmacies can see what meds I'm on and what I have been on for 40+ years.
I don't see that it takes even 10 seconds to dial up my chart.
I can have a local prescription filled 500 miles away and nobody blinks.

I pay little attention to pill sizes and dose rates. I am beginning to question why I take some things at all.
I get stone-walled with hesitation, like they might wee each other off or something.
Jack-bottom specialist said: "You're at risk!" and could not explain it. Dork.

I won't take any rat-crap recommended by Dr. Google.
I'd rather eat better quality food and exercise as best I can.
I have had to supplant a contradiction with expected positive results.
British research actually, some 4,500 patients. That's a sample cohort that I can believe in.
Teaching biochemistry for 30+ years, I catch onto the research fairly well.

One thing I did try as it seemed so benign.
The researchers got 1/2 the cohort (n=5,000) to add 1 tsp cocoa powder to their coffee every morning.
Now, you all know that theobromine in cacao is just one carbon atom away from being caffeine.
So I did that for 30 days (14 usually displays results in me). Supposed to enhance mental acuity and perception.
As another stimulant? Maybe yes. Otherwise, I noticed nothing different so I stopped.

 

[santaman2000]

.....One thing I did try as it seemed so benign.
The researchers got 1/2 the cohort (n=5,000) to add 1 tsp cocoa powder to their coffee every morning.
Now, you all know that theobromine in cacao is just one carbon atom away from being caffeine.
So I did that for 30 days (14 usually displays results in me). Supposed to enhance mental acuity and perception.
As another stimulant? Maybe yes. Otherwise, I noticed nothing different so I stopped.

I may have to try that just because it sounds like it might taste good. Usauly my taste for coffee is:
-strong enough to kill a horse
-black enough to hide the body
-and hot enough to sterilize the cup.

 

[TLM]

I became familiar with the idea of nootropics about 15 years ago when I had to invent a way to bring back a relative from deep depression and severe pain. As an option a few things were tried but in the end there was way more easier solution that worked and also a reason why it worked. (The reason for the depression was somewhat atypical so what worked then and there is very probably not a general cure.) (Also the funny thing is that it was unknown to all of the several MDs involved, probably still is.)

Anyway there are several ways to nootropic effect and not every one is hoping for a simple pill to make them a genius. Some try to find a combination of substances to tweak homeostasis a bit towards the clever way. Some hope to find a substance to temporary achieve an effect. Some try to find a way to optimize biological processes connected to thinking and memory.

 

[santaman2000]

Fairly water-tight here: I have a medical history, meds included, that the medical community can read.
All pharmacies can see what meds I'm on and what I have been on for 40+ years.
I don't see that it takes even 10 seconds to dial up my chart.
I can have a local prescription filled 500 miles away and nobody blinks........

Yeah. So can I. But the Panama y only has access to what they pull up on the insurance screen or on their own corporate screen. In other words if I go to Walmart to have a script filled then the clerk will see two things:
1) every script I’ve had filled at a Walmart anywhere in the world
2) any script I’ve had filled that was paid for by the same insurance company they’re filing under.

However they have no access to anything I either paid cash for or used a different insurance comp to have filled at another company (CVS pharmacies for example) Generally sharing that information across the board is Inhibited, and in some cases prohibited, by privacy laws.

 

[TeeDee]

 

[TeeDee]

 

[TeeDee]

Benefits of Creatine use.

Surprising Creatine Benefits: How it Improves Energy, IQ, Healing, DNA Function, Aging, & More!​

Surprising Creatine Benefits: How it Improves Energy, IQ, Healing, DNA Function, Aging, & More! - The Bioneer

This post explores countless creatine benefits. These go beyond the obvious (more energy, must mass) and look at things like sleep & aging!

www.thebioneer.com

 

[Scottieoutdoors]

Haven't ever looked at the term "nootropics" before, however a couple things you've mentioned are "creatine" and "caffeine", two things I have used before.

As I'm follically challenged, I blame the creatine, but I assume that has more to do with hair genetics than anything else... I used to use it when I gymmed a lot more, but life, covid etc has somewhat put a spanner in the works for the gym, so I don't take any supplements like that at the moment.

As for caffeine, like most people, it can be a staple for me, however I personally like to cycle between caffeine and decaf. I find I can feel better off the caffeine until I start to need the pick me up, so then I'll have caffeinated coffee for a few weeks, starts off great, start to feel a little less so, so back onto decaf.. rinse and repeat..