Lately, I have been experimenting a little bit with pharmaceutical-grade yohimbine hydrochloride. Yohimbine is an alpha-2 receptor antagonist. Given that a2 adrenergic receptors are located on the presynaptic terminal, the associated Gi-coupled signaling “disinhibits” noradrenergic synapses (the basics of noradrenaline signaling are explained in more detail here). In other words, it disinhpitibits sympathetic tone. As such, it is not just a great fat-loss agent but also a great short-term stimulant because it simply increases sympathetic tone.
At low doses, it is subtle and not harsh in any way. On it, I am alert and can think more clearly. There is little to no euphoria (as there is with e.g., caffeine, methylphenidate, or ephedrine). My emotions are more intense and deeper. My libido is definitely stronger. In fact, in my country, the only indication for which yohimbine is approved is erectile dysfunction.
The combination of slightly more alert, slightly better mood, slightly more intense emotions, and not so slightly greater libido is specifically useful before a date. The major downside is that I skew my own perception of her in a positive way – i.e., I think that she is slightly more exciting and attractive than she really is. Similar to what Robert Sapolsky found in his suspension bridge experiments. Short summary: Male participants walked across a suspended/scary bridge. Half of the participants were met halfway by an attractive female. The other half of the participants only encountered the attractive female after crossing the bridge. The people who met the attractive female while in the middle of the bridge rated her as more attractive because of the biological arousal caused by the suspension bridge.
It is currently the only stimulant I use. I only ever use it at low doses and even 1.25mg lasts for a couple of hours, presumably because I am a homozygotic CYP2D6 poor metabolizer, which prolongs yohimbine action. In fact, for me, yohimbine has a half-life on the order of 6-10 hours (instead of the 1-2 hours) because I have 2 copies of “bad” CYP2D6, the enzyme that metabolises yohimbine, which makes yohimbine for me the near-perfect stimulant.
I do not use caffeine because it messes with my sleep. I do not use modafinil because on it I do tasks more thoroughly than intended, which ultimately leads to me wasting a lot of time. Modafinil also makes it very hard to fall asleep, given that the microdose of rasagiline I take potentiates and prolongs its action. I do not use other stimulants such as ephedrine, methylphenidate, or amphetamine because they are too “harsh”, because of the moclobemide, and also because I think that they may be neurotoxic, particularly the amphetamine-class of drugs.
Weekly observations
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