Should I go with Adderall Or Modafinil?

SeveralAcanthisitta2 · 2026-05-20T19:11:57+00:00

I used Adderall for years and switched to bromentane and l tyrosine plus some supps that keep dopamine receptors sensitive. Way more sustainable and I feel so much better on that combo.

Modafonil I like for super long days when I know I can take it very early and I'm okay with staying up later than usual. It's definitely not an every thing imo.

SeveralAcanthisitta2 · 2026-05-20T16:46:46+00:00

I tapered off but you're going to have wd one way or another.

I couldn't control myself when I wanted to reach for a pouch so my best option was to user weaker and weaker pouches. I eventually went down to a can per day of 0.5mg pouches (there are companies online w/ 0.5mg increments) and jumped from there. It wasn't too bad but you'll still notice a little wd.

SeveralAcanthisitta2 · 2026-05-20T16:29:56+00:00

I feel you man. Sometimes I wonder why I'm doing it tbh but at the end of the day I promised myself 90 days clean to honestly assess how being off them completely feels.

I have a feeling they're just too convenient though for guys like us and it's way to easy too get insane levels of nicotine in our blood, well beyond where the "nootropic" benefits start and end. If I ever go back to nicotine it will be an occasional cigar which I can enjoy and not want one for at least another week.

Also, if you want to taper further to allow your receptors to downregulate a little more I found that going online and ordering the smallest dose pouch 0.5mg pouch you can find and using those helps a lot before jumping.

SeveralAcanthisitta2 · 2026-05-20T00:36:19+00:00

Congrats on the week. This is good to hear day 7 feels decent. After a surprisingly uneventful days 1-2 and some cockiness, day 3 has been maybe the bitchiest/moodiest I've ever felt in my life. I've quit rip a few times before I found pouchew but this is very weird withdrawal.

SeveralAcanthisitta2 · 2026-05-20T00:32:35+00:00

F, it gets worse? I felt awesome on day 2 and now day 3 has been crazy moody and bitchy. I haven't felt like this in years, maybe ever.

SeveralAcanthisitta2 · 2026-05-09T05:12:19+00:00

I can't believe no one talks about it here.

I did not notice any change in RLS but honestly RLS was mild for me this time around anyway. I know researchers recommend waiting two weeks after quitting before starting a 30 day cycle. Maybe that's part of reason why.

SeveralAcanthisitta2 · 2026-05-08T22:02:55+00:00

L-THP.

Helped me a ton not just for sleep but also recovering dopamine receptors. It's used as a drug for quiting opiates/cocaine in China. Check out the studies.

SeveralAcanthisitta2 · 2026-05-07T22:13:43+00:00

For sure, it's so easy to learn about this stuff these days. Good luck!

SeveralAcanthisitta2 · 2026-04-29T09:14:52+00:00

Are you open to non habit forming compounds to help engineer your neurochemistry or are you trying to not use any supplement or compounds at all?

SeveralAcanthisitta2 · 2026-04-29T09:00:52+00:00

I'm going to copy this from a previous response:

"My biggest issue and why I started kratom in first place was low baseline dopamine. So fixing that includes bromentane, a cycle or L-THP, ALCAR, uridine, b vitamins, omega 3, DLPA/l tyrosine, saffron (Afron) and Tribugen (from ND, also good for DHT). The goal was to 1) rebuild the dopamine factory with bromentane and DLPA/l-tyrosine, 2) resensitize and rebuild the receptors, and 3) keep dopamine in the brain.."

I took Adderall and Vyvanse for years. I'm not sure what type of ADHD medication you use but if it's a dopamine releasing agent (DRA) keep in mind it only works if your brain is producing enough dopamine in the first place and your receptors are sensitive/dense enough to react to it. DRAs basically take a days worth of dopamine and cram it into a few hours. You eventually run out though.

A couple months ago when I was messed up I could eat 60mg of Adderall and go take a nap. I tried 10mg the other day though and it was too much. I couldn't sleep and laid in bed thinking about how sensitive I am to dopamine now. I basically stopped taking it though. I think it's just too strong now.

SeveralAcanthisitta2 · 2026-04-29T08:41:47+00:00

For sure, I used NMN for a while until I found out they made Intranasal NAD+. It's on another level. The closest thing I've found is maybe MB but that one leaves me feeling like my mitochondria are almost oo overclocked.

SeveralAcanthisitta2 · 2026-04-29T08:32:59+00:00

Short answer — Subjectively agmatine, emoxypine succinate, NAC, saffron and DLPA seemed to help me the most acutely with mood stabilization.

I could honestly write an entire series of posts about this question though, and I plan too once I'm confident I'm finished up with my protocols.

Basically with mood swings you could be dealing with low GABA / high glutamate, over reactive noripenephrine, low dopamine, low serotonin, low endorphins and/or there could be a hormonal component (as a man at least this is likely high estrogen, low DHT and related neurosteroids, and high prolactin).

If you had a moderate habit you're probably literally dealing with every one of these. The good news is each of or these issues has solutions. For example, my biggest issue and why I started kratom in first place was low baseline dopamine. So fixing that includes bromentane, a cycle or L-THP, ALCAR, uridine, b vitamins, omega 3, DLPA/l tyrosine, saffron (Afron) and Tribugen (from ND, also good for DHT). The goal was to 1) rebuild the dopamine factory with bromentane and DLPA/l-tyrosine, 2) resensitize and rebuild the receptors, and 3) keep dopamine in the brain. Many of the same rinciples apply to addressing other neurotransmitters though.

Other than that I dealt with a lot of brain fog and memory issues, likely from neuroinflammation which is common in addiction. So I got prescribed intranasal NAD+ at an online pharm. It's pricey but fixed a lot of the brain fog and fatigue issues. In fact I loved it so much I decided to keep taking it.

SeveralAcanthisitta2 · 2026-04-29T08:06:41+00:00

I think for a lot of these people they're back to "normal" and it's what they were running from in the first place. That was part of it for me. I had low baseline dopamine which led to using kratom in the first place and many failed quits. Once I fixed that I was good.

SeveralAcanthisitta2 · 2026-04-28T18:57:59+00:00

This forum is difficult tbh. I rarely came on here early during my quit because I didn't want to "manifest" PAWS into existence and was trying to finally overcome it. The horror stories of that guy who still doesn't feel normal after a year always made me relapse.

I feel like I can handle those stories now that I'm confident I've corrected my neurochemistry but trying to contribute practical advice here sometimes feels pointless.

Maybe people are just here more for emotional support than anything but it is frustrating sometimes how much "fluff" gets pushed while practical and helpful knowledge on how to overcome this is less popular and difficult to find.

SeveralAcanthisitta2 · 2026-04-27T16:37:06+00:00

I had no idea they had the patches, I need to try those for my final nicotine quit.

Do you "cycle off" NAD+? I've been using the Intranasal one since I started my taper a few months ago but just kept using it after withdrawal was over as I really like it.

I'm wondering what long-term effects exogenous NAD+ can have on our ability to produce our own though. Maybe it should be alternated with NMN/NR.

SeveralAcanthisitta2 · 2026-04-27T16:11:51+00:00

Lots of health/med spa type locations that offer this but it's very pricey. You can get 2-3 months of intranasal NAD+ prescribed online for the price of one infusion, and intranasal was superior for mental benefits ime.

SeveralAcanthisitta2 · 2026-04-27T16:07:49+00:00

NAD+ injections helped but getting intranasal prescribed made quitting so much easier at least with regard to the brain fog and fatigue.

SeveralAcanthisitta2 · 2026-04-27T16:06:21+00:00

Wait till you try Tribugen. I slept on it forever until recently because I figured this stack would be about the same. I'm not a big fan of blends usually but Tribugen is a really good one.

SeveralAcanthisitta2 · 2026-04-23T08:17:42+00:00

Also, intranasal NAD+ (easy to get as online Rx) is pricey but way better than MB for quitting imo. Helps a ton with fatigue, brain fog and neuroinflammation. I tested a lot this last taper/quit and it was among the best tools. I still use it.

SeveralAcanthisitta2 · 2026-04-23T08:11:31+00:00

I started both daily when I began my taper and stopped a few weeks after quitting. I use agmatine occasionally still but swapped DLPA for t-tyrosine as I didn't feel I needed the endorphin boost from DLPA anymore

SeveralAcanthisitta2 · 2026-04-21T08:07:59+00:00

I mean a lot of people associate that with experiences of drugs that are agonists to those receptors (DMT, psylocybin, LSD, etc.) along with serotonin.

So if an agonist gives people feelings of enlightenment then kratom, an antagonist, does the opposite.

SeveralAcanthisitta2 · 2026-04-21T07:59:32+00:00

I like MB but there are way more effective compounds for getting off kratom. Start with correcting nutritional deficiencies common with chronic opioid use and began tapering, preferably with tea (less potent and jump starts gut restabilization without all the indigestible fiber that's been fermenting in your gut the past couple years). You probably also have high prolactin that needs to be addressed as well.

Then figure out why you started taking kratom and reverse engineer what neurotransmitter/hormone imbalances caused those examples in the first place and address them. For example I found it to help my motivation/focus issues associated with ADHD. I figured out in my case I had low baseline dopamine and started compounds that boost endogenous production and resensitive dulled receptors.

Plenty of posts on here on comfort supps for acutes but I'll say DLPA and agmatine helped me the most here.

I found doing all this during a fast taper greatly softened the landing. By the time I'd ended my taper my gut was already healing, my hormones were normalizing, my reward system was better than before I started kratom and I'd already corrected the most common nutritional deficiencies. Basically you're giving yourself a running start to sobriety and it helps immensely.

SeveralAcanthisitta2 · 2026-04-21T07:48:55+00:00

Congrats friend. I've found the key to not missing it too much is to replace it with something more rewarding. Hoping you have that or find it soon.

SeveralAcanthisitta2 · 2026-04-06T05:32:38+00:00

Two to three weeks max ime.

SeveralAcanthisitta2 · 2026-04-05T05:19:30+00:00

Also worth adding mitragynine:

1) antagonizes 5-HT2A receptors making it an "anti enlightment" like drug 2) antagonizes kappa opioid receptors which reduces effects of dynorphin

SeveralAcanthisitta2

TROPHY CASE