DOSE:

oral

Mucuna pruriens

(extract)

BODY WEIGHT:

62 kg

I have about 15 year experience with a wide range of botanical, prescription, and non-prescription substances.

I find Mucuna pruriens extract (l-dopa) to be one of the most effective supplements to take for installing confidence. I have taken it about 100 times, at 120mg and 240 mg l-dopa. I have taken it at 360mg but there was no increase in positive effects. 120mg is effective and 240mg is more effective. I will often just take 120mg to reduce the potential negative effects.

For me the most suitable situation for taking l-dopa is with breakfast the morning before meetings or job interviews. I am generally shy in meeting type situations, but I find l-dopa provides me with the confidence and motivation to say what I want to say. It gives me confidence without stress (unlike caffeine), and it doesn’t slow me down (like downers). It didn’t make me into a meeting guru, or make me sound more intelligent, for that it would be best to learn everything and get lots of practice. I also use 10mg propanolol occasionally to reduce stress response.

I take it with carbs because it is said to increase absorption. Also I believe it is best not to take it with vitamin B6 because vitamin B6 accelerates the peripheral decarboxylation of l-dopa leading to more negative effects and practically no positive effects.

I only take Mucuna pruriens occasionally for meetings and when I have to deal with people in stressful situations, because it has some toxic effects which can build up after years of use. I have also found it reduces feeling of pleasure, including from alcohol and caffeine, so I don’t use it in social situations, although I have noticed a slight increase in pleasure from some drugs the day after dosing! I found it to be ineffective when I was on mirtazapine.

Exp Year: 2010	ExpID: 87726
Gender: Male
Age at time of experience: 35
Published: May 11, 2019	Views: 3,057
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Mucuna pruriens (376) : Performance Enhancement (50), Retrospective / Summary (11), Workplace (51)