[RouteBackwards]

Just a couple updates about my later experiences with theanine.

Theanine as it seems, does not completely stop anxiety, but only numbs it, and if you have underlying psychological triggers or fears that result in anxiety, you will still feel it, but it will be dulled. With that being said, theanine IS a good crutch for getting over your fears, but won't handle them completely (like fear of approaching) like some would like to posit.

Second, beyond the mid range, i'm not certain of the science, but theanine once your body is used to it, does not seem to do anything at a full gram than it does at a 500 - 600 mgs. I could be wrong, but from me alternating between random dosages, it appears that 500 - 600 mgs is most effective and anything more is just wasting your money.

In addition, I've found for getting things done physically in a focused manner (I work a stressfull as a fuck construction job), theanine with caffeine does best.

However, for studying and general relaxation, theanine plus panax ginseng seems to have effects on me similar to piracetam, but not as long lasting. Again, try at your own risk as I don't know the exact science or if they're only effecting me this way, but Ive found for myself personally 200 mgs of panax ginseng plus 500-600 mgs of theanine does wonders for studying and relaxation.

[MidniteSpecial]

I just started taking gaba. It is good stuff. Studies show it actually inhibits growth hormone secretion as well. In another study it eliminated peoples fear of heights. It's good stuff. It's just an amino-acid. And in this over stressed world we live in today it's a good addition to a lot of peoples health protocol. I have my girl take it and it helps with her anxiety.

This is the brand I have been taking: http://www.amazon.com/NOW-Foods-Gaba-750...B0013OVZAG

[Saladin]

Just bought some L-theanine chewable tablets. Chewed 200 mg worth about 30 minutes ago.

I'm pretty low on sleep today, but I had coffee in the morning. L-theanine definately seems to make you more relaxed/chill but comes at the cost of increased drowsiness. Seems like it'd be a winning combo with coffee, or great as a standalone when you have had decent sleep. I'm at home so I can't verify whether it helps you improve your game at all but I'll give that a test soon.

Will update on how it effects me in different situations.

[young_money]

Just grabbed a bottle of l-theanine from Whole Foods last night. The bottle says "supports non-drowsy mental and physical relaxation", which is exactly what I'm looking for.

So far I've taken 200 mg and cannot say that I've noticed much effect. I'm gonna take another 200mg in an hour and see.

Cost wise, I spent $11 for 50 100mg caps. Should I be looking into the powders?

Moma and bojangles, could you share more about your experiences and if you are sill using it.

[Moma]

(01-26-2014 02:53 PM)young_money Wrote:  

Just grabbed a bottle of l-theanine from Whole Foods last night. The bottle says "supports non-drowsy mental and physical relaxation", which is exactly what I'm looking for.

So far I've taken 200 mg and cannot say that I've noticed much effect. I'm gonna take another 200mg in an hour and see.

Cost wise, I spent $11 for 50 100mg caps. Should I be looking into the powders?

Moma and bojangles, could you share more about your experiences and if you are sill using it.

I'm not using it currently, I am pretty relaxed by nature. I haven't gone out in yonks for cold hunting, just working off of lizard residuals. Will try it with caffeine IF I go to this Haitian spot this Friday.

I do recall when I used it for an interview and I felt so calm, I had to restrain myself from making cocky jokes..however, I have to couple it with caffeine or I just want to sleep...

[Wayout]

L-theanine is the only supplement that worked for my approach anxiety. It also made my work day much less stressful - it has this calming effect and everything seems to be not a big deal. I took 100-200mg in the morning and it took maybe 1 hour to start feeling the effects. It never stopped working less with time.
I have tried many other supliments to help me with anxiety and stress but nothing worked at all! Even phenibut had no effect!
I'm in Russia now,where nootropics are widely available but no L-Theanine!

[Capitán Peligroso]

Quote:

Cost wise, I spent $11 for 50 100mg caps. Should I be looking into the powders?

Yes, you should. Here's a link to a quality source that I use. They sell 50 grams for $9.88 and 100 grams for $16.88. So for the same amount of money, more or less, you will get 10x as much powder. The company is really good to deal with too, very ethical, prompt, etc.

[runsonmagic]

L-Theatine + Bulletproof Coffee = God Mode

[RouteBackwards]

So, a last story I have about theanine use, I probably used it for over six months, I've stopped using it everyday, and not because of health dangers but I learned a lot about theanine and motivation.

The issues I ran into:

For school, on theanine I ended up dropping my marks significantly. Why? It has to do with the tunnel vision it gives you. See, theanine is fucking excellent for school if you are INTERESTED but as it turns, this years course selection wasn't too interesting, but had to be done for me to advance to my next year. I popped about 400 - 600 mg's of theanine a day, and while I got the tunnel vision, it didn't help me with school, it helped me focus on my computer and reading non-related articles on there.

Theanine also made pick up worse, and maybe this is due to the higher dosages, but when I was out and about on theanine, sure I felt confident as fuck, but I didn't care enough to go actually talk to women because I got into this self-focus bubble and focused only on me. In addition, when I drank, again, I didn't give a fuck about anyone else, I just wanted to drink and chill. However, because I was always taking larger doses, I feel like maybe pick up might have been boosted a bit if I took smaller doses.

Lastly, the shittiest effect was irritability, and again, this comes with the tunnel vision. I work with a lot of musicians, and if all I wanted to do was mix music, it would piss me off if they asked to do other shit because all I wanted to do was focus on what I was doing. In addition, this extended to people calling or whatever, once I got into that tunnel vision mode, what I was interested in was all that mattered.

The GOOD:

Theanine is fucking awesome for creativity. I found myself taking a lot of theanine and just chilling in my studio working on music, art or whatever fascinated me at the time. Theanine works BEST if you're into your task at hand, and for that, it still has a place in my supplement stacks. However, like listed above, if you don't find the thing you're doing that interesting, I find it near impossible to focus on shit.

Hangovers. Now, I know alot of academic papers seem to conclude there are no true hangover cures, stacking Theanine, Calcium, Vitamin D and Ginseng together seems to kill any hangover symptoms I have. I consistently use theanine for this, and even yesterday after waking up with a horrible hangover, this stack seemed to have completely destroyed the issues I was having.

Anxiety. The theanine and caffiene combo are excellent combatants of anxiety. It works absolutely well, and if you have to a do a presentation that doesn't go beyond reading some paper, this shit will do you damn well. I think this is why many people seek to use theanine and I don't blame them.

So gentlemen, I know this thread is half dead, but I thought I'd give my more balanced opinion of theanine. I still enjoy the substance and recommend it to anyone who wants to just fuck around and chill and get creative projects done, but there are minor issues I encountered. Nothing serious or life threatening, but things that may or may not kill your motivation in some respects.

[Cr33pin]

Theres 200mg of L-theanine in a scoop of my casein protein powder.

[aphelion]

(01-28-2014 06:29 PM)Capitán Peligroso Wrote:  

Quote:

Cost wise, I spent $11 for 50 100mg caps. Should I be looking into the powders?

Yes, you should. Here's a link to a quality source that I use. They sell 50 grams for $9.88 and 100 grams for $16.88. So for the same amount of money, more or less, you will get 10x as much powder. The company is really good to deal with too, very ethical, prompt, etc.

+1 on Liftmode. They're my phenibut and l-theanine supplier.

[blueshark747]

Just tried Liftmode Theanine, took 500MG no effect whatsoever, I'm tossing it in the garbage.
Got some Phenibut on the way

[Rutting Elephant]

Tried it before extended family Christmas; it just gave me a huge headache while driving there. Results similar to those promised by L-th I already get from 5-HTP for sleeping.

[Wayout]

Just to add to this thread :
1. Don't expect for L-theanine to kick in after one use. I see effects maybe after 2-3 days and I use 200mg in the morning every day. It's puts me in a good mood.
2. I had absolutely no effects from NOW foods brand(I think it's cheap junk), some effects from Lift Mode and absolute bliss from Doctors best brand.

[blueshark747]

(03-13-2014 02:17 PM)Wayout Wrote:  

Just to add to this thread :
1. Don't expect for L-theanine to kick in after one use. I see effects maybe after 2-3 days and I use 200mg in the morning every day. It's puts me in a good mood.
2. I had absolutely no effects from NOW foods brand(I think it's cheap junk), some effects from Lift Mode and absolute bliss from Doctors best brand.

Ok took 200MG of L Theanine this morning and was talking this army chick and I had this sorta sarcastic witty charm with her.

Still not sure of the effect of this stuff, but it really did help me focus more on studying and quick memory while retaining what I just learned.

Now I'm starting to feel a little irritable of my co workers.

[Moma]

(03-14-2014 04:44 AM)blueshark747 Wrote:  

(03-13-2014 02:17 PM)Wayout Wrote:  

Just to add to this thread :
1. Don't expect for L-theanine to kick in after one use. I see effects maybe after 2-3 days and I use 200mg in the morning every day. It's puts me in a good mood.
2. I had absolutely no effects from NOW foods brand(I think it's cheap junk), some effects from Lift Mode and absolute bliss from Doctors best brand.

Ok took 200MG of L Theanine this morning and was talking this army chick and I had this sorta sarcastic witty charm with her.

Still not sure of the effect of this stuff, but it really did help me focus more on studying and quick memory while retaining what I just learned.

Now I'm starting to feel a little irritable of my co workers.

You tossed the liftmode, so which one are you using now?

[blueshark747]

(03-14-2014 08:16 AM)Moma Wrote:  

(03-14-2014 04:44 AM)blueshark747 Wrote:  

(03-13-2014 02:17 PM)Wayout Wrote:  

Just to add to this thread :
1. Don't expect for L-theanine to kick in after one use. I see effects maybe after 2-3 days and I use 200mg in the morning every day. It's puts me in a good mood.
2. I had absolutely no effects from NOW foods brand(I think it's cheap junk), some effects from Lift Mode and absolute bliss from Doctors best brand.

Ok took 200MG of L Theanine this morning and was talking this army chick and I had this sorta sarcastic witty charm with her.

Still not sure of the effect of this stuff, but it really did help me focus more on studying and quick memory while retaining what I just learned.

Now I'm starting to feel a little irritable of my co workers.

You tossed the liftmode, so which one are you using now?

No decided not toss it just yet, until the Phenibut gets here, but yea like I said this L-Theanine stuff had me really witty and sarcastic to people.
I've been clowning co workers all day. I'm usually a ball buster with the guys, but this stuff makes it so I don't hold anything back.

I also noticed more enthusiasm with every task, I mopped the whole Fire Station training room today and I'm actually motivated to study.

BTW guys I'm mixing this stuff in my the Silver Needle Tea I drink.

[zerocool]

Based on the reviews from this forum and reading external peer-reviewed research I have been taking 400 mg L-Theanine daily for almost two months. One 200 mg pill in the morning after my workout with a few cups of coffee and one 200 mg pill about an hour or two before bed. Taking L-Theanine without coffee produces a lethargic almost indolent state, while combining it with no more than 3 cups of coffee puts me in the right mood. I sip on the coffee over the course of a few hours. The L-Theanine combined with Opti-Zinc at night enables quality sleep. I've also noticed I'm more focused during my workouts, almost like tunnel vision.

Went off the L-Theanine for about a week and noticed that I was mildly scatterbrained and had lack of focus. The L-Theanine I'm taking is from Source Naturals.

[Cr33pin]

Whats the best way to take the powder form? I bought the lift mode brand and its kind of a thick almost sticky powder. It doesn't seem to mix real well in a glass and some stays caked on the sides of the glass after you drink it. It kind of sticks to the little scooper spoon they give you to. I spilled some on a little plate and just ended up licking it off the plate (prally looked like a crack head)

[Moma]

(08-18-2014 04:07 PM)Cr33pin Wrote:  

Whats the best way to take the powder form? I bought the lift mode brand and its kind of a thick almost sticky powder. It doesn't seem to mix real well in a glass and some stays caked on the sides of the glass after you drink it. It kind of sticks to the little scooper spoon they give you to. I spilled some on a little plate and just ended up licking it off the plate (prally looked like a crack head)

I mix it with in a glass of water and it's fine. Maybe try some warm or hot water and keep stirring till it dissolves or the water cools down.

[HonantheBarbarian]

Been taking it for a month so far. 400mg a day.

I honestly don't feel any different. Sometimes my workouts are a bit more focused and intense, but not enough to be noteable. I think I would rather buy something else with my money when it runs out. Like arginine or glutamine. Although they are for completely different purposes the effects are tangible and manifest very quickly.

[BadgerHut]

I've been taking it for like 6 months (saw it I take the NOW brands stuff, 200 or 400mg per day depending on how focused I feel getting out of bed. I tend to drink lots of tea at work so I get the caffeine-theanine combination.

I feel like it's made a real difference. I'm much more focused at work in terms of getting lots of little things done and checked off the to-do list. I am less anxious when confronting people or overcoming procrastination.

I started taking it the same time I got serious about a new workout plan, so I can't attribute it all to the drug. A few months back I added Melatonin to the mix to sleep, it's totally turned my sleep schedule around so I'm really firing on all cylinders now.

[shameus_o'reaaly]

Is there anything I should bear in mind when using this? Dosages, interaction, brands?
I've used two different types of theanine products and had mixed results. My experience hasn't been as amazing as Frost's or Matt Forney's though I would get a window of focus and productivity in the morning when I started taking suntheanine caps
Come midday I felt incredibly tired-could barely keep my eyes open and had to pinch myself to stay awake. This always coincided with taking the suntheanine, so I dropped that and got Smart Caffeine. The window lasted a bit longer, even when I had something fairly boring to do, but in the afternoon I felt exactly the same.
Didn't notice any overall lessening of anxiety, though I only get that in certain situations anyway.
Does anything affect the performance of the "people's stack" or is there something else that might work better?

[HungWeiLo]

I've been using a 3:2 (300mg L-Theanine to 200mg caffeine) dose for a few weeks now (up front a 1:1) and I love it. As long as I have proper sleep, my "window" lasts for most of my work day. Granted, I also take EGCg in the afternoon so that may extend the effect a little bit, but I find I'm immensely more productive and concentrate better than when I don't take it (my supply, both caffeine and L-Theanine are from Prosource which is a great source of all supplements in general)

[Biz]

Buy in bulk. I get all my powders from Powdercity.com They have the best prices per net weight and most potent. They all have lab test results, the L-Theanine is 99.7% pure. I got well over a years supply for $15.

200mg AM - when I'm ready to take off for the day to get my in a calm mood
200mg PM - when I'm winding down for the night

Dosage is approximate since I just take heaping scoops, I don't feel more or less of the effects taking more or less MG.