Semax non-responder fix: switching to subQ

Selenium

Selenium

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Something quite interesting turned up. Semax and selank did nothing for me, and I took them intranasally since that route gets recommended almost universally as the optimal one. I'm not saying it doesn't work for plenty of others — but in my case it never did, and both delivery factors and individual biology can interfere.

Digging into it, I found that aminopeptidase enzymes in the nasal cavity degrade it extremely fast, so frequently just a minuscule quantity gets through beforehand — the study measured a mere 0.093% and merely 80% of that remains intact Semax. Within minutes nasally, Semax gets cleaved into PGP (a tripeptide metabolite).

excerpt from https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16523722/ :

It was demonstrated that 0.093% of the total introduced radioactivity per gram can be found in the rat brain 2 min after the administration, 80% of this radioactivity belonged to Semax, and the rest, to its metabolites. The peptide undergoes rapid enzymatic degradation

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So I switched to pinning semax subq, and results are actually showing up now! Sure, crossing the blood brain barrier is an obstacle, but it appears to be a smaller obstacle than whatever my nose was doing.

Figured I'd pass along this research in case anyone's curious — if intranasal gives you nothing, give subq a shot. Worth noting the NA (amidated) semax versions resist breakdown better, so they likely don't share this issue (mine is plain semax).

Selank appears to degrade along similar lines according to studies:



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[Evenly tritium-labeled peptides and their in vivo and in vitro biodegradation] - PubMed



Biologically active peptides evenly labeled with tritium were used for studying the in vitro and in vivo biodegradation of the peptides. Tritium-labeled peptides with a specific radioactivity of 50-150 Ci/mmol were obtained by high temperature solid phase catalytic isotope exchange (HSCIE) with...

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pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
 
OMG, reading that article left me totally confused. The very first thing I did was search for what tritium means. All I actually wanted was information on dosing. Semax and Selank are both simple to administer through the nose, but I'd be open to giving injection a try.
 
If nasal use is effective in your case, then sticking with that route likely makes more sense, if only because it's easier. As for me, I injected 0.25mg a few times per day, and I'll keep experimenting with other doses to figure out which one gives the best results.

(The main takeaway is already captured in the first paper's summary, so the only reason I added the second one was because selank came up in it.)
 
Semax doesn't do much for me...a brief, mildly nice lift that fades quickly. I've tried both Snoot and SQ, and the results feel pretty much identical either way...

Salank affects me more strongly...I prefer SQ in the evening...and Snoot during the daytime. Quite relaxing...
 
Right now I inject 500 mcg of Semax along with 250 mcg of Selank, and honestly it feels fairly nice. Once I began using the two, I managed to kick my Energy Drink habit. That said, I just placed an order for Adamax, hoping it can take Semax's place. The idea is that it delivers a bigger energy boost and a stronger nootropic punch. Some users do report it being too stimulating, though. We'll find out....
 
Kyli said:

Right now I inject 500 mcg of Semax along with 250 mcg of Selank, and honestly it feels fairly nice. Once I began using the two, I managed to kick my Energy Drink habit. That said, I just placed an order for Adamax, hoping it can take Semax's place. The idea is that it delivers a bigger energy boost and a stronger nootropic punch. Some users do report it being too stimulating, though. We'll find out....
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Please share your experience with Adamax once you've tested it. I'm interested in trying it too.
 
Lovedog100 said:

Kyli said:

Right now I inject 500 mcg of Semax along with 250 mcg of Selank, and honestly it feels fairly nice. Once I began using the two, I managed to kick my Energy Drink habit. That said, I just placed an order for Adamax, hoping it can take Semax's place. The idea is that it delivers a bigger energy boost and a stronger nootropic punch. Some users do report it being too stimulating, though. We'll find out....
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Please share your experience with Adamax once you've tested it. I'm interested in trying it too.
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I'll give that a shot. Delivery should take roughly 20 Days. Until then, I'm continuing with Semax and Selank. Something else worth mentioning: using both of those peptides brought my Anxiety under control. So now I overthink situations 1.000 Times more at night. Yet at the same time, there's sharpness.

I've also experimented with other substances, such as Vigil / Modafinil. Back in college, that was the go-to brain enhancement drug for me. But the last time I took it before a presentation, things went really badly. I began to swat and couldn't think clearly. My BP felt like it was near a volcano eruption.

We'll see how Adamax turns out.
 
NA Semax hasn't worked for me at all. I've used it intranasally at doses reaching 600mcg, plus 1mg injected subcutaneously. No effects whatsoever.
 
With NA Semax, I’ve only used SQ, and the effects were pretty minimal for me. NA Selank gave me a bit more, though still not enough to justify sticking with it. I continued increasing the dose, expecting a stronger response.
 
miameow said:

With NA Semax, I’ve only used SQ, and the effects were pretty minimal for me. NA Selank gave me a bit more, though still not enough to justify sticking with it. I continued increasing the dose, expecting a stronger response.
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For me, 1 mg is the dose I take with either route—IN or SQ—and that's where it works best. Should 1 mg produce nothing, then you're probably among those who simply don't respond, which happens for some proportion of users.
 
Chili777 said:

miameow said:

With NA Semax, I’ve only used SQ, and the effects were pretty minimal for me. NA Selank gave me a bit more, though still not enough to justify sticking with it. I continued increasing the dose, expecting a stronger response.
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For me, 1 mg is the dose I take with either route—IN or SQ—and that's where it works best. Should 1 mg produce nothing, then you're probably among those who simply don't respond, which happens for some proportion of users.
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Checking my own records, the highest I reached was 1.2mg - so it seems I fall into the non-responder category.
 
One week of subQ so far — 5 days at .5mg, then 2 days at 1mg. Nothing noticeable yet, and nasal might be worth a try before I call it quits.
 
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