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A Very Sober Stimulant
Methiopropamine
by AR
Citation:   AR. "A Very Sober Stimulant: An Experience with Methiopropamine (exp93121)". Erowid.org. Jan 2, 2012. erowid.org/exp/93121

 
DOSE:
  repeated insufflated Methiopropamine (powder / crystals)
BODY WEIGHT: 80 kg
This is a report of two different occasions using MPA, or Methiopropamine; the first can be seen as background and context for using the drug together with the first account of my initial experience snorting the drug. The second is a more reflective description of the drug in general and an experience of the same drug but in a different set and setting.

*First experience*

Who, how, why?
I should note as some background that cocaine is my recreational stimulant of choice but I do have some experience with amphetamine (the 'street speed' type), MDMA, methylphenidate and modafinil stimulant-wise. Other perhaps useful info; male, 25, about 80kg and in good health to the best of my knowledge.

I landed on MPA because I had begun looking into a functional stimulant that might be taken while doing work, but found methylphenidate and modafinil not quite cutting it. Methylphenidate initially appeared promising but I noted some big drawbacks (physical discomfort at effective dosages, not actually thinking clearer but rather just experiencing a relatively short spike in energy). Modafinil, though obviously a very different type of drug, did have a surprisingly stimulating effect on me, but also made my thinking less clear. I also didn't particularly enjoy the complete appetite suppression.

Not being able to acquire any high-quality dextroamphetamines or fancier meds like Adderall I gave up looking for a functional stimulant until I landed on some of the newer research chemicals; initially I was looking at RC's for something of a synthetic cocaine replacement for recreational purposes, but found most available stimulant RC's were relatively poor MDMA analogs, in which I have no interest at all.

Reporting the first experience
MPA seemed worth a try though, allegedly being a methamphetamine analog of sorts, and after some research I decided to get some. Reports indicated good stimulating effects and also bone-chilling health warnings, so I tried to be very careful testing it out. The afternoon it came in, I decided to give it a go right after work. Trying to go about it somewhat responsibly I intended to carefully log and weigh every dose and its effects. Here is what I documented the first 4 hours or so;
---
17:00 - 5mg snorted 'allergy test'

17:10 - Feeling nothing untoward, an additional approx 30mg snorted. It produced a brief irritation but quickly subsided and was nothing close to painful. However, being an experienced 'snorter' of sorts I may not experience the burn as intensely as some others seem to report.

17:14 - Slight nasal drip noted.

17:37 - There being no apparent effects, I decide to take another 35mg as I am quite eager to see what MPA is about.

17:45 - Increased alertness and perception were noted while slightly leaning over my balcony smoking a cigarette. Looking at the view, everything seemed more vivid and I felt an increased perception of traffic, pedestrians, etc.

18:00 - Noted sudden 'need' to organize; desk, clothing, apartment; a typical amphetamine effect. Since I haven't eaten since lunch, I eat a meal salad out of actual hunger; this would be quite impossible on regular amphetamines.

18:41 - Finished meal.. Noticed i bit my lip a few times.. Bruxism perhaps? Increased focus and very talkative, but definitely not euphoric. Also a continued strong perception of a 'need' to do something.

18:46 - Not sure if this was the plateau of the drug's effects, I added another 30mg, will wait for for 30 mins now, see if effects increase.

19:10 - Remarkably increased energy, focus, chattiness, and indeed no euphoria. Thinking is _much_ clearer and effective at this point, any mental fogginess is lifted. Also no adverse effects noted as of yet.

19:38 - Continued pronounced effect on energy and focus.. No ill effects.. Again wondering if this is the peak of the experience, I take an additional 20mg.

20:30 - Strong effects, added 20mg. Scale seems unreliable. Again, no euphoria, just pronounced focus and energy.

21:14 - Baggie (with contents) now weighs in at 1,36. This is down from 1,75. Suspect scale is somewhat unreliable, indicated dosages may therefore be inaccurate. I feel comfortable enough eyeballing the dosages from now on, as I felt no adverse effects and the lines simply resemble modest cocaine ones, the main difference being that MPA has a slightly fluffy quality to it, so when cutting lines it tends to clot together. Observed similar structural qualities in regular amphetamine powders.
---

This was the last entry I logged that evening. The experience continued well into the night, and I would re-dose roughly every hour. I kept feeling energized and continued to work and chat at my computer. I tried to do some reading and found it incredibly easy to stay focused. I noted that performing mundane organizational tasks I would normally be too lazy for felt like no big effort and gladly did those (anything from uploading documents and pictures from my phone onto Dropbox to putting out my garbage).

I would like to impart to everyone here that at _no point_ between 1700 and approximately 2:30 AM when I decided to call it a night did I feel any kind of tachycardia, palpitations or other frightening cardiovascular symptoms. I'm sure both blood pressure and pulse were elevated, but nothing I wouldn't expect from say, a bit of cocaine.

This was a big relief since I read some very troubling experiences of people stating they freaked out and felt like they were about to have heart attacks; I'm not sure whether to conclude I underdosed, simply didn't notice an almost fatal heart attack or that some other experimenting users are a bit overly anxious when it comes to measuring BP and heart rate during these experiences.
In any case, I felt no such symptoms.

A mild headache set in around 1 AM which I realized was due to dehydration. This was quickly alleviated with a bottle of Evian and some aspirin.

At 2:30 AM I took 20mg of Valium (which is not much for me since I have quite a benzo tolerance) when I decided it made no sense to keep going since the energetic effects were no longer translating into (at least perceived) increased mental capabilities. Did not really get much real sleep; I could have added some xanax and klonopin but as I had to show up for one meeting at work in the morning, I was intent on just trying to get some light rest and see if I could 'keep on truckin' into the next day.

A little rest and the binge
From 3 to 7 I was in a state of semi-sleep, but really I felt like i was literally just resting my eyes. No strange dreams or hallucinations (as can occur with MDMA) were noted. A train of thought about tomorrow's meeting kept thundering through my mind, but didn't really bother me. I did not at all feel 'down' or depressed as the conclusion of a cocaine experience can sometimes leave you.

When my alarm went off at 7 AM, I simply got up, feeling pretty groggy, and as I stepped into the shower considered how much MPA I would take before heading off to work.. And how to take some with me in case I felt the need for a booster. I ended up snorting about 40mg and taking what seemed like the same dosage with me in a snowseal. The 40mg got me pretty much to normal along with my morning coffee and my commute to work (subway ride) felt normal, although I could feel being somewhat 'depleted', but certainly not in any kind of post-MDMA or amphetamine way. If I had slept longer, I dare say I would have felt damn near fine.

Work was uneventful; there was no paranoia and I could function just fine (certainly not on par with normal performance, but considering the binge, surprisingly normal). I did not end up taking the MPA I brought in with me, but just took a few 10mg Valiums during the day as I did feel a bit frazzled around noon which was alleviated with the benzo's and some nice coffee. I stuck around for the Friday afternoon drinks at the office for a little while, but returned home at about six, when after having some dinner, I immediately decided to get another night of MPA in and dosed up something that looked between 40-50mg. In addition to that, I decided to parachute roughly the same dose.

I continued buzzing along feeling sober and alert, but nowhere near the powerful feeling of mental clarity I had experienced the night before. Not having to work the next day, I kept on dosing, no idea how many times exactly, but remember going to sleep around 10 AM. Again, no feelings of impending heart attacks were experienced; just the to be expected overstretched muscles from sitting in one position for too many hours; just remembering to stretch every now and again helps a lot.

At 17:00 on Saturday evening I woke up, feeling a bit dehydrated but other than that reasonably rested. At this point the baggie weighed in at about 0,8 grams, and as I poured the remaining MPA out it looked like enough for about 3 to 4 good dosages. As I expected, these yielded little more than a slight increase in energy but largely unsupported by any mental clarity, whichever substance of my brain MPA affects, now having been pretty much drained. Still managed to carry on until about 4 AM, then had some Valium and slept until about noon on Sunday.

Conclusion and follow-up
The binge was consciously intended to be one, as a type of experiment I suppose, but aside from the effects that were caused by the prolonged usage I can safely say MPA is a very useful substance when you are looking to get some work done and need that little mental and energetic edge. When used in moderation, it seemed to be quite benign, in no way draining you like amphetamines or MDMA would. It should be noted that as most reports indicate, MPA taken alone will at no dosage induce euphoria.

To follow up on my first experience, I did not notice any noteworthy 'dip' in the days after use, even though I had been on quite a binge. It doesn't seem to drain too much of anything, hence the rather dissatisfactory experiences for euphoria seekers. I would consider it most akin to methylphenidate as far as negative aftereffects go. I do as always with stims have some kind of benzodiazepine handy for whenever I feel like calling it a day as you still transition from something of a buzzed mind back to baseline, which is rarely entirely comfortable with stimulants.



*Second experience*

New setting, same drug, different experience
Having decided that MPA most definitely had potential, I resolved to give it another try, this time in a more ‘clean’ way, dosing only once. As I found MPA to have potent functional stimulating effects, I decided to try it out at work.

Taking roughly 70-80mg (the slight inaccuracy of my scale did not bother me at this point as I had been eyeballing doses throughout my first experience, finding no dramatic differences in taking 10mgs more or less), this time ingesting the drug in capsules for optimal absorption through digestion, I intended to put the drug to the test for its functional properties.

Stimulant-assisted work stream
I dosed at about 8 AM before work, and had an extremely productive morning during which I found myself energized, working more diligently (getting everything 'as good as I can make it', but certainly not in an obsessing over details kind of way) and also felt MPA adding to my mind's general dedication to the particular project I was working on, not wandering off or getting distracted. I noted increased manifestation of new ideas, thinking of possible issues to be raised, meetings to schedule, and so forth.

Note: I later, that is to say sober, went over the work I produced during that particular session and it in no way seemed erroneous or otherwise unusual. It did seem slightly more vividly articulated and with some more emphatic overtones than usual.

A not unwelcome ‘side-effect’
Reflecting more generally on my performance that particular day, I feel I may have acted slightly out of character at times in social conversations. Generally not being a fan of small talk and normally avoiding it if possible, during the experience I would indulge co-workers in casual conversation, commenting with wit and some thoughtfulness, though nothing out of the ordinary or inappropriate. I would chalk that up to simply perceiving what is normally inane chitchat (which is ‘bad and to be avoided’) as valid conversation that demanded reasoned responses, as at no time did I actually feel increased empathy; it simply felt like 'doing business'. Chit-chat completed? Back to the order of the day!

A sober stimulant
And this is what MPA seems to be about; strictly business. When snorted, as during my first experience, it can provoke fiending, especially in say, habitual cocaine users, causing you to take more and more looking for a high or euphoria that simply will not come (as many MPA users have described).

I'm guessing the neurochemistry behind this is that MPA will simply not trigger the release or reuptake inhibition of serotonin or dopamine, causing me to speculate it prompts the release of norepinephrine; this would account for some of the classic speed-like effects in drive and focus, explain the lack of euphoria and perhaps even the reported cardiovascular effects like high BP.. But this is of course completely theoretical and not likely to be scientifically substantiated any time soon.

I will conclude by saying that MPA is strictly functional in nature, and when controlled doses are taken produces little negative side-effects. I will remark it should not be snorted, I strongly recommend using capsules (have not tried other MOA). Effects will manifest within an hour or so, reaching a plateau at T+2, which at T+4 is followed by a comedown of sorts, making the whole experience of one dose stretch to about 5-6 hours total.

For me it won't become a drug to habitually use as it obviously 'does something' to my brain and whatever that is can't be good when done too often. Personally I would pull out MPA when in need of some drive or inspiration to do work on a personal project or task, as for this it seems to give good bang for the buck in desired 'sober' stimulation and little unwanted side-effects.

If you are looking for a high or euphoria of any kind, MPA will not offer any, regardless of dosage. Even though you may strongly suspect another dose might just put you in the place where you want to be, you’ll find MPA to rigidly remain a ‘sober’ stimulant.

Exp Year: 2011ExpID: 93121
Gender: Male 
Age at time of experience: 25
Published: Jan 2, 2012Views: 50,515
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Methiopropamine (545) : Performance Enhancement (50), First Times (2), General (1), Alone (16)

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