Okay, today marks the end of my first box of Trubrain. I know I said when I first started Trying Trubrain that I would write an update after the first 10 days, but I’m sorry that I didn’t get around to it, but I’ve been busy. I have to admit that I didn’t last long in my original plan to cut out all caffeine while taking Trubrain. I tried to the first couple of days, but it happened to be exceptionally busy at work, and I just wasn’t feeling any extra energy from the Trubrain, and I’d start getting tired late in the afternoon, while I still had a lot to do. So I’d start popping in caffeine pills again. I have gone 6 days altogether where I skipped caffeine, but every other day I still took at least 1, sometimes 2, caffeine pills, along with my Trubrain packs. But I have talked a couple of times to this one man, Tomás Ferrari via Facebook. He is listed on the Trubrain website as their product manager. And I mentioned how I still felt the need for caffeine during the day, even while taking TruBrain, and he said:

“The ingredients in truBrain are not meant to replace caffeine if you use and enjoy it, but to remove the over-reliance on it, e.g. for your 3rd or 4th cup that day. Many ingredients in truBrain should also improve the effects of caffeine. L-Theanine and Magnesium both work to buffer overstimulating effects of caffeine, and may make heavy coffee use smoother and more focused, and reduce the “drop off” from each cup, while the L-Tyrosine and ALCAR should enhance caffeine’s energy providing effects.”

So, there you go. Now I’ve been taking 1 caffeine pill in the morning with my AM pack, which I’ve been taking most days sometime between 6am-7am, depending on when I wake up and get out of bed, because I always take the pack as soon as I get up. And then sometimes I’ll take another caffeine pill when I take the PM pack, which is pretty much always at 1pm, right after lunch. I think there was one Sunday that I ate lunch later, around 2pm, so that’s when I took the PM pack of TruBrain.

As for effects, well, that’s hard to say. I actually have been getting some more writing done (just not in this blog, obviously, but other writing). Not as much as I’d like, but much more than I’d been doing lately before this. Is that thanks to the TruBrain? Could be. Of course, I also have been starting, slowly but surely, to work out a little again in the mornings. I have allowed myself to get out of shape, and need to get back into it now. I cut out all sodas, and most junk food (other than the occasional pop tarts), and am drinking a lot more orange juice and water. I need to work on my cardio, get my heart pumping more. I also need to lose weight (I’m noticing a double chin creeping up on me, I don’t want that). So my efforts in physical fitness may be a factor too. I haven’t taken any of the extra Turbo Boost pills yet, I’ve been saving those.

I did end up buying another box of Trubrain. I wanted to try to this stuff for at least a full month, 30 days. Since each box comes with enough for 20 days, this will now be 40 days of regular use by the time I’d done with box #2. Let me be clear, THIS IS NOT AN ENDORSEMENT OF TRUBRAIN, YET. Don’t take the fact that I’ve now bought two boxes, for a total of $250 ($125 per box, that includes shipping), as proof from me that it works. This could very well end up being a huge waste of money. But after what I went through with Excelerol, I just really want to be as thorough as possible when it comes to evaluating this stuff. So when I’m done, and I give a YAY or NAY, you’ll know it’s an informed opinion. Although frankly, considering that it does cost $125 for one box, it’s probably not a good sign that I can’t recommend it yet. For that much money, I should be positive exactly how much it’s helping me within a few days of taking it. I mean, not to prejudice my final decision, but even if I do end up feeling like there was some benefit to taking this, I’m not sure that the price will be worth it. It’s a lot of money.

So the first thing I’d recommend to the makers is to drop the price and/or increase the quantity of the box. They only give you a 20-day supply, which is supposed to be enough for a “work month”, 5 days a week, but what about people, like me, who are also looking for extra brain clarity on weekends? I’d say that one box should have a full 30-day supply. And I’d still drop this price, to less than $100, to make it more affordable. They offer a discount with subscription, but that shouldn’t be necessary.

Well, I’ve got 20 more days, so we’ll see how this works out. Stay tuned.