Good article, though a little optimistic about Galantamine, nevertheless I’ve had success with it myself.
I took 8 mg every Friday night for 6 months or so. In conjunction with WBTB and SSILD I achieved regular lucidity and my dreams were super vivid. The lucidity was sometimes a bit frenetic but that made me work a bit harder on dream control. The idea of that program was to train my brain to lucidity.
I stopped that a few months ago. Now my conscious awareness in the dream is much more natural feeling and it comes along without a lot of extraneous classic lucidity technique. I work instead with the more subtle dream yoga protocols. It feels like there is a level of conscious awareness almost all the time now…with a bit of extra effort between sleep and dream it gets more pronounced. That is what I was aiming for.
I went back to the galantamine a few weeks back and it was a wild ride. 
Interesting article. Galantamine is not over-the-counter where I live, so I never had any experience with it.
They seem to use also the 4,5h window (3x 90 min cycle).
I wonder how that would have compared to the 6h window (4x 90 min cycle) in terms of length and vividness of LD.
I never go for the 4,5h window, since I am too tired the next day, but rather for the 6h window.
What are your experiences in terms of time windows?
I get up at 5:00 AM every day…so I’m in bed early. My optimal window is always around 2:00.
My sleep cycle is pretty well established but it is an odd one. It really consists of four naturally occurring 2-hour cycles. I wake up naturally and often journal at the end of each cycle. At the end of my third cycle I always do a WBTB for nocturnal meditation. That would be when I would take the galantamine.
I usually get up at 8-9AM so I take Galantamine usually around 4-5AM, but the initial sleep time can vary by an hour or two. Galantamine in the US is over the counter (Amazon) and is also paid for by Medicare—so I now get 8MG tablets prescribed.
6 h window is fine as long as you can fall back asleep. You do have one less REM period to work with compared to the 4.5 h interruption though.
The key is being able to fall back asleep with Galantamine. If you’re a light sleeper, as I am, it’s always the first thing I assess before taking it.
Other factors for me include the sleep and dream history of that night.
If I have planned to take it in front of my third cycle and I wake up from a strong and seriously clear dream in my second cycle I tend to re-think that plan.
If I wake up from that second cycle feeling fresh and somewhat rested from a deep sleep…I know I am good to go.
@kristenlamarca Thank you, your comment actually got me rethinking… For some reason my last couple WBTB at the 6h window did not work out so well. Perhaps it also had to do with changing bed times.
I’ll actually retry the 4,5h window on the weekend.
Actually, I had been going to sleep 12-12:30, even 1, so 5-6 would be closer to 4.5 hrs. Last night went to sleep at 10:30 and took Galantamine at about 3:AM with great results.
You can buy Galantamine on Amazon.
I’ve tried several brands of Galantamine. The one below seems to work best for me. Andrew has also positive things to say about this one:
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SHARING THAT
I have literally been hoping that someone would give a trusted brand name for this suppliment, i have heard that many of the brands on Amazon are unreliable.
I have never tried this, but really excited to. I was waiting to pull the trigger, and I really appreciate you posting a brand that has good ethos.
At one retreat Andrew gave these (4mg) to participants. I usually go for a double and the generic ones I receive from Medicare are 8mg, I find they help me to remember and I can lucid if all things line up correctly unless insomnia issues or aches and pains bog me down. Best to take after 3-4 hours of sleep and drink a half a glass of water or more.
i have a hard time going back to sleep after waking, will you still get a similar effect if taken right before bed, or is the success rate much less like 5%?
The Wake back to Bed technique I have read about for about a year now, but have been very hesitant to try it, due to my inability to get back to sleep.
You have to be reasonably sure you are tired enough to get back to sleep. For me, that’s something I try to recognize before taking Galantamine when I get back to bed. Only rarely I can’t resume sleeping, usually if it is less than two hours before normally waking up. You have to learn to ride your rhythms and make changes when you find something (tea, CBD, aromatherapy . . . ) that helps you get back to sleep.
Very good point.
"You have to learn to ride your rhythms and make changes when you find something (tea, CBD, aromatherapy "
You are not a mind reader are you? Lol .I was actually going to go and buy some CBD yesterday for the first time! Its been on my bucket list for years to try, and I never did. Have you had success with it in getting to sleep, relaxing, and or getting back to sleep?
What is the best brand, best quality product you have found?
Today I bought the Galantamine brand you recommended, it should arrive in a few days, really excited to try it. THANK YOU
For CBD, it’s like the wild west, or Galantamine, with wide open options and little quality control. I’ve tried a lot of brands but the one that did it for me was made by—of all people—Tommy Chong (remember Cheech and Chong?). The Sleep version works for me to get to sleep, usually, but nothing ever works all night, so i get up maybe 3-4 times a night naturally, hit the head, then WBTB. My arthritic neck is also one intention away from self-healing, something that I’ve been trying for a while. Hope this helps.
Will look for that brand and see if its in the area. Thank you.
I did not realize that quality control was such a big issue for CBD products.