In countries where it’s easier to get hold of more exotic smart drugs, students are these days taking everything under the sun to try and keep themselves awake while they do their coursework/cram for exams. In places where things like Provigil and Piracetam are a little harder to come by though, the most popular option has long been a more basic supplement called ‘Pro Plus’. It’s pretty much everywhere and it’s very popular… but does it work and is it worth taking?
What’s in a Pro Plus?
Essentially a Pro Plus tablet contains mainly just the one active ingredient – that being our old friend caffeine which is also the way that tea and coffee get their kick. Pro Plus contains no more caffeine than your average cup-of-Joe with roughly 50mg per tablet versus 95mg for your average cup of coffee. The back of the box recommends using up to two tablets at a time giving you very close to the same amount of energy for a single portion. The box also recommends taking no more than eight tablets per day, which would give you around 400mg total if you wanted to really go at it.
There is a caveat to bear in mind though, that being the fact that most people using Pro Plus will probably also be drinking coffee throughout the day. If you pop two Pro Plus pills and then drink a cup of coffee, then in total you’ve just had a shot of around 200mg of caffeine into your system.
Does it Work?
So that should tell you everything you need to know about Pro Plus in theory, the remaining question then is whether or not it works…
And to that I can say… Not particularly…
The first time I ever had a Pro Plus was back when I still only drank tea – which contains roughly 11mg of caffeine. At that time then, 100mg in one go was a big jump and I felt pretty shaky and switched on.
These days I am a regular of Starbucks, Costa and the various other coffee establishments in the area. On any given day I’ll probably drink two cups of coffee and three or four cups of tea. For me then, a Pro Plus is really going to make… no difference whatsoever.
Having two Pro Plus with a coffee at the same time is still almost 200mg of caffeine which is still a lot, but really it’s not enough to make that much of a difference – it just makes me feel a little shaky.
Bearing in mind that coffee is also much nicer and more enjoyable, and that Pro Plus is even more of a diuretic thanks to the sorbitol content… I’d really recommend saving yourself the money and disappointment and instead sticking with good old fashioned coffee.