Regarding initial dose, I don't remember specifically because it was a long time ago, but I probably started with 100mg. It took trial and error to figure out what dose worked well for me. For you, I'd recommend starting at 50mg and gradually increase the dose. You should feel the effects in a short amount of time; I take it before I sleep and by the time I wake up in the morning, I feel the effects. My dose for the first 17 years was around 250mg nightly. My dose nowadays is 150-200mg nightly. Sometimes I'll skip a day or two if I'm feeling great, but sometimes I'll increase the dose gradually (up to my personal max of 400mg) if the usual dose is not working. Once the higher dose becomes too much, I'll go back down to my usual dose. Feel free to msg me with more questions.