I've been taking piracetam for some time. I originally took it without a choline source, which caused mild headaches and brain fog (and I noticed no positive effects from piracetam), after which I added choline bitartrate, which seemed to resolve those issues most of the time (and suddenly, the mild but noticeable effects of piracetam made their appearance), but the headaches and brain fog would recur periodically and I couldn't seem to identify the correct dosage and timing (with meals, sleep, etc) to eradicate the negative symptoms and promote the positive ones. Hence, I moved on to CDP choline, which didn't seem to offer any improvement from choline bitartrate, except that I could take less tablets and achieve the same level of (sporadic) effect. Finally, I arrived at alpha-GPC, which seemed to consistently smooth out any negative effects of piracetam, and allow the positive effects to show through. At this point, I stayed with alpha-GPC + piracetam for some time, and was quite satisfied with the results (improved creativity, markedly improved multi-tasking capability, ease in solving problems that I'd been unable to solve for months or even years prior - "Wait, why don't I just do this instead of that? Problem solved.").
Later, I decided to try aniracetam, as the literature and some anecdotal reports looked promising. I first tried it with piracetam, and noticed that I needed to up my alpha-GPC, or I'd burn through choline and get mild headaches and brain fog again. Once I nailed down a proper dosage, I noticed that aniracetam seemed to negate piracetam's effects, but presented its own interesting effects anyway, so I dropped piracetam for the time being, and lowered my alpha-GPC dose correspondingly. This was great for a boost to single-minded focus, and had the added effect of completely removing any anxiety or concern I might normally run into during the day (later, I discovered that aniracetam is considered an anxiolytic, meaning it reduces anxiety). However, this was not without its side-effects, and it turned out in my case that my anxiety was reduced along with every other emotional response. While using aniracetam, I was quickly bored or even annoyed by the emotional plights of others (apparently frustration was still somewhat intact), and according to friends and family I became somewhat 'dry', though I certainly didn't observe this myself. I think a good comparison would be Spock from Star Trek - all logic, no emotion. This certainly wasn't good for social interaction, which is a huge part of human life, and since I'd also lost the improved creativity and multi-tasking capabilities of piracetam, the single gain of more single-minded concentration wasn't worth the side-effects, so I ended up going back to piracetam, for its subtle yet effective results.
A little later, I tried centrophenoxine, and eventually ended up replacing alpha-GPC with this new supplement. It seemed to provide the same effect as alpha-GPC, with an added mild stimulant effect. It did cause slight nausea for the first few minutes after taking it, but the positive effects were well worth this minor annoyance. After a while, the stimulant effect seemed to build up and affect sleep, and reducing the centrophenoxine enough to minimize the stimulant effect resulted in the normal headache/brain fog effect of reduced choline, so I ended up returning to alpha-GPC after all.
After about six months of taking piracetam and alpha-GPC, I decided to try tapering off and eventually halting all nootropic supplementation. I'd read that piracetam had not only temporary effects, but some permanent effects on neural pathways across the corpus callosum, and I wanted to see how much of the effect was permanent and how much was being caused by continuous supplementation. Once I'd tapered completely off of all supplements, I abstained from taking any of them for six months, to allow for a definite return to normal chemical balance in my brain. I was able to identify a significant decrease in mental capability, however, I've always been quite intelligent, and I was by no means debilitated by this decrease. I did not feel that I was mentally less capable than when I began taking piracetam, and felt in fact that I was considerably more able to focus than I had been in the past. Much of this could have been psychosomatic, or a result of over-analysis - I'm not ignorant of the potential for bias in this way. Overall, I felt a decrease in multi-tasking capability was the most evident effect of halting piracetam supplementation. I resumed my normal regimen (piracetam + alpha-GPC), and noticed an immediate boost back to the level of faculty I'd enjoyed earlier on piracetam, and this effect was retained as long as I kept the doses of both supplements steady.
About three weeks ago, I decided to try oxiracetam, which I'd considered for some time. I would have liked to have taken it by itself, but to observe and isolate proper effects I'd need to abstain from nootropics again for a prolonged period of time, and I was loath to do so. I could also have opted to simply introduce it into my normal regimen of piracetam and alpha-GPC, but I decided to give it a jump-start by replacing alpha-GPC with centrophenoxine for a time (I'd kept some from earlier), and including piracetam.
The first time I took it, within a couple of hours I felt amazing. There was no sense of 'euphoria', like one might get with some of the classic, illegal drugs, and no 'buzz' like one might experience after taking a stimulant, but I felt as if I were operating at perfect efficiency, my mood was great, and I had plenty of energy, a bounce in my step, and a million ideas and thoughts about everything I encountered. Oxiracetam was unlike any of the other nootropic supplements I've tried, in that I could definitively 'feel' the effects, and within hours of the first dose. I stuck with just one capsule (800mg) per day in the mornings for the first few days, coupled with one capsule (800mg) of piracetam and one capsule (500mg) of centrophenoxine (all on an empty stomach immediately after waking up), and this seemed to work fine. I then added a second dose of all three supplements before lunch, on an empty stomach. This produced an even more pronounced effect, with no noticeable side-effects.
An interesting, generally positive (from my point of view) side effect was observed one night when I decided to have a few beers. I don't drink much, and have intentionally abstained from virtually all alcohol for the past year or so, since the general realization that everything I enjoy doing (reading, writing, watching documentaries, studying for work-related exams for career progression, etc) involves using my mind significantly, and thus once I've impaired it even a little, I'm less capable of doing anything I enjoy, and thus get bored and either go to sleep, or sit around doing things I can barely appreciate. This night, I came to the realization that, after four beers, which would usually have an appreciable effect on me (not 'drunk', but certainly comfortably 'buzzed'), I felt zero effect whatsoever. I confirmed this again with wine the next day. After reading around, I believe this can be attributed to oxiracetam's effect of protecting the brain from toxins. Other people have anecdotally mentioned the same effect, although strangely, some people seem to feel MORE intoxicated by alcohol while taking oxiracetam. Perhaps the latter can be attributed to drinking while oxiracetam is still operating but almost effectively diminished, followed by oxiracetam's efficacy decreasing after several hours, during which more alcohol is consumed, which remains in the bloodstream and has the perceived effect of 'hitting all at once'...but this is just my conjecture.
About 1.5 weeks in (1.5 weeks ago), circumstances of work, home, family, and so forth coincided to deprive me of sleep to a fairly severe degree (something like 4 hours of sleep per night for several nights in a row), and I noticed, only twice, a strange side effect, presumably from the oxiracetam (I'd been deprived of sleep before when using piracetam and centrophenoxine, and never noticed any ill effects). I can only describe this side effect as an extremely brief period (three seconds at most) of 'lost time'. I was out with my wife, as a female friend of hers had come to town to visit, and she was alternately chatting with me at the bar and dancing with her friend. I was not drinking any alcohol this night, as I was the designated driver (and as noted, I don't drink very often anyway). One of the times she dropped by to chat with me for a few minutes, she gave me a quick kiss and headed back out to the dance floor - only, she didn't head out to the dance floor, so far as I perceived...she simply gave me a kiss, then suddenly WAS on the dance floor. Judging by the fact that she had just started to dance with her friend, and that the dance floor was just next to the bar, I determined that the approximate time I'd 'lost' was about two seconds at most. At first I suspected I might have just imagined the effect due to lack of sleep, but it occured again when we were walking out of the bar. One instant, we were heading toward the door to leave the building, and the next instant we were outside about ten feet from the door - again, about two, perhaps three seconds at most. This did not recur again, and has not recurred since, but it is certainly not the kind of thing one wants happening regularly. My only (weak) hypothesis at this point is that when the brain is affected by oxiracetam, it is handling more data at a more detailed level of operation than usual, and if this is compounded by a severe lack of sleep, there are moments in which the brain simply cannot process all of the data it's already taken in along with all the data that is constantly coming in, so it makes a decision to ignore all incoming data for a brief moment while it catches up with the data it's already accepted. Any thoughts would be appreciated. In the meantime, I'll make sure not to take oxiracetam if I'm going to be severely deprived of sleep
Finally, I've started to feel sleepy (not foggy, nor physically tired, but sleepy - as in, a pleasant, but unwanted, desire to lie down and go to sleep) toward the end of the day, despite the fact that I have been getting adequate sleep for several days since the incident mentioned above, and despite the fact that my mornings and early afternoons are still wonderfully enhanced via the same effects I experienced when I began taking oxiracetam. I believe this is probably just a side-effect of long-term use of centrophenoxine (a similar effect occurred last time I used it, as I mentioned above), but strangely I don't have a mentally burned-out feeling...just a sleepy feeling. I've read here and there that oxiracetam causes drowsiness in some people, which is why I mentioned this effect (and also, because if I swap centrophenoxine with alpha-GPC again and the effect disappears, I'd like to log that for the benefit of others).
Today, I decided to see what would happen if I took a third dose of centrophenoxine at about 3PM, and this did seem to increase my alertness again, but I assume this will result in me being even more tired later, as that is the general pattern of stimulants...and I doubt this is a case of more choline being required. I'll report back tomorrow or the next day, as time permits, with updates. Questions and comments would be appreciated.
