4 replies to this topic

[Idaho]

Hi Everyone,

This is my first post here and I'm going to provide a bit of information to preface my question. I'm a 22 year old male and I have very poor short term memory. I've been taking Piracetam for the past 6 months in doses of 800mg, twice a day. I've also been supplementing with a source of Choline. I'm beginning to seriously doubt Piracetam's efficacy for me, having noticed no tangible improvement to my short term memory or any other mental faculty. I have no doubt that Piracetam is an extremely useful supplement for the individuals it works for.

Having said that, my question is this: is Deprenyl worth trying? To be more specific, is Deprenyl worth trying for a person looking to improve their memory? Any additional improvements to my mental faculty would of course be welcome.

I've been reading as much as I can digest regarding Deprenyl, both on these forums and others, and saying that I've read numerous contradictions and polarized opinions would be an understatement.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated, even relating to other supplements and pharmaceuticals which may be of value to me.

Cheers!

[rabagley]

I'm a 22 year old male and I have very poor short term memory.

If you're looking for a lasting effect, you'll need to be "exercising" your brain using tasks to test and push your short-term memory. Piracetam taken with a choline source (as you're doing) is documented to provide a measurable effect, but the pill isn't going to be enough to change night into day. You'll need to be pushing your brain to accomplish difficult but not too frustrating tasks over a long period of time before you'd ever notice a significant effect. The pills may help that process along, but you'll have to decide if the effect you can detect (if any) is worth the cost.

Also, you might want to look into acetylcholinesterase inhibitors for medium-term improvement of short-term memory. OTC you can get huperzine-A, and by prescription you can get Aricept (donepezil). Be careful trying to use these for any length of time, but over a four week period, there have been studied improvements in conversion of short-term training to long-term memory, even among healthy people (it's a rare study that tested for positive effects of a drug on healthy people).

[mystery]

I also have poor short/long term memory formation, learning, memory recall speed, and thinking/problem solving speed, in additoin to possible focus problems. I have experienced no desirable benefits from piracetam, but I'll continue to evaluate it in combination with different supplements.

I agree with rabagley. Do some experementing with different choline sources. I found that Huperzine A with Alpha GPC were effective in bosting ACH, while Choline Bitartrate and CDP choline were not that effective for me. I also had unique side effects to all of these, with alpha GPC being the most tolerable (when taken separate from hup. A). I had good results short term while combining Alpha GPC with Huperzine, but I think I went too far and took too much Huperzine resulting in insomnia. I'd recommend a cautious approach if you plan to use both of these. Also, even small amounts of huperzine taken regulary seem to have a compounding effect for me.

I noticed a considerable boost in thinking speed, memory recall, and alertness with huperzine. I also noticed more motivation, and ease of muscle movement with possibly more dexteriety. Once on 100 mcg of huperzine and 300 mg of Alpha GPC I noticed an amazing boost in brain processing speed, but judgement was compromised and I felt anxious. Learning, memory formation, and focus may have been improved, but due to the adverse effect on sleep, these soon declined to where the huperzine was having a negative impact.

On a positive note, I was able to counteract most of the side effects with Acetyl l-carnitine and alpha lipoic acid, but I'll need to experment further to see if the effect is sustainable. The side effects were sleep problems, appetite supression, less enjoyment out of anything, and negative impact on learning and focus. After a moderate dose of acetyl l-carnitine and lipolic acid all of these these quickly returned to normal.

I plan to try deprenyl. There are a few pubmed abstracts supporting its use for ADHD.

I notice mild cognitive enhancement with a portion of a multi vitamin/mineral tablet, regular exercise, and plenty of sleep, and more frequent meals. A good source of omega 3 is also a passive way to potential improve cognitive function slightly over time. I think nootropics and supplements can increase the demand for nutrition, sleep, and possibly exercise (mental and physical). These basics are the best place to start, and offer the most sustaining and healthy benefits. Nootropics, supplements, herbs, mega doses of micronutrients (vitamins/minerals), and especially pharmaceuticals all impact your natural balance systems. I experience unwanted side effects on almost all of these. The idea is if I experement enough, I'll find a way to beneficially tweak my system. But I'm playing with a delicate system, and on top of that I don't have enough information to accurately project what will potentially help me. Our technology to gain information about an individual's physiological system and how it will react just plain sucks now, making this a slow process.

Edited by mystery, 28 January 2008 - 06:48 PM.

[nightlight]

This is my first post here and I'm going to provide a bit of information to preface my question. I'm a 22 year old male and I have very poor short term memory.

In my experience with nootropics over the past year, the combo of Huperzine-A (2x50 mcg/day) plus ALCAR (2x500mg/day) along with fish oil (4g/day), had quite noticable positive impact on my working/stm memory and mental energy. My father in law, who had debilitating memory and muscle problems due to statin use (he was at the point where he couldn't drive a car, shop or balance his checkbook at the age ~ 75), cleared up completely these problems with 2x200mcg Huperzine + 2x1000mg ALCAR + 2x300mg ALA + 500 mg CoQ10 + 6g fish oil per day (and of course, he quit statins cold turkey after I printed for him some articles about statins and suggested nootropics).

[rabagley]

(and of course, he quit statins cold turkey after I printed for him some articles about statins and suggested nootropics).

Good for him. Probably the best thing for his health. The best thing about the newer statin drugs is that they don't seem to kill more of the study participants than sugar pill! That's what big pharma calls progress!

I'm still trying to talk my mom away from the rather dangerous statin dose she's taking, but she thinks her doctor knows more than she can learn from reading studies. I haven't even managed to convince her to supplement CoQ10, despite repeatedly explaining how statins also shut down CoQ10 production the same way they shut down LDL production (and how low CoQ10 could explain her occasional numbness, increased anxiety, increase in memory loss, etc.)

*sigh* I'm really worried about my mom, and really pissed off at her doctor.