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[NootFan10]

This is my first post on this forum, although I have read TONS of posts ("long-time listener, first-time caller" sort of deal). First off, I want to thank everyone who has posted their experiences, research, etc. Your information helps many people, like myself, make much better informed decisions with nootropics.

That being said, I would like some "critic" on my current stack, as well as possible additions that I have ordered.

Background: 23 year old white male, full-time college student (accounting - I'm going to be a bean counter!), no past drug abuse, 180-200 lbs (fluctuates), 6', fairly heavy caffeine user (around 400-600 mg daily). I have been a regular user of piracetam and choline (recently alpha GPC) since I was 19. I have tried oxiracetam and aniracetam, but have not had much success with them - this may be because I take them in low doses, usually once or maybe twice daily. I find piracetam to be a good cost/benefit fit for me. I am looking for the nootropics to compliment my natural intellectual abilities over the long run - I realize that there is no "magic pill" to make someone smarter, but the noots definitely make a difference!

My current stack - morning dose:
2400 mg (1200mg x 2) fish oil
1 Centrum multivitamin
560 mg of 80% milk thistle (448 mg yield)
500 mg of 50% alpha GPC (250 mg yield)
2 g piracetam

I will rarely take another 800 mg of piracetam if needed (about once every two weeks)

I have ordered and am planning to incorporate the following:
R-Lipoic Acid, probably 200 mcg daily (http://supplements.r...-100mg-p69.aspx)
possibly L-huperzine a, no more than 100 mcg daily, probably less at first (http://www.cognitive...cg-60-caps.html)


I am wondering what the mix of huperzine with the piracetam/choline combo might do. I have read where some people can experience hypercholinergic states from too much choline/huperzine combination, but I feel that my dose is too low for that to be a significant concern. Is this a correct assumption?
Also, I am considering if CDP-choline would be a more economical replacement to the alpha-GPC. Lastly, I am taking the lipoic acid for its antioxidant benefits. Would there be any contraindications for this based on my current stack?

Again, thanks so much for the feedback! It has been invaluable to me as I have gone through college!

[AtomicMan]

I wish more of my students were as concerned with being alert. That being said, I would consider cutting back on caffeine. There is no question that it boosts alertness. But you might find the book CAFFEINE BLUES of interest. While there are pros and cons for caffeine, and many successful writers have used it to good effect (such as Balzac), there are downsides that you might find outweigh the positives. It has been reported to have some negative impacts on various types of memory, for example. I would also cut back on the piracetam. Perhaps take a few days a week off. Finally, you might find that vinpocetine is useful; it is recommended by Ray Kurzweil and Terry Grossman in FANTASTIC VOYAGE and has a recognized positive impact on cognition.