19 replies to this topic

[addbipolar]

I am in my mid-20s and just recently started graduate school. I've found myself having trouble with my coursework and studying due to problems with attention, concentration, and memory) and went to a psychiatrist to ask to try adderrall. However, since I have a bipolar I diagnosis, my psychiatrist thought that adderrall would trigger mania and instead suggested that my problems concentrating and with cognitive function are derivative of my untreated hypomania and she suggested that I begin taking lamictal.

I'm very highly functional, but do believe that I have a "bipolar tendency" and have learned to be careful of losing sleep, which I believe could prompt more serious manic episodes. A few years ago, I had a very serious manic episode that lasted for about 1-2 months. I wasn't hospitalized, but I did lose touch with reality in many ways and it was an experienced that taught me to be very cautious about losing sleep or letting my mind run too far away from reality. I think the experience was prompted by sleep deprivation (under 5 hours on average for several months). For this, I have an ambien prescription and control my sleep and take that every so often whenever I find myself getting less sleep than usual. Other than that, I am not taking anything to treat bipolar.

Though I'm mostly hypomanic, I do have some lows, but the lows are never as extreme as the highs.

I don't view my bipolar tendencies as a disability in any real sense and believe that it's part of a package that allows me to get very excited about ideas, be creative and work intensely on things that I am interested in. However, I do have trouble concentrating (especially if it's on coursework or for things that I don't find interesting) and I have noticed that I always have poor executive function and high distractibility that is driven by my high curiosity about the world and desire to connect together disparate ideas.

For this reason, I wanted to begin using adderrall on an "as-needed" basis, much as I use ambien. I wouldn't take it every day, but if I find that I have impending deadlines and am unable to concentrate on a single task, that I could use it to complete a piece of writing or an important assignment.

This has been kind of a long explanation, but I wanted to provide background. I'd be most interested in hearing anyone's thoughts on the following:
1) Is it absolutely crazy to try adderrall given that I am hypomanic/have bipolar tendencies? If not, how should I get it given that my current psychiatrist said no.
2) What do people think about my psychiatrist's explanation that my poor cognitive functioning is due to untreated bipolar?
3) Does anyone have opinions about using lamictal to improve concentration, focus, memory, etc.?
4) Are there any other medications that people recommend?

Thanks for everyone's time and attention. I'm excited to hear what people have to say.

[Wurzel Bagman]

I could be horribly mistaken but amphetamines might be helpful for calming you down by stimulating areas that would regulate your impulses. How certain is the diagnosis of bipolar? Based on what I've read it sounds like you have ADHD. ADHD can have very similar symptoms as bipolar (hyperactivity and variable moods). IMO, severe sleep deprivation for months will make anybody go crazy.

Note that lot of nootropics (especially the racetams) can exacerbate or induce hypomania. If it definitely is bipolar, then based on the reviews I've read and some talk on this forum I'd say lithium orotate might be a good supplement for you. Another option might be L-Theanine as it can induce a calm focused state that would be good for studying.

http://www.iherb.com...lets/22628?at=1
http://www.iherb.com...Caps/12959?at=0

Edited by Wurzel Bagman, 15 May 2011 - 03:52 AM.

[Logan]

Amphetamines and bipolar don't mix. Your doctor is probably right, treat the bipolar and you may be able to focus much better. I would try a low to moderate dose of lithium or depakote before lamictal. Lamictal has just become one of those drugs du jor that doctors love to hand out like candy. I personally think Lamictal can be far more invasive that depakote and lithium at moderate doses.

Before you try any medication, you may want to try some supplements, exercise regularly, do yoga, and get on a primal or paleo type diet. As far as supplements are concerned, at the top of my list would be fish oil, magnesium, vitamin D3, and lithium orotate(a little of this might help you. It's really not much different that taking lithium carbonate, just a smaller dose with some possible differences in bioavailability). If you exercise, take some supplements, and get your diet right, you may hardly ever need ambien. There are plenty of natural things out there that can calm you down and help you get a better night's sleep, all things I would choose over ambien. I slept like shit on ambien despite the fact that it did knock me out. I just think it's a bad approach to treating sleep issues. BTW, I also am bipolar.

[longevitynow]

5-htp 100mgs before bed; lithium orotate 10 mg 2x day; Theanine-lots, as needed, consider getting some as powder, 200-1000 mgs per dose, should calm but not sedate you; Lots of fish oils-good research with preventing mania and depression in bipolar patients, 2-3 tablespoons per day. These are calming. ALCAR is sharpening but not overly stimulating. Adderall has a long half-life, so it can really increase sleep problems; occasional Ambien-I think it sounds like you are using it wisely, don't become dependent on it; melatonin--good to help you get to sleep, .3-3 mg. Consider biofeedback and neurofeedback;
I've worked with a lot of bipolar patients and had numerous friends with it; The drugs have lots of side effects but some people need them. I suggest you keep mixing and matching numerous mild calming agents as above instead of jumping into prescription meds. You should have at least one friend/family and one professional monitoring you IMO, as your ability to judge when you are OK or not is likely to be clouded.
Sulbutiamine and DMAE are used for focus and not excessively stimulating (I know some people say to be cautious with DMAE; I'd agree, but relative to Adderall/Ritalin it is much milder).
Piracetam is a curious substance in bipolar disorder; it tends to make some bipolar people mildly hypomanic, but is also somewhat GABAergic, so a bit calming. Monitor your reaction, but safer than the stims. It probably won't throw you over the edge unless you are headed that way already, but there was one forum member who got too into it and the Piracetam may well have been a factor in him becoming truly manic; this is another reason I think you need to be monitored by several other people.

[nootrope]

I discuss my experiences treating my own bipolar with supplements and diet/exercise on my blog here at imminst. The above recommendations are good too.

[Thorsten3]

Yeah the diet thing could also be worth a try. A hardcore ketogenic diet would probably solve your issues, but of course staying on something like that can be difficult (unless you're resolute). Paleo would definitely be the next best thing to try. Don't underestimate the diet approach it accounts for quite a lot, if not most of how you feel on a day to day basis. You'll get people on these forums who eat like shit and then complain about mood swings - not saying this is you - but maybe it could be time to adopt a primal trype of diet (as recommended above) if you haven't done already. I'd say you owe it to yourself. It's the fuel your using for your body afterall. I wouldn't put urine in my car and expect it to run well.

Edited by HyperHydrosis, 15 May 2011 - 05:03 PM.

[Yearningforyears]

A hypobipo good for you I guess. For me it´s most often the opposite, but what the heck.
Lamictal did not work for me except cause massive hairloss, day time sedation, insomnia (but ironically no mania), motion sickness etc etc.
My course with trying different supps for bipolar / social anxiety symptoms hits the five year mark this year.
I can wholeheartedly recommend lithium orotate. My dosage is 10 mg twice daily. It really turned things around for me when I started five months ago.
Be sure to exercise!
Check up on lecithin. It got me back from a kind of sudden mixed episode. There are studies about lecithin working as an antimanic agent.

Lithium would probably be perfect for you, just start slow if you decide to try the orotate route. In the beginning 5 mg knocked me out flat, but now I just notice a pleasant calm from 10 mgs (I keep them under my lip to prolong the effects, but unfortunately it is a bit corrosive on the gums. Can´t have it all;)

It´s always wise to consult your doctor about this. Some sensitive individuals might react badly to it, so be sure to undergo kidney function tests and get a one year follow up.
Good luck :D

Edited by Nicholas, 18 May 2011 - 08:29 PM.

[FocusPocus]

Hi there Addbipolar,

Im bipolar ii too and i just stumbled in here. I was wondering how you were doing, and what you're current stack would be?

I dont know if you still come online here, but im hoping you do.

Really confused here. Do reply

[Tom_]

Logan knows what he is talking about...mostly. Amphetamines - is you spent a lot of time near or hypomanic adderall has a good chance of putting you at the very least in ED/A&E. If you were depressed most of the time that would be a different story.

For the record whoever said Piracetam is GABAnergic is wrong. Its a cyclic derivative but doesn't have any GABA activity.

Lithium orotate is utterly un-evidenced and you shouldn't touch it with a barge pole. A diet does NOT fix mental illness (mild, moderate or severe).

Executive dsyfunction is a defining 'symptom' in Bi-polar likely is part of the pathogenesis of both manic and depressive episodes. You clearly don't have ADHD and most psychiatrists would be unwilling to diagnose both. To be frank you are pretty much stuck with the executive problems - I'm about to give you advice on treating the Bi-polar which should bring you to euthymia and significantly reduce your risk of switches/moderate the severity of switches both ways. There is some evidence this will reduce executive problems but its weak.

A prescription for ambien as a way to treat bi-polar is disgusting. If you are using Ambien more than twice a week that could be making your attention worse. Treating Bi-polar should be done with atypical anti-psychotics, Li+ (lithium) and antiepileptic. Benzo's should be used on a PRN basis in acute settings or controlling symptoms rapidly becoming out of control.

Lamotragine is used mostly for depressive episodes - not to control poorly controlled mania. Although admittedly it is approved in most places for Bi-polar type 1.

The any one of the four drugs I would suggest for you are: Lithium, Quetiapine, Valporic acid or Aripiprazole (drugs you shouldn't take include gabapentin, benzo's typical antipsychotics). I'll run through my reasoning for each and give information on positives and negatives. Then I'm going to have the usual crack at therapy, moderate exercise, mindfulness and then I'm going to talk about Modafinil as an option although I think its a bad one without first having appropriate mood control.

Lithium is the gold standard in Bi-polar. It is the most effective drug out there. Its more effective in preventing mania but has preventative properties in depression as well. Of course it also has side effects ranging from annoying to severe. Fine tremor, weight gain, renal insuffiency, polydypsia, diabeties insipidus and causes hypothyroidism. All in all - good treatment but you really don't need Lithium.

Valporic acid is an antiepeptic. Its commonly the first drug prescribed and is highly effective at preventing and controlling mania and reducing rapid cycling. Side effects include weight gain, dyspepsia, fatigue, spots, feeling cold, dizziness and its severe side effects although VERY rare include blood disorders like TTP. Its an option but I would try both of the bottom meds first before you consider moving on to valproic acid.

Quetiapine is an atypical antipsychotic. Its dose range for Bipolar is massive and I know of people using the smallest dose possible (25mg) and people using 1000mg to achieve good control of type 1 bi-polar. Quetiapine is pretty good at releaving both depressive and manic symptoms as well as reducing the chances of switching. Its also a potent antihistamine and taken at night it will put simply knock you the fuck out. This effect ranges in different people from chronic and debilitating fatigue at thoughout the day to waring off within a few weeks or months to not even causing any sleepiness. Side effects at lower doses are not really relevent but as you get past 150mg they include metabolic syndrome x, weight gain, sleepiness, long term it can cause movement disorders but is very unlikely, orthostatic hypotension and hypothyoidism. All in all a good choice and it should help with the sleep.

I'm in a rush so I'll finish off later.

[FocusPocus]

Exactly my thoughts on AMbien!!!!

Thanks a lot, man. Waiting for your review on modafinil and the other mood stabilizer eagerly!

I'm a med student, and ive avoided mood stabilizers like the plague, for fear of not being at the best of my cognitive abilities/memory for my highly competitive exams.

Do you think quetiapine 25mg would be a safe option? I really hate the distractability and ADD nature of hypomania, so much that i cant study much at a stretch at all, which is as bad as not being at my best.

Im trying out piracetam1600/alpha GPC250(or citicholine500)/ ALCAR500/Aswagandha500/Caffeine these days. It works better than not being on anything at all, and seems to help to not put me in depression. But the hypomania and mild brain fog is irritating. Im not saying im better without them. But i wish i could be at my best. I tried modafinil 50mg in addition to my nootropics. Sometimes it helps, sometimes it just makes the hypomania worse- hence the low dose.

Im thinking of ordering L-glutamine for the fog, L-tyrosine and ginkgo biloba for more attention, and melatonin for sleep as well in case i get too hypomanic to sleep.

Anyways. Thanks, and waiting for your input.

Edited by tarsuc, 18 July 2013 - 08:53 AM.

[FocusPocus]

Er.... Tom?

[stablemind]

Exactly my thoughts on AMbien!!!!

Thanks a lot, man. Waiting for your review on modafinil and the other mood stabilizer eagerly!

I'm a med student, and ive avoided mood stabilizers like the plague, for fear of not being at the best of my cognitive abilities/memory for my highly competitive exams.

Do you think quetiapine 25mg would be a safe option? I really hate the distractability and ADD nature of hypomania, so much that i cant study much at a stretch at all, which is as bad as not being at my best.

Im trying out piracetam1600/alpha GPC250(or citicholine500)/ ALCAR500/Aswagandha500/Caffeine these days. It works better than not being on anything at all, and seems to help to not put me in depression. But the hypomania and mild brain fog is irritating. Im not saying im better without them. But i wish i could be at my best. I tried modafinil 50mg in addition to my nootropics. Sometimes it helps, sometimes it just makes the hypomania worse- hence the low dose.

Im thinking of ordering L-glutamine for the fog, L-tyrosine and ginkgo biloba for more attention, and melatonin for sleep as well in case i get too hypomanic to sleep.

Anyways. Thanks, and waiting for your input.

I'm currently taking Seroquel 50 mg XR once a night, and 40-120 mg Ginkgo Biloba and I find it synergizes very nicely. Since it seems like your main issue is hypomania, I suggest low dose Lithium Carbonate, starting with 150 mg IR. Lithium is actually a very good mood stabilizer and is one of the most well researched. It is also quite easy to taper off when compared to atypical antipsychotics. I would often skip taking Lithium on nights I went out drinking, which is something I dare not to do with Seroquel. I was on a dose of Lithium as high as 1200 mg before I started noticing some cognitive slowness, and when I found that it couldn't do what Seroquel could do for my depression, I tapered off it within a month (from 900 mg while concurrently on 50 mg Seroquel).

Seroquel is a good drug for improving depressive, ADD symptoms as well as insomnia. It's high affinity for H1 receptor makes you KTFO at doses as low as 25 mg. It has medium-high affinity for a1, a2 Adrenergic, 5HT1A, and 5HT2A receptors, and low affinity for d2 receptors. Its main metabolite Norquetiapine has high affinity for NET.

At low dosage, it's mainly an antidepressant and cognitive enhancer. Its a2 adrenergic, 5HT2A, and NET antagonism causes an increase of dopamine in the prefrontal cortex, which is thought to be the mechanism by which it improves cognition/depression.

It also reduces cortisol through a1 antagonism, which I felt at 50 mg XR and NOT at 25 mg XR (broke the pill in half). This is very useful for those who have anxiety issues. At 25 mg I felt my anxiety coming back, but Phosphatidylserene annihilated it.

It works on quite a lot of mechanisms, but lucky for me it doesn't cause any undesirable side effects.

If you plan on using the racetams, I highly suggest you don't use any that has significant effects on the glutamartergic system, such as piracetam, anaracetam, and oxiracetam.

Pramiracetam seems to have significant effects on the HACU (High Affinity Choline Uptake) which is unseen in the other racetams, and doesn't seem as likely to induce hypomania/mania. Based on experience, Pram has the most significant cognitive effects. Piracetam easily induced hypomania, and Oxyracetam/Aniracetam didn't have any noticeable benefits.

I don't believe executive dysfunction in BD is impossible to fix, I do believe it is very hard though. I got very lucky and found two stacks to greatly help this area which is Ginkgo + Seroquel, and Pramiracetam + Seroquel. Ginkgo by itself didn't have much effects for STM, however when combined with Seroquel... WOW I was a new person. Pram I haven't tested by itself, but I plan on doing so as soon as I taper off Seroquel.

Hope this helps.

Edited by stablemind, 05 August 2013 - 11:19 AM.

[FocusPocus]

Exactly my thoughts on AMbien!!!!

Thanks a lot, man. Waiting for your review on modafinil and the other mood stabilizer eagerly!

I'm a med student, and ive avoided mood stabilizers like the plague, for fear of not being at the best of my cognitive abilities/memory for my highly competitive exams.

Do you think quetiapine 25mg would be a safe option? I really hate the distractability and ADD nature of hypomania, so much that i cant study much at a stretch at all, which is as bad as not being at my best.

Im trying out piracetam1600/alpha GPC250(or citicholine500)/ ALCAR500/Aswagandha500/Caffeine these days. It works better than not being on anything at all, and seems to help to not put me in depression. But the hypomania and mild brain fog is irritating. Im not saying im better without them. But i wish i could be at my best. I tried modafinil 50mg in addition to my nootropics. Sometimes it helps, sometimes it just makes the hypomania worse- hence the low dose.

Im thinking of ordering L-glutamine for the fog, L-tyrosine and ginkgo biloba for more attention, and melatonin for sleep as well in case i get too hypomanic to sleep.

Anyways. Thanks, and waiting for your input.

I'm currently taking Seroquel 50 mg XR once a night, and 40-120 mg Ginkgo Biloba and I find it synergizes very nicely. Since it seems like your main issue is hypomania, I suggest low dose Lithium Carbonate, starting with 150 mg IR. Lithium is actually a very good mood stabilizer and is one of the most well researched. It is also quite easy to taper off when compared to atypical antipsychotics. I would often skip taking Lithium on nights I went out drinking, which is something I dare not to do with Seroquel. I was on a dose of Lithium as high as 1200 mg before I started noticing some cognitive slowness, and when I found that it couldn't do what Seroquel could do for my depression, I tapered off it within a month (from 900 mg while concurrently on 50 mg Seroquel).

Seroquel is a good drug for improving depressive, ADD symptoms as well as insomnia. It's high affinity for H1 receptor makes you KTFO at doses as low as 25 mg. It has medium-high affinity for a1, a2 Adrenergic, 5HT1A, and 5HT2A receptors, and low affinity for d2 receptors. Its main metabolite Norquetiapine has high affinity for NET.

At low dosage, it's mainly an antidepressant and cognitive enhancer. Its a2 adrenergic, 5HT2A, and NET antagonism causes an increase of dopamine in the prefrontal cortex, which is thought to be the mechanism by which it improves cognition/depression.

It also reduces cortisol through a1 antagonism, which I felt at 50 mg XR and NOT at 25 mg XR (broke the pill in half). This is very useful for those who have anxiety issues. At 25 mg I felt my anxiety coming back, but Phosphatidylserene annihilated it.

It works on quite a lot of mechanisms, but lucky for me it doesn't cause any undesirable side effects.

If you plan on using the racetams, I highly suggest you don't use any that has significant effects on the glutamartergic system, such as piracetam, anaracetam, and oxiracetam.

Pramiracetam seems to have significant effects on the HACU (High Affinity Choline Uptake) which is unseen in the other racetams, and doesn't seem as likely to induce hypomania/mania. Based on experience, Pram has the most significant cognitive effects. Piracetam easily induced hypomania, and Oxyracetam/Aniracetam didn't have any noticeable benefits.

I don't believe executive dysfunction in BD is impossible to fix, I do believe it is very hard though. I got very lucky and found two stacks to greatly help this area which is Ginkgo + Seroquel, and Pramiracetam + Seroquel. Ginkgo by itself didn't have much effects for STM, however when combined with Seroquel... WOW I was a new person. Pram I haven't tested by itself, but I plan on doing so as soon as I taper off Seroquel.

Hope this helps.

Thanks a lot for the post!

Of course it helps!

Edited by FocusPocus, 05 August 2013 - 11:24 AM.

[FocusPocus]

Can modafinil be used to counter the initial sleepiness/grogginess of Seroquel?

Edited by FocusPocus, 05 August 2013 - 12:49 PM.

[stablemind]

Can modafinil be used to counter the initial sleepiness/grogginess of Seroquel?

I don't recommend any stimulants of that magnitude until you get a feel for it. If taken at a low dose at night, there's a good chance the H1 antagonism will wear off by the time you wake up. If you do experience grogginess still, you can start with something milder like green tea or coffee.

Edited by stablemind, 05 August 2013 - 12:59 PM.

[FocusPocus]

Stablemind: Im still putting off Seroquel, since things(hypomanic distraction) seem to be better after reducing Piracetam like you said. I guess ill be stopping Pira soon.

Had ordered some Pramiracetam and Noopept(curiosity sake) two days back.

In a weird twist of fate, Supplier had misplaced Prami with Oxiracetam.

Thought i'd give both a try:

Noopept 10mg:
Intense head pressure with a reduced IQ. I couldnt even read a line properly. (Might have a lot of confounding factors, i wrote about this here: http://tinyurl.com/kferv8l

Oxiracetam around 200-300mg
Weird feeling for half an hour, After that, felt an intense push and went on a reading frenzy. I'm not sure i remember any of what i read though. It actually works as far as distractablity and ADHD symptoms go.

But i will probably stop these like you said and wait for my Prami to arrive.

Also, i started with some mitochondrial stabilizing stuff too:

ALCAR 500mg twice daily and N-acetyl cysteine 325 mg twice daily.

Probably that is all i need to sit and study. Why bother with speedy racetams then.

Tell me what you think about ALCAR and NAC and ALA? supplementation, in your experience.

[stablemind]

Stablemind: Im still putting off Seroquel, since things(hypomanic distraction) seem to be better after reducing Piracetam like you said. I guess ill be stopping Pira soon.

Had ordered some Pramiracetam and Noopept(curiosity sake) two days back.

In a weird twist of fate, Supplier had misplaced Prami with Oxiracetam.

Thought i'd give both a try:

Noopept 10mg:
Intense head pressure with a reduced IQ. I couldnt even read a line properly. (Might have a lot of confounding factors, i wrote about this here: http://tinyurl.com/kferv8l

Oxiracetam around 200-300mg
Weird feeling for half an hour, After that, felt an intense push and went on a reading frenzy. I'm not sure i remember any of what i read though. It actually works as far as distractablity and ADHD symptoms go.

But i will probably stop these like you said and wait for my Prami to arrive.

Also, i started with some mitochondrial stabilizing stuff too:

ALCAR 500mg twice daily and N-acetyl cysteine 325 mg twice daily.

Probably that is all i need to sit and study. Why bother with speedy racetams then.

Tell me what you think about ALCAR and NAC and ALA? supplementation, in your experience.

The other day I thought I had taken a dose of 100 mg Pramiracetam along with 40 mg of Ginkgo Biloba and noticed a huge improvement in STM and LTM. I destroyed my chinese exam, scoring the highest I've ever scored. I was also extremely motivated to study. The only down sides were a slight headache that I attribute due to a choline deficit as well as a racing mind. When I looked at the bottle again, I realized I had taken Oxiracetam... The last time I took Oxiracetam which was at a 500 mg + dose, I didn't notice the extreme improvement in cognition. I was probably overdosing the whole time. 100 mg of Oxiracetam seems to be the ideal dose for me. Glutamate receptors are overactive in BD so probably LOW DOSES of racetams should be used.

I'm going to be testing with Oxiracetam again and add in magnesium as I feel the last time I took it, my thoughts really calmed down. Maybe magnesium will help with the racing thoughts as well. I also feel it may help prevent NMDA over-activation. I'm also going to add in ALCAR to see if it helps with the headache.

ALCAR: http://www.longecity...nisms-of-alcar/

ALCAR donates an Acetyl group to help form Acetylcholine so it indirectly increases Acetylcholine which may be suitable if you don't respond well to choline sources. It also provided a pretty significant anxiolitic effect as well as energy back when I was pretty lethargic. It has a host of benefits including improving fat metabolism into energy, NGF, etc... so I highly recommend it. You should start at a low dose if you are prone to cholinergic depression.

NAC seems to have a lot of studies of its efficacy combating BP depression, however I'm unsure about mania.

NAC: http://www.ncbi.nlm....pubmed/18534556

I used to use extended release NAC since the regular ones are too strong. It is very acidic and if you don't have a strong stomach, I recommend you start with extended release. I don't recall it providing a significant effect for me, except for horrible stomach burns when I took too much. I was taking it with lithium and Seroquel at the time.

ALA is supposed to synergize with ALCAR for energy, but ALCAR alone for me seemed to be good enough. ALA doesn't seem to help any aspects of BP.

Noopept is a really strange drug. Without CDP Choline, it seemed to cause irritability and depression, but with CDP Choline my memory seemed to get better. It is extremely hard to measure so I recommend you get a scale. I rather not constantly worry about my choline supply so I'm not going to implement it into my stack.

[FocusPocus]

Thanks man! Quite helpful.

Have you ever tried more than two racetams together?

I have a mild curiosity to try Prami + low dose Oxi (maybe add low dose Piracetam too).

What are the doses of Prami that works for you? (in single and combination?)

I was thinking in terms of doses that Noopmed used to take in his posts here, which is :

800 Piracetam thrice daily
200 Pramiracetam thrice daily
500 Choline bitartrate thrice daily.

i might have to cut down on the Piracetam probably.

[stablemind]

Thanks man! Quite helpful.

Have you ever tried more than two racetams together?

I have a mild curiosity to try Prami + low dose Oxi (maybe add low dose Piracetam too).

What are the doses of Prami that works for you? (in single and combination?)

I was thinking in terms of doses that Noopmed used to take in his posts here, which is :

800 Piracetam thrice daily
200 Pramiracetam thrice daily
500 Choline bitartrate thrice daily.

i might have to cut down on the Piracetam probably.

I have not tried them in combination. I used to take Pramiracetam at a 100-200 mg dose. Since you are prone to hypomania I suggest taking them at a VERY low dose then work your way up. Taking too much can render them ineffective. I'm not that keen on taking them in combination since the majority of the studies done do not include combining the racetams. So basically, the safety profile is unknown in combination. I wouldn't start combining them unless none of them work by themselves.

[outofservice]

Great info here!   Hope someone sees this, it's been a few yrs.

 

Nicholas wrote: A hypobipo good for you I guess. (As a BP I find that to be quite funny.  )

I completely agree! I would rather deal with that than months in a hole feeling lethargic, super foggy, etc, etc.. just F#cking shitty all around is really the best way to put it.

 

I am of the BP II variety that has few (maybe 1 or 2 a yr) hypo episodes but more depression.

I was put on Lamotrigine (Lamictal) and have been on it for 2 or so yrs. It has helped to stabilize my mood and slowed/decreased-intensity of the lows.

I've been researching racetams as I'm thinking the LMT is messing with my memory and other brain functions.

Anyone with a suggestion as to which racetam may be best for BP II?      From what I've read about each, Oxiracetam interests me the most but not sure of the interaction.

 

I'm currently taking:  ALCAR, A-GPC, Macuna Pruriens (25% L-Dopa), Huperzine A and Vinpocetine ...low to moderate dosage for each.     Would a racetam by itself have the same results as those 5 combined?

 

 

This was posted above:  Glutamate receptors are overactive in BD so probably LOW DOSES of racetams should be used.   --  How will the 5 supplements I listed above interact with the Glutamate receptors?  Any issues with taking them with the Lamotrigine? 

Edited by outofservice, 19 January 2016 - 06:18 AM.