6 replies to this topic

[nickygstar]

I read about Piracetam from this forum and then did my research. I took if for a little while but stopped because of side effects.

The get aches and pains, like pins and needles around different parts of my body, I also get twitches, which I didn't used to get. I find this odd since when searching Piracetam is used against myoclonic seizures and therefore would be thought to have the opposite effect.

I have tried it without a choline source and found that I got a tension headache. I have now use (the few times I have taken it) half the amount of choline citrate to piracetam.

I also find that at the doses stated here, the effect from piracetam is almost too effective and quite uncomfortable. I find taking doses around 200-600mg most effective, any more and I feel like my head will explode from stimulation.

The brand I use is Aluid Pharma Piracetam AL 800.

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

[health_nutty]

I too get weird effects (irritability, mental fatigue, anxiety) from Piracetam at "normal" doses. Others get this as well. I don't get this from any other racetam. I'm experiementing with the idea I might be a Piracetam hyperresponder (see Piracetam microdose thread). I actually feel great at 200-400mg of piracetam. I need to better study what effect this has on my dual n back scores.

[nickygstar]

Thanks health_nutty.

Yeah I agree, I might be better at smaller doses. Do you take any choline with the smaller doses, and at what dose?

[dirdir207]

The twitches you get from piracetam use are from your brain more efficiently using you're acetylcholine. Acetylcholine is largely responsible for muscle control and as such supplementing with choline and or taking a cholinergic substance such as piracetam can easily lead to little twitches in your muscles. I most often get them under my eye, in my arm, or my upper lip. If taking supplemental choline gives you a headache you already have adequate levels of acetylcholine and further supplementation probably isn't necessary.

[nickygstar]

The twitches you get from piracetam use are from your brain more efficiently using you're acetylcholine. Acetylcholine is largely responsible for muscle control and as such supplementing with choline and or taking a cholinergic substance such as piracetam can easily lead to little twitches in your muscles. I most often get them under my eye, in my arm, or my upper lip. If taking supplemental choline gives you a headache you already have adequate levels of acetylcholine and further supplementation probably isn't necessary.

Thankyou DirDir,

It is hard to know whether it is too much choline or too little. Choline by itself doesn't cause headaches or brain fog but it causes quite bad anxiety for me. So its possible to get headaches from too little or too much choline?

[dirdir207]

It is quite possible to have a headache from either too much choline, or not enough supplemental choline in conjunction with your piracetam. Supplementing too much choline by itself can lead to headache and stiffness in the neck or back. Considering you had a headache from a higher dose and not from the lower dose of choline it would lead me to believe that you were overloading yourself in that regard, and made the correct decision in scaling back your choline dosage. Piracetam is a known anxiolytic and as such is probably ameliorating any perceived anxiety you would have had from your supplemental choline. Have you tried piracetam sans choline and seen how you respond to it that way? Many people do not need any additional choline to receive good effects from piracetam, and it may alleviate some if not all of your symptoms.

[health_nutty]

Thanks health_nutty.

Yeah I agree, I might be better at smaller doses. Do you take any choline with the smaller doses, and at what dose?

On "regular" doses of Piracetam I tried all kinds of choline (cdp-choline, alcar, alpha-gpc) at all doses. In fact, I dosed high doses of ALCAR in combination with high dose CDP-choline which gave me an Ach overload headache, but still had the side effects.

At smaller doses the choline didn't seem as important. I'm taking choline now, because of the other racetams I'm taking.