Hi, everyone. I joined today for the purpose of asking a rather complicated question. Nice to meet you.
I'm not really sure where to start. I guess I'll begin by saying I've never tried any nootropics before, but have been researching them for a while now. I'm hoping they will be able to help me get a fraction of my life back. Because really, my life seems to be disintegrating due to cognitive impairment.
I have a condition called dysautonomia, which is dysregulation of the autonomic nervous system. It's all very vague and complicated and can manifest itself through a number of different syndromes. One of the many symptoms, for me, is brain fog. Debilitating brain fog. Some days I can't remember my birthdate. Often, while reading, I can't get to the end of a paragraph and still remember how that paragraph started. Sometimes syllables seems foreign to me, and I can't string them together to create words and meaning. I get deja vus and jamais vus frequently along with other sensory disturbances probably because of auras. My memory and concentration is a nightmare. While the condition isn't dangerous, my life seems to be falling apart. I used to be a straight-A student and now I have to consider withdrawing from my courses. I can derive no pleasure from what my favorite thing used to be: reading and writing. I'm depressed and anxious, and I get migraines every single day. There could be a number of different things causing this, but one of them is likely insufficient cerebral bloodflow; my veins do not constrict properly, and so blood often doesn't get where it needs to go. Researching how to remedy this led me to nootropics. It seems like this could be a breakthrough in treating the severe cognitive impairment. Perhaps nootropic could help, even minimally, rebuild my pathetic brain and get some more blood flow going. I'm already on vinpocetine, and have been for a month or so, but haven't noticed anything remarkable with it.
Now, here's where it gets a little complicated. I'm desperate to try a racetam, but I need to know about any interactions it may have with other medications. Here are the ones I take:
Mestinon: inhibits acetylcholinesterase in the synaptic cleft, thus slowing down the hydrolysis of acetylcholine. Basically, this prevents the breakdown of acetylcholine. I need to take this in order to keep my blood vessels constricting properly and in order to keep my intestines from slowing down. I'm especially concerned about this medication regarding possible interactions with choline supplements. Can I take choline supplements with this without going into acetylcholine overdrive (or cholinergic crisis)? That would be a possibly fatal problem.
Gabapentin: a GABA analogue; it mimics GABA neurotransmitter to inhibit . I take this for migraines, chronic nerve pain, tics.
Seroquel: a dopamine, serotonin, and adrenergic antagonist, and a potent antihistamine with clinically negligible anticholinergic properties. It's usually used as an antipsychotic for those with mood disorders or schizophrenia, but mine was prescribed to me for anxiety and insomia as it's a massive tranquilizer when used at a low dose (as opposed to the higher doses which do not cause the same sedation, oddly enough)
I have also had some episodes of hypomania, though my psychiatrist doesn't know what to make of that. Could have been aggravated by an SSRI I was on (which I quit a long time ago, now), or it could be something else.
Will a racetam cause problems in this context? Are nootropics (racetams in particular) known to be safe when used in conjunction with other psychiatric drugs such as antidepressants?
I've purchased 10 grams of aniracetam for a trial, but I'm frankly too frightened to start it. I don't want to throw myself into cholinergic crisis, mania, or anything else.
I realize it's a huge amount of information to ponder, but I'll be thrilled if there's even one person out there with competent insight. Thanks for your time.