3 replies to this topic

[Ulfhedinn]

I started stacking ALCAR with my brain cocktail and noticed I would become drowsy within the hour. Can anyone tell me why? How do I combat this?

[Geoffrey]

Yes, I find ALCAR often makes me drowsy, but then I find the same thing with piracetam, as I posted in another thread about taking piracetam before bed time. However, once I tried the same with ALCAR, and I got insomnia -- go figure. I think that the problem is that anything that mucks with the cholinergic system can have different effects depending on the brain state and level of other neurotransmitters. People with adrenal fatigue respond very poorly to the racetams, and can get even more fatigued due to the stress they place on adrenals. ALCAR is often described as an endogenous nootropic, so may have similar dependencies.

[8bitmore]

Yes, I find ALCAR often makes me drowsy, but then I find the same thing with piracetam, as I posted in another thread about taking piracetam before bed time. However, once I tried the same with ALCAR, and I got insomnia -- go figure. I think that the problem is that anything that mucks with the cholinergic system can have different effects depending on the brain state and level of other neurotransmitters. People with adrenal fatigue respond very poorly to the racetams, and can get even more fatigued due to the stress they place on adrenals. ALCAR is often described as an endogenous nootropic, so may have similar dependencies.

 

Not so sure about the logic of the adrenal theory on piracetam efficacy: "human [...] (HPA) axis is regulated by multiple neurotransmitters, including the GABA-ergic system thought to be modulated by piracetam. In contrast, the hypothalamo-pituitary-interrenal (HPI) axis, the zebrafish homolog of HPA, is most tightly controlled by the central serotonergic system [50,51], which may not represent the primary target of piracetam [...]" (source)

Now, the authors of that paper found significant learning improvements alongside with seemingly anxiolytic effects in the Zebrafish they were studying, i.e. mirroring the effects of Piracetam seen in rodents/humans, only, the point here is that Zebrafish has NO ADRENALS and yet Piracetam worked in similar way (as best can be established.. I mean zebrafish are not exactly close to human).
 

[NeuroGeneration]

I can't contribute much to this discussion, other than expressing that I too get drowsy and/or moody from ALCAR. Alpha GPC can do it too, but not nearly as much or as pronounced as ALCAR. I notice it time and time again – whenever I attempt to experiment and put it back in, like I did over the weekend when my parents came to town (mistake!), I went from positive and cheerful, to grumpy and short tempered. Racetams don't attenuate the effects from ALCAR, but do seem to from too much Alpha GPC.