4 replies to this topic

[canz]

I have recently been expirementing with some nootropics. I started off with piracetam and hydergine. Through trial and error decided that I didn't like the hydergine, it was giving me headaches and causing insomnia (once I stopped taking the hydergine, headaches and insomnia stopped). Last weekend I took a four day break from everything, and starting last Tuesday, I started a new stack. 1600mg Piracetam, 200mg Pyritinol, and 150mcg Huperzine A in the morning, then 800mg Piracetam, 200mg Pyritinol, 50mcg Huperzine A, and 300mg A-GPC at lunch. I've taken this stack for a week and have really not noticed any significant changes. As a matter of fact, yesterday I had a very hard time concentrating on reading a document. I do alot of reading and writing in my work and focus is a big problem for me. I am wondering why I am having problems when I am using these noops. Have I not been on long enough? Do I need to increase dosage of one of the noops? I take the piracetam and pyritinol on an empty stomach and the huperzine with food. Any help or suggestions would be great. I got the pyritinol and huperzine from one of the sources on this site. Thank you for your help in advance. I'm 28 years old, and am healthy, but have a hard time concentrating and focusing on tasks especially reading, and have times articulating in writing and speech. I noticed some difference initially while just on Piracetam but nothing now?

[gcurrie]

You may be overdoing it on the dosages and combinations. Many nootropics have a bell-shaped response curve, meaning that too little OR too much will give you neutral or even negative results. Plus, they can be synergistic. I'm pretty sure piracetam and pyritinol are.

Piracetam looks fine, especially since you were noticing good results. It's a good idea to space it out during the day since it has a short half-life.

I think the commonly recommended dose of Huperzine A is 50-100 mcg a day. More is NOT better of this powerful ACHe inhibitor. Try taking it just once in the morning.

I like pyritinol, but again 400 mg seems high to me. I take 200 mg a day to good effect.

Every one of these is in my stack and I take with food.

I recommend backing off of everything but the Piracetam. Try it with breakfast and lunch. Then add the Alpha GPC (with breakfast) and give it a week. If there are no foggy symptoms, then add in the Huperzine at breakfast only. Again after a week, add in pyritinol. Doing this will help you determine if these substances are causing the lack of focus, or if it is something else (which is equally likely).

Remember that nootropics and other cognitive enhancement substances can have wildly individual effects.

[mitkat]

I agree with gcurrie. You'll want to just start off slow, taking one thing at a time, try to evaluate it's effects, and then add on more. This way, you'll be able to tell what's working, what's not, etc, and it will not clutter you body and brain with too many new substances at a time.

[xanadu]

I will chime in to agree that taking things one at a time is the best course. You should have built up to that stack over a month or two, if not longer. There is nothing wrong with trying one thing for a month and then trying the next. I have stuff in my fridge I've never tried yet, lots of things. If I had tried everything at once, I would have quit them all because I had bad reactions to one or two. Since I took them one at a time, I knew exactly what was doing what.

Also you should take it easy on dosage. Taking the highest recommended dose of each is not a good strategy. Some things reinforce others and you may get 2 or 3 times the effect you wanted, or even more. It can go from a pleasant stimulation that helps you do things to being frazzled and stressed. Too much of a good thing is often no good at all.

[canz]

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. I'll back off and start from square one with the piracetam and work my way up.