Need help on whether ALCAR is causing thes...
RB15
04 Dec 2015
Hello comrades!
As the title suggests, im having problems deciphering whether i'm having side effects from alcar or if its completely unrelated..
Background about me
Age - 33
Suffer from moderate anxiety and OCD, maybe mild depression in the past
I have been taking daily supplements for years at normal dosage ranges comprising of....
Vitamin D3
Vit K2
B complex
Multivitamin
Zinc
Magnesium
Calcium
Biotiin (added recently)
Turmeric (curcumin)
I work out in the gym doing only weights, 5 days a week, including compound exercises such as deadlifts, squats, bent over rows, and a and have been doing so for many years with no major injuries.
The reason i started taking ALCAR is because i take Finasteride for hairloss with good results and minimal side effects (slightly lower libido and weaker erections) but i read something about it possibly having negative neuroligical effects, so set out to research supplements to protect the brain, stumbled on ALCAR, and started taking it about 7 weeks ago with quite frankly amazing results, started at 800mg a day with 400mg lipoic acid, then i quickly upped the dose to 1300mg and reduced lopoic acid to 200mg.
The benefits i got from ALCAR without tolerance to this point have been (at 1300mg daily split in 2 doses)
1) increased energy in the gym
2) better sleep
3) improved mood
4) massively improved verbal recall, memory recall, and overall sharpness and wit
5) more outgoing, more assertive and charasmatic
6) more creative at work
7) increased libido and erections
8) better co-ordination with my guitar playing
Basically the best benefit has been that it has made me feel like i was as funny/witty/sharp as when i was in high school and college and i absolutely love it!
4 weeks into taking the supplement i started to experience a sore back in the morning, kinda felt like i had twisted myself into a bad sleeping position in the night, but it would get better within the hour so i put it down to something i had pulled in the gym (which i do now and again)
But then i started with a dull tension type headache about 3 weeks ago, i have had it every day, it's very mild and can come and go in the daytime, it's only on the right side of my head starting behind the ear at the base of the skull, it significantly gets better and almost disappears on the weekend when i'm relaxing and drinking, and not in the gym.
So i'm wanting to know if this is possibly related to ALCAR, or if it is more likely a back injury from the gym, or could it be anxiety induced? The reason i cite anxiety is because the first 4 weeks of supplementation i became obsessed with researching nootropics on here, coupled with panic and OCD of developing tolerance to ALCAR, literally exhausting my brain searching forums all day every day.
I have since seen my GP who knew nothing about ALCAR and told me it was a tension headache, i have had 2 sessions with a chiropractor who says its most likely coming from a back injury from the trapezius muscle and causing headaches, but she also said she can't say 100% if the ALCAR has something to do with it too.
On a side note i don't think i'll comtinue the chiropractor sessions, read alot of bad things about them and dont feel any better.
Finally i will give the reasons why i think it might and might not be the ALCAR -
Reasons for
1) i have read quite a few anecdotal reports on this forum and bodybuilding forums that people have suffered from headaches, although i'm still unable to find what kind of headaches they get (pounding, all over the head etc)
2) i know that ALCAR somehow raises acetylcholine in the brain, and that an overload can cause this symptom, yet i have very minimal choline in my diet, i don't eat eggs etc.
3) not changed anything else in my diet or routine.
Reasons against
1) the headaches always get better at the weekend, this is when i'm not in the gym and also when i'm much more relaxed and less stressed, i suppose i stop thinking about it, yet i still supplement with the ALCAR.
2) when i pinch and press trigger points in my trapezius muscle and neck muscle it triggers the headache in the exact areas.
3) suffer from anxiety, so when the headaches began i probably made things worse by worrying it was the ALCAR and that i would have to drop it.
4) back pain feels much more like an injury rather than something a supplement could bring on.
So what do you guys think? What is a typical ALCAR or acetylcholine headache like? And could they cause sports injury type back pain?
I would hate to drop the ALCAR, i may have to just reduce the dose, although just over 1000mg seems to be the sweet spot!
Sorry for the lengthy post, it's just been bothering me for weeks and is very important to me.
Regards!
As the title suggests, im having problems deciphering whether i'm having side effects from alcar or if its completely unrelated..
Background about me
Age - 33
Suffer from moderate anxiety and OCD, maybe mild depression in the past
I have been taking daily supplements for years at normal dosage ranges comprising of....
Vitamin D3
Vit K2
B complex
Multivitamin
Zinc
Magnesium
Calcium
Biotiin (added recently)
Turmeric (curcumin)
I work out in the gym doing only weights, 5 days a week, including compound exercises such as deadlifts, squats, bent over rows, and a and have been doing so for many years with no major injuries.
The reason i started taking ALCAR is because i take Finasteride for hairloss with good results and minimal side effects (slightly lower libido and weaker erections) but i read something about it possibly having negative neuroligical effects, so set out to research supplements to protect the brain, stumbled on ALCAR, and started taking it about 7 weeks ago with quite frankly amazing results, started at 800mg a day with 400mg lipoic acid, then i quickly upped the dose to 1300mg and reduced lopoic acid to 200mg.
The benefits i got from ALCAR without tolerance to this point have been (at 1300mg daily split in 2 doses)
1) increased energy in the gym
2) better sleep
3) improved mood
4) massively improved verbal recall, memory recall, and overall sharpness and wit
5) more outgoing, more assertive and charasmatic
6) more creative at work
7) increased libido and erections
8) better co-ordination with my guitar playing
Basically the best benefit has been that it has made me feel like i was as funny/witty/sharp as when i was in high school and college and i absolutely love it!
4 weeks into taking the supplement i started to experience a sore back in the morning, kinda felt like i had twisted myself into a bad sleeping position in the night, but it would get better within the hour so i put it down to something i had pulled in the gym (which i do now and again)
But then i started with a dull tension type headache about 3 weeks ago, i have had it every day, it's very mild and can come and go in the daytime, it's only on the right side of my head starting behind the ear at the base of the skull, it significantly gets better and almost disappears on the weekend when i'm relaxing and drinking, and not in the gym.
So i'm wanting to know if this is possibly related to ALCAR, or if it is more likely a back injury from the gym, or could it be anxiety induced? The reason i cite anxiety is because the first 4 weeks of supplementation i became obsessed with researching nootropics on here, coupled with panic and OCD of developing tolerance to ALCAR, literally exhausting my brain searching forums all day every day.
I have since seen my GP who knew nothing about ALCAR and told me it was a tension headache, i have had 2 sessions with a chiropractor who says its most likely coming from a back injury from the trapezius muscle and causing headaches, but she also said she can't say 100% if the ALCAR has something to do with it too.
On a side note i don't think i'll comtinue the chiropractor sessions, read alot of bad things about them and dont feel any better.
Finally i will give the reasons why i think it might and might not be the ALCAR -
Reasons for
1) i have read quite a few anecdotal reports on this forum and bodybuilding forums that people have suffered from headaches, although i'm still unable to find what kind of headaches they get (pounding, all over the head etc)
2) i know that ALCAR somehow raises acetylcholine in the brain, and that an overload can cause this symptom, yet i have very minimal choline in my diet, i don't eat eggs etc.
3) not changed anything else in my diet or routine.
Reasons against
1) the headaches always get better at the weekend, this is when i'm not in the gym and also when i'm much more relaxed and less stressed, i suppose i stop thinking about it, yet i still supplement with the ALCAR.
2) when i pinch and press trigger points in my trapezius muscle and neck muscle it triggers the headache in the exact areas.
3) suffer from anxiety, so when the headaches began i probably made things worse by worrying it was the ALCAR and that i would have to drop it.
4) back pain feels much more like an injury rather than something a supplement could bring on.
So what do you guys think? What is a typical ALCAR or acetylcholine headache like? And could they cause sports injury type back pain?
I would hate to drop the ALCAR, i may have to just reduce the dose, although just over 1000mg seems to be the sweet spot!
Sorry for the lengthy post, it's just been bothering me for weeks and is very important to me.
Regards!
nightlight
04 Dec 2015
I don't think that's a side-effect of ALCAR. The only negative effect I had was in the first week of experimenting when I would get a transient eye twitch if I took 1g or more at once. I have used it for about ten years now (at 1.5 g/day total in 3 spread out doses) and still get noticeable energizing & nootropic effects. But for the last 3 years my main energy, nootropic and life-extension supplement is Liposomal Vitamin C (home made, 8 g/day in spread out 500mg doses). Check users testimonials here to get idea of the effects. One quite dramatic beneficial effect which may be relevant to your muscle problem is ultra-fast full recovery from heavy exercise or physical exertion. You can also find lots of useful YouTube videos on how to make it at home.
Edited by nightlight, 04 December 2015 - 09:52 PM.
RB15
05 Dec 2015
Thanks for the replies
That's interesting Nightlight i will definitely look into it, i was both shicked and excited by the effects of a nootropic in ALCAR, which leads me to think i must of had some sort of chemical inbalance before supplementing!
Well i haven't taken the ALCAR since Wednesday and the headache and back pain is still present so it's looking more likely to be an injury / anxiety induced.
Glad to be part of the forum!
That's interesting Nightlight i will definitely look into it, i was both shicked and excited by the effects of a nootropic in ALCAR, which leads me to think i must of had some sort of chemical inbalance before supplementing!
Well i haven't taken the ALCAR since Wednesday and the headache and back pain is still present so it's looking more likely to be an injury / anxiety induced.
Glad to be part of the forum!
