37 replies to this topic

[Invariant]

Hi all,

I've been on piracetam from december 2008 - april 2009 and I've come to love this substance a lot. I decided to take a break because the effect seemed to become less and because I wanted to see if I could still go without it. Turns out I can do without it (no withdrawal at all) but it's quite tempting to pop one whenever I need to perform at my best (which it feels like I have to all the time..).

Now that I've been off piracetam for a full 2 weeks I feel pretty bad compared to how I felt like on piracetam. Piracetam has both a cognitive and mood lifting effect on me and it feels like both of those are significantly worse now that I'm off of it. I'm not sure if this is how I felt and performed like before I started using piracetam, or that things actually worsened and now I need piracetam to perform at my baseline-level. I do remember feeling like piracetam made me "a whole new person", "me 2.0". So that would mean that what I experience now is what I've experienced my whole life, which is plausible because I don't feel and perform terrible, but I'm still concerned.

I'd like to hear what long term users have to say about this. I'm looking for people (or studies of people) who have been on piracetam for at least as long as I have, but preferably much longer. Do you think that you feel / perform worse when not on piracetam now than you did before starting piracetam? If yes, how permanent is this?

Please don't repeat the "piracetam is the safest thing on earth" mantra. I know it's been proven non-toxic even in high dose- and long term studies, but just because it isn't toxic doesn't make it safe. How about downregulation of one receptor or another? Or maybe some kind of "atrophy" from not using certain parts of your brain because others function so well they can take over those tasks?

I'm really gratefull for any replies from long term users or about long term studies.

[dupez]

hi there. i've been using it since december. in the last month i've been off and on with doses - i don't feel "defficient" if i don't take it. its very subtle for me. Its something i like to take, but i don't need to take. sometimes i jsut have a cup of coffee in the morning and i'm good to go.

I used to take fairly large doses of it, but recently i've actually been taking around 800mg before going to work. I find that that actually works better than mega doses, for me.

[bgwithadd]

How about downregulation of one receptor or another?

Most things that work do, but it's not a real issue, especially if you keep taking it.

Or maybe some kind of "atrophy" from not using certain parts of your brain because others function so well they can take over those tasks?

No, that isn't how the brain works.

[Advanc3d]

lol....

[Pike]

Although I've been using this since december, myself (christmas day, actually), I would say that [IMHO] the 'racetams and many other nootropics are not as "safe" to use in long-term (which I would say falls into the 3-month+ range) high dosages as a lot of people think under certain circumstances. I say this mostly in response to a only some of piracetam's effects; particularly the cerebral blood flow enhancement (CBE).

Simply put:
ALL of the nootropics that i've had the chance to research extensively (save for the 3 mentioned in the end) (the list is exhausting) which improve memory/concentration via increasing cerebral glucose utilization typically act as vasodilators. The effect of this, in "bro-theory" (a.k.a. "unsubstantiated" theory that probably has a supporting study somewhere which I'm too lazy ATM to look up), comes from the CBE effect. Additionally, all of the said kinds of nootropics typically inhibit platelet aggregation, thus thinning the blood and synergizing its own action (most notably seen with Vinpocetine, an underrated nootropic which receives more skepticism than it should, especially when research exists that contradicts the skeptical reservations kept by many). Finally, to top off the benefits of CBEs, a nice little "side effect" is the increased oxygen delivery to the brain.

Here's where you run into the roadblocks of chronic use, and even moreso in those of us who use more than one nootropic agent (of which, I would say 4/5 ImmInst'ers do who openly admit to using nootropics): homeostasis. FunkOddessy once wrote a little one liner in a thread here (I can't recall which) where he said "Ahh, homeostasis strikes again," to which, i laughed uncontrollably in the middle of my school's computer lab. See, the problem that most nootropic users face is homeostasis. We have almost uncountable receptors in our body to detect the slightest physiological change in about... anything. Your body, simply put, LOVES to stay just as it is.

On to the safety concerns:
1 - Vasodilation: While using a vasodilator, your body increases it's vascular (particularly, capillary) permeability, allowing for better blood flow and, therefore, better nutrient (or drug) delivery. Unless you have some kind of chronic vascular disease, homeostatic resistance is going to eventually step in and downregulate some of your body's mechanisms that already perform similar actions so it can bring it back to "normal." A homeostatic response to chronic vasodilation might be something along the lines of an upregulation of muscle tension that surround the cardiovascular system.
2 - Metabolic Glucose Enhancement: There's actually a few safety concerns to worry about with this. The first would be an assumed homeostatic response that would probably occur if you're NOT regularly exercising, which would simply be a decrease in metabolism. The other two concerns I have are more "bro-theory" (again, me addressing my lack of research) concerns which include me wondering the kind of effect that chronic use might entail for those who simply don't have lots of carbohydrates in their diet, and a possible insulin-related homeostatic response!
3 - Platelet Aggregation Inhibition: The homeostatic response to this should be a no brainer....
4 - Increased Oxygen Uptake: Here's where it could get ugly, your body might compensate for the increased oxygen intake by downregulating the efficiency of your oxygen utilization.

Now, don't let the safety concerns worry you TOO much. Your biggest concern would probably be high-dose chronic use, followed by a sudden and immediate STOP in use. A sudden halt to your administration cold be rather detrimental to your health (vessel constriction, blood sugar problems, hypoxia...) if you've been using high dosages for quite a while. To minimize risk, you're left with two options, of which, neither is really all that bad. 1) When you're deciding to take a break, just ease off the dose rather than stop. 2) Cycle everything.

However, there is some hope among the most popular nootropics:
Out of all of them, there are THREE I am aware that increase glucose metabolism WITHOUT the common mechanism of action of typical CBEs. Of the 3, 2 display no great similarity in MOA, and 1 is among the "true nootropics" (in the sense that there has been SOME research done that displayed cognitive enhancement in fully healthy people)! They are:
~Hydergine - DOES inhibit platelet aggregation and enhance glucose metabolism, BUT act's as a vasoconstrictor, and not a dilator.
~Sulbutiamine - The synthetic allithiamine which rapidly crosses the BBB, and increases cellular glucose metabolism by the vastly increased amounts ThTP. Additionally, since it partially inhibits dopamine release, your body compensates by an upregulation of dopamine-receptor density (good for me and ADHD)!
~Pyrithioxine - Enhances cerebral blood flow, yet among all the research available to it, it neither acts as a vasodilator, nor does it inhibit platelet aggregation! It's also one of the "true nootropics" because there is research that exists which shows enhancement in fully healthy people! Some people take really high doses of this for an effect, but seeing as it so closely resembles pyridoxine (it's literally just 2 pyridoxine molecules that have been bonded together) I would be rather hesitant to use anything more than 200mg a day, but probably more like 100mg seeing as I already take a B-complex.

Edited by Pike, 20 May 2009 - 05:07 PM.

[punkideas]

I'd like to note that some supplements with nootropic effects may not be subject to the homeostasis issue. Supplements like EPA/DHA and choline (at lower doses) shouldn't be affected by homeostasis since they are primarily being used as building blocks for neurons and neurotransmitters. Also, I'd imagine that homeostatic responses would be more of an issue for "acute" nootropics (e.g. modafinil) rather than ones that are primarily cumulative (e.g. bacopa). My approach is to use the truly accute ones as needed (big work days), the somewhat accute ones like piracetam for normal circumstances (while school is in session) and cycle it off when I'm not going to need enhanced cognition, and stay on the cumulitive ones like EPA/DHA year round. Pretty much my take is anything that directly affects a neurotransmitter system needs to be cycled out at least occasionally, while the stuff that promotes good brain health or acts primarily as a neuroprotectant really doesn't need to be. As far as how often something needs to be cycled, it depends on your brain's homeostatic response levels and your dosage levels. I take a lowball approach since I want my stack to work when I need it to, and not building up a tolerance and wasting nootropics when they really wouldn't make a difference.

[Invariant]

Thanks for the awesome replies guys!

No, that isn't how the brain works.

Yes I guess you're right. What I meant is not something like "holes in your brain athrophy", but more a behavioural kind of thing. One might learn to do a task a certain way because it's easyer that way when on piracetam, while it is better performed another way when off it. For example I have had to relearn to type slower because I could type twice as fast on piracetam without making errors. Same for speaking: on piracetam I could find the perfect words very quickly, now I have to accept using a mediocre sentence once in a while because I can't find the right words fast enough. I noticed I sometimes just freeze mid sentence to find the right words. So I've changed in how I do certain tasks. Generalizing, this could also have hapened in more primitive tasks like memory, "thinking of a solution" (they seem to come "automatically" when on piracetam. So in this sense some brain functions might deteriorate from under-use. This really doesn't concern me that much, but I find it an interesting idea.

Pike, that is once again a great post of yours. Good to see a more informed and more critical review of piracetam. What I will do now is 1) use a lower dosage 2) cycle 3) taper off the dosage instead of going "cold turkey", when I quit.

Your theories sound very plausible, but I'd like to see some research. I will look for myself, but could anyone more knowledgeable than me shed their light on this?

punkideas, your aproach sounds very sensible (always use chronic protectant type noots but cycle the acute ones.) But I'm not so sure about choline. Wouldn't chronically elevated acetylcholine levels result in ACh receptor downregulation? L-Dopa (used for treatment of Parkinson's) for example is a neurotransmitter precursor that definately builds a tolerance.

[punkideas]

To be a little more specific about continuous choline use, I am alluding to keeping it at a sufficient level, rather than a heightened level. This could be done via diet, or lower level supplimentation than would normally be used in a standard 'racetam stack.

[samonakuba]

Your experience with discontinuing Piracetam is extremely similar to mine. I discontinued cold-turkey about six months ago after taking it for about a year. Sure enough, verbalization became less fluid (to the point that I had a bit of difficulty compensating at first), problem-solving tasks and idea formation that had become rapid-fire and automatic started to require additional goading, etc. I'd even been compelled by the circumstances to conjecture about possible changes in habitual thinking patterns and the like, and what I came up with was very much along the lines of what you've mentioned.

Something that corroborates that intuition is the possibility that Piracetam reduces nACh receptor density. There's a link to an article here. Not easy to interpret without more data, as nACh receptors perform a really wide variety of functions, but at least in those situations where nicotinic and muscarinergic receptors play complimentary towards a given task, it's easy to surmise that Piracetam might cause the brain to rely more heavily on the muscarinergic pathways than on the nicotinic ones while you're on it. Food for thought, at least.

Edited by samonakuba, 22 May 2009 - 08:36 AM.

[Invariant]

Your experience with discontinuing Piracetam is extremely similar to mine. I discontinued cold-turkey about six months ago after taking it for about a year. Sure enough, verbalization became less fluid (to the point that I had a bit of difficulty compensating at first), problem-solving tasks and idea formation that had become rapid-fire and automatic started to require additional goading, etc. I'd even been compelled by the circumstances to conjecture about possible changes in habitual thinking patterns and the like, and what I came up with was very much along the lines of what you've mentioned.

Something that corroborates that intuition is the possibility that Piracetam reduces nACh receptor density. There's a link to an article here. Not easy to interpret without more data, as nACh receptors perform a really wide variety of functions, but at least in those situations where nicotinic and muscarinergic receptors play complimentary towards a given task, it's easy to surmise that Piracetam might cause the brain to rely more heavily on the muscarinergic pathways than on the nicotinic ones while you're on it. Food for thought, at least.

Thanks for the reply! That's a good discussion you linked, I will try to understand the studies but I must admit I'm just a newbie at this.

I have a bunch of questions for you, if you don't mind. You said you quit six months ago, how are you doing now? Have you touched piracetam since you quit? Do you feel like your abilities where below baseline after quiting, or just not as good as when on piracetam? Did you "recover" after some time of abstinence? What are your thoughts about this on the very-very long term, like earlyer onset of Alzheimers or other age related neuropathologies?

Another thing I'd like to bring into the discussion is choline use. A friend of mine who started and stopped piracetam at about the same time as I did never used choline supplements. He sayd he just ate some more eggs, but nothing much. I on the other hand used quite a bit of alpha-GPC and choline bitartrate. I asked him how he felt after stopping piracetam and he sayd he definately noticed a decrease in abilities, but he thinks he is now MORE fluent in speach than he was before starting piracetam.

Intuitively this makes sense. If the brain is constantly deprived of acetylcholine, obviously sensitization is what will happen.

I'm still interested in hearing other long term users' thoughts.

[samonakuba]

You know, it's really hard to say whether I feel like I'm at or below baseline, as a lot of other changes have happened in my life since I quit, and my general level of health-conscientiousness has taken a bit of a turn for the worse. Not to mention that the last time I took piracetam regularly I didn't get the strongest effects (strongest was the time before THAT, when I was exercising regularly, eating well, and supplementing with good choline sources. Last time I only used choline citrate and was largely sedentary.)

As for recovery... right after quitting I felt very much below baseline, but I suspect now that a good bit of it had to do with dropping the choline citrate along with the piracetam, and doing it cold-turkey. I'd experienced something similar but less severely after cutting eggs out of my diet a few years ago (when not on piracetam), and choline citrate definitely mucks with systemic choline levels more than mere eggs. Since then I've just been taking fish-oil, a multi, and some CDP-choline, and the blandness has gradually gone away.

I could only guess (and guess poorly) at the extremely long-term effects. It would be really nice to have a study or two with fMRI data from a sample of long-term users, or, better yet, one conducted with people known to be at risk for Alzheimer's.

Edited by samonakuba, 26 May 2009 - 10:11 AM.

[Shannon Vyff]

Thanks everyone who has posted, I hope some of our long term users will post too. I've used Piracetam off and on for two and half years and have always found it quite benign, its best to keep reading up on it and watching how your own body effects to any supplement though! I very much agree with Punkideas and follow the same regime. ImmInst is an excellent place to read about how the efficacy of supplements or medications and how others use them while you find what works well for your body (and will be healthiest for the Long Term ;-) )

[dopamine]

I've been taking piracetam with some intermittent breaks for about six years. The only negative side-effect I have found is a slight withdrawal syndrome after using it for extended periods of time, in which I feel less sharp and have a somewhat worse memory. I imagine that, as with any other drug, the effects of piracetam on the brain result in plastic adaptations that become apparent once the drug is withdrawn from the body.

[Arc]

I've been taking piracetam for ~5 months now and I can say I have only found positive benefits from its use.
One thing to not though is that I didn't take choline at all to start with and didn't get headaches, instead everything appears blurry and hard to read. Almost as if I'd need glasses to read, this was easily remedied by adding in a choline source.

Of course this could just be me as piracetam has also made me really photosensitive. Light sources have halos etc, only really noticeable at night time and with larger doses.

[mentatpsi]

How about downregulation of one receptor or another?

Most things that work do, but it's not a real issue, especially if you keep taking it.

Or maybe some kind of "atrophy" from not using certain parts of your brain because others function so well they can take over those tasks?

No, that isn't how the brain works.

Well... at certain phases throughout childhood development it does work that way .

[russianBEAR]

Though I never had the patience to finish just a Piracetam cycle (I'd usually get too agitated and switch to something like a Pyritinol or maybe some good old Aminalon GABA supplements), I have to say that "it's all in your head" when it comes to a lot of nootropics.

During my period of heavy use, I noticed a severe "burn out" effect when I went on a summer vacation from my job and didn't take any. However, it was very similar in symptoms to what's generally being reported as "work burn out" by most of the colleagues in my profession, and other high-stress jobs. At that time I was pretty much replacing any one smart drug with any other on any given day/week, and they all seemed to substitute very well. A week on aminalon, then go for some picamilon with DMAE, then bust out the Nooclerin and throw in some Phenotropyl on top of that all. Or something similar.

After I got back, I went for a homeopathic injectable preparation Cerebrum, it seemed to alleviate the negative symptoms for nootropics.

So while this all sounds normal on paper - I noticed that the main issue for me personally of not being able to "perform at a high level" wasn't the fact that my capacity was somehow diminished - it was FEAR. 

Nootropics activate your mental processes, so if you're a person with some kind of unresolved issues, or just someone who "thinks too much" like I was at the time - then the issues will manifest themselves in a much more ugly light I guess. But that's exactly what it was for me - FEAR.

Fear of not being able to live up to the bar I've set so high for myself. Fear of being invalidated by my colleagues for an easily avoidable mental lapse, fear of not being "good enough" anymore outside the workplace. Fear of this, fear of that... and if you just put those on a backburner and try to convice yourself everything is fine, you're gonna think the smallest changes are the end of the world for you.

I eventually tapered down on DMAE I think it was and pretty much stopped using all nootropics at some point. I was able to continue working just fine after that for a few years, and I bet right now I'd give any noo-user at my job a run for his/her money when it comes to clarity, speed, and precision in completing tasks.

So, to summarize - I'm a believer in all things neurochemistry, but I don't think that up/downregulation causes effects that significant, and the majority of "withdrawals" from nootropics are purely psychological and have a socioeconomic context if you will No matter how "downregulated" you are, you're still the same person that was "upregulated". But if you took nootropics to hide/avoid dealing with some kind of deficiency of yours straight up, then all the "demons in your head" are likely to manifest themselves much stronger once that cushion is gone IMO.

[abelard lindsay]

I took Piracetam for about 4 years continuously. It was a wonder drug for me. I stopped taking Piracetam regularly a month or two ago and I really haven't noticed any slowdown. I mostly switched to idebenone, and choline and phenylalanine for daily maintenance. I do take Piracetam occasionally when I have high anxiety. For some reason it seems to have a perfect anti-anxiety effect on my brain chemistry and allows me to think clearly and deal well with high stress situations. Sometimes, on weekends or when I'm on vacation I take off of all supplements because I don't have to be super-sharp and the only thing I really miss is caffeine. Maybe it's because I also took Pramiractam for a long period of time, but I think even on my off days, my brain works far better than it used to.

[1cc]

Interesting topic. Any more long-term users have input?

[neuromancer]

Interesting topic. Any more long-term users have input?

I have cycled Piracetam off and on for about two or three years. It's funny but until recently I did not really notice a dullness or slowness during off periods. Recently, though, I noticed I was not as quick, mentally, but my interpretation was of settling back down to normal operation, rather than dipping below my baseline.

I did notice that in my on phases, in the beginning, I made a lot more typos. Like my nervous system was not coordinated for the speed of my activity. It was a bit similar with talking, too, sometimes ideas would get ahead of my mouth, so to speak.

After these few years, some of my introspections and experiences have become permanent. I do feel like my brain has sort of, somehow, adjusted to a more efficient or reliable way of operating, although it's not permanently faster. It's difficult to explain, but, I have a feeling that I can perceive overall patterns more easily, for example, themes in music or books. I can hold conversations about things I did not understand before. I can certainly articulate my own feelings and thoughts better now. I think some of my normal underlying mental heuristics have just become more reliable.

Also, with the piracetam, I had much greater recall of past events, such as my childhood. After remembering a few things and telling stories, e.g. "Sesame street used to be so much better", now, I still remember those past events, but it also seems other, similar memories come more easily than they used to.

It is difficult to explain, but I do feel like there have been permanent beneficial changes. Then again, it may be simply rewiring to compensate for deficiencies or damage. I think a few posters have said certain nootropics have greater potential gain in cases where an underlying problem is overcome.

[mentatpsi]

In regards to Piracetam, I thought I'd post some studies from my blog - Ripples from the Botanical Garden - Piracetam:

[5] Effect of Piracetam on attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder

[6] Therapeutic efficacy of nootropil different doses in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

[8] The Effect Of Piractam in the development of Attentional Disturbances; Hyperactivity and absent-mindedness in children with Developmental Retardation

I think it is essential to note that Piracetam isn't always beneficial.

[1cc]

I have cycled Piracetam off and on for about two or three years. It's funny but until recently I did not really notice a dullness or slowness during off periods. Recently, though, I noticed I was not as quick, mentally, but my interpretation was of settling back down to normal operation, rather than dipping below my baseline.

Did you find it necessary to cycle Piracetam in order to maintain it's effectiveness?
How long have your off cycles been?
Does Piracetam have the same effects on you now as when you first started using it?
What is your current dosage of Piracetam?
Has it affected your sleep negatively?
Are you able to fall asleep easily?
Are you able to remain asleep?
Do you sleep less than you used to sleep prior to piracetam?

[bosozok]

For three years been taking piracetam, also on and off a variety of the other racetams along with the piracetam. Can't confirm a direct causal effect as a result, but can state my memory is definitely better, along with ability to analyse, and concentrate for it seems ever increasing durations. That's on the basis of comparing my performance over the past year with how it was when starting the nootropic regime, with piracetam being the core of it. And its interesting to compare current ability to digest study material with how it was for me back * years ago when doing my first degree and even my high school days.

I have to read a pile of text each and every day, all books and journal articles, and this work is so much easier than it was when I started. Put a lot of the gains down to the racetams as 'brain' facilitators, enablers. Yes, still need to do the work to see the gains but it appears the racetams are real enablers. Steroids for the mind.

[1cc]

For three years been taking piracetam, also on and off a variety of the other racetams along with the piracetam. Can't confirm a direct causal effect as a result, but can state my memory is definitely better, along with ability to analyse, and concentrate for it seems ever increasing durations. That's on the basis of comparing my performance over the past year with how it was when starting the nootropic regime, with piracetam being the core of it. And its interesting to compare current ability to digest study material with how it was for me back * years ago when doing my first degree and even my high school days.

I have to read a pile of text each and every day, all books and journal articles, and this work is so much easier than it was when I started. Put a lot of the gains down to the racetams as 'brain' facilitators, enablers. Yes, still need to do the work to see the gains but it appears the racetams are real enablers. Steroids for the mind.

Would you please also answer these questions:

Did you find it necessary to cycle Piracetam in order to maintain it's effectiveness?
How long have your off cycles been?
Does Piracetam have the same effects on you now as when you first started using it?
What is your current dosage of Piracetam?
Has it affected your sleep negatively?
Are you able to fall asleep easily?
Are you able to remain asleep?
Do you sleep less than you used to sleep prior to piracetam?

[neuromancer]

I have cycled Piracetam off and on for about two or three years. It's funny but until recently I did not really notice a dullness or slowness during off periods. Recently, though, I noticed I was not as quick, mentally, but my interpretation was of settling back down to normal operation, rather than dipping below my baseline.

Did you find it necessary to cycle Piracetam in order to maintain it's effectiveness?
How long have your off cycles been?
Does Piracetam have the same effects on you now as when you first started using it?
What is your current dosage of Piracetam?
Has it affected your sleep negatively?
Are you able to fall asleep easily?
Are you able to remain asleep?
Do you sleep less than you used to sleep prior to piracetam?

The cycles were irregular. Some days I just wouldn't bother with taking it. Other times I'd run out and not bother to buy more for a few months. The longest phase on was probably 3 to 4 months. Longest off phase was probably five or six months. In retrospect, I wish I'd tracked it better.

The same effects, not exactly. I feel like initially, the effects were noticably profound, and the first few cycles were like this. I gradually got used to this effect over time. The last couple of cycles, I can tell the difference, but it's a lot more natural and no longer novel.

It still makes me very loquacious and prone to information-dense communication. I think this is a result of more mental background "chatter" or activity. However it all seems a lot smoother now, and less scattered. Before, it was like fireworks, and now, it's more like tracer bullets.

I also still feel like I'm able to take in a lot more from a lesson or a book or some such, than I used to be able to. This seems to be true to a great extent.

Right now I am taking about 2 and a half grams in the morning. I have noticed that if I take the same dose at night, I have more vivid dreams, but normally I just have it once a day. Initially I tried smaller, and larger doses, and lower doses didn't appear to do anything.

Regarding sleep, well, I've always had some trouble sleeping. I've slept better these past few years than in prior life, but, in that time, I've also taken a lot of vitamin d, melatonin and 5-htp. I should add, the 5-htp also seemed to engage some mid to long term changes with continued use. It always took at least two weeks to notice changes. I ended up feeling more level, that seems like the best way to put it. But, that was cycled too, and I have not had it for awhile.

I did notice piracetam made me sleepy sometimes, but my interpretation was that I already needed more sleep, and the piracetam just catalyzed the issue. So my thinking was that the piracetam was helping me to address issues, rather than being a cause of issues. There have been many times when the need to just get to work got me out of bed, and I realized that most of my life was running on stress.

I see others' posts stating no effect from noots and I wonder if there are a) diet or brain chemistry deficiencies or b) underlying issues needing attention. Particularly with choline, b vitamins and other energy-related supplements. I've had slow metabolism issues (type II diabetes) for some years now, so, I've been supplementing with multivitamins (with b family), iodine and some others for a long time. I also wonder if the underlying glucose issues had something to do with needing a very high dose of piracetam in order to notice changes.

It wasn't until the piracetam that I realized the extent of the "brain fog" that had set in since the diagnosis of diabetes. It was a long, slow, and profound decline. The piracetam most certainly did a lot to "wake me up". I was more on the ball than I had been in years.

[mxr808]

I've been taking piracetam for ~5 months now and I can say I have only found positive benefits from its use.
One thing to not though is that I didn't take choline at all to start with and didn't get headaches, instead everything appears blurry and hard to read. Almost as if I'd need glasses to read, this was easily remedied by adding in a choline source.

Of course this could just be me as piracetam has also made me really photosensitive. Light sources have halos etc, only really noticeable at night time and with larger doses.

I'm currently trying out aniracetam and get the blurry vision when trying to read and halos around lights along with mindfog and headaches. I am however taking choline bitartrate with my ani dose. Did your situation remedy itself immediately or did it take a while before the photosensitivity declined?

[1cc]

neuromancer,

Thank you for the excellent reply.

[bosozok]

For three years been taking piracetam, also on and off a variety of the other racetams along with the piracetam. Can't confirm a direct causal effect as a result, but can state my memory is definitely better, along with ability to analyse, and concentrate for it seems ever increasing durations. That's on the basis of comparing my performance over the past year with how it was when starting the nootropic regime, with piracetam being the core of it. And its interesting to compare current ability to digest study material with how it was for me back * years ago when doing my first degree and even my high school days.

I have to read a pile of text each and every day, all books and journal articles, and this work is so much easier than it was when I started. Put a lot of the gains down to the racetams as 'brain' facilitators, enablers. Yes, still need to do the work to see the gains but it appears the racetams are real enablers. Steroids for the mind.

Would you please also answer these questions:

Did you find it necessary to cycle Piracetam in order to maintain it's effectiveness?
How long have your off cycles been?
Does Piracetam have the same effects on you now as when you first started using it?
What is your current dosage of Piracetam?
Has it affected your sleep negatively?
Are you able to fall asleep easily?
Are you able to remain asleep?
Do you sleep less than you used to sleep prior to piracetam?

Kept to regular cycles in the first year, a day off every sups every week, and 2 weeks off every three months. While still cycling the rest, though not as frequently, the piracetam I take pretty much each day, with a two to three week break every three months. Can't recall piracetam ever having an 'effect' on me, not that I'd notice each time I took it. But then that is the point of my post above. It is the accumulative effect over time that appears to have been beneficial!

That means three years of piracetam supplementation with only beneficial effects apparant.

Considering the other racetams I have tried, yes, I have noted some 'effect', particularly oxiracetam, it can make me sleepy if taken in the afternoon after lunch. But that is gone if I take a five minute dose. Then concentration is excellent, and ability to analyze a lot of material appears to be considerably enhanced.

I always take a choline source with the racetam. Current dosage is morning 800mg piracetam, afternoon oxiracetam 800mg.

Sleep has been sometimes a problem since before starting on racetams. But I posted the other day on the sleep fix for that works for me. I sleep far better since finding the fix (no food at least 2 hours before sleep, and melatonin and L-tryptophan). The short answer appears to me to be my sleep problems probably are more to do with genes, and the amount of coffee I drink each day, than the racetams I have taken for the last three years. In fact, the reason I first looked at this site was to find something to help me get the kind of sleep I remember having as a teenager. And then, later, I discovered piracetam and noots in general.

Neuromancer has made a good point about that people who don't find noots offering conclusive results, should consider factors such as diet, what other kinds of nootropic drugs they may be taking, and possible biochemical factors in their case that may be relevant. On a side note, I would be inclined to add one more key contributing factor, the amount of regular exercise one is able to get. Not saying regular exercise is the essential deal breaker here, but a healthy body surely means better working brain/cognitive processing.

[student123]

Thanks mentatpsi for your research posts. I've been taking 800 mg Piracetam for about 14 months now. The first 3 months I was on it, I took 800 mg in the morning with 250mg alphaGPC. I noticed I was a lot more alert and motivated to get work done. However, months 3-10 I didn't notice any effect, and took breaks from it on the weekends, and at 1 point took a week off from it completely. I noticed no gain when resuming it. Months 11-12 I started having horrible headaches, which was from the AlphaGPC and stopped when I switched to CDP Choline. Starting at month 13, I noticed my extreme short term memory was great for small tasks (like brain games that use memorization of numbers in a 4x4 grid). However, my everyday useful memory was horrible, and still is, even since I stopped taking piracetam and cdp choline 2 weeks ago. Before I took piracetam, I could remember 5 tasks I needed to accomplish throughout the day. Now, 14 months later, I can remember 1-2 at most, and MUST write the other 3 down or I will forget. These are things as simple as remembering to pay a bill or call someone back. These aren't things that happen occasionally, these happen daily now.

Conclusion: When I first took piracetam, I was a huge fan of it. Now that I have taken it for 14 months, I want to warn other people from making the same mistake I did. It still might be useful for short periods of time, but in my case, long term use has HARMFUL effects.

[stablemind]

Thanks mentatpsi for your research posts. I've been taking 800 mg Piracetam for about 14 months now. The first 3 months I was on it, I took 800 mg in the morning with 250mg alphaGPC. I noticed I was a lot more alert and motivated to get work done. However, months 3-10 I didn't notice any effect, and took breaks from it on the weekends, and at 1 point took a week off from it completely. I noticed no gain when resuming it. Months 11-12 I started having horrible headaches, which was from the AlphaGPC and stopped when I switched to CDP Choline. Starting at month 13, I noticed my extreme short term memory was great for small tasks (like brain games that use memorization of numbers in a 4x4 grid). However, my everyday useful memory was horrible, and still is, even since I stopped taking piracetam and cdp choline 2 weeks ago. Before I took piracetam, I could remember 5 tasks I needed to accomplish throughout the day. Now, 14 months later, I can remember 1-2 at most, and MUST write the other 3 down or I will forget. These are things as simple as remembering to pay a bill or call someone back. These aren't things that happen occasionally, these happen daily now.

Conclusion: When I first took piracetam, I was a huge fan of it. Now that I have taken it for 14 months, I want to warn other people from making the same mistake I did. It still might be useful for short periods of time, but in my case, long term use has HARMFUL effects.

jeeze... i'm hesitant to try it out now since my memory is already crap, I can't really afford to lose any more of the little fish memory I have haha. Has this affected you socially?

[neuromancer]

Thanks mentatpsi for your research posts. I've been taking 800 mg Piracetam for about 14 months now. The first 3 months I was on it, I took 800 mg in the morning with 250mg alphaGPC. I noticed I was a lot more alert and motivated to get work done. However, months 3-10 I didn't notice any effect, and took breaks from it on the weekends, and at 1 point took a week off from it completely. I noticed no gain when resuming it. Months 11-12 I started having horrible headaches, which was from the AlphaGPC and stopped when I switched to CDP Choline. Starting at month 13, I noticed my extreme short term memory was great for small tasks (like brain games that use memorization of numbers in a 4x4 grid). However, my everyday useful memory was horrible, and still is, even since I stopped taking piracetam and cdp choline 2 weeks ago. Before I took piracetam, I could remember 5 tasks I needed to accomplish throughout the day. Now, 14 months later, I can remember 1-2 at most, and MUST write the other 3 down or I will forget. These are things as simple as remembering to pay a bill or call someone back. These aren't things that happen occasionally, these happen daily now.

Conclusion: When I first took piracetam, I was a huge fan of it. Now that I have taken it for 14 months, I want to warn other people from making the same mistake I did. It still might be useful for short periods of time, but in my case, long term use has HARMFUL effects.

Do you cultivate distractions? If you routinely work on multiple tasks without focusing on one thing for more than 20 or 30 minutes, or if your day is full of interruptions, maybe you've trained your mind to operate in a distracted state. There's a study referenced in another thread, too, with the finding that piracetam made ADD worse.