31 replies to this topic

[csrpj]

first of all, i'm confused about one thing...
i've read all the info hear, and when mentioning bacopa it's usually around 450mg
but taking the standard planetary herbals brand, i'm not sure how much to take, b/c they recommend 900mg ("Adults 2 tablets twice daily")

also, in general, i'd really like to how how large doses (2x, 3x, 4x) higher than regular, end up playing out.
the other day, having a bad anxiety attack from other stuff, i took 1350mg and then another 1350mg two hours later, and it helped me tremendously the whole day. but if you take such large amounts every single day, i realize it may not be favorable.
but are there any reports of daily higher-than-normally-talked-about-here dosages... anybody done it?

[aLurker]

Planetary Herbals bacopa is standardized to 20% of bacosides so take that in mind when you compare the dosage to studies and other brands. Some brands are standardized to 50%+ bacosides. I briefly compared the dosages used in some studies in one of the other bacopa threads.

No idea if higher doses are even better. Personally I get lethargic from the stuff so I'm trying to stay inside the proven range while staying awake. I wish we knew how the curve looks for this. I would also seriously consider a much higher dose if I didn't notice any side effects. Keep us posted.

A challenge to all of you:
Can anyone find a bacopa study where MOAR isn't better?

Edit:
I meant besides the toxicity studies but even they don't seem that worrying unless you're dissolving it in alcohol or/and injecting it.
From the article A review on Bacopa monniera: Current research and future prospects

Side Effects and Toxicity

BM has a record of several hundred years of safe therapeutic use in Ayurvedic medicine. A double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial of healthy male volunteers investigated the safety of pharmacological doses of isolated bacosides over a 4-week period. Concentrated bacosides given in single (20-30 mg) and multiple (100-200 mg) daily doses were well tolerated and without adverse effects. [25] The LD 50 of aqueous and alcoholic extracts of BM in rats were 1000 mg and 15 g/kg by the intraperitoneal route, respectively. [39] The aqueous extract given orally at a dose of 5 g/kg did not show any toxicity. The LD 50 of the alcoholic extract was 17 g/kg given orally. Both extracts did not produce any gross behavioural changes at these levels. [85]

Edited by aLurker, 17 December 2010 - 06:55 PM.

[Delta Gamma]

Bacopa+ginseng+gingko in my Swiss Solutions Memory supplement has shown positive effects in mood and cognition at up to 400mg bacopa extract a day. However, though I've experimented with gingko and ginseng before without such positive results, I can't completely rule out synergy with the gingko and ginseng.

I would continue dosing at this level if it weren't for the pro-thrombic effects of gingko in high dosages.

[trismatic]

I know everyone tends to get fatigue from Bacopa taken in morning and usually they recommend to take it in evenings. I just received my Planetary Herbals Bacopa Extract (20% a+b, 225mg tablets) and took one yesterday evening. Im currently very tired waking up mon-fri at 5am and I didn't sleep at all in sun-mon night. Shortly after taking B, I noticed firstly a pretty calming sensation, I could "breathe" more easily etc. I think this has to do something with the anxiolytic effects of Bacopa. But, one pill in evening, did almost feel like a stimulant for me. I think I have a severe sleep deprivation and still I rolled on my bed with racing thoughs for about 2hrs. I'm currently only taking Ashwagandha and ALCAR in mornings with vitamins + B-complex with about 2000% of everything (this could also explain my insomnia?) I also take Vitamin D3 and fish oil in evenings with Bacopa now. I also tried Lion's mane for the first time last night (but I don't think it's related).

I'm considering to try bigger dose of B. Serving size seems to be 2 tablets resulting 450mgs. Otherwise I have to switch Ash and B's places. Do you guys think Ash&B could be taken at the same time? I don't actually feel very confident taking Ashwagandha in the evening before sleep, if it has a significant AchEI/choline related activity.

Otherwise I'm feeling GREAT. I think I have had a chronic stress. I'm very stressed person, I actually do stress about everything, social situations, school, money, etc...

[nasp]

AOR Bacopa has a Bacopa product with a potency of 50% Bacosides

[aLurker]

I'm still perplexed as to what the optimum dosage of bacopa might be (in terms of cognition). Can anyone find any studies indicating when the bacopa dosage is simply too high? I'd very much like to know what the dosage curve looks like yet I can't find much about it.

[svidri2]

aLurker,
Haven't found anything either & am also curious. At 67 mg bacosides from the Himalaya brand with little sedation. One of the Australian studies was at 150 mg bacosides iirc. Figured I'd start there initially but it made me too sleepy.

[aLurker]

aLurker,
Haven't found anything either & am also curious. At 67 mg bacosides from the Himalaya brand with little sedation. One of the Australian studies was at 150 mg bacosides iirc. Figured I'd start there initially but it made me too sleepy.

I made a post about the dosages used in the studies earlier and to summarize most use 300 mg of ~50% bacosides, in line what you're saying. The real question is whether or not a higher (or lower) dose would be more effective.

I also found this study mentioning that bacopa seems to have AChEI effects (like many other herbs):

Neuroprotective effect of Bacopa monnieri on beta-amyloid-induced cell death in primary cortical culture.
AIM OF THE STUDY: Bacopa monnieri (Brahmi) is extensively used in traditional Indian medicine as a nerve tonic and thought to improve memory. To examine the neuroprotective effects of Brahmi extract, we tested its protection against the beta-amyloid protein (25-35) and glutamate-induced neurotoxicity in primary cortical cultured neurons.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Neuroprotective effects were determined by measuring neuronal cell viability following beta-amyloid and glutamate treatment with and without Brahmi extract. Mechanisms of neuroprotection were evaluated by monitoring cellular oxidative stress and acetylcholinesterase activity.

RESULTS: Our result demonstrated that Brahmi extract protected neurons from beta-amyloid-induced cell death, but not glutamate-induced excitotoxicity. This neuroprotection was possibly due to its ability to suppress cellular acetylcholinesterase activity but not the inhibition of glutamate-mediated toxicity. In addition, culture medium containing Brahmi extract appeared to promote cell survival compared to neuronal cells growing in regular culture medium. Further study showed that Brahmi-treated neurons expressed lower level of reactive oxygen species suggesting that Brahmi restrained intracellular oxidative stress which in turn prolonged the lifespan of the culture neurons. Brahmi extract also exhibited both reducing and lipid peroxidation inhibitory activities.

CONCLUSIONS: From this study, the mode of action of neuroprotective effects of Brahmi appeared to be the results of its antioxidant to suppress neuronal oxidative stress and the acetylcholinesterase inhibitory activities. Therefore, treating patients with Brahmi extract may be an alternative direction for ameliorating neurodegenerative disorders associated with the overwhelming oxidative stress as well as Alzheimer's disease.

Might also be an explanation for my trippy dreams.
I haven't heard it mentioned before on these forums to I thought I'd just throw it out there, might also be a reason to not go entirely crazy with high doses of the stuff even if the suppression of oxidative stress seems to increase with dosage and I haven't seen any studies on bacopa measuring cognition reach the farther side of the hypothetical U-curve. Still very curious as to what effects higher doses might have on us.

Edited by aLurker, 01 March 2011 - 01:22 PM.

[owls]

i'm really enjoying the himalaya brand.. although i tend to take 2-3 tablets a day as opposed to the recommended 1

[renfr]

I just received Bacopa capsules (250mg with 45% bacosides) from Swanson, I took one capsule, is it enough for memory effects to show up or should I take two?

[gbpackers]

sorry to bump an old thread.. but i was wondering what's a good dosing scheme for bacopa. I generally take one at night but not sure if that is enough.

[Tubemode]

Anywhere between 250 to 500 mg per day should be fine.

[renfr]

There's no limit, you can take very high doses (several grams), the only bad side effects you might experience (at least what I experienced) :
- extreme diarrhea
- reversible GERD
- several hours of deep sleep, your alarm clock might not even be able to wake you up (reversible)
- drunkness when getting out of bed (clears out 10 mins after waking up)
- reversible EDS

[Mr. Pink]

whats EDS? and how much of a dose will not cause GERD?

[ta5]

I was taking very high doses. At the most it was 7 x 3 caps per day of 225mg 20%.

It can increase T4 at 200mg/kg. Or less. Nobody knows.
http://www.thorne.co...text/9/1/79.pdf

I definitely experienced this. I got tremors. My hands were shaking big-time. And, I couldn't sleep. It took a couple hours to wear off. I knew I had to cut back after that.

"Symptoms of hyperthyroidism are nervousness, irritability, increased perspiration, heart racing, hand tremors, anxiety, difficulty sleeping, thinning of the skin, fine brittle hair, and muscular weakness—especially in the upper arms and thighs. More frequent bowel movements may occur, but diarrhea is uncommon."
http://en.wikipedia....ptoms_and_signs

Then, I developed peripheral neuropathy, mainly in my feet. That's been for the past several months, and I stopped taking after it started - well, weeks after. It took me awhile to catch on that it might be from the Bacopa. It's almost gone now. I can't say for sure it was from the Bacopa, but there's a chance. If it is, it's probably not from the bacopa itself, but from heavy metals that the plant is good at absorbing. I thought it might be from the P-5-P I was taking, but I'm taking that again, and the PN keeps getting better, so I'm getting more sure it was from the Bacopa.

Edited by ta5, 28 September 2012 - 03:07 AM.

[Reformed-Redan]

Gotta order some more from Swanson. So far I've had the best results from Bacopa. ALCAR+Bacopa+Selegiline = win

Might also get some Blueberry Leaf Extract and Fisetin and see how it goes. Anyone still interested in BPAP lemme know, lol. Found the supplier for LEF back when they had it, and still has it.

[Tubemode]

How does the Bacopa help you Redan? Would be nice to hear. Thanks.

[renfr]

whats EDS? and how much of a dose will not cause GERD?

EDS = excessive daytime sleepiness
When you awake, you feel terribly tired and want to go back to bed.
To me I experience GERD with doses as low as 500mg however it just depends of you, if your body is acidic then expect GERD if it's alkaline then I guess you can avoid it even with high doses.
If you feel GERD you can take alkaline foods or a teaspoon of baking soda in a cup of water.

I definitely experienced this. I got tremors. My hands were shaking big-time. And, I couldn't sleep. It took a couple hours to wear off. I knew I had to cut back after that.

That's scary, you probably had some kind of serotonin syndrome, bacopa makes you very sensitive to serotonin.

One thing, never mix bacopa with serotonergic medication as it can cause serotonin syndrome, whether it is a SSRI, ecstasy, GHB, GBL, etc... NEVER mix, it can cause a life threatening reaction. Bacosides have a pretty long half life so avoid taking it the same day.

[ta5]

I definitely experienced this. I got tremors. My hands were shaking big-time. And, I couldn't sleep. It took a couple hours to wear off. I knew I had to cut back after that.

That's scary, you probably had some kind of serotonin syndrome, bacopa makes you very sensitive to serotonin.

No, it was T4, thyroid hormone. Serotonin syndrome would have other symptoms. The only symptom listed that's slightly similar is shivering, and this was not shivering. This was hand tremors, the classic symptom of too much T4.

[megakjepp]

Then, I developed peripheral neuropathy, mainly in my feet. That's been for the past several months, and I stopped taking after it started - well, weeks after. It took me awhile to catch on that it might be from the Bacopa. It's almost gone now. I can't say for sure it was from the Bacopa, but there's a chance. If it is, it's probably not from the bacopa itself, but from heavy metals that the plant is good at absorbing. I thought it might be from the P-5-P I was taking, but I'm taking that again, and the PN keeps getting better, so I'm getting more sure it was from the Bacopa.

Jesus. I recently developed this aswell. It is fucking scary, and I too have been using Bacopa (bulk powder from smartpowders) although I thought something else was the cause. I actually thought it could have been excitotoxicity from excessive glutamate release, because at the time I had just started taking l-glutamic acid combined with racetams. It didn't really cross my mind that the threat of heavy metall poisoning from Bacopa was that serious. I GUESS IT IS.

[ta5]

Bacosides have a pretty long half life....

I'm curious, where did you read that?

My experience is that the effects of Bacopa are mostly gone after only a couple hours. But then, I don't think we can be sure that bacosides are the only active component. So, I may be judging the effects of something else in it with a shorter half-life.

[ta5]

Then, I developed peripheral neuropathy, mainly in my feet. That's been for the past several months, and I stopped taking after it started - well, weeks after. It took me awhile to catch on that it might be from the Bacopa. It's almost gone now. I can't say for sure it was from the Bacopa, but there's a chance. If it is, it's probably not from the bacopa itself, but from heavy metals that the plant is good at absorbing. I thought it might be from the P-5-P I was taking, but I'm taking that again, and the PN keeps getting better, so I'm getting more sure it was from the Bacopa.

Jesus. I recently developed this aswell. It is fucking scary, and I too have been using Bacopa (bulk powder from smartpowders) although I thought something else was the cause. I actually thought it could have been excitotoxicity from excessive glutamate release, because at the time I had just started taking l-glutamic acid combined with racetams. It didn't really cross my mind that the threat of heavy metall poisoning from Bacopa was that serious. I GUESS IT IS.

That's interesting. Thanks for posting. Maybe more evidence for this concern.

I was trying a bunch of different brands to see if any one worked better. So, I can't say it was one or the other.

Please post back if you ever decide for sure that it was or was not from the Bacopa.

[renfr]

I definitely experienced this. I got tremors. My hands were shaking big-time. And, I couldn't sleep. It took a couple hours to wear off. I knew I had to cut back after that.

That's scary, you probably had some kind of serotonin syndrome, bacopa makes you very sensitive to serotonin.

No, it was T4, thyroid hormone. Serotonin syndrome would have other symptoms. The only symptom listed that's slightly similar is shivering, and this was not shivering. This was hand tremors, the classic symptom of too much T4.

Sure it does increase thyroid function but to say it gives you hyperthyrodoism is a bit exaggerated. (even though due to the amount you took...)
I already experienced that kind of feeling with bacopa when I took serotonergic medication : unability to sleep, hand tremors, short term memory loss, feeling jittery all the day, arrythmia etc...
When I don't take serotonergic medication this never happens, it has to be linked with serotonin.
Tremor is a typical condition of low serotonin (or call it serotonin downregulation), this causes fibrosis and ultimately death.
And yes, this is what caused peripheral neuropathy, if you experience fibrosis, fasciculations, tremors this is related to the serotonergic system.

I'm curious, where did you read that?

My experience is that the effects of Bacopa are mostly gone after only a couple hours. But then, I don't think we can be sure that bacosides are the only active component. So, I may be judging the effects of something else in it with a shorter half-life.

I read somewhere it was about 5-7 hours, I don't have the link. However I remember the first time I took it, I took it at 7AM and had extreme sleepiness/drunkness all the day until 18PM, it lasted for a long time.
Also even if the half life is not extremely long, serotonin upregulation lasts more than bacosides do and that should be considered.
There are many other components besides of bacosides however pill formulations have high concentrations of bacosides which are said to be the components that make bacopa effective and the problem behind all that is due to bacosides mostly, herbal bacopa even taken in high doses doesn't cause such symptoms as bacosides concentration is relatively low.

[ta5]

Sure it does increase thyroid function but to say it gives you hyperthyrodoism is a bit exaggerated. (even though due to the amount you took...)

It increased it 40% in rodents. I imagine that gets you to hyperthyroid levels.

Also even if the half life is not extremely long, serotonin upregulation lasts more than bacosides do and that should be considered.

My symptoms only lasted a couple hours and then I went to bed and slept fine. From what I'm reading, symptoms of serotonin syndrome can take 24 hours to resolve.

I appreciate your comments. It would be interesting to know if I had serotoin syndrome.

I'm looking at how to diagnose serotonin syndrome:
http://www.ncbi.nlm....lth/PMH0004531/

Signs and tests
The diagnosis is usually made by asking questions about your medical history, including the types of drugs you take.
To be diagnosed with serotonin syndrome, you must have been taking a drug that changes the body's serotonin levels (serotonergic drug) and have at least three of the following signs or symptoms:
Agitation
Diarrhea
Heavy sweating not due to activity
Fever
Mental status changes such as confusion or hypomania
Muscle spasms (myoclonus)
Overactive reflexes (hyperreflexia)
Shivering
Tremor
Uncoordinated movements (ataxia)

Serotonin syndrome is not diagnosed until all other possible causes have been ruled out, including infections, intoxications, metabolic and hormone problems, and drug withdrawal. Some symptoms of serotonin syndrome can mimic those due to an overdose of cocaine, lithium, or an MAOI.

The symptoms of hyperthyroid are all the same. Tremor is listed. Though, mine was only in my hands. The only other symptom I may have had that's listed there was mild hyperreflexia during that hour. I don't think I had the other symptoms, but they are all symptoms of both.

Maybe one way to tell the difference is the time it took for the tremors to resolve.

And yes, this is what caused peripheral neuropathy, if you experience fibrosis, fasciculations, tremors this is related to the serotonergic system.

So, you also think my peripheral neuropathy was from fibrosis secondary to SS? Wouldn't I feel bad from long-term SS, if that were the cause? And, wouldn't I have other terrible symptoms from the fibrosis? I felt good throughout the time I was taking Bacopa, except for the PN and brief tremors.

[renfr]

Sure it does increase thyroid function but to say it gives you hyperthyrodoism is a bit exaggerated. (even though due to the amount you took...)

It increased it 40% in rodents. I imagine that gets you to hyperthyroid levels.

Also even if the half life is not extremely long, serotonin upregulation lasts more than bacosides do and that should be considered.

My symptoms only lasted a couple hours and then I went to bed and slept fine. From what I'm reading, symptoms of serotonin syndrome can take 24 hours to resolve.

I appreciate your comments. It would be interesting to know if I had serotoin syndrome.

I'm looking at how to diagnose serotonin syndrome:
http://www.ncbi.nlm....lth/PMH0004531/

Signs and tests
The diagnosis is usually made by asking questions about your medical history, including the types of drugs you take.
To be diagnosed with serotonin syndrome, you must have been taking a drug that changes the body's serotonin levels (serotonergic drug) and have at least three of the following signs or symptoms:
Agitation
Diarrhea
Heavy sweating not due to activity
Fever
Mental status changes such as confusion or hypomania
Muscle spasms (myoclonus)
Overactive reflexes (hyperreflexia)
Shivering
Tremor
Uncoordinated movements (ataxia)

Serotonin syndrome is not diagnosed until all other possible causes have been ruled out, including infections, intoxications, metabolic and hormone problems, and drug withdrawal. Some symptoms of serotonin syndrome can mimic those due to an overdose of cocaine, lithium, or an MAOI.

The symptoms of hyperthyroid are all the same. Tremor is listed. Though, mine was only in my hands. The only other symptom I may have had that's listed there was mild hyperreflexia during that hour. I don't think I had the other symptoms, but they are all symptoms of both.

Maybe one way to tell the difference is the time it took for the tremors to resolve.

And yes, this is what caused peripheral neuropathy, if you experience fibrosis, fasciculations, tremors this is related to the serotonergic system.

So, you also think my peripheral neuropathy was from fibrosis secondary to SS? Wouldn't I feel bad from long-term SS, if that were the cause? And, wouldn't I have other terrible symptoms from the fibrosis? I felt good throughout the time I was taking Bacopa, except for the PN and brief tremors.

Hypperreflexia? Yes that is definitely serotonin syndrome, I had that too, my eyes were constantly twitching, it's as if I had an adrenaline rush.
It's that symptom : http://en.wikipedia..../Hypervigilance

Peripheral neuropathy probably lasted until your serotonin receptors levels go back to normal, it takes a lot of time because when you eat you cause serotonin downregulation overall when you eat sugars and food rich in serotonin.
In such an amount of time you could hardly have developed fibrosis to a deadly extent, I had fibrosis induced pain for a whole f*cking day because I dared to mess up with my serotonin system and I haven't developed alzheimer's or anything harmful.
Honestly compared to people with fibromyalgia and very low serotonin you had very weak symptoms that could have lead to a life threatening situation if they didn't stop but it wasn't extreme enough to transform your body into fibrous tissue.
Once serotonin levels go back to normal the fibrous tissue decreases sharply.
Bacopa can be a solution to fibrosis, fibromyalgia, etc... however it can induce those diseases if you mix them up with serotonergic medication.

[ta5]

Hypperreflexia? Yes that is definitely serotonin syndrome, I had that too, my eyes were constantly twitching, it's as if I had an adrenaline rush.
It's that symptom : http://en.wikipedia..../Hypervigilance

No, it's not definitely. Hyperflexia is also a symptom of hyperthyroidism. All the symptoms we are discussing are for both hyperthyroid and serotonin syndrome. "But hyperreflexia can be developed via many other causes, including medication and stimulant side effects, hyperthyroidism, electrolyte imbalance, serotonin syndrome and severe brain trauma." But, I'm not sure I had hyperreflexia. I didn't have any twitching. Though, I would agree it was like high adrenaline. Again, it's all consistent with high thyroid (or factitious hyperthyroidism, factitious thyrotoxicosis, thyrotoxicosis factitia).

Peripheral neuropathy probably lasted until your serotonin receptors levels go back to normal....

Studies show Bacopa increases receptor sensitivity. I don't find any that say it causes down regulation as you suggest. And, I'm finding conflicting evidence that Bacopa even increases serotonin. Some studies say it decreases serotonin in certain cases. There's only 14 studies on pubmed.

I was not taking any serotonin increasing medication. I still think it's more plausible in my case that the PN was from heavy metals or other contaminants, like arsenic, and the tremors were from increased T4. Arsenic can cause neuropathy. Wouldn't serotonin syndrome, severe enough to cause tremors, have been unpleasant and longer lasting?

' class='bbc_url' title='External link' rel='nofollow external'>http://pmid.us/21656644']Investigation of biochemical responses of Bacopa monnieri L. upon exposure to arsenate.

Widespread contamination of arsenic (As) is recognized as a global problem due to its well-known accumulation by edible and medicinal plants and associated health risks for the humans. In this study, phytotoxicity imposed upon exposure to arsenate [As(V); 0-250 μM for 1-7 days] and ensuing biochemical responses were investigated in a medicinal herb Bacopa monnieri L. vis-à-vis As accumulation. Plants accumulated substantial amount of As (total 768 μg g(-1) dw at 250 μM As(V) after 7 days) with the maximum As retention being in roots (60%) followed by stem (23%) and leaves (17%). The level of cysteine and total nonprotein thiols (NP-SH) increased significantly at all exposure concentrations and durations. Besides, the level of metalloid binding ligands viz., glutathione (GSH) and phytochelatins (PCs) increased significantly at the studied concentrations [50 and 250 μM As(V)] in both roots and leaves. The activities of various enzymes viz., arsenate reductase (AR), glutathione reductase (GR), superoxide dismutase (SOD), guaiacol peroxidase (GPX), ascorbate peroxidase (APX), and catalase (CAT) showed differential but coordinated stimulation in leaves and roots to help plants combat As toxicity up to moderate exposure concentrations (50 μM). However, beyond 50 μM, biomass production was found to decrease along with photosynthetic pigments and total soluble proteins, whereas lipid peroxidation increased. In conclusion, As accumulation potential of Bacopa may warrant its use as a phytoremediator but if Bacopa growing in contaminated areas is consumed by humans, it may prove to be toxic for health.
PMID: 21656644

→ source (external link)

More studies in this thread.

[renfr]

If you had an arsenic intoxication you wouldn't recover so fast.
Bacopa does absorbs heavy metals but this is only in the herb itself, powdered extracts are free of any heavy metals. An heavy metal intoxication doesn't last some hours, it lasts for several days, weeks, months or even years if you don't detoxify yourself.
The mechanism of bacopa is dubious, to me it was both the cause and the cure of my serotonin imbalance.

[ta5]

You're right, heavy metal toxicity can take a long time to recover. I still haven't recovered from the peripheral neuropathy. The PN came on over days to weeks, and it's been weeks since I stopped taking it and has only improved a little. So, that's consistent with arsenic and other toxins. Though, I admit, I'm still not sure it's from the Bacopa. That's just a hypothesis I'm working with. I'm also considering other things that I was taking. Actually, this week I'm more suspicious of those other things. I will reply if I ever figure it out.

What evidence do you have that an extract will remove arsenic? Maybe it would concentrate it even more. I've read that extracts are sometimes just whole herb where they add the active component to bring it up to some standard. Eg: They may add concentrated bacosides to bring it up to 20%, or whatever. I don't see how that would reduce arsenic. Either way, in my case, I was taking some whole herb capsules, other times extracts.

What I recovered from quickly was the tremors. That was not from arsenic. That was probably from the herb itself. The point I was making is that the tremors were not from serotonin syndrome. My tremors were not unpleasant at all, and recovered after a couple hours, which I don't believe is consistent with serotonin syndrome and fibrosis.

[renfr]

The only evidence I have is norms, depending on the countries Arsenic quantity cannot exceeds 1 or 2ppm as for heavy metals it's 10ppm in western countries and 20ppm in China.
So unless you took pure herb or you had a contaminated batch you cannot have swallowed a significant amount of heavy metals.
For heavy metals detoxification I suggest MSM+Lypospheric Vitamin C+Lypospheric GSH however your peripheral can still be due to serotonergic pathways.
For instance MDMA can cause serotonin syndrome and it takes months to recover.
Your system would recover faster if serotonin receptors were upregulated, serotonin upregulation due to serotonin syndrome is longlasting because you're constantly exposed to tryptophan (in food) and this is slowing down homeostasis.
I can't say it would last months, because then this would mean you developed fibrosis and that latter caused peripheral neuropathy. Fibrosis is reversible with drugs however once it develops it stays until you don't treat it. The faster you solve serotonin syndrome the faster fibrosis will disappear.
Lots of antioxidants will help against fibrosis, your system is not able to fight it at once hence the slow recovery.
The detoxification process I described may help a lot.

[Templanoid]

renfr: How's the Swanson Bacopa treating you? I just received my order a few days ago and started taking them myself.. it's been 3 days of 1 pill in the morning and 1 before sleep, and I definitely feel more stabilized.. not lethargic, but defintely not very active.. more like a "flatline" kind of feeling.. i definitely dont feel as agitated as i used to get.

Also, where did you get your ALCAR and segiline from? Please PM me the source if you don't want to post here.