Zinnia on drugs! A nootropics experiment

Brain food in pill form

Recently, I read about a drug called piracetam. It's considered a nootropic, a substance which is believed to improve cognition, intelligence, memory and other mental functions. The term "nootropic" was actually coined to describe the effects of piracetam. It's not a stimulant, and its mechanism of action isn't entirely known, although it's believed to affect ion channels, cerebral blood flow and certain neurotransmitter receptors. In the United States, it's legal as an unregulated supplement (and comes with a "These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration" disclaimer). It has a wide therapeutic index, meaning you can take a lot of it and you won't die. It's reported to have hardly any side effects, which tend to be very mild. Agitation, anxiety, insomnia and headache have been known to occur, although headache can be reduced with choline sources (a precursor to the neurotransmitter acetylcholine). Choline itself is a nootropic, and has been claimed to have a synergistic effect with piracetam.

Does it actually work?

According to various studies, the effects of piracetam are more pronounced in cases of cognitive deficit, such as Alzheimer's, senile dementia, stroke, alcoholism, closed head trauma and dyslexia. (However, some of these trials have been shown to be methodologically flawed.) One study from 1976 showed it to be effective in improving the verbal learning and memory of healthy college students. Overall, it appears to be something more than just a placebo. Anecdotally, some people who use it as a cognitive enhancer have reported increased clarity, improved memory, focus, and "sharpness". Some claim it increases interhemispheric communication. Others have experienced no noticeable effects at all. One person described it as having a subtle and almost seamless effect, allowing them to simply understand certain concepts that they previously weren't able to. This interested me. I'd like to be able to experience that myself, if possible.

Some background

I am a healthy 21 year old male, 54 kg (119 lbs), with no history of neurological or psychiatric conditions (aside from migraines, which don't happen much anymore). I don't use alcohol, tobacco or caffeine regularly (and caffeine doesn't seem to improve my thinking). I've never used illegal substances, prescription psychoactives, or other nootropics. This is all new to me. I plan to take piracetam and choline for 30 days, observing and recording its effects.

Dosage

I have 800mg piracetam tablets, and 650mg choline citrate tablets. Most people use a 1:0.5 or 1:1 piracetam and choline ratio, taken two or three times a day. The typical daily dose ranges from 2400-4800mg. Some recommend an elevated initial "attack dose" for more rapid onset of its effects. I'll be taking two of each three times a day for the first day or two, followed by one of each three times a day, and adjusting the dose as necessary.

Things to try

Reading. When I was younger, I was constantly reading all kinds of things, probably because we didn't have the internet. Nowadays, I don't do that as much as I should. I'm usually occupied with something else, and while I do still read a lot, I hardly ever just sit around for a couple hours and focus exclusively on reading a significant portion of a book. I'd like to see if this changes or improves my attention span.

Writing. Typically, I have no problem focusing on this, and I do it pretty regularly - writing videos, the occasional blog post, or essay-length reddit comments. But it's not something that flows naturally, and it's not like I'm really compelled to write as a natural function. I tend to do it more out of a sense of duty: someone says something stupid, or ridiculous, or important, and I feel it needs to be addressed. It's rare for what I write to just come out all at once; it's a slow and complicated process of literally assembling it from fragments. I'm interested to see how this might alter my writing habits.

Learning Python and other things. I was working on this a while ago, but I lost interest and wasn't using it for any practical application. I think it would be good to try again, just to see how quickly I'm able to pick it up. I also need to figure out how to make WordPress themes, and maybe this could facilitate that.

Memorizing strings of digits. I've done this before - 100 and 200 digits of pi - but it took a lot of cramming and repetition, and I forgot most of it beyond the first 75 digits a couple days later. It was just a fun trick for Pi Day. I'd like to see if memorizing and recalling long series of numbers will become any easier.

Sleeping. I sometimes have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep, and I'd like to see how this affects my sleep habits in general. Some users have reported that it keeps you awake if you take it at night. Others have had vivid and lucid dreams, which I don't often experience.

Seeing what happens when I stop. If these really are "smart pills", does that mean without them, I'll just be "dumb me"? People typically don't report developing a tolerance to it, or addiction, although there are sometimes withdrawal effects such as confusion and "cloudiness" after your brain has gotten used to its presence. Others have claimed to have a lasting improvement of mental functions even after discontinuing it. I might try to gradually taper it off near the end.

Again, this all depends on whether it actually has any effect on me. I'll be taking the first dose now.

Have you used piracetam or other nootropics? What was your experience like? Is there anything I should be aware of?