Barry

I use them almost everyday.

There are some short term side effects I’ve already noticed — Oxiracetam and Huperzine A tend to make me often quite tired (which I often counter with 1-2 caffeine pills), insomnia often results (countered with 10-20mg of melatonin), Vinpocetine has lowered my blood pressure to the point where I’ve blacked out on one occasion. Oxiracetam also has a “speedy” effect to it which sometimes makes it difficult to focus.

Some positive effects I’ve noticed: Greatly enhanced memory ever since I started taking Huperzine A. Oxiracetam has made me feel more social and greatly improved verbal fluency. Vinpocetine, other than when I’ve been taking it in large doses appears to be the safest and has significantly heightened my senses.

Occasionally I potentiate the stack with alpha-GPC and this produces some very noticeable effects, however I’m weary of using an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor (Huperzine A) with a source of choline. I’ve been yearning to try selegiline which I hear is one of the most effective, however being an irreversible MAO-B inhibitor has me a bit worried.

Ampakines are prohibitively expensive at the moment, however they certainly look promising.

I do worry about the long term effects, however, the benefits simply outweight the risks for me.

Reece: Interesting that you have tried them out. Is it sporadic use or regular? Are you concerned about side effects or long term problems?
Ampakines are interesting new small molecules being developed by various companies. With fewer side effects shown so far, they could really trigger the issues I mention in this post when the class of drugs comes to market.

thanks for you comments

I’m a big fan of nootropics myself and have tried quite a few — Piracetam, Oxiracetam, Vinpocetine, Huperzine A. Lots of the pharmaceuticals already on the market (eg. Ritalin) have positive effects in healthy adults, just the same as those suffering from ADHD, enhancing focus/concentration.

DARPA is currently researching ampakines (such as CX-717)which seem to be the latest and greatest thing when it comes to brain building. Modafinil has become quite popular recently as well.