DOSE:	5600 mg	oral	Piracetam
	9.0 mg	oral	Ergoloid mesylates

Having experimented with smaller doses of Piracetam and Hydergine, and noted the apparent potentiation of the two when taken together, I decided to try an “attack” dose of Piracetam - 5600 mg - in combination with a decent dose of Hydergine - 9 mg. I also took a cap of 250 mg Choline Bitartrate / 250 mg Inositol - which is generally recommended because of Piracetam’s tendency to deplete the brain’s choline reserves.

In my earlier dabblings, I had already found myself slightly surprised by Piracetam and Hydergine - the effects being more pronounced than I had expected from accounts elsewhere. A brief summary of my reactions:

* Increased awareness and enjoyment of detail, both visual and auditory, and a corresponding sense of sparkle in my environment.

* Strong desire to listen to music, and great impatience with the “wrong sort” of music - the “right sort” of music being instrumental music, ideally semi-ambient - not rhythmic/percussive enough to be insistent, but with sufficient structure and imaginative evolution to maintain stimulation.

* Physiological effects associated with vasodilation: slight discomfort of the eyes (which I also sometimes experience with cannabis+tobacco) and slight prickliness in the temples. Also minor stomach discomfort - but my stomach is unusually sensitive.

* General stimulant effect, of a mild amphetamine-like quality.

* Lack of perceived increase in intellectual capacity or memory. “Smart drugs don’t make me smart.” I am a writer, and had hoped for some sharpening of the associated faculties, but on most occasions results were not clear-cut.

* A characteristic “white flash” on opening the eyes after they’ve been closed for a while (also noted by a friend who had tried this combination)

I mention these previous effects in some detail, for the reason that I found the large dosage rather disappointing. A lot of vasodilation, corresponding amount of general stimulant effect, but the “nootropic” mental effects were fairly limited. I gather some people need an initial large dose of Piracetam before it takes effect, but I never found this, and would recommend lower dosages - 800 to 1600 mg Piracetam in combination with 4.5 to 9 mg Hydergine works well for me. And 250 mg choline for good luck. Taken together these three have a much more pronounced effect.

One interesting anecdote from my larger-dose experiment, which is illustrative of the way these drugs work. I had fallen asleep for a while, about an hour after taking them (I find that, apart from general stimulant qualities, noticeable effects from Piracetam and Hydergine don’t kick in until about three or four hours after ingestion - I imagine the sublingual versions hit a lot quicker, but haven’t tried them).

I woke up about three hours later and began looking around the room - the raised wallpaper patterns on my ceiling which become more interesting on nootropics were interesting, but nothing exceptional. Then after a while I tried to move my arms, and couldn’t. Nothing. Couldn’t move my body at all. My first reaction was, “Fuck, looks like I’ve overdone it with this dosage.” Then gradually I realised part of me was still not fully awake. What I was experiencing was in fact the familiar sensation of waking up partially: being able to see, but not yet move my limbs. Except that with the large dose of nootropics, part of me had woken up completely - the visual cortex/cognitive stuff was snap-bang wide awake - but my motor centres had yet to kick in. I guess this is a kind of literal example of the “nootropics wake up my brain” thing, but with the added insight that they wake it up selectively.

I think these are drugs which act quite differently on different people, so it was well worth my experimenting vis-à-vis dosage. But for my money, a combination of modest amounts of each is best - and cheaper too.

One further specific note - this combination might be of interest to anyone involved in performance arts. I sing, scream and play in an improv noise band, and after taking a couple each of Piracetam and Hydergine and one or two drinks, found that my stage performance became quite eccentric. I found myself howling with a great panache, twitching about on the floor and playing my instrument with one foot, and lashing frenetically into our drummer’s cymbals with a bottle of beer. “Playing in a band is fun on smart drugs and alcohol.” (testimonial)

Exp Year: 2004	ExpID: 38857
Gender: Male
Age at time of experience: Not Given
Published: Jul 28, 2005	Views: 33,726
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Ergoloid mesylates (163), Piracetam (95) : Alone (16), Combinations (3)