Comment by aelaguiz | Hacker News Reader

Comment by aelaguiz | Hacker News Reader

The article is really interesting, but I can't help but be suspicious of the data (opinion) contained within.

The expert used in the article is John Holcomb, who owns a supplement e-commerce site. I can't find anything on his site that talks about his qualifications or any hard facts to back up most of this.

I'm really interested in nootropics and increasing mental efficacy - but there is no shortage of snake-oil vendors out there, some of whom are undoubtedly taking advantage of the boom in interest for these drugs. This makes me very leery about accepting this information.

Particularly the section on Racetams and how there are so many of them that can be tried safely in combination or by themselves.

With this awesome line:

"The one caveat with racetams: from a wealth of anecdotes about a third of the population is non-responsive or only mildly responsive to one or more types, and about a third are high responders that can experience spectacular results. "

Which sounds awesome to me, if I make money by selling these supplements. Basically - you may not experience any effects until you hit the right combination so keep buying them and trying them until you do and eventually you too could be a genius. Is it like some sort of intelligence enhancing slot machine?

I wish I could believe this stuff was effective. Someone please tell me I'm crazy and that he's right and for $20/bottle I can be slightly less dumb?

I realize this isn't worth much, but I'll say it anyway. I personally asked John to write this article for my site. Why? He's a sharp fellow, and though the information is available, I wanted a clear, consolidated overview for my readers. John had no interest in including his name or website; I suggested it. I would rather a name behind it than some random anonymous guest post.

I am surprised how closed-minded HNers are being towards this topic. Thank you for having John write this, I have been working on an article on Nootropics for a while now, but the topic is so deep and complex that it's hard to sum up in a short article. I think John did a good job writing this as a basic primer.

Thanks for the effort! I think the article will make aware the people who are truly interested in the topic and get them on the right path, although the dissenters are more vocal and visible here.

I question his motives because he recommends Piracetam daily dosage of 3 to 5 grams and said it may take up to 6 weeks to realize the effects.

I bought Piracetam on Amazon after someone here on HN recommended it, and for the past 2 months have been taking 800 mg per day. I often skip a few days and have not noticed any addiction symptoms.

I doubled my dosage one day, so took 1600 mg that day, and felt sick to my stomach. When I repeated the 1600 mg experiment again 2 weeks later, I threw up. I am 190 lbs 6 ft, YMMV but I can't imagine taking 3 to 5 grams.

Within a few minutes of swallowing a pill (800 mg) I feel more alert and without the jitteriness that caffeine brings. It seems to improve my general focus, writing, including programming, reading and speaking abilities. As with all self reporting you should absorb mine with salt.

Since you are self experimenting, may I recommend a blind, crossover test, with wash-out?

Many people take 4.8 grams of Piracetam twice per day. I personally think that is a bit much, and I think 600-800mg two times a day is optimal. I'm surprised to hear of you getting sick and vomiting as that is a a rare side-effect of racetams, the most common being a headache due to lack of choline...

Interesting. I've been taking 2400mg since day 1 and have not experienced any physical side effects.

FWIW, that article has very little more information than you could find on bookshelves for the past 20 years. http://www.amazon.com/Smart-Drugs-Nutrients-Intelligence-Neu...

Besides Piracetam having become only one in a class of nootropics, you can find the same information in that book.

There used to be a large subculture around nootropics on the Net, but most of the discussions were based on anectdotal evidence. It seems not much have changed since then.

Most of what John Holcomb says is pretty true. He is involved in a company that sells supplements. Brainpower Nutriceuticals is a new company that comes from his former company, Cerebral Health. Cerebral Health is well known in the Nootropic community as a good, honest, and safe supplier of many different substances. I have used them as a piracetam source before. He really does little to sell his products in his article and discusses what is already common knowledge to even beginners interested in Nootropics.

Being an outsider on the topic, I can see how this may come off as sketchy, but the truth is that the Racetams, as well as any drug, have different effects on different people. If you want to get into Nootropics, you will need to do a little experimenting and a lot of research. There is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all stack or supplement regiment, but when you hit it right, you will notice a difference. You won't be a genius, but you can remove what is called "mental fog," a condition that you rarely known you have until it is gone.

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