Can A Person Really Experience Withdrawal From Piracetam Use?

What Is Piracetam?

Piracetam is a supplement and nootropic drug, known extensively for its potency in enhancing human memory. This drug, overall found to have lesser side-effects, is used widely for the treatment of dementia, Down’s Syndrome, stroke and cognitive impairment.

History

Piracetam was developed in 1964 in the Belgium lab. It belongs to the racetam family of nootropic supplements. It comes in a combination of 2-oxo-1-pyrrolidine-acetamide. First produced by UCB Pharma, Piracetam is now produced by multiple brands. In the past four decades, several pharma companies obtained licenses to produce the drug and sold it under varied names.

In fact, Piracetam was one of the earliest drugs in the nootropic drugs category and witnessed the demarcation of the category of nootropic drugs. Owing to its properties, it was soon regarded as a “smart drug”. It primarily comprises a repeated fashion composition of GABA, which is commonly known as aminobutyric acid. This drug, known for slowing down the human brain’s aging process, is also used occasionally as an anti-epileptic drug. It provides temporary relief to patients having withdrawal from alcohol or other addictive drugs.

This drug works by boosting communication between the two sides of the brain- the right brain and the left brain. The constituent in the human brain, termed as the corpus callosum, is the prime target of Piracetam. It enhances the function of the corpus. Considering that the left brain controls academic functioning like the ability to read, analyze and the right brain boosts arts, creativity, and imagination, Piracetam enhances the smooth flow of information and interaction between the two hemispheres. This gives an overall lift to the brain functioning.

How To Use This?

The timing and purpose of use need to be clear in the mind of the user. This drug does not find much significance when going to bed. So before starting the day or going out, it is best to take the drug to keep up the retention power and the concentration.

What Will I Feel When I Take This?

While the effect of the drug varies from one individual to another, in some, the drug can give an instant effect of improved energy levels, better breathing ability, focus, attentiveness, and concentration. After the recommended daily dosage, an individual may initially feel lethargic. But with gradual functioning of Piracetam, the lethargy converts into active brain functioning.

How Long Does This Last?

As discussed earlier, since the dosage varies among individuals, the length of time for its effects also equally vary. Experts recommend mild dosage initially to observe the response of the drug on the user. While in some individuals only two capsules of Piracetam show effect within a few hours, there are others who need more for the same amount of improvement. Once the requirement of the body is identified, it is easy to define how long does Piracetam effect last in an individual. It could be up to 24 hours initially or even more with regular use.

Benefits

This drug improves the user’s memory, learning, mood enhancement, and intelligent quotient. It instantly improves the brain’s capacity of grasping whatever the individual reads, hears or sees.

It works by improving the concentration levels in individuals. Concentration is the key to focus. Until an individual is able to concentrate over a specified piece of information or object or communication, he or she can never stabilize focus. Hence, Piracetam enhances the basic ability to concentrate and the mind eventually memorizes everything within fractions of seconds.

It improves sensory perception, as well. A number of users of Piracetam have reported improvement in their ability to make out the difference between sight, smell, and touch. This works best in patients with Down’s syndrome who struggle the most in their basic understanding of things.

Piracetam also enhances mood and improves motivation levels. Persons with improved mood are able to perform better and it adds to the motivation level further. This drug also increases the oxygen flow to the brain through the blood. Due to this improved oxygen supply, the brain function gets a boost and it fights aging and decline in cognitive skills and functions.

Recommended Dosages

The dosage for Piracetam can vary from two to twelve grams in a day depending upon the ailment and response of the individual. Though even when given in high quantity, Piracetam, as on date, has not reported any major adverse effects, it is advisable to follow the medical prescription.

It is most commonly available in 800 mg vegetarian capsules form. The daily requirement of the drug can range between 1.6 and 9.6 grams. While in some individuals, only two capsules show effect, others may need more.

Some experts recommend the use of Piracetam in combination with Choline. The combination can reduce the possibilities of side effects to an optimum level. Choline is a component of B-complex vitamin which can also be found in foods egg and cauliflower.

Side Effects

Frequent and prolonged dosage of Piracetam can present with certain side-effects in some patients. These could be immense weight gain, drowsiness, nervousness or stroke, headaches, and increased pulse rate. These effects may not necessarily show up together in everyone who consumes Piracetam and may not be life-threatening in most cases.

Long-Term Effects

This drug finds several advantages for patients of memory loss or dementia and other diseases that witness aging and slow down of their cognitive skills. A regular dosage of Piracetam can prevent the undue aging of the individual’s brain and reserve it for performing relatively better in basic cognitive functions of thinking, speaking, responding, analyzing and studying. Piracetam controls the age-related decline in cognitive skills.

Short-Term Effects

Piracetam is popular for giving an instant energy boost to the brain. It enhances the brain’s ability to memorize and learn whatever is served to it after taking the drug. It boosts the intelligence quotient also temporarily. These properties of Piracetam, however, have resulted in the misuse of the drug as well. Many youths, tend to consume the drug before examinations to enhance their preparation. It is pertinent to note that this drug should be consumed strictly under medical prescription and it can have different effects on humans with normal brains.

Effects

Even though the exact route map and course of action of Piracetam inside the brain is less known as on date, its effects are visible in the individuals in the form of improved learning abilities and response to various things with more ease.

The changes and improvements are often visible in patients with dementia and Down’s Syndrome who have poor retention power. While these patients may not realize their ailments too much, their caregivers can observe the level of ailment clearly. The improvement in the memory, retention and overall performance of the consumers of Piracetam speak volumes of the effects it has after a definitive period of dosage.

Research

In spite of a host of researches conducted to test the efficacy of Piracetam, the drug has not yet been officially given the stature it deserves, by the drug authorities. This is because, it is, after all, a nootropic drug and still requires more researches to add to its value. Almost all the researches conducted over the past four decades have found Piracetam effective in improving the communication between the two sides of the brain and enhancing the ability to retain, learn, grasp and respond.

Researchers in the US, UK, Australia and a few other countries have even performed several clinical trials, seeing significant improvement in the oxygen flow to the brain using Piracetam. In fact, these researches have been conducted on respondents from different age groups ranging from children to oldies. It was then approved to be used in all age groups including the younger as well as the older. Some recent researches have also shown that the improved oxygen supply to the brain by Piracetam could improve cardiovascular function in individuals. Another research study showed that Piracetam usage improved hearing abilities in some respondents.

Safety Concerns

Despite being a Nootropic drug, Piracetam comes with least side effects and threats to individual health. This drug is not life-threatening and regarded as one of the safest nootropic drugs to consume. This drug targets only selective areas of the brain without potentially affecting the other areas.

Liver Toxicity

This drug, unlike many other Nootropic drugs, is free from the risks of toxicity. Many types of research, over the past 40 years, have tried to determine its effect on the toxicity of vital human organs including the liver. However, no major risks, threats or associated concerns emerged in the results. The risk of liver toxicity in Piracetam is as normal and minimal as that of any mild drug. The recommendation of using this drug under medical advice is given in view of avoiding unnecessary supplementation of chemicals to the body which may lead to mild side-effects.

Is Piracetam Legal?

Owing to its minimal side-effects, Piracetam is the most acceptable form of the drug in the category of nootropic drugs. In all major developed countries, including the United States of America, the drug is prescribed and sold legally. So far, there have been no restrictions on its usage.

This drug was approved by the US Food and Drug Authority (FDA). The usage, however, is supposed to be based on medical advice. The reviews for Piracetam, overall, have been positive and hence, not invited any wrath and fury from the drug controller authority so far.

 

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.