Lately, I have been experiencing brain fog, lethargy and almost a drunk feeling from any alpha-gpc I have taken. The more research I do, the more it seems to be 1) I either have too much choline in my diet already, 2) I may be “Choline Dominant”, and have more acetlycholine in my brain just floating around.
Supps that I have tried:
Alpha EAA 1 and 1/2 scoops each yielding 600mg/300mg dosage’s + 500mg/250mg Choline bitartrate. So highly effective choline dose and a more mildly effective dose of choline.
Black Magic Supply Brain Waves - 1,2,4 capsules(4 capsules serving size) This one has a prop blend but the first in the blend is AlphaSize, so probably a good sized dosage from the almost 2g blend.
Genius Consciousness - 1 and 1/2 scoop, also containing AlphaSize(50% Alpha-GPC) so 600/300mg(300/150mg at 50%)
Yesterday I tried 1 scoop of the new Legend Cherry Limeade pre by Ghost which contains AlphaGPC 150mg(75mg at 50%) but interestingly enough, didn’t experience any of the previous symptoms at all.
My understanding is, you burn acetylcholine when working out. Should I try to take these supplements during a hard workout and see if the effect’s go away due to the ACh being used up?
Would supplying a racetam assist in using the excess ACh in my brain? Is there anything I can take to counter-act the Alpha-GPC effects with these supps? Or should I just avoid eating choline foods for a while and see if my bodys ACh production balances out?
Nootropics are all new to me, but I’m trying more and more to understand them seeing as to how there are more of them in pre workouts than I even thought. I have been taking pre for years(cycling on/off), but never really understood that things like choline bitartrate, alphagpc, huperzine a, and Acetyl-L-Carnitine are all different kinds of nootropics. Appreciate any help anyone can provide.
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Ive noticed choline doesn’t haven’t that great of an effect on me, but ironically, too much Norvaline gives me brain fog.
I also don’t respond well to Alpha-GPC, in significant doses. My personal favorite is Tyrosine, which helps me dial in my mental state when I train. Everyone is different though.
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Yeah thats exactly what I’m starting to see too. Each of these will have different effects on each persons neuro chemistry. Guess you just have to find that sweet spot that works for yourself. Do you take tyrosine by itself or you tend to get a better effect when it’s synergistically working off of other compounds in your pre’s?
Daily choline usage (especially CDP choline) also gives me insane brain fog and depression. Acute use, such as A-GCP in a nootropic for a study session, is fine. People smarter than me have suggested microdosing daily so that I get less of a buildup, but I don’t have .001g scales and also I’m far too busy during the day to spend free time doing that. And yes, racetams will help you “burn through” some of the excess.
Suggestions:
1.) Take it only acutely as needed, or at max 2x/week
2.) Add a racetam to your stack (I REALLY like phenylpiracetam but it’s kinda one of the “shadier” ones)
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You could try taking something that depletes choline like noopept.
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Great. Thanks for the suggestions. I may work up to phenylpiracetam. Think I will start out with Ani or oxiracetam. Seems those have mild effects. Phenyl seems to be highly stimulating.
Interesting. Didn’t realize noopept does that. Thanks for the suggestion, I’ll try it out.
Genius is really good and I like Alpha-Brain as well as Ascend (Legion)
Exactly what I was thinking. Seconding this one
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Anyone recommend a noopept source?
Many individuals get the same unpleasant brain fog from cholinergic compounds. While a choline-depleting option might help, be advised that people also find noopept to cause headaches and brain fog even with it being neuroprotective in nature.
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good to know. Thanks for the heads up.
Yah? Thanks for the heads up. Nootropics are my area with least expertise.
I’m curious just to experiment more than anything. As someone with regular “brain fog,” it might be worth a trial run atleast.
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Microdosing choline seems like WAY too much work, and for what? Either you don’t need choline, or you can eat an egg or two for dietary choline, or just use something like choline bitartrate at a low dose (but it wouldn’t have to be a “microdose” since the effective dose for bitartrate is ~10x higher than CDP or GPC) to make things equally as beneficial without that huge PITA.
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Your mileage may vary with any of these compounds. Huperzine A at 100 mcg is my favorite and the most versatile. It’s hard to dial in the sweet spot. Too much is easily brain fog. Of Choline sources, Alpha GPC works well for me but not earth shattering, although noticeable at 500 mg.
For whatever reason, I respond terribly to noopept or racetams. I’ve tried adding choline and no help. It’s to the point even 10mg wil ruin a PWO for me. So dose noopept carefully. Reddit makes it seem like you can jump into 50 mg like nothing.
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I second this. I did 120mg of noopept my second day 
I’m pretty sure he is a rapper
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Tolerable dosages are dependent on the person. I have tried many different dosages, with the same results. Even as little as 50-100mg Alphasize, seems to cause slight brain fog for me.