Hello all,
I'm wondering if anyone can shed some light on my predicament. I'm attempting to benefit from nootropics but have what I think is an unusual problem with piracetam. I've scoured the forums and found no link between piracetam and sinus issues.

Several years ago I bought some relenentless improvement brand piracetam and it appeared that they caused a sinus infection in me. I attributed it to coincidence or a bad batch so I bought a second bottle. Same thing weeks later.

Now, finding inspiration from a recent thread, I've tried again to develop a good stack which includes some racetams.

I'm taking in the morning with a glass of whole milk:
800-1600mg piracetam
750mg aniracetam
250mg cdp choline
100mg phosphatidyl serine

By the evening of day 2, my sinuses had a slight irritation which felt like the precursor to an infection. Now, on the morning of day three, I've been sneezing and things feel very much like they're developing along to sinusitis.


This can't be coincidence. Any ideas?

Wow, that is weird. I just started using piracetam for the first time several days ago and a sinus infection started the next day and got it worse. I still have the sinus infection and stopped using piracetam a couple days ago. It doesn't seem to make any sense that piracetam would cause a sinus infection, but you never know. I have used pramiracetam before for weeks though, and did not get a sinus infection and they supposedly have similar effects, which makes it even weirder.

Interesting, I've never had that problem with piracetam, I had wondered the same thing about Nuvigil. For a while almost every time I took it my sinuses would hurt.
I think it may just be the wintertime allergies and possibly these nootropics make sinus pain stand out more than normal. When I 1st took it I never had a problem, then for over a month I had a sinus headache every time, but for the past 2 weeks at least I haven't had any trouble.

As an update, the sinus issue seems to have resolved. I have still experienced mild sinus pains, but no full blown illness. Perhaps a coincidence after all.

For what little it's worth, I had sinusitis for year, and I'm still very prone to sinus problems. It had been gradually improving with time for about 6 months (for no specific reason) when I started with piracetam. Piracetam for several months had no effect on my rather sensitive sinuses.

I solved my sinusitus with a capsaicin nose spray, it does burn a little but it is the only thing which works.

Have you researched the implications of that? I imagine it could potentially cause damage to the mucous membranes.

After 4 years of sinus problems, they began resolving spontaneously for me, which seems quite unusual. Now, it's completely better.

Hello,

I have had serious sinus issues for many years. I started using this homeopathic nasal spray and it has really worked great for me. It kills the germs / bacteria in your nasal passages and is gentle enough to use everyday. I usually do two pumps in each nostril, blow out any mucus / debris, and spray once more (gently sniff to make sure it reaches deep in the nasal passage). I do this once in the morning and again in the evening before bed. You can check the website for more info: sinofreshstore

Can racetams cause infections as side effects? Because I've had similiar problems as Shay with eyes.

Only when I snorted it

Honestly, I'm not that surprised to hear this. I don't believe there is anything documenting an immunosuppressive effect, I've looked this up in the past after noticing similar problems. I had a severe sinus/lung infection early last year when i was taking piracetam, which lasted a month and a half. I kept taking it, thinking it didn't make any difference and not wanting to have to start all over again, thinking the infection would pass. three weeks later i was violently sick, coughing blood-tinged green all day, with bad enough chest pains from all the coughing that i would have to jump out of bed and onto the floor into a girly pushup position, which was the only position that wasn't painful to cough in. I stopped taking it and seemed to get better. after about a week, i noticed that i was nearly better, and started taking the piracetam again. I became getting extremely sick again and had to go to the doctor to get prescription cough syrup and an antibiotic, something i'm not too keen on taking. unrelated? related? I can't say for sure.

I'm also pretty sure it reduces testosterone and possibly all steroid hormones. I'm young and how often I have to shave is measured in days. Those days turn into weeks on piracetam. Is there any evidence that it does this? none.

This post has been edited by brain: Feb 6 2010, 12:25 AM

Are the sinus problems described in this thread just pain? Or, is there congestion, too? Has anyone noticed other symptoms?

After a long break without taking piracetam (Primaforce), I began again recently. I am experiencing left maxillary sinus pain with no congestion or other symptoms. I thought it tasted less bitter than it used to when I tried it this morning. Have others who report sinus pain tried a different batch? Were you using old piracetam? How was the taste? What brand?



Of course, it's entirely possible that I'm just finding things to attribute my sinus pain to. I'll see how I feel the next few days.

This post has been edited by Solitude: Feb 6 2010, 08:18 AM

After reading about possible excitotoxicity from piracetam, I've been stopping use on the weekends. This had given me the opportunity to witness these effects (sinus and eyes) on a weekly basis, every monday morning!

It's been about 1 month that I've been using piracetam after several years break. When I first started taking it, the sinus issues manifested as pain and congestion. This resolved after a few days. The next Monday they were back but to a lesser extent. Now the sinus issues only show up as occassional sharp pain that flares and dies. I have definitely noticed a very clear "dry eye" response every morning (when I take my racetams), with occasional pain as well. Very odd.


As for piracetam quality, apparently it's the "best". It's fresh and in pill form from a highly reputable seller on these boards.

I stopped taking it again a few days ago due to the sinus problems - they were gone the first day I went without. I tried it again yesterday (sinuses were completely better), and the problem came back the same day. Didn't take any today, I feel fine.

It's too predictable to be a coincidence.

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