Ah, the great Huperzia Serrata. Also known as “toothed clubmoss”, this plant contains the acetylcholinesterase inhibitor Huperzine A, which is commonly used as a nootropic.

The basic idea is that Huperzine A inhibits an Enzyme that breaks down Acetylcholine in your brain (a functionally important neurotransmitter). What does that really mean? Simply: Huperzine A allows the brain to contain more Acetylcholine and thus = better brain function results.

And this is true. People all around the world, and the internet, report positive nootropic effects from Hupzerine A. But is it completely harmless?

It depends on the dose. And this is one of those compounds, you do not want to overdose on. This is why it should be controlled to the dosages we know are safe, and promote positive brain functionality. That dose, in my experience, and from many online resources , is between 30MCG-200MCG. These are MICROGRAMS, not milligrams. It’s an extremely small amount.
Overdosing on Huperzine A

So let me tell you my story with this. A few years back, in the early years of my nootropic experimentation, I acquired from the internet, a small bag of Huperzine A 1%. This means that out of the bulk powder I have in this bag, 1% of each pinch/amount of it, is actual Huperzine A. That’s how powerful it is. It needs to be diluted.

I had read NOTHING at the time about the negative side effects or upper tolerable amounts of this plant. I had no idea. At the time, I was experimenting with putting my own stacks together, and was operating really well with an ALCAR, Rhodiola, and Choline Bitartrate stack. So I went in on the Huperzine A and never looked back.

Here was my mistake: I actually dumped a bunch of this 1% powder (now thinking back, probably about 50-100MG or so) into a bottle cap, that I then filled with a bit of water, and took it down. Down the hatch it all went.

Let’s just think about this here: 1% Huperzine A, in a 50MG serving. That’s 50,000 micrograms of Huperzine A, but only 1% of that is actual Huperzine A. That comes out to 500 micrograms. I actually think it was a higher dose than that, based on the effects, probably leaning more toward 800-1000 Micrograms, far beyond the recommended dose. It might have been more. I eyeballed it. I know, I know. The stupidity is just at epic levels here.

Enter the effects

It was weird. Within about 20 minutes, I felt my brain turn on something crazy. I felt this singular focus capacity that I had never felt before. It’s as if I had total control of my brain for the first time in my life. I’ve gotten pretty close to feeling this singular before, but only through intense 1 hour meditation sessions, before which I had been meditating on and off for weeks, priming my brain to enter great states.

10 minutes after that? I had one of the most convulsive puke sessions I’ve ever had in my entire life. Basically, my stomach started turning as if I had been poisoned. I was extremely scared. My entire midsection started to hurt badly. It was tightening, becoming hard to breath, and I was really starting to say to myself.. “what the fuck. What the fuck is happening.”

I thought to myself: Did I eat bad asparagus? I read that bad asparagus could do this to you. But was food poisoning this intense? This horrific? Surely after I throw up a few times, I’ll be ok. That’s the normal stint in these types of situations.

But it didn’t stop. I kept throwing up. Kept lying back down. Kept getting oddly dizzy feeling like total crap, and then getting back up to throw up. I threw so much up that I started to feel completely drained. Like my body lacked all major vitamins and minerals and I was in some sort of rapid deterioration mode.

But that’s not all. That definitely isn’t it. There’s more. A lot more.
The Psychedelic Huperzine A Trip

I tried going to sleep and actually succeeded. Well almost. Once I finally “fell asleep,” the weirdest thing happened. My body went into paralysis, as it normally would and should during sleep, the rest of my body started to align with the fact that I was sleeping…

But my brain was completely awake.

My brain was still aware of everything. I knew I was paralyzed and couldn’t do much about it. My concern about the whole situation was still extremely vibrant. I knew I didn’t want to throw up anymore, but still felt incredibly sick. If I could move, I didn’t want to. It was better that I couldn’t.

This to me, was extremely psychedelic. I started to literally feel like I was inside my body in a way I’ve never experienced. I could feel my breaths go in and out. I felt like I could see myself, inside my arteries, pumping blood to my heart. I was far more in touch with my organ functioning than, of course, ever in my life. I mean, I could literally see these processes taking place in my brain. It’s like a Hupzerine A induced Acid trip, but gone horribly wrong. But that’s not it. Then, the processing started.

I started calculating things in my head. I began adding math problems, dividing numbers, and calculating logic. It was the fastest, and most effectively I had ever done this in my entire life. I remember thinking: So this is what these extreme math savants feel like. I felt what it feels like to be able to simultaneously hold a ton of information in my working memory, while calculating and putting together the information in a useful way.

I was nothing short of brilliant. I lie there, thinking about my life. Putting together solutions to the problems I was having. I was, at the time, fighting with a business partner over a stock redemption, and was a bit confused about what moves to make next, or how to go about it all. I made my mind up real quick, and logic’d my way through it.

I made the logical assessment to never take Huperzine A again, without controlling the dose. Hardy Har Har.

And I continued to streamline a series of interconnected thoughts that all came together in a synthesis of problem solving in my functional life. It was nothing short of insane.

I stayed there for the rest of the night, floating in and out of this fully conscious sleep mode, toggling in the wee hours of the morning from this state, to a 50% sleep state, where my conscious brain actually calmed down, and I kind of got a bit of rest.

I woke up at about 9AM, feeling like shit, still processing pretty good (above average, but not in the super state I was in while half sleeping), and being thankful I was alive.

So let’s recap:
800-1200 + Micrograms of Huperzine A sent me into a puking frenzy for a few hours that made me think I was poisoned.

My brain function was incredible, but I felt like literal shit. Like I was dying.

I tried to go to sleep, but was fully aware and awake as my body started going into paralysis.

In my stages of sleep, I was fully aware of my organ functionality, the paralysis I was in, and the rest of what constitutes physical event function of sleep.

During this time, I was literally processing things in my head. I was doing math. Making calculations, figuring out solutions to the debacles I found myself in within my life at the time.

It felt surreal. Psychedelic. Insane. And scary.

The next day, I did a ton of research on what I just experienced, and more than likely, it was Acetylcholine toxicity.

There is such a thing as having entirely too much Acetylcholine in your brain and body. And when this happens, violent puking and being insanely sick is the norm. Here’s a link explaining some of the symptoms of Acetylcholine accumulating in the body in massive proportions.

It is not a fun experience, and I do not recommend this to anyone. Huperzine A is NO JOKE. It’s extremely effective in small doses, and is quite the wonder nootropic. But go past the recommended dose, especially in the 800-1500 Microgram range, and you’re asking for trouble. A lot of trouble.

I just thought I’d share my experiences with the world, because it matters, and if I can, I’d like to help prevent any other human being from taking too much of this stuff.

THX for reading.