Rapamycin is Fantastic and Worth Trying

[peatmoss]

That said, I recall a podcast with Georgie D in which he stated that you should ideally have a strong sexual response in the proper context, but not feel overly libidinous otherwise. This has rung true to me, and I think I'm closer to that state since starting rapa, so I'm cautiously optimistic that the changes in libido I've experienced are a result of a reduced state of stress.

That resonates with me as well. Ive struggle with looking at things on the internet for quite sometime and since taking rapa it has made it much more controllable.

 

[Perry Staltic]

My 2nd week on rapa. I started with and intended to follow @Tarmander 's advice with 1 mg the first week, 2 mg the 2nd week, etc, but decided to stick with 1 mg the 2nd week and drink about 4-6 oz of grapefruit juice with it. From what I've read, 8 oz of that juice will increase rapa's life by 350% because it inhibits the enzyme that helps metabolize it. So far I feel pretty good, but can't really tell any difference. I'm a pretty big guy so it may take more than 1 mg to notice an effect. But definitely no bad effects. I don't know if next week I will do 2 mg alone or with the juice. I like the idea of increasing it's lifespan considering how expensive it is. Grapefruit juice doesn't affect how much is absorbed at any point in time, but it extends how long it sticks around allowing more to be absorbed over time.

 

[Blossom]

My 2nd week on rapa. I started with and intended to follow @Tarmander 's advice with 1 mg the first week, 2 mg the 2nd week, etc, but decided to stick with 1 mg the 2nd week and drink about 4-6 oz of grapefruit juice with it. From what I've read, 8 oz of that juice will increase rapa's life by 350% because it inhibits the enzyme that helps metabolize it. So far I feel pretty good, but can't really tell any difference. I'm a pretty big guy so it may take more than 1 mg to notice an effect. But definitely no bad effects. I don't know if next week I will do 2 mg alone or with the juice. I like the idea of increasing it's lifespan considering how expensive it is. Grapefruit juice doesn't affect how much is absorbed at any point in time, but how long it sticks around allowing more to be absorbed over time.

May I ask your age?

 

[EvanHinkle]

Minor update, my dog didn’t seem to have the same positive reaction to the 1mg as she did the .5mg, so we reduced her dose and she’s slept two nights in a row!

I had a “similar” experience? I worked slowly up to 4mg, but noticed that at 2-3mg I wasn’t having the same positive effects I had had initially with 1mg. Given that I was assuming liver glycogen or liver health in general was a possible factor I embarked on high dose caffeine to clean out the liver. As @haidut mentioned in his old post there was about a four day “stress” adjustment period for me, (I put stress in quotes because for me the answer was simply eating more-I average between 2700-3200 calories typically, and needed 4200 to abate the response). I took the caffeine for the week, (working up slowly in 200mg increments to 1 gram) and when I took my 4mg dose of Rapamycin on Friday I got all the original positive results again!

I’m not sure if anyone has a study connecting liver function/glycogen storage with positive outcomes of pharmaceutical drugs, (though it would seem to make common sense) but that was my experience. I assume the ill health of my pup, (and likely her overburdened liver) just made 1mg too much to process?

 

[Blaine]

@EvanHinkle I haven't seen a study relating liver health with the effectiveness of Pharma drugs, but makes sense. She might also just respond better to the lower dose. I worked up to 4mg + grapefruit juice and realized that I was generally feeling "off", and that my skin and hair were looking worse. Going forward I think I'm just going to take 1-2mg/week, or maybe even bi-monthly, as I was getting amazing results from those low doses. It's great that your dog is sleeping through the night now though.

On another note, I'm actually taking a break from rapa for the time being, because I have a torn ligament in my knee which seems to be taking a long time to heal, and I want to make sure I'm not taking something that's slowing the recovery. I'm not at all sure that the drug is inhibiting the healing process, as I've never had this type of injury before, and the doctor gave me a pretty broad range of recovery time, but I've seen some anecdotes of people on "longevity doses" of rapa noticing that minor cuts and bruises take longer to heal. On the other hand, I also saw a twitter post from a rapamycin doctor saying that he wasn't sure if low doses would inhibit recovery from injury, but he thought it might actually help with certain types of injuries, including ligament tears, so who knows. Just wanted to mention this potential drawback in case anyone reading this also has an injury.

 

[EvanHinkle]

@EvanHinkle I haven't seen a study relating liver health with the effectiveness of Pharma drugs, but makes sense. She might also just respond better to the lower dose. I worked up to 4mg + grapefruit juice and realized that I was generally feeling "off", and that my skin and hair were looking worse. Going forward I think I'm just going to take 1-2mg/week, or maybe even bi-monthly, as I was getting amazing results from those low doses. It's great that your dog is sleeping through the night now though.

On another note, I'm actually taking a break from rapa for the time being, because I have a torn ligament in my knee which seems to be taking a long time to heal, and I want to make sure I'm not taking something that's slowing the recovery. I'm not at all sure that the drug is inhibiting the healing process, as I've never had this type of injury before, and the doctor gave me a pretty broad range of recovery time, but I've seen some anecdotes of people on "longevity doses" of rapa noticing that minor cuts and bruises take longer to heal. On the other hand, I also saw a twitter post from a rapamycin doctor saying that he wasn't sure if low doses would inhibit recovery from injury, but he thought it might actually help with certain types of injuries, including ligament tears, so who knows. Just wanted to mention this potential drawback in case anyone reading this also has an injury.

Interesting, thanks for your reply. I was considering lowering my dose as well despite the good effect after caffeine. More just out of curiosity with regard to the effects experienced than anything. I know the top researchers on the topic seem to think intermittent use is fine.

 

[Nebula]

@EvanHinkle I haven't seen a study relating liver health with the effectiveness of Pharma drugs, but makes sense. She might also just respond better to the lower dose. I worked up to 4mg + grapefruit juice and realized that I was generally feeling "off", and that my skin and hair were looking worse. Going forward I think I'm just going to take 1-2mg/week, or maybe even bi-monthly, as I was getting amazing results from those low doses. It's great that your dog is sleeping through the night now though.

On another note, I'm actually taking a break from rapa for the time being, because I have a torn ligament in my knee which seems to be taking a long time to heal, and I want to make sure I'm not taking something that's slowing the recovery. I'm not at all sure that the drug is inhibiting the healing process, as I've never had this type of injury before, and the doctor gave me a pretty broad range of recovery time, but I've seen some anecdotes of people on "longevity doses" of rapa noticing that minor cuts and bruises take longer to heal. On the other hand, I also saw a twitter post from a rapamycin doctor saying that he wasn't sure if low doses would inhibit recovery from injury, but he thought it might actually help with certain types of injuries, including ligament tears, so who knows. Just wanted to mention this potential drawback in case anyone reading this also has an injury.

Sounds like the grapefruit method amplifies the effects a bit unpredictably. Do you think it’s a different half life or just a different concentration for the same amount of time in the blood levels?

 

[Perry Staltic]

Sounds like the grapefruit method amplifies the effects a bit unpredictably. Do you think it’s a different half life or just a different concentration for the same amount of time in the blood levels?

GF juice inhibits an enzyme responsible for metabolizing rapa, so it extends its lifespan. I read by 350% per 8 oz

 

[peatra]

Started rapa with 1 mg last Monday. I perhaps should have held back because I was recovering from illness - felt sore throat resurgence, which my body had fought off the week before. Figured it would be gone by the next day and it was, but wiithin a couple of days was down again with norovirus-like symptoms. Minor vomiting and diarrhea with a notable but not high rise in body temp (99.9) - it was quite mild compared to other stomach bug experiences at least. Definitely was a bug as I passed it along to my child.

I feel fantastic in the last four days since recovery from those symptoms. Previously, my CFS was at the point where I might have 6 hours of low level existence before total crash. Now I feel compelled to be active, no sleep inertia on waking, cannot nap, alert all day with no crash. Nothing else has ever come close to this result.

That said, the low-grade fever has remained. I am not immediately concerned after googling around, but does anyone have ideas or similar experiences?

I have not re-dosed yet, planning to tonight or tomorrow night.

 

[Blossom]

Started rapa with 1 mg last Monday. I perhaps should have held back because I was recovering from illness - felt sore throat resurgence, which my body had fought off the week before. Figured it would be gone by the next day and it was, but wiithin a couple of days was down again with norovirus-like symptoms. Minor vomiting and diarrhea with a notable but not high rise in body temp (99.9) - it was quite mild compared to other stomach bug experiences at least. Definitely was a bug as I passed it along to my child.

I feel fantastic in the last four days since recovery from those symptoms. Previously, my CFS was at the point where I might have 6 hours of low level existence before total crash. Now I feel compelled to be active, no sleep inertia on waking, cannot nap, alert all day with no crash. Nothing else has ever come close to this result.

That said, the low-grade fever has remained. I am not immediately concerned after googling around, but does anyone have ideas or similar experiences?

I have not re-dosed yet, planning to tonight or tomorrow night.

If it were me I’d go 10 to 14 days from the last dose to give your body a chance to clear any lingering infection just to be extra cautious. I did that once in my first month when I had an upper respiratory infection. Congratulations on the improvements in your CFS!

 

[EvanHinkle]

If it were me I’d go 10 to 14 days from the last dose to give your body a chance to clear any lingering infection just to be extra cautious. I did that once in my first month when I had an upper respiratory infection. Congratulations on the improvements in your CFS!

I second this, and have even skipped a dose when I had a sore throat myself, (waiting 14 days between doses). The Rapa will always be there. No need for me to even chance feeling worse than I have to.

 

[Peachy]

@EvanHinkle @Blossom - you’re saying even when you take it regularly, you pause it when you’re sick?

 

[EvanHinkle]

@EvanHinkle @Blossom - you’re saying even when you take it regularly, you pause it when you’re sick?

I do, yeah, (take a pause when I’m sick). I’m in this for a much longer-haul personally, and from the leading researchers on the subject it seems like taking breaks is perfectly fine, (and can save you having to trudge your way through a cold vs it clearing up as usual). Besides all that, I have a four year old and an almost two year old. I ain’t got no time to be sick!

 

[Nebula]

GF juice inhibits an enzyme responsible for metabolizing rapa, so it extends its lifespan. I read by 350% per 8 oz

I wonder how the effects differ between a longer half life (from grapefruit) or a shorter spike of a larger concentration. Is there any pattern in what long term rapamycin users report?

 

[Blossom]

@EvanHinkle @Blossom - you’re saying even when you take it regularly, you pause it when you’re sick?

Yes, I did out of abundance of caution. I work around a lot sick people and just started a new job in February so like @EvanHinkle I don’t have time to be sick. I’m taking the long view on this as well.

I wonder how the effects differ between a longer half life (from grapefruit) or a shorter spike of a larger concentration. Is there any pattern in what long term rapamycin users report?

It seems important to test blood levels for people using substances like grapefruit that increase the half life. Here’s a good thread on the topic.

Improve Bioavailability of Rapamycin (2)

Depending upon what foods you take with rapamycin, the bioavailability can significantly increase or decrease. This in turn can impact how much rapamycin you need, and in turn the average monthly cost of using rapamycin. To minimize variability, rapamycin should be taken consistently with or...

www.rapamycin.news

 

[Perry Staltic]

@EvanHinkle @Blossom - you’re saying even when you take it regularly, you pause it when you’re sick?

It's immunosuppressive, so kind of counterproductive to take when sick

 

[Perry Staltic]

It seems important to test blood levels for people using substances like grapefruit that increase the half life. Here’s a good thread on the topic.

Improve Bioavailability of Rapamycin (2)

Depending upon what foods you take with rapamycin, the bioavailability can significantly increase or decrease. This in turn can impact how much rapamycin you need, and in turn the average monthly cost of using rapamycin. To minimize variability, rapamycin should be taken consistently with or...

www.rapamycin.news

A link in that article says GF juice needs to be taken every day. Oh. derp. That really makes more sense. I was wondering how one 8 oz dose could inhibit the relevent enzyme for so long.

I thought CYP3A was a liver enzyme, which it is, but it also is expressed in the gut (which I didn't know), which makes a previous statement I made that GFJ extends rapa's duration in the blood, but doesn't increase it's bioavailability incorrect, because less breakdown in the gut means more absorption. So drinking GFJ for just one day (like I did) would effectively increase the dose and extend it's life by some amount that would be less than drinking GFJ every day.

https://www.uchicagomedicine.org/forefront/news/grapefruit-juice-lets-patients-take-lower-dose-of-cancer-drug

 

[Momma]

It's immunosuppressive, so kind of counterproductive to take when sick

This is helpful. Thank you.

 

[Blossom]

It's immunosuppressive, so kind of counterproductive to take when sick

Some argue that it’s only an immunosuppressant when taken daily as in organ transplant patients but acts an immunomodulator when taken less frequently. Regardless I still think it’s probably wise to skip dosing when actively sick-but I could be wrong. It seems there’s still some unknowns. This is an abstract on a study done with a rapalog and an interview with one of the leading scientists involved in that research that presents an interesting nuanced view.

mTOR inhibition improves immune function in the elderly - PubMed

Inhibition of the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway extends life span in all species studied to date, and in mice delays the onset of age-related diseases and comorbidities. However, it is unknown if mTOR inhibition affects aging or its consequences in humans. To begin to assess the...

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

View: https://youtu.be/879LIpkxlh4

 

[Momma]

Some argue that it’s only an immunosuppressant when taken daily as in organ transplant patients but acts an immunomodulator when taken less frequently. Regardless I still think it’s probably wise to skip dosing when actively sick-but I could be wrong. It seems there’s still some unknowns.

mTOR inhibition improves immune function in the elderly - PubMed

Inhibition of the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway extends life span in all species studied to date, and in mice delays the onset of age-related diseases and comorbidities. However, it is unknown if mTOR inhibition affects aging or its consequences in humans. To begin to assess the...

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Just thinking out loud here.

Two things:
1- why stop an antibiotic like substance when sick? I would overall think the opposite.
2- why are you getting sick on rapamycin? Not a personal question to anyone but a general question. If something is good for you- why propensity towards a cold, sore throat etc?