Background
I have a forward thinking MD (Anthony Azar) here in NYC, that prescribed rapamycin for me about 9 months ago.
When I asked him to renew after the 1st 6 months and he learned that a one year supply (at my ask of 12 mg per week) would cost me $3,000+ he called up a compounding pharmacist who prepared 2 mg capsules filled with rapamycin powder at 1/3 the cost. This seemed pretty reasonable for US sourced rapamycin, except…
Concerns
Two threads on this forum now have me concerned:
Bioavailability of Rapamycin From Compounding Pharmacy &
Results of a phase Ib Trial of Encapsulated Rapamycin in Prostate Cancer Patients
Seems like a high probability that the rapamycin in (what I presume as) the gelatin capsules degrades in stomach acid and loses potency as compared to conventionally prepared pills.
I haven’t bothered to test since starting rapamycin, because I had very positive changes and no noticeable side affects, e.g.,
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Three months after first starting on Siromilus pills at 6 mg per week, I began an effortless weight loss and dropped 15 lbs.
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I switched to the compound pharmacy’s capsules and upped my dosage to 12 mg per week.
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Now after several months I gained back about 5 lbs.*. Hmmm…? This seems related to the switch from pills to capsules. I seem on an upward trend.
Questions:
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Would “acid resistant” capsules solve the problem?
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Can I request “Enteric” coated capsules from the compound pharmacy or does my physician need to prescribe them?
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Given (i) I have a 3 month supply and (ii) the small size of the rapamycin capsules, could I just buy empty “Enteric coated” capsules large enough to put the entire capsule (not the contents, the whole capsule) I currently use into? 50+ years of biohacking.
Worst case - (i) go back to the conventional prescription, (ii) consider sourcing from outside the US, and (iii) use the contents of the capsules I have to make skin cream and/or add to minoxidil (I have already significantly recover hair).
re: “Encapsulated Rapamycin” - * Extra credit questions
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Could a compounding pharmacist prepare liposomal (encapsulated) rapamycin?
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Wouldn’t liposomal encapsulated rapamycin more easily penetrate cell membranes?
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I know of DIY biohackers using lecithin to make their own liposomal encapsulated supplements (e,g., a liposomal Myers cocktail). Could one do this with rapamycin powder? Could prove interesting. Any thoughts?