hello group
a newbie here I’ve been following this topic for awhile , after hearing about Dr. Kaeberlein’s frozen shoulder experience recently it has spurred me to action …I searched for a topic of over 75 / seniors / old people taking it without a lot of success , but general digging around I noted that older folks need more / higher dose which risks more side effects w one being higher lipids , I work hard to control genetic predisposition high cholesterol without meds …are there any folks here in my age group that are taking that could share experiences ?
thanks out front
Larry
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Hi Larry,
Welcome to the group. Can I ask why you don’t want to take meds for your high cholesterol? Or is it that you don’t have high cholesterol because of your efforts at controlling it?
I ask because Statins are some of the most extensively tested drugs on the market and have been around long enough and are popular enough to both have proven their efficacy and safety in many millions of people. I’d recommend you start with your cardiovascular risk profile and once that is under control then look into things like rapamycin.
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Larry,
Taking rapamycin/sirolomus you can not go wrong{in my view].
To control “cholesterol” you can use many compound’s other than “statins”{and yes, others on this forum will not agree and I do not care what their views are].
There have been many discussions on the “cholesterol” question/issue on other threads on this forum, with a large list of compounds to use to control cholesterol, other than "a statin/statins, that have work for some of the members of this forum.
Search and you will locate.
“There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what is not true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true.”
~ Soren Kierkegaard
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hi guys
thanks for the reply …I think I worded my post in a way that focused on my propensity towards high cholesterol , which is true but I have managed by working at it to keep it at the high end of normal for my age …I was meaning to point out that if I understand correctly that being at my age , thinking about starting Rapa, in order to get benefits from it I would have to take larger doses than the younger folks , then the likelihood of side effects is increased …one of which is the > lipids …( which as you noted statins could help to lower )
I would like to hear from anyone who has started taking Rapa in later years and to hear of their experiences … as to what dosage , how long , side issues etc
thanks
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I’m 69, taking R since early 2018 and I’m Dr. Green’s 38 th patient.
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If you have no ASCVD at 77 I would not worry that much about lipids as rapamycin should be arterioprotective and in any case ASCVD usually takes decades to develop… but that is just my personal opinion.
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I am 71 and I have taking rapamycin for 3 years.
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Larry, sorry if I got your thread off track with my cholesterol comment.
I’m 58 so not sure if that counts as “older folks” but I don’t think there is good evidence that if you are older you need to take more rapamycin to “catch up”. In fact, the mouse studies showed that older mice started on rapamycin later in life did pretty much as well as younger mice that started on the same dose at an earlier age. Mouse studies also show that the higher the dose the greater longevity benefit and Dr. Kaeberlein’s dog study by design starts with dogs that are at least 7 years old. Mice and dogs aren’t humans but that gives you some idea of the general thinking with respect to age.
If you look at comments on the site, you’ll see that different people have different side effects, most are quite manageable and tolerable, and some have no side effects at all even at what seem to be pretty high doses. So I wouldn’t let concerns about side effects stop you from checking it out and seeing how you tolerate rapamycin.
It would be ideal if you have a doctor that can follow labs with you and who knows your other medical problems so they can consider everything. If that isn’t possible you can always check your own labs (and get some very good advice here). If you go that route, I’d start with a low dose (1 or 2 mg / week) and see if you have any side effects, then you can slowly increase based on your own physiology.
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Greg
Do you take continuously ? what dosage did you start at , the same now ?
h i DL
what dosage do you take , and is it continuously or intervals like Dr Kaeberlein ?
hi VW
thanks for the follow up …58 , you’re just a kid !
I am in Canada have a good GP but can’t get involved asking her to do any Rapa directly related tests …yet anyway . So maybe I’ll try to correlate the yearly blood tests
When you suggest a low dose …1 or 2mg /week , I’m not sure what you mean , 1 or 2 mg tablet each day or once a week …? I am a newbie !
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Hello, back in 2018, with limited guidance i started taking an effective dose of 3mgs/weekly.
I say ‘effective’ to indicate I take 1mg/week with 6-8oz of white/pink grapefruit juice. This is said to effectively to triple initial blood concentrations and found this advice in Smithsonian Magazine when discussing how to avoid the side effects of 90mgs/day dosing as an anti cancer treatment. The alternate cancer inhibiting dose with GF juice was, if I recall ~25mgs/daily. That is an enormous dose as the half life of R is 3-4 days… so even a daily dose of 2mgs for transplant protection builds up over time to suppress mTOR2 (the innate immune system)
Of course this can also triple the dose of other meds and cause problems if another particular medicine is affected by GF juice. In my case, lisinopril, and pravastatin are not affected by GF juice.
I’ve escalated gradually until my last televisit with Dr. Green just two weeks ago who advised me to take 8mgs/week. He does not sportive of accelerating my dose with GF juice but i do so anyway. So I’m taking 3mgs/weekly and occasionally 4mg/weekly.
The central concern over dose is to get a FDA approved/tested supply. My first doses were Pfizer branded Rapamune. Later i wasted money on India sourced Biocon brand and last year on Amazon source sirolimus…quite dilute! Dr. Green sent my prescription to a local (to him!) Littleneck Pharmacy that sources from India, pharma ‘Dr. REDDY’ that i confirmed is an FDA authorized supplier of Sirolimus 2mg pills.
Dr. Green is on record for up to 12mgs/week for late 70s. He takes 12mgs/week now at age 80… his birthday was last week.
If i were you i would take an effective dose of 3mg/week and escalate that to 12mgs/week over the course of 2 months.
As a side note. Get a reputable supply to start with. I titrate my dose as dictated by the relief I get from severe arthritis of the hands/thumbs. So buying crap results in an obvious problem that i feel within two to three days following my taking this med.
My particular use of GF juice to boost my dosing is purely for the economics the GF juice provides.
After the recent increase to my current effective dose of 8-12mgs I’ve gotten mild mouth sores that i can easily control with acyclovir for a couple of days at most. Dr. Green up’d my dose from 6mgs to 8mgs partially due to my diagnosis of a low grade prostate cancer.
Your mileage will vary but don’t think mouth sores means your over doing it. Your body will adjust. Do take an inventory of aches and pains to distinguish whether they are generally from chronic inflammation or just too much gardening, or golf, etc.
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I take rapamycin every week at 10 mg per week. The first six months in 2020, I took 6 mg. Only negative has been 3 mouth sores during the first 2 years. One at a time, they each healed in 4 days.
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Hi Larry,
Welcome to the site. I’ve posted some general notes about the current thinking about rapamycin dosing that I’ve seen - here is a link to a specific post, but I recommend you review the entire thread: What is the Rapamycin Dose / Dosage for Anti-Aging or Longevity? - #197 by RapAdmin
Also - since you’re newbie to rapamycin - best to read up as much as you can here: Rapamycin Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
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I currently take the Biocon brand sourced from India. When you say “dilute” is this based on how you feel in comparison to Rapamune? Or is it based on blood test results?
I was encouraged by the lab test results posted below but your feedback does give me cause for concern
I thought the testing showed that the Zydus and Biocon brands had 110% of the Rapamycin found in Rapamune. This would make them stronger not weaker.
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I am unusual in that I have severe arthritis of the hands that responds very well to Rapamycin/sirolimus. It was my experience 4 years ago to get a very dilute batch of it from Biocon. I would have to guess but I felt that I had to take 5x what I was taking from Pfizer Rapamune to equal the net effect of the Biocon on a mg per mg basis.
Is Biocon an FDA recognized and approved provider of generic Sirolimus? I know that Dr. Reddy is. I do not doubt Biocon was selling sirolimus. I did doubt its reported potency. Try and find only those pharma’s with FDA recognition.
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I take Amazon source sirolimus - manufacturer - Glenmark. What make did you get from Amazon? How did you know it was “quite dilute”? Thanks
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Glenmark? Yes I just finished most of those when i got Dr. REDDY’S from Little Neck Pharmacy. I do not think much of it.
My ‘immediate’ indicator is how much pain i have on my hands from arthritis. I immediately knew Rapamycin helped when i started taking Pfizer Rapamune. Shifted back and forth to Biocon and each shift showed a marked change in the often sharp pains in both hands.
Glenmark’s 2mg pill seems about 50% the strength of the one from Dr. Reddy from the pharmacist Dr. Green recommended.
Feeling is believing!
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Anecdotal, not scientific, but in my case quite ‘observable’.
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