I think this can give rough idea of cMax values per different mg as it compares it taken with ketoconazole or without on a sample of 2-6 people and uses sirolimus pills (GFJ study uses oral solution).
The pharmacokinetics of sirolimus study (done on several hundred patients) shows fast absorption and reaching maximum blood serum concentration in 1-2 hours.
Hi, I posted in the wrong thread. Here is the link to my post about my experience testing sirolimus blood levels:
Considering above data I posted, 30 ng/ml is a an expected maximum serum concentration (1-2h after dosing) at 6mg rapamycin (especially if you take it with fat, which in my understanding will give you some boosting of bioavailability).
I would also test trough levels too (just before your next dose) as you want this level to be almost zero not to suppress MTORC2 too much/all the time.
Thanks for that information. Very helpful. What is the source?
This seems to be the source: Phase 1 Studies of Sirolimus Alone or in Combination with Pharmacokinetic Modulators in Advanced Cancer Patients - PMC
Yes, this is the study I used. In what I could find this is the only study that can be used to determine a tMax from a single dose, other studies were done in transplant patients with completely different dosing regimensā¦
@Agetron did you get your lab back? I will try to take both tests this friday, trough and post dose. You tested your lipoproteins as well, didnāt you? How were your results?
Yes and the results surprised me this time. I only got a 3xās increase - not my normal 6xās increase. Now I am wondering is it because I am now on the Rapamune printed on triangle pills - not the sirolimus red RD 54?
I didnāt get trough because nurse didnāt use the right tube ā¦lavender top. I am assuming my trough was under 1.
I am retesting my rapamycin in 2 weeks.
Will see if it is consistent a 3xās using Rapamune.
Interesting change from 6xās to now 3xās potency.
I had my blood level tested yesterday about 1 hour after taking 4mg of Zydus, ate 1/2 a grapefruit an hour before taking and the other 1/2 while taking - washed down with TBS of EVOO. I have been alternating between 2MG and 4MG week to week. I will get a trough test and a 2MG test at some point.
Getting a 5xās increase. Wow.
I often get 6xās with GFJ.
My next rapamycin test is in a week. Will first do trough and then dose 4 mg Rapamune with GFJā¦ and test 2 hours later.
Do you get your doctor to prescribe the Quest Diagnostics test or do have an online lab company that will request the test?
Hi @desertshore, my Dr knows I am taking Rapa and that I am in the Univ WA study with Matt K. They have been very willing to put in the tests and see what insurance will and wonāt pay for. Honestly, I have been surprised how much BCBS has picked up. My Dr is part of a health center so labs and blood draw are onsite and convenient. I am sure they send out for some of the tests, but can do some themselves.
Hi everyone! First post on this forum and I just wanted to start off by thanking @RapAdmin and everyone else for all of the very helpful information thatās been posted. Thank you!
Hoping this isnāt a dumb question, but I purchased a blood sirolimus test from the Marek Health website for $59 and a day or two later I received the LabCorp order for the test from them. On the order (or script), it states the following āI agree to assume responsibility for payment of charges for laboratory services that are not covered by my healthcare insurer.ā
So this got me thinking, did I pay $59 for Marek Health to write me the LabCorp order for the blood test? or does the $59 also include the LabCorp servicesā¦since I believe my insurer will certainly not cover payment for the blood test.
Thanks again!
Hi, and welcome to the site.
I think you can just ignore that - youāve already paid. Just tell them that you pre-paid Marek for the test when you go to Labcorp. Iāve done this many times with blood tests done at LabCorp, but purchased through LifeExtension Foundation, etcā¦
Most of LabCorpās tests are paid for by insurance companies - so that is what they are most used to. Health fanatics like us, who do our own blood tests to track our health, are a relatively small group of people compared to the masses that just do what the doctor tells them as part of their annual checkups.
I started my rapamycin journey eight weeks ago with a 2mg dose. Iāve increased that- now taking 8mg every Friday. Iām 67yo male, 6ā2" and 215lb.
On Friday 9/15/23, I got a sirolimus blood test two hours after taking my 8mg (8 pills- 1mg Biocon Rapacan). The result was 17.1 ng/ml.
Yesterday (Friday 9/22), I got the same test, but before taking the rapamycin (testing my trough). The result was <1.0.
For both tests, I ate a two egg cheese omelett 30 minutes before taking the pills.
I purchased the tests from Marek Health ($59 + $5 lab fee = $64). Results were available the day after test.
I purchased the Biocon Sirolimus from Vallabh Enterprise/Shreeji Impex: $180 - 300 1mg pills @ .60 per tablet. Why would you pay more?
Iām planning a few more blood tests:
4 mg with Grapefruit juice
8 mg (4 2mg Siroboon Sirolimus)- I just received this purchase of 150 2mg pills from Vallabh Enterprise/Shreeji Impex for $120 (40 cents per mg). I want to compare the Siroboon to the Biocon.
A test three days after taking the pills. I expected my trough test to be higher than ā<1mgā if the half-life is 60-65 hours, so Iām curious about mid-week.
The interesting thing about all of this is that there doesnāt seem to be consensus about dosing and frequency (unless you are a mouse or organ transplant patient). I hope being on the ācutting edgeā doesnāt cut too deeply!
Thank you for sharing these results. I would be very interested to see your future blood test results too, especially the mid-week one. Iām currently doing 4mg every 2 weeks but wondering whether to reduce the gap. However I am keen on Astaxanthin too and at the moment I donāt take Astaxanthin for 7 days after the Rapa but then take Astaxanthin twice per day for the following 7 days and then repeat the whole cycle.
I will post future results.
Iām also taking astaxanthin- 12mg daily for the last six weeks. Why do you stop your Astaxanthin for the week after you take your rapamycin? Did I miss something?
Iām also thinking about canagliflozen after hearing Peter Attia talk about it. Seems like we must read the same things, but Iāll mention this anyway- that the National Institute of Aging has identified a few drugs/supplements that increase life span (in mice). Rapamycin, astaxanthin, and canagliflozen are on that list!
There has been much discussion on here about astaxanthin and possible interactions with Rapamycin but from what I recall there appears to be conflicting evidence on whether astaxanthin raises or inhibits MTOR. So until this is sorted out the concensus seems to be not to take them together hence my decision to leave the gap. There are plenty of people on here who are far more knowledgeable than me though so perhaps someone better informed could weigh in if Iāve got this wrong.
There is research showing that Astaxanthin activates mTOR, see this post/ thread: Astaxanthin: A Potential Treatment in Disease and Aging, Lifespan Increase - #183 by RapAdmin
So if you are taking both rapamycin and astaxanthin youāre taking compounds that both inhibit and up regulate mtor. So the thinking goes that you probably donāt want to take rapamycin just after ramping up mTOR with astaxanthin. Though I suppose that its less of an issue taking astaxanthin after dosing rapamycin as at that point rapamycin is inhibiting mTOR and astaxanthin wonāt activate mTOR because the rapamycin is already blocking the receptor. But then perhaps you arenāt getting the most benefit from Astaxanthin (but we donāt know the mechanism by which astaxanthin is improving lifespan so we canāt really say for sure.
Thank you for the clarification RapAdmin 
