I started Rapamycin with the goal of prolonging life and slowing down the progression of igA nephropathy

#1

I am a 40-year-old GP living in Europe. Height 181cm, weight 84kg. I do crossfit 3-4 hours a week.

I have been using empagliflozin for 4-5 years because of its prognostic effects on cardiovascular diseases. Last summer I took a 3-week break from the drug to better prepare for a tough CrossFit test (Echibike 100cal against time). During the break, I had a strong backache and the urine began to foam. I was ihospitalized for 5 days and eventually I was diagnosed with IgA nerfopathy. The treatment was high-dose prednisolone (60 mg/day), which luckily reduced the inflammation quickly.

I have wondered if empagliflozin had suppressed the disease, which then flared up during the break?

The disease has been in remission for months with empagliflozin alone. No albumin is secreted in the urine and creatinine has been normal. However, the disease shortens life expectancy by an average of 6-9 years and leads to the need for a kidney transplant in a significant number of patients.

Lifespan extension has been of interest to me, and preliminary research evidence of rapamycin’s effectiveness in IgAN made me start rapamycin as well.

Liu D, Liu Y, Chen G, He L, Tang C, Wang C, Yang D, Li H, Dong Z, Liu H. Rapamycin Enhances Repressed Autophagy and Attenuates Aggressive Progression in a Rat Model of IgA Nephropathy. Am J Nephrol. 2017;45(4):293-300. doi: 10.1159/000456039. Epub 2017 Feb 25. PMID: 28237991.

I got my blood test results yesterday:

Hb 174 g/l
WBC 5.6 E9/l
ALAT 24 U/l
LDL 2.1 mmol/l
HDL 1.58 mmol/l
Crea 99 umol/l
Ferritin 32 UG/L
CRP < 0.3 mg/l
A1C 3132 mmol/mol
Testo 22.7 nmol/l
SHBG 46 nmol/l

I started rapamycin 2mg this morning. No side effects by the evening. Aiming to increase the dose weekly by 2 mg for 2 weeks and continue with 6 mg once a week. Next blood tests maybe in 3 months.

Full stack:
Empagliflozin 25mg 1x1
Metformin 750mg 1x1 days when no exercise
Telmisartan 40mg 1x1 (started few weeks ago for the kidneys and as a part of a longevity protocol)
Gabapentin 300mg 1x1 occasionally for sleep
Vitamin-D 50 ug 1x1

6 Likes
#2

Welcome to the site.

We have quite a few doctors here on the site so i am sure you will be able to have some good discussions about any questions you may have or issues that come up as you move forward with your treatment regimen.

Please post detailed updates as things progress. We are all learning from each other here and if you have any questions please post them.

4 Likes
#3

You are aware of the low carb warning and sgl2is? Do you eat sufficient carbs to avoid this. e.g. minimum 100grams of carbs a day?

#4

FWIW

Have you reviewed Low Dose Naltrexone (LDN)?

I do use LDN on and off.