Soon I might have some comparisons. I have been on rapamycin from January 2025 to April 6mg once weekly using Eris Biocon manufactured in 2023/2024. My 49-50 hour serum sirolimus level was 5.6 ng/mL according to LabCorp. I always took my dose on an empty stomach after an overnight fast and no food for 2-3 hours after a dose.
I then have had a 7 week break from rapamycin (dental surgery). I have resumed with sirolimus, same dose and protocol 6mg once a week, but this time the Zydus brand manufactured 2024. I will run the same exact test after three weekly doses and see what levels I get. No changes to diet, exercise or supplements, except the addition of 180mg/day of bempedoic acid and a boost of the dose of empagliflozin from 10mg/day to 25mg/day.
This won’t tell me if the Biocon pill dosage has changed, but might tell me if the Zydus results in a different serum level. Imperfect, but might be informative. YMMV.
I’ve been back on Biocon Rapacan for 5 weeks at a reduced 4mg +VOO dose. Good news is that the reduced dose doesn’t give me diarorrhea (sp?} like 5mg+VOO used to. It wasn’t bad squits but came on 2 days after dosing and could cause a rush to the loo on a few occasions.
I’m going to take a 4 weeks break after 6 weeks and hope that’s long enough for my immune system to bounce back.
Anyone have sound suggestions on break time length ?
I take 4 mg + GFJ + EVOO, which I believe to be about 14 mg equivalent every 2 weeks. GFJ provides 3X, and EVOO provides 0.5X. These are my rules of thumb. At this level, I get some minor side effects (diarrhea, gut cramps, euphoric fatigue, etc.), but if I go up a mg to 5 mg, I develop hives. So, dialing down the dosage decreases side effects. I’ve gone up to a maximum of 7 mg + GFJ + EVOO before, and it just made the hives worse.
With everything, the dose matters, and the ideal dose varies from person to person; however, I believe the biggest factors are gender and size. Women should take less as well as smaller people. I am trying to take the maximum dosage that doesn’t cause me significant problems/discomfort. The generally accepted rule of 6-9 mg a week seems to be the highest level with the least side effects.
I am exposed to a lot of viruses and bacteria, and it is common for me to develop a bacterial infection. These infections are worse if I have more Rapa in my system. For instance, I had COVID last month and I had to stay off Rapamycin for 3 weeks to recover from the coughing crud I developed. However, in the past, before I started biohacking, a similar cough could last for months to the point where I would be coughing up blood and developing headaches from coughing so much every day. So, I am recovering faster than I have in the past. (However, I attribute a significant portion of this cough recovery to the 4 g of NAC I take daily).
Next year, I’m getting the COVID vaccine, because every year for the past 3 years, if I don’t I get full on COVID. I’d bet the vaccine is the better alternative of the two. I also get an annual flu shot.