My DOG, My PARTNER, and ME: A Week by Week Rapalogue

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#1

The journey begins!

I’ll use this thread to report my experience as my partner, my dog, and I begin taking Rapamycin (sirolimus).

BIO-INFO

I am 47 and weigh 180lbs. Using pre-rapa tests, my Aging.ai age was 49 and my Levine age was 43. I’m healthy and athletic. I lift weights twice a week for around 90 minutes each time, getting my heart rate up to 183 max between 5-10 times during the workout. I tend to be sensitive to medications. I am taking daily pills for hair retention: 1.25mg Minoxidil and 0.25mg Finasteride. I also take the following supplements somewhat regularly: D3, Magnesium, Zinc, Omega-3. I eat Kimchi daily as part of my lunch and eat prebiotic fiber daily with my oatmeal breakfast. Finally, I also just began making Kefir, which I have come to really enjoy.

My partner is 50 and healthy. She exercises vigorously daily. She weights around 130lbs. She takes daily multivitamins and a few of the same supplements I take. I would say she’s fit and I’m mostly fit. Unlike me, she does not have a delicate system.

My dog is 12 years old. She weighs 44lbs. She has mostly clear eyes, no physical problems, and sleeps a lot. When she wants it she has plenty of energy in reserve, like when the UPS truck drives past our house.

PURCHASING THE RAPAMYCIN FROM INDIA

We put a post on IndiaMart requesting Rapamycin. Within moments I got a phone call. I had requested Zydus Siromus, as it seemed to be the best product out of India – a large, top notch company with a high quality product. I wanted to pay $1/mg. (Admin note: its probably easier and less hassle and fewer spam emails/calls if you skip the Indiamart step and just contact the vendors that forum members here have found reliable: List of Reliable Online Pharmacies for Rapamycin.

The person on the phone couldn’t meet that price, but said they would talk to their manager to find another supplier of sirolimus that would be cheaper. I didn’t understand this process and didn’t like the sense of bargaining for prices. Also, I didn’t like the high pressure situation of having to decide instantly on the phone. I did not go with them.

I now realize a few things that I wish I realized then. First, Rapamycin is the original name of a molecule. Pfizer patented Rapamycin, but it passed out of patent just a few years ago. Since then, anyone can manufacture the molecule. Thus, the generic molecule was named “Sirolimus”.

So Pfizer’s Sirolimus is called Rapamune now; Zydus’ Sirolimus is called Siromus; Biocon’s Sirolimus is called Rapacan; Kachhela’s Sirolimus is called Siroboon1 (was Sirokem), etc.

It does seem like everyone calls the molecule “Rapamycin” for a shorthand, even if they may be taking a different brand name, or even a rapalog. The latter is a term for molecules very much like Sirolimus but different enough that a company can patent it. It seems that there are a growing number of rapalogs as companies try to get in front of the Rapamycin revolution by having a product they can patent and make a bundle on.

In any case, the man on the phone was on the up and up. He was telling me that he couldn’t sell the Zydus product for $1, but was looking into a different producer of the same molecule.

From that single post on IndiaMart I got 10-15 different Indian companies reaching out to my email with offers. I’m very glad I put in a fake “Hide my email” address. One producer offered the Zydus product for just about $1/mg so I took it. On the IndiaMart site his company had quite a large number of 5-star reviews.

I paid using the Wise app. My regular credit card would not allow the charge, but on my phone I had a balance of several hundred dollars on the “Apple Cash” card from someone who had paid me through iMessage. Choosing this Apple Cash balance as my payment form went through.

I was nervous about losing my money, but I got a tracking number the next day which listed a package sent from Bombay. 10 days later, after no updates on the tracking number, the package was listed as arriving in New York and going to customs. 7 days later, after no updates, the package was listed as clearing customs. At that point it took only 2 days to arrive at my house. I was not there when it was delivered by USPS and they did not drop it off. I went to the post office later in the day and recovered the package with my Driver License. It was all there in good order!

TALKING WITH MY DOCTOR

I did decide to talk with my doctor before beginning Rapamycin. She was confused when I walked into the appointment. “So you want a prescription?” No, I’m getting it overseas. “Okay, so is there anything you need from me?” Not really, I just thought you should know that I’m doing this, so we can keep tabs on any potential side effects.

To make the appointment I had to type up a 500 character description of my need for the visit. I used the following:

I would like to talk about the use of Rapamycin by well persons, not at the daily dose of transplant patients but at a 5mg/week level cited in Mannick, below. My understanding is that R. extends life-span and health-span in every animal tested.

Here are 3 resources:

  1. Dr Kaeberlein’s explanation in video: https://bit.ly/3DY10Oa
  2. Dr. Mannick’s 2014 paper: https://bit.ly/2BLOi6l
  3. Podcast on ITP research (44:45): https://bit.ly/3Tx3uZE

She had never heard of well people taking Rapamycin. Actually she seemed not entirely aware of MTOR either. Essentially she was entirely caught off guard. She asked a lot of questions: What is the claim? How does it work? Are there side effects? Is anyone trying to make money off of you?

I told her that my understanding was that Rapamycin seems to fool the body into thinking it is experiencing calorie restriction. Thus the cells go into maintenance mode instead of growth mode. This leads to healthier cells and thus an increased health-span and life-span.

She put Rapamycin into her computer and said that it looks extremely safe, as it has a long history of millions of people using it. Incidentally she was also very curious about the Aging.ai age calculator and the Levine calculator. She gave the impression that she was going to put her own numbers into the calculator after our visit.

As a last note I did hand her the following document, which I hashed together from one of the posts on this site. She said she wanted to read the science, so she was glad that the many claims were all footnoted and documented.

Here’s the handout I gave to my doctor:

Rapamycin Info Sheet.PDF (262.3 KB)

WEEK 1: 1MG

We began with 1mg each, including the humans and the pooch.

I took mine with EVOO which I guess is what the cool kids call “Extra Virgin Olive Oil.” My partner took hers with a breakfast with extra butter. The dog took hers with regular food.

Everyone dosed in the morning, as we’d heard it could jazz you up.

The jazziest among us was the dog. I swear she reverse-aged about 3 years for that day and the following. She had tons of energy, slept less, was extra hungry, and was extra social.

My partner did not notice any effect at all.

I could tell something had happened. The feeling was similar to when I got my first COVID shot. My body was definitely caught off guard. I experienced two slight momentary hot flashes, which happens to me when my metabolism is off. I slept harder than usual that night. The following night I slept less well than usual.

Everyone was back to normal within two days.

WEEK TWO: 2MG

The process was the same for week two. 2mgs with breakfast.

The dog reverse-aged 5 years after this dose. For a day and a half she was practically like a puppy. This is entirely unlike her. That is, this never happens. She was playing, bounding around, chasing after the neighbor’s dog in the back yard, back and forth, back and forth. It was an absolute delight to watch. Again she was extra hungry; not that we fed her more, but she was constantly looking for treats or opportunities to get them.

Again, my partner said she felt no effects.

I did not feel any particular effect this time either, which made me wonder if the first week’s effects were mental.

I will say that I noticed 4 slight blemishes (zits?) on my body on the Day 2. I never ever get such things. Like maybe one or two in a year. But I found two zits on my chest and two on my face. All four were slight, not raging, no head. I mention this because it is a known side effect for some people.

Also, I did notice a slight sore on the inside of my cheek. I wear a bite-guard at night, and every once in a while I do notice issues. These are rare, like perhaps every 3-6 months.

So four slight zits and a slight sore inside my cheek.

I mentioned high above that I also began drinking Kefir on the same day as this dosage. Could an infusion of new gut bacteria lead to these effects? I’ll keep a close watch.

LOOKING FORWARD

That brings everything up to date!

As long as it seems useful I will post once a week on what’s happening with the three of us. Feel free to chime in. Comment, question, or share your own experience.

Next week will be 3mg for the three of us. That will be the max dose for the dog going forward. My partner plans to stop at 3mg or 4mg. I plan to go to 4-6mg.

Hope this is helpful!

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A Week by Week Rapalogue!
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Rapamycin Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
#2

Love it! Love the name too… a “Rapalogue” indeed. Thanks for posting. Looking forward to following it as things progress. I encourage other people who are embarking on their rapamycin adventure to do similar types of summaries and regular (or irregular) updates on progress, perceptions and changes you see or experience.

And the more data oriented, the better. If you have a side effect thats visible, take a photo and post it (e.g. a rash). Blood test results are also great (pre and post, and over time). Try to help people coming after you on this journey.

Following the progress of rapamycin use in your dog in your posting is a great and original idea. I’ve been giving my dog rapamycin for the past 2 years and she’s doing great, acts like a puppy much of the time but is now 5 years old. No obvious side effects. It would be great to hear from other dog owners who (ideally) have larger, older dogs and how rapamycin works for them (since they will give us the best indication of how things may progress for humans). We won’t have results from the Dog Aging project with rapamycin for another 4 years+, so the early information we can get from people who have dogs and post here will be a good leading indicator on where things might be heading for humans and rapamycin.

One thing I’m thinking of doing is for friends and extended family with dogs, is (as a way to introduce them to rapamycin) is get some sort of doggy fitbit onto the dog for a few weeks prior to giving them rapamycin to get a baseline of activity, and then track it over time after giving the dogs rapamycin. I was thinking this might be helpful because most of us probably are not going to be doing regular blood testing on our dogs, and some of the biggest observable effects I’ve heard of in rapamycin in dogs is with their activity level and energy. So this would be a good way to quantify this difference and see how real this effect is. Most people are skeptical about the effects of rapamycin, so if we can quantify it for people (or if people can quantify it themselves) I think it becomes more real to them. Its one thing to say our dog is running around like a puppy again, its another to say that we’ve tracked their activity and our dog’s activity level is up 400% since taking rapamycin. I think both measures are helpful to communicate the changes we see in our dogs.

For other people thinking of getting their dogs on rapamycin, here are some dog activity trackers that I’ve seen on Amazon that look like they might do the job:

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#3

Really great post which will help a lot of people when they start their journey! Keep us updated how it goes with everything :pray:

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#4

We are similar in a number of ways. Although we are a bit older, I am 80 about to take my 5mg after 5 weeks increasing 1mg per wk. No side effects. Workout 3 times a week. My wife is 74 and also exercises daily. She is not totally on board yet but is getting there. Our Goldendoodle is about 10 yrs old and weighs 67 lbs. and is enrolled in the Dog Aging Project that Dr Kaeberlein is head of. I have been making kefir for a while.

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#5

Hello, HigoMe33! Nice to meet you, your partner, and your dog. Yes, your “Rapalogue” (haha–I thought of the same pun, but you beat me to posting it!) is very helpful. I’m on a very similar journey, conducted in a very similar way, and as of last weekend, I was up to my 5mg, once per week regimen, which was my target goal for dosing.

So far, I’ve had no adverse side effects, nor have I been able to detect anything beneficial–yet. I plan to keep everyone informed on my personal “About to start Rapamycin” post, which I began this past September. My next report will be when I go in for a blood test sometime in late January.

By the way, my wellness doc responded in the exact same way yours did. Thank goodness for open-minded health care practitioners who’re willing to assist us in our quest for longevity/healthspan improvements! Good luck to all three of you!

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#6

Coach Harvey, thanks for your post. I think it’s fun that we share many of the same things in common. Keep us informed of any effects you two feel, one way or the other!

DMD, I appreciate your comment. I actually read through your thread. The few times you said something like, “I won’t keep posting I know I’m not that interesting” I found myself yelling at the screen like my dad used to do with hockey, except I was saying, No please keep posting! It feels momentous somehow to be on this journey. I think the more Rapalogue’s the better. Besides I like your voice and style, so it was easy and enjoyable reading.

I plan to post once a week. Maybe my delicate constitution will surface obscure effects pro and con. We shall see!

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#7

Thanks so much for your very kind reply, HigoMe33! I appreciate your feedback on my thread. I write (and ghostwrite) for a living (along with keynoting, lecturing, counseling, etc.), and I love writing in a playful style. Thanks for “getting” me!

I just took my second 5mg dose a few hours ago. I will monitor myself as carefully as possible for the next several days, and report any side effects, pos or neg.

I meant to mention how well laid out your Rapamycin Info Sheet is! I believe our community will find it useful if/when we need to speak with “yet-to-be-enlightened” health care professionals.

How about this for a deal, HigoMe33: you keep posting and so will I! Together, we’ll inspire others to create their own “Rapalogue.” (Hmmm. You might consider trademarking that title.)

Onward and upward toward optimal health and wellness, fellow rapa explorers!

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#8

Yes, DMD, please keep posting your updates and results! And for anyone looking for the thread, look here: I'm about to start rapamycin; looking for dosing advice

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#9

WEEK 3: 3mg

We’re low-key freaking out because my partner’s period, which always comes a few days early is now close to a week late. Again, she’s about 50 years old. We tried to have kids for three years in her early-to-mid 40’s with no luck, so we stopped using birth control. Now we’re shaking our fists at the sky and yelling “RAPAMYCINNN”

For those who haven’t found their way to the OBGYN thread on Rapamycin.news, it’s true that one of the key cells that are rejuvenated by rapa are ovaries.

You can find photos here of fresh young mice ovaries, old wrinkled mice ovaries, and rapa-rejuvenated old mice ovaries that look fresh as the newly fallen snow.

Somewhere in another thread a member here mentioned that his 60-year old mother shared tmi (too much information) when she confided in him that her menses had returned.

We’ve only just begun our Rapamycin journey, so it seems unlikely that we’ll be beginning that journey as well. Besides, at 50 she’s pre-menopausal, so perhaps this delay is just part of her reproductive system closing up shop. Still, we’re… nervous.

On this subject she has asked me to share a few other details about recent changes in the ole’ system that appear to be rapa related.

Female Reproductive Changes

My partner asked me to share that, being 50 it has been ages since she had “a lot of discharge” but this very thing began to happen after she started Rapamycin.

Keep in mind we’ve only done three weeks now: 1mg, 2mg, 3mg.

Also, she said that she has never had runny discharge. But both happened several times in the past few weeks. Like, so much liquid running down her leg that she was sure her period had started, but it had not.

This makes me think that we probably need a dedicated women’s health thread where women can comment and share. Obviously these are sensitive details, but if the female reproductive system is one of the major areas of transformation by Rapamycin, someone should be tracking and sharing.

I’m reminded of a post on this site in which a woman said that Rapamycin transformed her cycle and as soon as she stops taking it she notices the difference immediately.

Week 3: My Dog

Well, our 12 year old pup seems to become young again for about two days after her rapa dosing. This week wasn’t as dramatic a change as the previous two weeks. But it was still noticeable.

Rapamycin makes our dog more social, more energetic, more intense if that makes sense, and more hungry.

To be clear she still sleeps a ton. She’s at my side right now actually. She’s not less dog-like and she’s not truly like a puppy again. This week I would say there were three or four moments when she surprised me by her enthusiasm. Amongst those 3 or 4 moments were probably 30 moments of normal behavior that didn’t raise an eyebrow.

As I mentioned above, I didn’t notice much difference between her response to the 3mg vs 2mg and 1mg. Considering this dose was 50% higher than last week (3 vs 2) I was hoping she’d walk on water, feed herself, and change the channel if I asked nicely. But nope.

We’ll keep to the 3mg/wk for her for the foreseeable future. I’ll write back to let you know how it goes.

Week 3: Health

Somewhat like the dog, my reaction to 3mg seemed slightly less than my reaction to 2mg. I could make up a story: my body is getting accustomed to rapa, for example. But who knows?

You’ll recall that in Week 2 I got a sore inside my cheek and four zits, both of which are very uncommon for me. This week? Nothing. The mouth sore is healed. The zits are just light red marks.

The one thing that I felt in common with previous weeks was an occasional—this will sound weird—blushing.

I don’t know if I was actually blushing, but in all three weeks I have had moments that are almost like a hot flash but it didn’t course over my whole body. This blushing feeling was in my face and for a moment in my skin I guess. Like just getting hot for maybe 10-30 seconds.

This is not something that happens to me. Also, I notice it happens especially on the day I take rapa, and sometimes on the second day. In total it happens perhaps 3 times total on those two days.

I do strength training at the gym on the morning of Day 3 after rapa. This week I felt weaker than usual. We’ll have to see if this continues or if it was just an off day. I also do strength training on Day 5 after rapa and those have been killer workouts. Like good ones.

Disappearing Pains?

My partner and I both have some aches and pains that have been with us for years. Old war wounds I suppose. Things we’ve messed up that never really healed.

Well for both of us these appear to be diminishing!

Honestly I’m tempted to say they’re gone, but they’re only gone about 90% of the time. These were joint pains that were nearly constant for months and years, so this 90% diminishment is very exciting for us both.

We’re both still exercising with those joints and we’re both aware that these could be placebo effects, or whatever you would want to call them. So we’re watching to see if that 90% is just perceptual, or if its real diminishment. We’ll keep tabs on them and let you know.

Finally, if a little one is coming I will blame every last one of you and expect baby shower gifts galore because damn. Probably not happening though. Tomorrow we’ll go to church and pray for not-a-miracle.

8 Likes
A Week by Week Rapalogue!
A guide to extend longevity by delaying menopause (Age1)
#10

As always, I appreciate the detailed and thoughtful response. At some points it would not be a bad idea to get blood tests to see how things are going at a more detailed level.

There was a recent post by Chris of the Canadian Longevity Association about his 3-month trial of rapamycin (limited to 3 months only because thats how much rapamycin he initially got from a friend in Turkey). Chris did pre-rapamycin blood tests and epigenetic testing, and then after three months a post test. You can check it out here: Canadian Longevity Assoc. November 2022 Longevity Review

#11

Thank you. Following that link I found the following link:

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#12

Yes - I have a thread where we have women participating, and where I’m posting everything new I find on this topic of ovarian aging: Women Taking Rapamycin for Enhanced Fertility / Menopause Prevention?

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#13

WEEK FOUR: 4MG

It’s been another interesting week. Let’s jump right in.

My Partner

My partner never had her period this month. As I mentioned above, she’s 50, so menopause is stalking. Nevertheless, she has never missed a month as long as we’ve been together, except during pregnancies.

It does seem like a strange coincidence that as soon as she began rapamycin she missed her first period in decades. And this on top of the other changes that I mentioned above. We’ll see what happens going forward. She did take a pregnancy test that was negative.

For this week she went down to 1mg because she’s taking an anti-fungal or an issue under a toenail. We decided together to shift her down to 1mg instead of up to 4mg as had been the plan. Our thought was that 1mg would be low enough that any obvious drug interactions might be minimal, in which case we would stop rapa altogether until the 45 day treatment span was over.

We did look at webmd.com to see if there were any registered drug interactions between the two meds and it said there were none.

We haven’t talked about what next week might be. I suspect she’ll keep it low for a few weeks. Then we’ll evaluate what’s up and make the choice that seems best.

To close the loop, thus far there have been no side effects from the rapa, or the rapa plus the anti-fungal. It appears she just skipped her period as there was cramping etc, but no blood, and now things are chill again.

My Dog

I’m convinced that my dog is experiencing what one of our members has described as a “state of euphoria.” According to his reports on this site, he experienced this only when taking 20mg doses. Those doses may have included grapefruit juice, I can’t recall.

Considering that my dog is 44lbs and taking 3mg rapa, that might align with a 180lb man taking 20+mg.

In any case, the bottom line is that my dog loves rapamycin. She is more active. She’s more spunky around other dogs (she used to shy away, but when she was young she liked to provoke other dogs, which she is doing again now). Even her face gets more puffy; like the fur of her face is poofed and she’s making intense eye-contact more often.

We’re both convinced that she’s happier. Her higher level of activity seems obviously to be better for her, as it gets her up and moving, engaging and being engaged. She’s also more social around us, choosing more often to sit next to us for petting rather than sitting across the room.

We have noticed no obvious side-effects in our dog as a result of rapamycin. I am paying attention though.

I should say I have noticed more skin-tags on the dog lately (not sure of the scientific name for these). They are listed on this site’s list of side-effects for humans. It’s hard to tell whether they were there for my dog before or not, considering you know, all the fur. I’ll keep an eye out and see if I keep noticing more.

(Does anyone know if skin tags correlate with ill health? Are they a side effect that should lead us to lower the dose or stop dosing?)

My Side Effects

I continue to notice side effects of various sorts. I’m not sure if they are caused by the rapamycin, but it’s strange to have so many strange health issues all of a sudden upon beginning rapamycin when I’ve never had so many before.

Last week at 3mg I had an extreme sinus headache one morning. I linked it to trying my wife’s face cream the night before, which I rubbed into my forehead and around my eyes. It’s the OneSkin face cream, which by the way she loves.

As I say, I linked it to that cream, but now I wonder if it might have been rapa connected. I don’t feel like trying another experiment to see if I can coax my sinuses into a splitter of a headache, so I’m sorry medical science; this will have to remain in the realm of conjecture.

I did have more side effects this week though, after 4mg.

First, I got a very red pair of eyes. I saw one of our members mentioning this on our side effects thread. For him it was pink eye. I let it ride through the day. The one eye got clearer while the other kept getting more red.

My partner had some prescription anti-bacterial eye drops from an issue last year. The drops said one drop three times a day for several days. I put one drop in each eye once. That cleared it up.

Was it bacterial? I’m not sure. What I’m sure of is I have awesome eyes. I have never had pink eye as long as I can recall. I’ve never had eye issues of any sort, not with my actual eye health. So this was weird and noticeable. I was glad it cleared up so quickly. Perhaps that means the eyes were just irritated by dry winter air, or dust? Perhaps. I’ll pay attention and let you know in the weeks ahead.

Second, another eye thing. In the few days after taking 4mg I got a very twitchy eye. This does happen to me when I’m under extreme stress and not resting well. It’s like the Bugs Bunny cartoon where something outrageously stressful happens and the character’s eye just starts twitching uncontrollably.

This was weird, first because I haven’t experienced this in many months although it is something my eyes do, and second because I’m not aware that I’m under that much stress. But it is Christmas time and I’m having trouble with an employee so yeah, maybe it’s not related to rapa.

Third and lastly, I woke up on day 5 after taking 4mg with what I swear looked like a very slight rash on both of my forearms. Like very slight. I’m not inclined to share pictures, but suffice it to say it was so slight it might have been dry skin or even a too hot shower for too long. Still, I’ve been in this body for many decades now and this caught my attention as out-of-the-ordinary.

A strange thing about these side effects is that I haven’t gotten the same one more than once so far.

Mouth sores in Week One, but never again. Zits in Week One but never again. Headaches some weeks but not others. Hot flashes in some weeks but none this week. Now eye issues, twitches, sinus issues, and a slight rash, but never before.

I’m a very healthy person with a largely drama-free record of such things. I’m usually just fine without any of the above.

Future Dosing?

I’ve been wondering if I should take a rapa-vacay (vacation). So far, I’m undecided.

One option would be to take a week off and then jump back in at 2mg or 3mg and see where things lie.

A second option would be to increase the time between doses. If the average half-life of rapa in the human body is 2.5 days, I’m not convinced that I’m close enough to 0mg rapa on Day 7 before taking another dose. I do dose with Olive Oil, so I’m getting, what, 35% more rapa than otherwise? So maybe I should go 10 days between doses.

A third option would be to remain at 4mg a week for a few weeks. Considering that I had classic rapamycin side-effects in week one at 1mg (mouth sore and pimples), maybe I’m more sensitive to rapamycin than average. I’ll have to look back, but I think I got hot flashes at 1mg as well.

A fourth option, forking from the above, would be to revert to 3mg or 2mg for several weeks, following the logic that if it’s affecting my system then it’s working, so why push it.

A fifth option would be to press on toward my goal of 5mg-7mg, which is where others on this site have landed—people of my age, gender, and approximate weight. This would follow the logic that perhaps these effects are related to the kefir I happened to start drinking the same week I began rapa (tbh, these aren’t classic kefir side-effects), or to the dry air, the increasing cold, the seasonal stress, or the germs I come into contact with at work.

I haven’t yet decided. My next dose would be two days from now and Christmas is less than a week away. My inclination is to not press ahead to a higher dose just yet. I’ll let you know what I decide.

Season’s Greetings

Today is the first day of Hanukah. Also the last week of Advent and the last day before the solstice. After the darkness comes the light. It’s always darkest right before the coming of dawn. Be well

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#14
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#15

BENEFITS SO FAR

Let’s take a look at what’s changed for the better in four weeks!

No Shoulder Pain

About a year pre-COVID I blew out my right shoulder at the gym. No one had ever taught me to keep my shoulders back and down in every exercise. “Put your shoulder blades in your back pants pockets” my doctor said, after the fact.

As a potential point of interest I’ll add that this is from evolutionary design. If you were to walk on all fours your shoulder blades would naturally be pushed back and down as they carry your body weight.

Well I was regularly extending my shoulders all the way forward, especially at the top of a bench press, thinking this was part of the full extension of the movement. It is not. Even with bench (or push-ups) you should keep your shoulders all the way back and down.

So yeah, I blew out my right shoulder. Couldn’t put it under any load. A scan said it was terrible bursitis inflammation. I got 10 weeks of physical therapy and exercises I continued for the next three years.

It still always hurt.

And now it doesn’t hurt. Before this past month my right shoulder essentially hurt all the time, but at a very low level. Now it does not hurt throughout the day at all.

I feel slight pain only if I sleep on my right side. In the past this would cause extra pain through the day when I awoke. Now I only feel a pressure-pain when my body weight is on the shoulder. When I turn or awake it goes away.

I have been working out more intensely for 8 months and have been working up to heavier weights, including on bench, while using correct form. Still, the reduction in pain has been dramatic in this month, for which I am so grateful!

I’m aware of some stories about joint paint going away from rapa. Put me on the list!

No Teeth Bleeding

I’m not a super-fan of flossing. I get it, it’s important. I recall a dentist saying that you don’t have to floss all your teeth – just the ones you want to keep.

Even so, I floss at most once a week, usually less often. Feel free to judge, I know it’s not ideal. I do use an electric toothbrush twice a day always, and I floss after stringy meals like chicken, so I do have pretty good oral hygiene in my own opinion.

In any case, I usually get some blood when I floss, that’s the bottom line. Let’s just say I always get some blood when I floss. It happens every time. Not too much, but definitely enough to see.

In this past month I have flossed perhaps three times. The first two times I noticed less blood than usual, which caught my attention. The last time was last night.

No blood.

This is a first for me. I have literally never flossed my teeth without some blood appearing between them, on the floss, or in my spit. Last night, nothing.

I’m aware of some stories about oral health improving dramatically from rapa. Put me on the list!

Sane Periods

If you’ve been following this rapalogue you know that my partner and I were shocked when she missed her period after just a few rapa doses. We’re not prepared for a child!

Well her period finally came this week, two weeks late. Maybe this is her first menopause moment. In any case, a quick history.

She has been dealing with very heavy periods for years now. It’s been extremely troubling for various reasons, as you might imagine. She spoke to her OBGYN several times about it. Tried a few different things including a few different brands of birth control pills and an… what’s it called, an insert. An IUD.

None of these things proved effective, and they all had unpleasant side effects of various sorts.

This month you should see her face. It was like an early Christmas gift. A sane period, needing to change tampons every few hours but not more often. She says the difference is noticeable and so wonderful compared to what she has been enduring.

In fact, she said, “If this is the only positive effect of rapamycin it will all be worth it for me.”

Sorry if that’s TMI for some people, but it’s a major win and something worth knowing for women considering these pills.

Wrap up

Some of my posts above concentrate on potential side effects, because I have been wanting to be very transparent about any possible changes happening to my body. But I do want to be very clear: these things have been minor.

I feel absolutely wonderful.

I stopped running years ago because of knee pain, but I’m now running for 15 minutes at the beginning of every workout. (Full disclosure: About two weeks ago I added an occasional daily dose of 300mg “Glucosamine Chondroitin MSM + Hyaluronic Acid with OptiMSM” and I have been strengthening the muscles around my knees, so it’s not just the rapa. Google the “knee over toe guy” to learn more about knee strengthening).

I am gaining muscle and to a lesser degree losing fat. (I did add daily 5mg Creatine to my supplement stack in the past month.)

Every side effect I’ve had has been minor and passing, and several are probably not related to rapa at all. For example, I think I know why I got the rashes on my forearms, which means it wasn’t the pills.

I am excited to continue this journey. I took 4mg yesterday as a Week 5 dose. Last night I slept like a baby and woke up happy. Rapamycin is definitely adding to our quality of life!

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#16

All sounds on track and amazing.

Curious about your dog update?

Thanks

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#17

Happy Holidays, HigoMe33 and everyone! First of all, I realize that this site is dedicated to rapa-related health and longevity reports/stories/research, but I just have to say…I LOVE your writing, HugoMe33! (I’m a writer myself, and I practically swoon when I read great prose. Yours rocks.)

On a more official level, I really appreciate your detailed reports. I haven’t had any side effects from my rapa dosing (yet), but your reports are reminding me to pay careful attention to what’s happening with my body. I’m at 5mg/once per week, and so far, so good. It hadn’t been my intention to increase the dose any further, but since I’m tolerating 5mg so well, I might try 6mg and see what happens. (However, Agetron just recently shared his “More rapamycin might not be better” post, which is definitely food for thought.)

I, for one, appreciate your reports on your partner’s experiences. (I’m a female, so I relate to her.) And your dog’s experiences, as well! (I’m not a dog, but I have a dog. And a cat. Has anyone given rapa to a cat?)

I read “Rapamycin News” the same way other people read the WSJ or the NYT…with such excitement, interest, and fondness for my fellow rapa adventurers.

Thanks again, HigoMe33, for keeping us informed and inspired.

Sunday is my dosing day, so here I go. Cheers!

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#18

I have taken by second 5mg dose yesterday 12/25/22. Scooter is in the TRIAD study and took his first dose of rapamycin of placebo Wednesday (12/21/22) the prescribed day for his pills. I have notice no effect yet. I did just get an email from WU they are starting a human trial of rapamycin.

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#19

Watch for the skin tags…

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#20

Sunday the1st of Jan I will have my 3rd full dose, i.e 5mg. Scooter our soon to be 10 year old Goldendoodle has taken his second dose of rapamycin or placebo as part of the Dog Aging Project. I have noticed no significant change or side effects in myself or Scooter, so far.

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