To ward off arthritus I have taken one doxycycline a day for the last 30 years. Arthritus was common in my family and my wife has suffered for years. At 72 I can still work (more slowly) a full day with no arthritus. Been on Rapa 4 years with varied doses and schedule. Happy to read of others’ experiences. Dr. Green’s patient #139
Is that a 40 mg dose once a day?
Danthemason, at what dose?
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100mg So I’ve got to use 20 characters .
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I was surprised and puzzled to see posts regarding the use of doxycycline as part of longevity protocols. One of my areas of interest regarding health and aging is the human gut microbiome. I recently wrote a paper titled The Microbiome Theory of Aging, which was published in the January 2023 issue of the peer-reviewed journal Integrative Medicine. In this article I explain how microbial imbalance (dysbiosis) causes inflammation and intestinal permeability, which ultimately cause tissue and organ damage and the acceleration of biological aging. The gut microbiome regulates many aspects of health and I cannot imagine how taking an taking an antibiotic regularly could promote healthy longevity.
Here is the open access link for my article on The Microbiome Theory of Aging
Warm regards, Ross
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From the Mayo Clinic. A list of Doxycycline side effects;
Incidence not known
Blistering, peeling, or loosening of the skin
bloating
chills
clay-colored stools
constipation
cough
dark urine
decreased appetite
diarrhea
diarrhea, watery and severe, which may also be bloody
difficulty with swallowing
dizziness
fast heartbeat
feeling of discomfort
fever
headache
hives, itching, puffiness or swelling of the eyelids or around the eyes, face, lips, or tongue
hives or welts, itching, or rash
increased thirst
indigestion
inflammation of the joints
joint or muscle pain
large, hive-like swelling on the face, eyelids, lips, tongue, throat, hands, legs, feet, or sex organs
loss of appetite
nausea
numbness or tingling of the face, hands, or feet
pain in the stomach, side, or abdomen, possibly radiating to the back
red skin lesions, often with a purple center
redness and soreness of the eyes
redness of the skin
sore throat
sores, ulcers, or white spots in the mouth or on the lips
stomach cramps
stomach pain or tenderness
swelling of the feet or lower legs
swollen, painful, or tender lymph glands in the neck, armpit, or groin
tightness in the chest
unusual tiredness or weakness
unusual weight loss
vomiting
yellow eyes or skin
In my thirty years of taking Doxycycline, 100mg, once a day I have had none of the listed reactions. In reading over the MTA paper, there remain many unexplored and confounding interactions that only years of research could hope to untangle. For your consideration this 72 year old mason still works and enjoys a full life. N=1 studies are meaningless I understand. But here I stand.
Daniel R Murray
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A list of side effects; meaningless!
Real human proof is what you follow!
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Hi Daniel,
I’m certainly glad to hear you don’t experience any of the listed possible side effects from taking Doxycycline. One thing that is not included on that list is changes to your gut microbiome. However, I’m certain that taking Doxycycline is killing off many of the beneficial probiotic bacteria in your colon, resulting in some level of bacterial imbalance. That said…I’m glad you are still going strong at age 72.
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I will remain skeptical of your certainty…
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What was the reason for you taking Doxycyclin for 30 years? Was it recommended by a doctor?
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I am wondering about this reason for the combination of the two drugs. I suspect its so that the company behind the combination can patent this unique formulation, with the rationale that rapamycin can in some situations suppress the immune system so why not combine an antibiotic… Perhaps and overly simplistic take on it, but we will see.
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The creation and maintenance of a healthy microbiome is essential for healthy longevity. I believe that taking an antibiotic regularly will upset microbial balance, reduce the production of important health-regulating postbiotic metabolites and cause some degree of intestinal permeability. These are NOT good things to have happening…
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I can speak to minocycline, nearly identical to doxy, which decreases inflammation in the brain. We are having a gazillion micro ischemic changes in the brain as we age, and the Rapamycin, with its known potential benefits, combined with a brain inflammation reducing agent, like minocycline and doxycycline, together might work synergistically.
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Totally agree on not wanting to upset the gut microbiome, though I wonder if having been on the Doxycycline for several years if the microbiome has become totally resistant to it.
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I’ve never heard of probiotic bacteria becoming immune to antibiotics. A healthy gut microbiome contains roughly 85-90% beneficial bacteria (probiotics) and only 10-15% “bad” bacteria. When an is taken, it kills the good and the bad. If proactive steps aren’t taken to replace the good bacteria, the balance is upset and you have dysbiosis. ONe thing that happens when the population of good bacteria declines is a change in the colonic pH…it becomes more alkaline. Under normal/healthy conditions, the pH of the colon is just slightly acidic (6.7-6.9). With dysbiosis, the colonic pH can be anywhere from 10X to 100x too alkaline (pH 8 or 9). This alkaline pH supports the growth of pathogens and suppresses the growth of probiotic bacteria. Read my paper that I referenced earlier in this thread: The Microbiome Theory of Aging. Good books on this topic are: 1) Missing Microbes by Martin Blasser, 2) The Mind-Gut Connection and The Gut-Immune Connection, both by Emeran Mayer 3) The Good Gut by Justin Sonnenburg.
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Tangentially related to this discussion of microbiome, rapamycin and antibiotics, I was reading this paper the other day (in Drosophila, so obviously not clear how it translates to humans):
Long-lasting geroprotection from brief rapamycin treatment in early adulthood by persistently increased intestinal autophagy
https://www.nature.com/articles/s43587-022-00278-w
It noted:
Taken together, these results indicate that brief, early-life rapamycin exposure exerted long-lasting protective effects on the intestine by reducing turnover of the epithelium, and preventing age-related increase in ISC proliferation, dysplasia and loss of intestinal barrier function.
…
Taken together, these findings suggest that the ‘memory of rapamycin’ in elevated autophagy and improved gut health is mediated through increased expression of LManV.
…
These responses to rapamycin were unaffected by tetracycline treatment (Fig. 6e), suggesting that the intestinal microbiota did not play a role.
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As it was explained to me the cell walls of three common bacteria are indistinguishable from the cartilage in and around your body’s joints. When these bacteria present in our blood the body’s immune response attacks the bacteria as well as our similar ‘looking’ cartilage.
Repeated over time with frequent low grade infections the cartilage becomes eroded to the point of causing painful body movement. Arthritis.
Doxycycline reduces the presence of these bacteria and the attendant joint destruction.
As I suffered no ill effect from the one 100mg daily dose, two family docs saw no harm in continuing.
When I visited Dr. Green he informed me that Dr. Blagosklonny considered Doxycycline a life extension drug on it’s own merit .
If it works, don’t fix it.
Daniel R Murray
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I am “concerned” that there are too many medications and supplements with possible antiageing qualities: Doxicyclin and Deprenyl only 2 recently mentioned. And the list of supplements which may be helpful for life extension grows every day. How many medications, vitamins, supplements should one take without damaging current or future health? How does one decide what to take? Should we add one Doxicyclin a week as Dr. Diamandis does? What about one Deprenyl a week as Europeans have been doing for life extension?
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It may have been mentioned before, but I think that a sub-antimicrobial dose of doxycycline such as 25mg/day might be a reasonable compromise. It may have been minocycline, but 20-30 years ago in skin disease, this was a “thing.” Although in the future if we are turning our gene therapies on and off with it, it wouldn’t be possible.
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There are definitely risks with increased numbers of medications and supplements… we really have no idea of the longterm impact of the interactions of many of these drugs and compounds, so I tend to believe that we want to take as few as possible.
We have a thread on this I recommend: The Challenge of Predicting Outcomes when Mixing Longevity Therapeutics - How are you thinking about this?
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