Hello, Community! I’m wondering whether any of you are timing your rapa dosing in relationship to things like crowded seasonal travel conditions, holiday parties, sick household members, etc.–not just now, as we head into the holiday season, but in general.
I currently dose once per week (5mg), and I’m thinking about whether I should time my dosing schedule against upcoming moments when I know I’m going to be exposed to characteristically “germy” situations. I actually travel for a living quite a bit, so regardless of your answers, it might be difficult for me to practice “timed germ avoidance” (haha–catchy name) year 'round.
I guess the question is this: just how compromised is our immune system directly after we’ve dosed, and should we give ourselves a little break from exposure for a couple days, if convenient–or possible? Thanks so much for your thoughts on this topic.
Hi! So far, I haven’t experienced any canker sores, although I see that many people report such a reaction. I just took my second dose of 5mg today (I’ve been working my way up to this dose, starting at 1mg/week), and so far, so good. Thanks for asking!
I agree. My opinion is that weekly dosing doesn’t acutely suppress the immune system at all. I’ve experienced much less illness over the last 18 months (on Sirolimus) than my wife/kids.
Thank you, Arhu and Rapasailor! I appreciate your feedback. Like most of us, I read and read (and read) what I can find, and ultimately, I form my own healthcare/wellness plans and move forward. BUT…it’s so helpful (and comforting) to have the support of our community, and to hear the opinions and experiences of others. Much nicer than feeling all alone out here in Experimentland!
That’s how I feel about taking metformin–no support community to compare notes with, which isn’t very reassuring. In fact, ironically, most of the info (especially anecdotal info) I get about metformin also comes from this site!
And so once again, thank you, Rapa Community, for being here for all of us. And a big shoutout to our awesome RapAdmin for keeping our site on track, navigable, and informative!
Just to concur with the other posters here, I’ve noticed no increased risk of infection and have only had a cold once in the past three years of taking rapamycin (admittedly during a lot of isolation due to covid). I rarely got sick prior to rapamycin, and rarely since. While I was cautious during COVID, since things have opened up and I’ve been fully vaxxed I’ve been pretty relaxed. No issues. No avoiding crowds.
Wow–thanks, once more, everyone, for all the helpful info. I’ve been disinclined to worry about “germ exposure” as it relates to my rapa dosing schedule, and your answers have reinforced my thoughts. Always nice to receive such support, since I’m a total newbie to this drug. So far, since I started in September, I’ve been just fine. Not even a sniffle. Much like RapAdmin, I was rarely sick prior to beginning rapa, and so far this winter, I’m staying healthy, despite my travel schedule coupled with my direct contact with clients and patients. Thanks again!
As a patient of Dr Green, he cautioned me to stop Rapamycin prior to an international trip, due to exposure to “different” germs than I would be exposed to naturally. Also, to take along ZPAC in case of bacterial infection. Although, you can acquire Azithromycin in a number of pharmacies OTC in Europe.
Thanks so much for the advice, Terri! And being a patient of Dr. Green…wow!..you have a connection to a major player in our rapa world! Dr. Green has a lot of experience with this drug.
One more thing: welcome to our community! I think you’ll find everyone to be helpful, kind, and cordial. Looking forward to seeing you here often.
One more data point that is slightly tangential to this discussion, but probably very relevant.
At the most recent conference I went to this week (The Longevity Summit at the Buck Institute) I learned of some data (to be released sometime in the next year) that in a review of rapamycin (for longevity) users compared to non-users, during the COVID pandemic, while there were significant numbers and percentages of the non-rapa users who developed covid and had to be hospitalized, and also significant percentages that developed long covid. In contrast, there were zero (in this sample) of rapamycin users who had developed serious covid (and had to be hospitalized) and zero long covid cases. So - some potentially very interesting results. This was for rapamycin users who continued to take rapamycin during the entire Covid pandemic period (and it was less true for those who stopped rapamycin during covid but had taken it prior to the pandemic). Data on this will be published next year I think. Can’t reveal any more on this specific topic.
Wow! This is some very interesting and encouraging news! I Can’t wait to see the data being published next year on this topic. Thanks, RapAdmin, for sharing what you can about the research. I’m going to continue with my weekly rapa dosing schedule. So grateful for everyone’s input on this topic.
Did they take into account that all the rapamycin users could have died and thus could not respond in the survey or that rapamycin users probably are some of the healthiest people to begin with?
