I myself am on an extended rapamycin break due to persistent acne. It’s now been ten weeks, and my skin is nearly back to what it was prior to over a year on rapamycin. Have you thought about switching to fortnightly dosing? DeStrider said that doing so help them to clear up their acne. That’s what I’ll try when I resume rapamycin.
My current hypothesis, drawing on Blagosklonny’s hyperfunction theory of aging, my n=1 self study, and my reflections on other forum members’ experiences, is that dosing should probably be age dependent. The optimal regimen for those in their 30s and 40s might be lower, fortnightly dosing. This is because the overactivation of MTOR is not yet serious, and it only needs to be slightly tamped down. With each progressing decade, as the cumulative damage of hyperfunction mounts, it would make sense to ramp up MTOR inhibition.
Like you, though, I can’t abide the acne. It may seem trivial to some, but I also find it takes a toll on one’s mental well-being.
Thank you for this information. I will consult my doctor on the oral rapamycin that I’m currently taking once per week. She already suggested the topical rapamycin be decreased to every other night instead of every night. I just started incorporating that cadence. We shall see. I think the most I can take of rapamycin is 5mg as I’m 100 pounds. Perhaps I should just stay at 3mg based on what you’ve noted. Thanks.
Wow - you are only 100lbs. Yes - based on this, you probably want to target a lower level of rapamycin dosed once per week, or less frequently if you still get the acne.
Does the topical rapamycin seem to have any impact on the acne - good or bad?
Yes, I’m a 5’0” female weighing 100 pounds. The topical rapamycin seems to be the major culprit for my new acne, so I am trying every other day to see if that helps at all. I’m wondering if I’m extra vigilant about exfoliating and cleansing, will that mitigate the bacterial overgrowth? I’ll try it and let the group know if I see improvements.
Yes. That seems to be the only indication that I’m taking anything. I have no other sensations, symptoms, changes in my body or health that I can discern. But the eruption of pimples on places I’ve never had them (my neck, side of my face…) is a rather annoying effect.
This is exactly what I noticed: acne in places I hadn’t experienced it before. I was seeing sporadic spots in places like my forearms and abdomen. More commonly, I was seeing it on the side of my face, especially on the angles of the mandible and temples.
The acne, though, didn’t appear until about 4 months after I started rapamycin, dosing at 6mg per week. It kicked off after I increased the dose to 7mg. It persisted even though I subsequently reduced the dose back to 6mg, and eventually to 5mg.
When I do resume, I’ll probably go with 5mg every two weeks.
I simply carried on, tolerating the acne, and periodically taking a Minocycline tablet if I remember (maybe once every 10 days or so). The acne seems to be receding. It may just be a sort of adjustment period as the immune system adjusts to the Rapamycin.
i have always been doing topical rapa at .5% for couple of years, though have read .2% is optimal but… , anyway never had any increase of pimple like breakouts with that alone. It is only when i do internal rapa injections also that i get increase in pimple like breakouts along with mouth sores etc.
I have had a problem with scalp acne that I have never had before in my life for the past … 6 months? I finally went to the dermatologist who prescribed a month of doxycycline (100mg twice daily) and two weeks of Clobetasol Propionate (0.05% solution applied to scalp twice daily). I have also noticed increase breakouts on my back and have adjusted some hygiene routines (always scrub back when showering, always shower after workout, never wear any shirt (work, sleeping, workout) twice. Always wash hair daily. Also during the period that the problem arose I started eating peanuts which (I forgot) caused me to break out in college. So many variables that its hard to pin this one on Rapa but it could be a contributor.
57 year old male. 6mg weekly rapa dose occasionally with grapefruit.
Has anyone else had acne or other scalp irritations that they believe were caused by rapa?
I did not think to mention it. I am not sure the information would have been received or if it would have altered treatment. How are you managing your Rapacne? Did you adjust your does of Rapa?