At 3mg with GFJ, your effective dose is likely somewhere between 10 and 21mg per week… so side effects would not be unexpected. Also - thats quite a jump from the dose you were at… 5mg with no GFJ.
Even at 2 mg + GFJ you could be at 14mg/week dosing equivalence, so side effects may still be likely… and as you settle on a dosing that seems to work for you, you may want to do a blood test to see what side effects you’re getting that are not noticeable.
Thanks for the reply. I just found the post suggesting some people were getting effects of up to 7x with GFJ. I had been basing my math on around 3.5x.
Yes, based on multiple Labcorp test using one red Grapefruit’s juice - which is about 5 fluid ounces - taken with my pill… I get a 6-7x’s multiplication consistently.
Next week, I will have and post my recent test taken 2-days ago. Labcorp trough and dose with a 2 hour period wait for blood draw. I am taking 2mg and one red grapefruit. If it holds true to the past, I should have 12ng/mL in my blood.
We really don’t have much data on the multiplier effect of grapefruit juice on the bioavailability of rapamycin… in that one study that was done the result was around 3.5X, but they also had issues with some types of GFJ that had no multiplier effect at all, and other people here have reported upwards of 7X, so the big issue with using grapefruit juice with rapamycin is that you really have no idea what the effective dose you’re taking is.
And, of course, there are risks that you may overdose if you are taking other medications that are impacted by GFJ.
The counter argument is that we don’t know what the optimal dosing level is for longevity with rapamycin, so whether you know your dosing level or not may be irrelevant.
Agreed. I have looked into it and nothing else I’m taking appears to be affected by grapefruit. My guess is that I must be getting considerably higher than 3.5 based on my reaction.
Agree with the comments that we need to be careful with GFJ. I think if you are going to do the GFJ thing you should really be testing levels. Personally I found a 1.5X increase squeezing the juice from a whole grapefruit 12 hours before and another 2 hours before sirolimus dose (in both cases I eat the pulp as well).
I can’t seem to find the white “Duncan” grapefruits in stores near me so I’m going to try a Pomello this week since they are supposed to have a more potent effect. If I can’t find them then I’ll just get the GFJ in the bottle and consume a bit more volume. I’d like about a 3 fold effect. I’ll post back with results when I get them.
There’s not much research/info about GFJ and Rapamycin. GFJ could do much more than we know now. It could be even harmful. When I was prescribed Rapamycin, 13 years ago after kidney transplant, my nephrologist told me to exclude grapefruit (whole or juice) from my diet completely while on Rapamycin to avoid many unpredictable negative effects.
Had this little bugger appear yesterday. I took my dose two days before. It is insanely itchy. Previous Rapa rashes have not been. Is this an insect bite or a Rapa rash?
It does look like shingles. And the itching fits too. My son just had it on his forearm. 32 years old and I thought we all had chicken pox when the kids were little.
Usually herpes is more tingling, burning, but could be also itching… usually you can sense tingling, burning, itching before you can see any skin changes. Herpes sores can be quite painful and tingly. They look like small blister filled with fluid… your pic looks really similar to herpes simplex. Shingles is hepres zoster virus, herpes family, so similar initial symptoms. Herpes zoster is more common elsewhere on the body, but can occur on hands and fingers as well. Since your picture looks like herpes (simplex or zoster) and you are taking rapamycin that can trigger both viruses I would have a doctor look at that and maybe prescribe you with antiviral therapy. Once I had herpes simplex on my skin and it started with a small lesion on my chin but a few days later my whole chin and upper lip and inside my nose was covered in herpes blisters and scabs. It was really painful and unpleasant experience. Now I know better and have aciclovir (herpes antiviral medication) always on hand…
I tried something new with this dose. I took 1 mg of Metformin along with my GFJ a couple hours before my Rapa of 3 mg. I may have boosted the bioavailability up to @Agetron like multiples of 6X by doing that.
@Agetron Do you take your Metformin before your Rapa? That may be why you had 6-7X results. Just hypothetical of course. Metformin also inhibits the enzyme that GFJ does.
Unfortunately the spot is growing but the non localized itchiness is gone. It’s all localized now.
I don’t think you need systemic antibiotic treatment for that small skin lesion. Maybe antibiotic ointment. Doctor thinks it is allergic contact dermatitis? Could be… but since I see the the small blisters popped and it is starting to scab I myself would not go down that direction… I had allergic contact dermatitis before and usually blisters don’t pop and surrounding skin is usually red… I am certainly not a doctor and judging just from pictures is really not the way to do.
Herpes simplex is a common virus, I think 80% of us were exposed to it and carry it. It is dependent on immune system suppression, so it is easily triggered (even by stress or anything that weakens immunity). But then again if you ever had herpes simplex you know exactly how it feels. I now know when it is coming way ahead by a very distinct tingling sensation before it appears. (maybe you need reconsider dosing or time between doses as it might seem that your immune system is too suppressed if this is indeed rapamycin caused and not just allergic dermatitis…)
(You might want to get that shingles vax at some point. I hear shingles sucks big time.)
