I am interested what those who have long term experience with rapamycin think about limiting sun exposure during peak blood levels. I’m new to rapamycin and currently taking 5-6 mg. on alternate weeks. Most days, I spend time in the Arizona sun. Would it be a reasonable precaution to limit sun exposure for a few days during the rapamycin dosing cycle?
I would be sure to be extra conscious about covering up and using sun screen in the days immediately following dosing. The warning for sirolimus says:
This medicine may make your skin more sensitive to sunlight and can increase your risk of having skin cancer. Use a sunscreen when you are outdoors and avoid sunlamps and tanning beds
Source: Sirolimus (Oral Route) Side Effects - Mayo Clinic.
I put on sunscreen every day as a matter of habit, so I haven’t had to change my morning routine at all with rapamycin.
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A guess, I suppose, but how many days after a single dose of 5 mg. would you say heightened skin vulnerability remains above average?
Second this, would love to know if avoiding sunlight altogether (on or around dosing day) - even with sunscreen - would be advisable? I live at altitude too, so those UVs are extra strong. Thanks!
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Interesting, thanks for sharing that. I may need to get a higher SPF sunblocker when I cycle then.
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I’ve been experiencing sunburns since I restarted on Rapamycin this month. I live in a cold Northeastern city and still my face is lightly burned even after a short walk in the morning from 11 to 12. Not sure how I’ll deal with this since sunscreens can be problematic as well. I might just limit walks to early in the morning. Its another annoying side effect to adapt to.
Why are the sunscreens problematic? Also I usually do outside walk and short run right after the sunset to avoid uv exposure.
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I have a long history of skin cancer in my family and am a very white white. I try to limit my sun exposure as much as possible which explains my very low vitamin D levels. Therefore I supplement with 10,000 IUs of vitamin D3 daily (which makes my levels normal) and stay out of the sun so I don’t develop skin cancer.
Now if only I could go back in time and warn my younger self to avoid all those nasty childhood/young adult peeling sunburns!
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Covering up with clothing (check out the Aussie company Coolibar for more specialized sun protective active wear), hat, sunglasses, avoiding peak UV hours etc., should be the first line of defence. However, as an additional protection, high intake of carotenoids, including zeaxanthin and astaxantin can provide a bit of natural skin protection. I supplement with lutein, zeaxanthin, astaxanthin, and also regularly consume citrus peel (I cited elsewhere some studies supporting citrus peel vs skin cancer) combined with tea.
Don’t forget the eyes!! The eyes are some of the fastest aging organs of the human body - many centenarians have extremely poor eyesight, Calment was blind in the latter part of her life, Okinawans, Sardinians and all those famous longevity champ populations can still do many things comparatively as well as younger people, but ALL suffer from bad eyesight in late life, no exceptions. Part of it is that the lens is nonrenewable, you get one for life, and physics says that inevitable protein clumping, yellowing UV induced cumulative damage puts a hard time limit on eye lens warranty. The macula deteriorates, the eyeball changes resulting in 100% population deterioration of visual acuity and on and on and on. If you take care of your health, you are health conscious diet/exercise, your eyes will crap out long before your muscles, bones, liver, kidneys, heart or whatnot, even hearing can last a bit longer.
What can you do? You must protect your eyes from UV light. Obligatory UV rated sunglasses - and remember, overcast days still mean 85% of the UV gets through. Also, remember, light bounces off the pavement, walls, and your face below the eyes, all pouring UV into your peepers. UV protection is #1 obligation, if you want to age with any chance at normal life activities, ADL and so on. Next protect your macula. Again, lutein, zeaxanthin supplements are important for both, throw in astaxanthin. Taking care of your CV system through lipid control means taking care of your brain, but ALSO YOUR EYES. High cholesterol is not good for the small vessels in the eye… but unwelcome twist: some statins can exacerbate cataracts (twist on a twist: the eye lens can be replaced with IOL, providing better corrective vision, color accuracy etc.). High blood sugar, diabetes - enemies of eyes. There are several eye conditions that you may be able to do something about, if you catch them early enough - so don’t neglect yearly or every two years checkups with ophthamologists. Protect your eyes, bad vision means higher odds of dementia. Protect your eyes, as this is one of the worst disabilities as rated by people, even worse than hearing loss. You take rapa? Protect the eyes!!
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What do ‘we’ think about NIR/Red light exposure (through a panel) the day of taking Rapa, and the day thereafter?
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@Pat25 i have zero issues with red / NIR light lamp use on my Rapa day. I do stay out of the sun however.
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There’s been a lot written about endocrine disrupting chemicals from creams and lotions, so I try to limit my exposure.
As far as the sun I’ve already decided to go off of rapa during the summer months. And I think if I do my walking before 10AM I can limit sun exposure. I’m on 5mg per week with GF and my skin got really sensitive to sun after I added the GF.
Good idea about the Astaxanthin. I’ve heard it can protect the skin from UV rays.
I’m also very fair, blue eyes, and blond hair. I take 10 mg sirolimus once a week all year around. I don’t use chemical sunscreens as my skin is very sensitive and instead use all mineral sheer 50 spf sunscreens like eltamd and avene. There are many others to choose from too. Besides sunscreen when I go outside I always wear, hat, hoodie, sun gloves, long pants, and very large sunglasses. This provides full protection from any sunburns.
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Even though I don’t take Rapa, this year I’ve started to take Polypodium Leucotomus, in addition to astaxanthin. Cannot say it improved much skin tolerance to the strong sun of June in the northern hemisphere, 42° latitude; next year I’m going to revise the dosages.
Safety and Efficacy of Oral Polypodium leucotomos Extract in Healthy Adult Subjects - PMC.
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Sounds like you take it very seriously with the gloves hat hoodie etc!
I’m like you, very pale skin blue eyes blond hair irish / swedish descent.
I just had a thought which is that one side effect of Sirolimus is flushing and redness of the skin around the face and neck. I now wonder if my “sunburn” was really just the “flushing” effect of Sirolimus:
https://www.mayoclinic.org/drugs-supplements/sirolimus-oral-route/side-effects/drg-20068199
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Could be. I have noticed a little bit of face swelling 12 hours after taking Rapa.
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The polypodium cocentration in the Heliocare extract are not reported.
Heliocare advanced has added niacin, which is another skin-protective agent.
In tanning supplements they use copper and B6 as well.
The efficacy of such supplements is not huge, if the sun radiation is very strong (beach, water reflection, altitude, near-solstice in tropical-sub tropical areas) it is better to move out of the sun or wear protective garments and glasses. Notwithstanding my Mediterranean ancestry, I do not tolerate high intensities of UV radiation.
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Another interesting study regarding the effect of Sirolimus on skin cancers. While it seems that Sirolimus makes you more susceptible to sunburn and skin damage, this study shows that Sirolimus might also prevent squamous cell skin cancers:
Sirolimus and Secondary Skin-Cancer Prevention in Kidney Transplantation
Survival free of cutaneous squamous-cell carcinoma was significantly longer in the sirolimus group than in the calcineurin-inhibitor group.
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