Are you taking Pfizer Rapamune? Thanks.
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I’m taking the generic I get from CVS.
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Maybe the drug has issues about absorption.
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Ah, @man_li, I think you were asking because my dose is so high. Yeah, it seems weird, especially because I’m pretty small.
I think it’s more about me than the quality of the generic. I say this only because there are many people who source it at CVS and we don’t see reports about their labs showing them anything surprising. I guess there could be batch differences ?
My labs showed 6mg was too low for me and 8mg is in the sweet spot. I buy a years worth at a time, so perhaps I’ll test again next time I get a new supply.
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The issue with biological availability that was identified a few years ago was in the “Compounded Pharmacy” version of sirolimus. This is when the pharmacy makes the drug / pills in the pharmacy using purchased powders, and puts them into a capsule. The issue was that the capsule was not protecting the sirolimus as well as the formally manufactured (by pharmaceutical companies) sirolimus in regular pills. The generic sirolimus in the USA is all manufactured as pills by pharma (mostly in India) and do not have the asborption problem that the compounded pharmacy capsules do / did.
For more info, see this thread: Bioavailability of Rapamycin From Compounding Pharmacy
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do you take it with anything? i read some take with fatty food like sardines in oil or with olive oil etc.
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I take it with sardines or olive oil. The fat increases bioavailability by about 30%.
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Hello Beth…
He had been taking 8 mg weekly with breaks every few months… he did mention he is a fast absorber… and it clears fast too.
I really think doses can be very individualized. Your physical stature… small skinny , avrrage fat, lean muscled and genetics.
I’ve been as high as 12 mg weekly… was too much… and as low as 4 mg weekly… too low. I started at 6 mg… good results and returned to that dose… 6 mg weekly.
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I was just wondering why you choose to change your dose to biweekly from weekly? And how did you respond to your biweekly schedule. Any new side effects?
Thanks.
Hi @man_li
The reason I switched after the study was IF rapa does inhibit building muscle, the thought was if I took a double dose every other week, I simply have more days each month when mTOR is not being suppressed. My hope is I’m getting a similar benefit but have more opportunities to build the muscle I need.
No side effects that I’m aware of. I felt like an Energizer Bunny after the first double dose, but normal since then.
I’m not committed to keeping this schedule, but without being sure, I thought it might be the safer option… I need a ton more muscle than I have!
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Beth, how do you know that it’s not suppressed? Are you just guessing? Do you know your Tmax after taking 16 mg Rapa and how that concentration fades during the two weeks before your next dose?
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Good question!
I haven’t tested my peak, but I’ve had 3 siromilus labs done, but none at 16mg.
My first sirolimus lab was drawn 50 hours post dose and my level was 2.1 ng/mL on 6 mg.
I then increased my dose to 8mg, and at 50 hours, my value was 3.1.
My next lab was day 6 or 7 and my levels were undetectable.
So, based on that, I’m taking an educated guess that I’m clearing 16mg in plenty of time. Does that sound right to you? If you think I should also test this dose, which I’m open to doing, let me know when do you think I should have that lab drawn.
Thanks for asking!
I really don’t know if you should test it. I would. Based on your other test results you can figure out (with help of your friend AI) the rapa’s elimination rate constant (often written as k), or equivalently its daily decay factor in an exponential‑decay model. When you know that and confirm the accuracy by blood work, you will be able to create a table or spreadsheet that will show your daily rapa concentration. Then if any biomarkers on your CBC or Metabolic panel go the wrong direction, you would know which Rapa concentration is the best or worse. This is what I do on a daily basis.
I have to add that my dose is different from yours.
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Probably enough time has passed (i.e. you have the test results back) so what did it show and what do you make of the results relative to dose you took etc.?
