It’s if your decisions are right 
4 Likes
"When writing the story of your life, do not let anyone else hold the pen.”
~Jack Kerouac
4 Likes
What is your chelation protocol using DMSA ?
Are you still getting EDTA testing to see levels?
The problem with DMSA is that it depletes minerals (esp copper), so you need to really be careful to supplement them. So I used a protocol I found on the internet of 1 gm, 2 days in a row. Then I wait a week and do it again.
I will do EDTA challenge in about a month to check. They say to do 20 sessions before checking again. It takes a while.
1 Like
I used this:
I was already taking this one and didn’t stop:
I don’t know what’s right but from what I read DMSA is 55 times better at tying up copper as EDTA, so I’m just trying to be sure there.
I need some advice with my rapamycin dosing. I am 23, female, 125 lbs, and 5’3". I am thinking of dosing 9 mg every 2 weeks (3 mg w/gfj) but I also would like to take acarbose and that one’s kind of tricky since i do OMAD, so if anyone has any advice, please let me know.
At 23, in my opinion, I would wait.
You’re still really young… and the research on rapamycin for longevity (at least in terms of human usage) is still early.
There is always a risk/ reward balance we have to consider when looking at things are purported to be longevity drugs. The earlier you adopt something, the greater the risk. So there has to be greater upside to balance the increased risk. At age 23 the amount of aging you will go through over the next 3 to 5 years is quite minimal. Its is perhaps a different calculation if you are 32 and female and want to delay having kids… but for a person in early or mid 20s, I’d delay or do a low dose (e.g. 2mg or 3mg) every two weeks.
Rapamycin use has only really ramped up in the past few years, and people are posting their results here, and there are numerous human clinical studies going on that will release results in the next three to 5 years. If I was 23 and looking at rapamycin I would wait a few years and follow the research to see what people are reporting.
10 Likes
I understand that. Yeah I have a huge fear of aging, I guess what struck me is the studies about taking rapamycin in early to mid-20s. I definitely find all the research interesting.
2 Likes
I am 29. Currently take 4mg rapamycin weekly and Acarbose 50mg, usually twice a day (only with high carb meals). Blood work is ideal at this dose and I have no problem making noticeable muscle gains in the gym.
5 Likes
I agree with RapAdmin, I would wait a little longer, maybe until late 20s atleast or early 30s. I personally started at 27 years old and I am now 29 (I just wanted to start before 30 lol). If you do plan to start at 23, I would just start with a small dose of 2mg every 10/14 days , without grape fruit.
3 Likes
Do you fear aging or visible signs of aging? For the latter case sunscreen and tretinoin work better than rapamycin.
3 Likes
Gotcha! I recognize the risk in starting in the midst of developing research, but I heard starting rapamycin early in life has some benefits. Do you take rapamycin with GFJ? I saw another user take a test and the effectiveness was not just 3x but 6x. I believe it may have been in the topic about GFJ.
2 Likes
I personally don’t take my rapamycin with grape fruit just because I don’t know the exact amount of rapamycin I will be getting (unless I get a blood test soon after taking the dose) and I like to know how much I am taking just to be on the safe side. I know lots of people take it with GFJ to make it more affordable but personally for me cost of rapamycin isn’t an issue. I use to take 10mg (5 x 2mg tablets) at 1 point (without GFJ) but I personally find 4mg works best.
2 Likes
Mostly visible aging, I do use sunscreen religiously and take low dose isotretinoin, but I read a study posted on here that rapamycin cream helps with aging skin. I struggle with premature skin aging, although I haven’t been particularly an outside person. It is mostly nasolabial folds and downturned lips. But If rapamycin has the potential to reverse aging and damage in some organs, do you think it could be for the skin? It is the largest organ, but in the study it was stated it would be hard to determine if it just slows or reverses it. I assume taking rapamycin orally would actually be just as effective. My main concern is the effect on collagen.
Thats an example of the possible downsides… no studies have yet been done on rapamycin and effect on collagen. Nor have any studies been done on rapamycin taken orally and skin health.
Rapamycin is “usually” helpful in many organ aging scenarios, but there are risks that have been identified in some situations. In mice given high doses of rapamycin cataract development is more common. In some forms of cancer, rapamycin does not help and may make things worse in some cases. Read more here: Possible Rapamycin Risks for Healthy Humans (Part 2)
This is all to highlight the fact that no drug is risk free, and so you have to carefully evaluate the risk/reward balance for you personally.
Its a little like gambling. When you’re young, you’re “time rich”. If you think of 100 years as about 5,000 weeks, at age 23 you still have a large number of weeks left. Possible Rapamycin Risks for Healthy Humans (Part 2)
With any drug there is some non-zero chance that it hurts you rather than helps you. If you’re in the last 1,000 weeks of your life that may be less of an issue if you could potentially gain another 1,000 weeks or 2,000 weeks of healthy lifespan.
But if you’ve got 4,000 weeks left in your lifespan, you have to think harder about risks because if there is damage/harm, it will be damage or harm that could make those remaining 4,000 weeks less enjoyable, or even shorten that 4,000 weeks…
Longevity science is complex but the good news is that the research investment is rising quickly and the area is progressing rapidly now, with $billions being invested. I think you’ll see that the next 5 to 10 years will have some very large steps forward… which isn’t very long to wait when you’re 23 (but may be way too long if you’re over 60 and don’t want to lose your health).
7 Likes
One of my hobby horses is to argue for less frequent dosing.
Were I to be 41 years younger (it is my 64th birthday today) I would probably take rapamycin once or twice a year. I take it every 21 days.
I think it is worth looking at how to maintain the efficiency of mitochondria at all ages. Rapamycin is I think part of that for people over their 40s, it could be a small part of being younger.
I think you need also to be very careful about sleep. I think the melatonin generated by the pineal gland during the sleep process is quite important for maintaining mitochondrial health.
Note, however, I am on the more experimental wing of biohacking.
13 Likes
@John_Hemming Happy birthday! You’ve hit the halfway mark! I look forward to 64 more years of your posts! 
12 Likes
HI! I met with my doc today and he called in an rx to get me started. I THINK he is having me start at 3mg 3x per week, but now I’m on here and it seems people take this once a week. I might have been on info overload and remembered what he said incorrectly, but if he did indeed say 3x per week, is it the thought from almost everyone here that I should address that with him and go once per week? TY!
2 Likes
How did you decide on 21 days?
1 Like
@Beth l’m sure you’ll get multiple different answers, but I definitely would not take that dose if it’s actually 3 mg 3 x/week. That is essentially immune suppression level dosing, Clarify with your doctor.
4 Likes