Hello everyone! I’m from China and this is my first post in the forum. I’m turning 40 today, female, 5’6", 130 lbs, and have been using RAPA for about a year and a half. I have some feelings and questions to share and discuss with you.
I have been on RAPA since I was 38 years old, and after constant adjustments, have stabilized at 4mg once a week with Metformin 500mg. Normally I do exercise, about 3 times a week. But the intensity is not big, mainly aerobic. I’ve kept a diary since taking RAPA, although it’s not particularly accurate either. Overall, after taking it, my weight has become more stable, my mind has become younger (I really believe I’m a 20 year old female) Last October, when I went to check in at a hotel, the facial recognition said I was only 22 (I didn’t take it seriously).
Last November, after a month-long RAPA vacation, I decided to restart taking RAPA once a week.Based on the experience of my webmaster, I ate a fresh grapefruit and drank a cup of green tea before taking it (my usual drink is almost always black coffee or green tea) I added about a gram of taurine to the green tea and then after a simple lunch I took 4mg of RAPA plus 500mg of Metformin. By the way, I also fortified my niacin dose during this time, taking about 600 mg per day.
But something seems different about starting over this time. The experience of taking it on these occasions has left me feeling a bit tired (although this tiredness is more comfortable) and feeling a bit chilly for two days afterward. My question is, does this mean that this dose is on the high side for me? Is it possible that both sulfuric and niacin, as well as green tea, can go on to enhance the effects of rapamycin?
(The following comparisons are important because I’ve seen other people mention statin as well!)
So I reviewed my diary and it seems that when I was in the best shape last year I was taking statins, and not taking sulfuric acid or grapefruit, just some oranges instead. The RAPA dose was still 4mg, but the feeling of youthfulness and happiness from the inside out is something I’ll never forget (it’s so intense, including my libido, which is supposed to be a sign of increased ovarian function).
In conjunction with the above, what should I adjust to get the best results?
Is it true that high doses of rapamycin can cross the blood-brain barrier?
And if the appropriate side effects are worth suffering in order to reap the true benefits of RAPA?
Thanks again everyone, I have learned a lot from you here.
I hear most about euphoria from @DeStrider who incidentally lives in Hong Kong, he is the best to ask about this so I’ve pinged him here.
Youthful look most important is probably avoiding sun exposure (but taking vitamin D supplement), sunscreen, along probably with a topical retinoid like tretinoin. Seeing sunlight (being outdoors and looking at things that are exposed by light, because of high brightness LUX, not through a window), is important for mental health though.There might be a case of keeping hormones in a youthful state throughout life as well.
Welcome to the forum and happy birthday by the way.
Joyce, You refer to sulfuric and sulfuric acid. You don’t mean you are actually taking sulfuric acid, but what do you mean?
Hi and welcome to the forums.
4mg Rapa plus grapefruit juice could be equivalent to around 12mg to 16mg of just rapamycin. For a 130lb person, that is quite a high dose given current practices in the longevity use of rapamycin. You can see the typical distribution of dosing in this thread: What is the Rapamycin Dose / Dosage for Anti-Aging or Longevity?
The short answer is we don’t know the optimal dosing levels. Most of us here, if we get side effects we don’t like, we typically adjust the dosing to decrease the dose. You might try a lower dose for a while to see the effects, or spread out the dosing between longer periods of time, e.g. 10 days, or two weeks, etc.
You asked “And if the appropriate side effects are worth suffering in order to reap the true benefits of RAPA?” and at this stage of the research, my vote (as a non-medical professional) on this would be that since we really don’t know for sure if the benefits we see in other animals translate well to humans, I would not assume that negative side effects need to be suffered through to get the benefits.
Are you able to get regular blood testing of vital measures? See this thread: Ideas on Protocols for Testing Higher Rapamycin Doses
and this discussion: What blood tests are people taking?, Any rapamycin specific ones?
@Joyce Yes, you should feel different as you have gone from 4 mg to 4 mg + grapefruit which can take that up to 12 mg equivalent. If I were you, I would take the grapefruit and metformin then wait an hour and take 2 mg of Rapamycin. That should get you feeling the way you did before. The other things shouldn’t affect the Rapamycin dosage. I would say that feeling chilly may mean your dose is too high because of the grapefruit juice. Best of luck and let us know what happens! 
As for euphoria, when I first started taking Rapamycin, I had a euphoric fatigue. It felt like my mother had given me a hot cup of cocoa and tucked me into bed and I could fall asleep in a very happy peaceful way. When I added taurine to my stack, I became less tired and more energetic yet still happy and peaceful. As time goes by, the effect has diminished a bit but I still feel a mix of energetic, happy and tired depending on the week.
Sorry.Actually,it’s 1g taurine. 
Thank you very much for your reply and answer.
As a matter of fact, it was after reading your post that I decided to post this thread to share and discuss with you. Because in your post, you repeatedly mentioned the same sense of euphoria and exhaustion, and that description is very similar to my own personal experience. But again, I seem to feel that my sense of euphoria comes more strongly than you describe (to exaggerate a bit, refer to the famous painting “The fountain of youth”)
But I compared what we both had in common: the statins that seemed to be involved.
I’ve decided to lengthen the interval and reduce the dose to see if I can rediscover that feeling.
Thanks again for sharing in the forum, it has inspired me a lot and I wish you all the best.
@Joyce I only took statins for about a week and then stopped because for me they cause extreme myopathy (muscle soreness). I am taking Bempedoic Acid instead. I had the euphoric feeling for about a year before I started statins so I don’t think the two are related.
But it’s a great feeling, isn’t it?
Your post and appreciation also gave me a warm and fuzzy feeling. Thank you.