The journey begins!
I’ll use this thread to report my experience as my partner, my dog, and I begin taking Rapamycin (sirolimus).
BIO-INFO
I am 47 and weigh 180lbs. Using pre-rapa tests, my Aging.ai age was 49 and my Levine age was 43. I’m healthy and athletic. I lift weights twice a week for around 90 minutes each time, getting my heart rate up to 183 max between 5-10 times during the workout. I tend to be sensitive to medications. I am taking daily pills for hair retention: 1.25mg Minoxidil and 0.25mg Finasteride. I also take the following supplements somewhat regularly: D3, Magnesium, Zinc, Omega-3. I eat Kimchi daily as part of my lunch and eat prebiotic fiber daily with my oatmeal breakfast. Finally, I also just began making Kefir, which I have come to really enjoy.
My partner is 50 and healthy. She exercises vigorously daily. She weights around 130lbs. She takes daily multivitamins and a few of the same supplements I take. I would say she’s fit and I’m mostly fit. Unlike me, she does not have a delicate system.
My dog is 12 years old. She weighs 44lbs. She has mostly clear eyes, no physical problems, and sleeps a lot. When she wants it she has plenty of energy in reserve, like when the UPS truck drives past our house.
PURCHASING THE RAPAMYCIN FROM INDIA
We put a post on IndiaMart requesting Rapamycin. Within moments I got a phone call. I had requested Zydus Siromus, as it seemed to be the best product out of India – a large, top notch company with a high quality product. I wanted to pay $1/mg. (Admin note: its probably easier and less hassle and fewer spam emails/calls if you skip the Indiamart step and just contact the vendors that forum members here have found reliable: List of Reliable Online Pharmacies for Rapamycin.
The person on the phone couldn’t meet that price, but said they would talk to their manager to find another supplier of sirolimus that would be cheaper. I didn’t understand this process and didn’t like the sense of bargaining for prices. Also, I didn’t like the high pressure situation of having to decide instantly on the phone. I did not go with them.
I now realize a few things that I wish I realized then. First, Rapamycin is the original name of a molecule. Pfizer patented Rapamycin, but it passed out of patent just a few years ago. Since then, anyone can manufacture the molecule. Thus, the generic molecule was named “Sirolimus”.
So Pfizer’s Sirolimus is called Rapamune now; Zydus’ Sirolimus is called Siromus; Biocon’s Sirolimus is called Rapacan; Kachhela’s Sirolimus is called Siroboon1 (was Sirokem), etc.
It does seem like everyone calls the molecule “Rapamycin” for a shorthand, even if they may be taking a different brand name, or even a rapalog. The latter is a term for molecules very much like Sirolimus but different enough that a company can patent it. It seems that there are a growing number of rapalogs as companies try to get in front of the Rapamycin revolution by having a product they can patent and make a bundle on.
In any case, the man on the phone was on the up and up. He was telling me that he couldn’t sell the Zydus product for $1, but was looking into a different producer of the same molecule.
From that single post on IndiaMart I got 10-15 different Indian companies reaching out to my email with offers. I’m very glad I put in a fake “Hide my email” address. One producer offered the Zydus product for just about $1/mg so I took it. On the IndiaMart site his company had quite a large number of 5-star reviews.
I paid using the Wise app. My regular credit card would not allow the charge, but on my phone I had a balance of several hundred dollars on the “Apple Cash” card from someone who had paid me through iMessage. Choosing this Apple Cash balance as my payment form went through.
I was nervous about losing my money, but I got a tracking number the next day which listed a package sent from Bombay. 10 days later, after no updates on the tracking number, the package was listed as arriving in New York and going to customs. 7 days later, after no updates, the package was listed as clearing customs. At that point it took only 2 days to arrive at my house. I was not there when it was delivered by USPS and they did not drop it off. I went to the post office later in the day and recovered the package with my Driver License. It was all there in good order!
TALKING WITH MY DOCTOR
I did decide to talk with my doctor before beginning Rapamycin. She was confused when I walked into the appointment. “So you want a prescription?” No, I’m getting it overseas. “Okay, so is there anything you need from me?” Not really, I just thought you should know that I’m doing this, so we can keep tabs on any potential side effects.
To make the appointment I had to type up a 500 character description of my need for the visit. I used the following:
I would like to talk about the use of Rapamycin by well persons, not at the daily dose of transplant patients but at a 5mg/week level cited in Mannick, below. My understanding is that R. extends life-span and health-span in every animal tested.
Here are 3 resources:
- Dr Kaeberlein’s explanation in video: https://bit.ly/3DY10Oa
- Dr. Mannick’s 2014 paper: https://bit.ly/2BLOi6l
- Podcast on ITP research (44:45): https://bit.ly/3Tx3uZE
She had never heard of well people taking Rapamycin. Actually she seemed not entirely aware of MTOR either. Essentially she was entirely caught off guard. She asked a lot of questions: What is the claim? How does it work? Are there side effects? Is anyone trying to make money off of you?
I told her that my understanding was that Rapamycin seems to fool the body into thinking it is experiencing calorie restriction. Thus the cells go into maintenance mode instead of growth mode. This leads to healthier cells and thus an increased health-span and life-span.
She put Rapamycin into her computer and said that it looks extremely safe, as it has a long history of millions of people using it. Incidentally she was also very curious about the Aging.ai age calculator and the Levine calculator. She gave the impression that she was going to put her own numbers into the calculator after our visit.
As a last note I did hand her the following document, which I hashed together from one of the posts on this site. She said she wanted to read the science, so she was glad that the many claims were all footnoted and documented.
Here’s the handout I gave to my doctor:
Rapamycin Info Sheet.PDF (262.3 KB)
WEEK 1: 1MG
We began with 1mg each, including the humans and the pooch.
I took mine with EVOO which I guess is what the cool kids call “Extra Virgin Olive Oil.” My partner took hers with a breakfast with extra butter. The dog took hers with regular food.
Everyone dosed in the morning, as we’d heard it could jazz you up.
The jazziest among us was the dog. I swear she reverse-aged about 3 years for that day and the following. She had tons of energy, slept less, was extra hungry, and was extra social.
My partner did not notice any effect at all.
I could tell something had happened. The feeling was similar to when I got my first COVID shot. My body was definitely caught off guard. I experienced two slight momentary hot flashes, which happens to me when my metabolism is off. I slept harder than usual that night. The following night I slept less well than usual.
Everyone was back to normal within two days.
WEEK TWO: 2MG
The process was the same for week two. 2mgs with breakfast.
The dog reverse-aged 5 years after this dose. For a day and a half she was practically like a puppy. This is entirely unlike her. That is, this never happens. She was playing, bounding around, chasing after the neighbor’s dog in the back yard, back and forth, back and forth. It was an absolute delight to watch. Again she was extra hungry; not that we fed her more, but she was constantly looking for treats or opportunities to get them.
Again, my partner said she felt no effects.
I did not feel any particular effect this time either, which made me wonder if the first week’s effects were mental.
I will say that I noticed 4 slight blemishes (zits?) on my body on the Day 2. I never ever get such things. Like maybe one or two in a year. But I found two zits on my chest and two on my face. All four were slight, not raging, no head. I mention this because it is a known side effect for some people.
Also, I did notice a slight sore on the inside of my cheek. I wear a bite-guard at night, and every once in a while I do notice issues. These are rare, like perhaps every 3-6 months.
So four slight zits and a slight sore inside my cheek.
I mentioned high above that I also began drinking Kefir on the same day as this dosage. Could an infusion of new gut bacteria lead to these effects? I’ll keep a close watch.
LOOKING FORWARD
That brings everything up to date!
As long as it seems useful I will post once a week on what’s happening with the three of us. Feel free to chime in. Comment, question, or share your own experience.
Next week will be 3mg for the three of us. That will be the max dose for the dog going forward. My partner plans to stop at 3mg or 4mg. I plan to go to 4-6mg.
Hope this is helpful!