No_2
#111
I’m in the UK does anyone know wheres best to get a Rapamycin blood test? Alternateley does anyone know if I can I submit a blood sample from the UK to the US for testing or will it not survive transit?
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RPS
#112
If you live near London you can get a test from Doctap for £164 plus the consultation fee which will be between £49 and £69 depending on time of day you go.
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No_2
#113
Thank you! I assume you have to attend in person? I’ll certinally check it out. Are there any mail away test in the UK anyone knows of?
RPS
#114
Yes, you are correct, you have to attend DocTap in person.
I don’t know of any mail away tests for Sirolimus.
@Agetron what brand of sirolimus do you use typically (I think it was Dr. Reddy’s at some point, is that still the case - or just whatever generic sirolimus they give at the pharmacy? e.g. Glenmark, etc. Have you ever had a “bad” generic sirolimus that did not show results on the blood sirolimus level test?
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Agetron
#116
Hey RapAdmin - Buddy!
Yes, I have always gotten my rapamycin/sirolimus through pharmacies.
Which in his recent “The Drive” podcast Dr. Peter Attia with Matt K. and David S. says emphatically: Always get your sirolimus from a pharmacy… to be sure it is real and of quality.
As you have asked, even using pharamceutical grade drug - have I ever had bad generic siriolimus. My reply is a definative NEVER. I know because I have had my blood panel and Labcorp test every 3-4 months.
My intial Pharmaceutical Company was Dr. Reddy for a 2-full years with the 2 mg, beige color triangle pill. Red ink printed RD 54 see pic below.
Then, in January 2023 my insurance company changed and I received from Pharmaceutical Company GREENSTONE RAPAMUNE.for 9 months.
Then today, after 3 years my Pharmaceutical Company has changed once more to now to ZYDUS with the olive green colored #21 2 mg
I guess I will have to check the ZYDUS brand for quality when I do my next blood panel in 4 months.
Again, as proof of legit medication here are my last 2 tests done this month. Both test while using the GREENSTONE RAPAMUNE
I have my Labcorp test from late August. 6mg with GFJ… was 33 ng/mL . My rapamycin was too high. I want 6 to 12 maximum.
Trough
C-max 2.5 hours later
Because I was seeing my physician a week later I did the test again… just got the results today.
For the test I took 1 Rapamune pill 2mg with GFJ and I got 8.6 ng/mL - perfect.
Trough
C-max 2 hours later
For me this is where I want to be dose-wise… and will do 1 pill of 2mg Sirolimus with one fresh squeezed Grapefruit to drink the pill down. Will do this for next 6 months and then do biological testing with TruMe and GlycanAge. see what is happening in inflammation/glycans and my DNA methylation.
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Thanks! You’ve confirmed what I was stating, all the generic tablet rapamycin is fine as far as bioavailability. I think Zydus is also likely fine, and Biocon.
This month I think I’ll do some dose response testing and will report back on blood levels also.
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hitch
#118
Last Friday, I took 4mg rapamycin with grapefruit juice. As this was my first time with GFJ, I tested my blood level two hours after dosing. Results came back Saturday showing my sirolimus/rapamycin blood level at 31.9. Pretty high, especially as I had twice previously tested 8mg dose with no GFJ and results were 17.1. and 12.9.
Yesterday (Monday) I took another test- wanting to see how fast my blood level dropped. The test was about 75 hours after my Friday dosing. I just got my results back (Tuesday) and my rapa blood level was just 2.6. Apparently, my rapa half-life is much less than the 60 hour average that is commonly cited. I had planned doing another test this coming Friday before dosing to find my trough. Seems unnecessary now!
btw- I’ve been taking my dose every Friday morning on a mostly empty stomach. I was surprised that my 8mg dose tested once at 17.1 and the next time tested at only 12.9. The only difference was I took one oz olive oil with the dose that tested 12.9. Subsequently, I read that a high fat meal may slow absorption- so maybe my 2 hour post-dosing test was not my tMax?
Details:
I’m 68, 6’1" and 215 pounds.
I buy my blood tests from Marek Health (a good source RapAdmin has pointed out). It’s $59 + $5 puncture fee ($64 total). Marek emails you a coupon that you print out and take with you to LabCorp showing that your test is prepaid. I have six tests in the 10 weeks I’ve been dosing rapamycin and never had any problems with Marek/LabCorp.
I get my rapamycin from Maulik at Vallabh Enterprise/Shreeji Impex for just 60 cents per mg. I’ve made three purchases from Maulik (including Canagliflozen which I started yesterday). Never any problems, but I do have to wire him the money (he doesn’t accept Wise).
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No, you can’t know that from these results. Rapamycin has a biphasic half-life. The reported half-life of rapamycin of 60 hours is the half-life after it has dropped from the peak and stabilized. The drop from the peak in the first few hours will be a lot faster than the actual half-life after it has stabilized. If you want to find out your half-life you have to measure rapamycin after it has dropped down and stabilized from peak levels. I suggest measuring it at 48 hours and then 96 hours. The numbers you get from that will enable you to calculate the half-life.
You cannot read too much into these measurements. Trying to test your peak levels is largely a waste because you will never catch it accurately.
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However, I do casually observe from posts that the human half-life of rapamycin is probably closer to 60 than 80 hours.
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Yes, 60 hours is what I recall too from the studies. Btw personally mine came out at about 51 hours.
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Anyone know of labs in Scandinavia that test for Rapamycin in blood?
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@Krister_Kauppi would likely be the person who knows if there is one.
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@Daniel_Ronnstam & @RapAdmin: Sorry, don’t know but I’m very interested in this if someone has or is possible to get that info 
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I think that for those outside of the US, it would be a good idea to make a list of countries (and the respective labs in those countries) where you can get a rapamycin blood test without a doctor’s referral. This may be possible in some private clinics where you pay out of pocket. With such a list, people that are traveling might use the chance and drop by to have a blood test or two. I’ll start by saying Synevo labs in Romania offer this.
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Yes - and please include the URL for the labs. I think this is the one you’re talking about:
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Yes that’s the one. They are in several places in Bucharest.
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Daph
#128
Can you share how you decided the 6-12 ng/mL blood concentration was right for you?
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Agetron
#129
Hi Daph… Yes, so for the first year and a half. I used 6 mg just plain pills. No grapefruit juice or anything. My biological test showed me 13 year to 27 years younger than my actual chronological years.
I took 6 mg weekly because that seemed to be what was recommended by people like Matt Kaeberlein & Peter Attia. And, the various articles that were out there on rapamycin like Mens Health such. I upped my dose to 8 mg to 12mg for a few months and then went up drastically to about 36 mg every 7 to 10 days.
It was at those higher doses (36 mg) after 7 months, that I loss some biological benefit based on biological testing. When I reduced back to 6 mg to 12 mgs. I had a positive reduction in age after 4 months and even more reduction after almost 8 months. A complete reversal back to before the higher doses.
So more is not better.
Because of biological differences… I think women should go a little lower 4 mg to 6 mg. Research on rapamycin indicates that women can go on less rapamycin. Get the same benefits.
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Daph
#130
Thanks, Agetron. I was more asking about your comments on the ideal blood concentration level. You said above that after taking 6mg with GFJ in August, it was was 33 ng/mL, which you considered way too high, and that you wanted the blood levels to be 6 to 12 ng/mL maximum. Then you tried 2 mg with GFJ in October and got 8.6 ng/mL, and considered that to be perfect. How did you arrive at that blood concentration range goal? Is that the same range you’d get by taking 6 mg without any GFJ? If so, that makes sense.
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