#1

In the interest of covering all experiences with rapamycin, I thought I’d post this person’s writeup of his experience using rapamycin. Weight loss like this person experienced is not very common with rapamycin; I’ve read in studies that on average they don’t see much variation in weight with rapamycin (though it does seem to make it easier to lose weight and keep it off, if you are trying to). Also, perhaps a reminder to people to start at a low dose and move up slowly to what we think might be therapeutic doses.

I am a healthy sixty-one-year-old man. Addressing my health, fitness, and longevity has been a priority for me for at least fifteen years. I do all of the basics of diet, exercise, sleep and supplements, but I wanted more.

In this article, I describe rapamycin and why many people have started taking it. I will explain, with my doctor’s consent, why I started and stopped taking the “anti-aging” drug rapamycin, all within four weeks.

In addition, rapamycin received attention for potential anti-aging effects. By 2006, an extensive body of work from several independent studies, including studies from yeast to mammals, all pointed to rapamycin as having an anti-aging effect or at least slowing down the aging process. No significant side effects were identified, which is quite remarkable. (2)

There is plenty to be excited about related to rapamycin. One mouse study that was extrapolated to humans suggests that rapamycin could extend the life of humans for six and a half years. Influencers such as Peter Attia, MD are currently taking the drug “off label” for its anti-aging potential. Attia said that rapamycin, “hands down [is] the most important and exciting and promising geroprotective molecule.” (3)

Read the full story:

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#2

I see the author said that, in retrospect, these symptoms might not have been related to rapa, but instead, to the other changes made at the same time.

However, he mentioned his abdominal pain and that it can be a normal side effect of rapa. Is that true? I am only asking because I haven’t noticed that written anywhere.

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#3

I’ve never heard of it in longevity dosing scenarios, but it is listed as “less common” in the possible side effects list for traditional high dose (cancer / organ rejection) sirolimus use / dosing scenarios:

Less common

  1. Bloating
  2. change in size, shape, or color of existing mole
  3. hoarseness
  4. mole that leaks fluid or bleeds
  5. new mole
  6. pains in the stomach, side or abdomen, possibly radiating to the back
  7. skin ulcer or sores

Source: Sirolimus (Oral Route) Side Effects - Mayo Clinic

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#4

I would agree. I’ve never heard of abdominal pain being an issue, and as far as going with Metformin, when I started taking the doses, they wanted me to for lifespan take 500 mg 4 times a day. I’d just take half of that and be wiped out with diarrhea for 3 days, so yes, I lost weight on Metformin. That said,I lost visceral fat… on rapamycin. Weight loss you couldn’t see physically. That was after about 3-6 months use.
Then no further weight loss. Once all the visceral fat was gone. Based on a DEXA, scan.

Instead of Metformin, which devastates my body, we’re all different.I take acarbose and have no issue at 50 mg per meal.

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#5

Abdominal pain would be likely from angiodema.

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#6
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#7

It’s always so interesting to see how we all react so differently to different things.

I had developed a rash all over my trunk (not itchy or painful) and assumed it was from rapa, so I gave myself a one month break because it started to get a little crazy. It could still be from rapa, but this week my doc noted that I started eating gluten again and perhaps this is a reaction from that. Who knows! He said it resembles a celiac reaction and a drug allergy, so….

He put me on a hearty dose Benadryl and xrytec for the last few days to see if it reacted to that, and it seems to be helping (or that not being on rapa for a month finally kicked in, or not having gluten for a few days… or or or!). And of course I started taking quite a few new supplants that I am taking a break on just incase it’s a reaction to one of those. I’ll start adding things back soon. I re-started rapa yesterday.

I have no idea what reacting to Benadryl even tells us… would that help a rapa and/or gluten caused rash. I will be stopping this experiement because it showed us something and I am done with being a zombie.

FWIW, I have been taking 500-1000 IR metformin for a couple of years and never noticed anything. I’ve recently switched to SR, which in theory sounds better, but also don’t notice a difference… and you react strongly to it!

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#8

Interesting. I guess this is the technical name of what my doc guessed my rash could be from. He said it looks like a medicine allergy.

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#9

I had similar rash from extended release Metformin.

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#10

The ER metformin (I mistakenly called it SR, for slow release) never occurred to me!!! I certainly don’t need to use that, so that would be the best case scenario. This is what happens when you try everything all at once!

Thanks for sharing because it didn’t occur to me to take a break incase that was the culprit. I have hope!!

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#11

Isn’t ER same as SR? a real question btw. I think I was quoted for SR from my Indian source?

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#12

Extended Release, Slow Release, yes - same I believe.

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#13

extremely unlikely, abdominal angioedema is usually a part of either hereditary angioedema but patient is too old for that or acquired angioedema due to auto-antibody in the context of autoimmune disease or cancer usually lymphoma… neither typically induced by rapamycin, perhaps just the opposite, rapamycin could reduced the chances of both.
Drug reactions causing isolated abdominal angioedema is unheard of.
There are also hundreds of causes for abdominal pain, my guess some mucosal regeneration issues, ulceration perhaps due to m-tor inhibition

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#14

A frustrating read as it’s not informative enough to get much out of. Clearly if he lost that much weight he had to be eating at least 500 fewer calories a day. You think he’d notice. And not enough curiosity to try again?

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#15

It sounds like he is planning to learn from what he did and try again.

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#16

Good question.

I would think it’s the same, but after LaraPro responded, I checked my bottle and it says ER

With different things, I’ve also seen SR or XR, and while I assume they are the same, because I don’t really know, I was only trying to be accurate. THX

#17

I frequently get abdominal pain on the first day of my dosing. It’s fairly sharp and intense but shortlived. It kind of feels like my intestines are being twisted at a point. I usually defecate right afterwards. It’s fairly common for me.

I get a similar but less intense pain from Metformin, and since I take Metformin an hour before Rapamycin, I always assumed it was the two combined that caused the pain.

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#18

Uncommon yes, but here is a case report

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#19

:rofl: there is always a “case” report, I would bet this was a mechanistic reaction more than an immune reaction

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#20

I think it is mechanistic. There are quite a few case reports. Angioedema is an accepted rare side effect from high dose rapa.

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