#176

@DeStrider I agree, Especially for people who have known side effect with statins. Why suffer needlessly when other tools are available? No reasonable person says statins don’t lower apoB or that apoB doesn’t matter at all. But statins do have side effects as do all drugs. When the side effects are severe enough it is worth investigating other solutions.

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#177

I humbly disagree. Check out the X account I referenced. You’ll find plenty of links to studies detailing the disruption of the mevalonate pathway that’s critical to maintenance of the myelin sheaths of the nervous system… and the ensuing muscle pain and neurological degeneration leading to dementia that ensues when statins are used long term.

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#178

I do appreciate the discussion… and I’m forever curious, so I’m open to other sources of info.

#179

A random X account does not supersede systematic reviews.

You’ll find plenty of links to studies detailing the disruption of the mevalonate pathway that’s critical to maintenance of the myelin sheaths of the nervous system

Those are called mechanistic studies and, even assuming they are not based on fraudulent data and misrepresentations, can be safely ignored if they don’t cause issues in-vivo.

and the ensuing muscle pain and neurological degeneration leading to dementia that ensues when statins are used long term.

Luckily we have long term data on statins showing a neutral to beneficial effect on dementia rates and no particular issues in the vast majority of statin users regarding muscle pain. In some cases, CoQ10 supplementation can help in the users who do get side effects.

You should take a look at the pyramid of evidence. If everything mechanistic pathway led to clinical outcomes, microplastics would’ve killed you already.

#180

I double checked the units. All seem correct. I don’t believe the units for Albumin in the excel spreadsheet are correct. If I adjust for units (4.4 g/dL to 4400 mg/dL), the spreadsheet breaks. 4400 mg/dL also doesn’t make sense.

The CRP units are correct (mg/L). I’ll have to get a high-sensitivity CRP test next time around.

I’m in the process of dropping weight… I was 218 back in June, down to 210 now, and I’m targeting 190. Need to get my glucose down from 99, and I’ve not been exercising, so I’ll get back on that wagon, too.

I started rapamycin two weeks ago. 1mg the first week, 2mg last week, and this next week I’ll bump up to 3 mg and maintain it there for a few months.

Thanks, John_Hemming, for the feedback and thoughts. You were spot on.

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#181

The “random” X account links to scores of studies from well known sources. Check it out before dismissing it. That’s not the only source, it’s just a good one. Let me know if you’d like me to start sharing links to some of those studies.

The information is there. This group is already deviating from “main-stream” medicine. By pushing back/sharing what I’ve learned and experienced first hand, I’m hoping to at least spark a little curiousity.

It’s all good stuff, do with it what you will.

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#182

Even if they are, they are still mechanistic studies and as such superseded by actual outcome data.

Let me know if you’d like me to start sharing links to some of those studies.

Unless they are systematic reviews and intervention trials, I’m not really interested.

This group is already deviating from “main-stream” medicine.

That’s called a conspiracy group and there are plenty of those on social media and youtube.

By pushing back/sharing what I’ve learned and experienced first hand, I’m hoping to at least spark a little curiousity.

There are more people who hate on Big Pharma and modern medicine than there are people who take their medication.

#183

Wow, great catch, the albumin units are off. I’ll double check them. The spreadsheet I have is editable so I could have screwed it up. The CRP blood test reading just gave less than 15 so I chose 14 to be conservative.
I was using the xls that RapaAdmin posted. I think the units are off in that posted xls attachment. On my previous test I had doubled checked it with an online Levine calculator and they pretty well agreed, so I think the numbers are good. I alerted RapaAdmin to the possible unit mis-labeling.

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#184

I’m excited to see my “biological age” is 44. It’s encouraging to play directly with the spreadsheet to tweak what’s in my control. I suspect my elevated blood glucose is from alcohol consumption. I’m now three weeks dry, and intend to maintain that status at least until my weight is at target (also assuming I maintain my moderate muscle mass). This is fun and very motivating!

What should one expect to change or “improve” with rapamycin use?

At some point I’ll pony up the $$ to do a proper epigenetic test a la Bryan Johnson and David Pascoe. I’ve probably abused my body too much over the years to expect to see their results. I’ll take what I can get!

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#185

Do you consult your doctor on whether or not you should be taking rapamycin?

#186

I look at existing research and decide for myself whether the benefit outweighs the risk. For statins, the benefit definitely outweighs the risk and I’m very satisfied with my current 20mg atorvastatin dose I take daily.

#187

My doctor would not prescribe it off label. The medical profession do not recognise the harm of inaction. (note the word harm rather than risk)

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#188

Alcohol tends to push glucose and hba1c down.

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#189

Good for you; I hope it works out for you.

I don’t know whether the evidence is there that more people hate big pharma than take their meds. Big pharma’s profits suggest otherwise.

The pharmaceutical industry… the research, anyway, has, in my opinion, done the world a lot of good. Arguably, their profit motive could be driving as much harm as good. Plenty of evidence of this, too.

On a personal note, I’m grateful to have made it to 55, am in reasonably good health, might be biologically 44 according to the links above (makes me wonder if rapamycin is worth the risks in my case), and have access to knowledge made available here to improve it somewhat. I’m on no meds, except for my brief experiment now with rapamycin, and my incredibly poor experience with 6 years on statins in my 30s. My CAT score of 19 I drove to zero through fasting. Again, through knowledge gained by learning from people online, through books, etc., etc. I’m a chemical engineer by trade and have a vast curiosity about the world and a thirst for knowledge. By my reckoning, when a person is metabolicaly healthy and eats a species appropriate diet, cholesterol is not a problem.

I look forward to learning more.

I’ll post again in a couple of months after my next blood tests.

I’m still curious as to what specific metrics indicate rapamycin is somehow improving health. I’ve read the studies and Dr. Green’s website. What is the experience and evidence of the group here?

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#190

If they want to keep making a profit, they need to invent stuff that keeps people alive for longer.

I’m a chemical engineer by trade and have a vast curiosity about the world and a thirst for knowledge. By my reckoning, when a person is metabolicaly healthy and eats a species appropriate diet, cholesterol is not a problem.

And there are thousends of doctors and scientists who looked at all available data, ran various clinical trials and came to the conclusion that LDL cholesterol/apoB is to blame for heart disease.

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#191

Great reminder, thank you.

#192

Fantastic results! What’s your diet, % bodyfat or BMI, and exercise regimen?

#193

BMI is 21, diet is much better now than in my youth. I try to stick to unprocessed whole foods. I exercise quite alot. My goal is to do an unassisted muscle-up. Today I did 9 reps (3 sets of 3) with only 19lbs of assistance. I’ve been working on it for about 6 years and I’m slowly getting there, decreasing the assistance a few ounces at a time. We’ll go on trips/vacations that throw me off, but I get back at it. I’m trying to work in more high intensity training for cardio health. Best Wishes

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#194

I assume that you meant CAC (coronary artery calcium) score. How long did it take to go from 19 to zero? And what kind of fasting? Do you still get CAC or CIMT tests to monitor plaque? Do you still fast? For certain people (but not most) cholesterol doesn’t appear to be a problem but it’s unclear why. It doesn’t appear to be diet unless you are really calorie restricted or Keto (and a Lean Mass Hyper Responder).

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#195

Here are my results from my first year. Initially I saw good progress with the Excel calculator, but then I had to take some breaks due to surgery and the flu. It will be interesting to see what happens this year. You can read more about it here. My Results: A Year on Rapamycin

Albumin Creatinine Glucose C-Reactive Protein (CRP) Lympocyte Mean Cell Volume Red Cell Dist Width Alkaline Phosphatase White Blood Cells Idade Test Phen Age Calc Notes
mg/dL mg/dL mg/dL mg/L % fL % U/L 10^3 cells/mL years
3/3/2023 4.4 1.04 107 37 91 11.9 44 4.7 49 714 10 mg Rosuvastatin. No Rapa
7/7/2023 4.7 1.21 96 36 90 12.2 49 4.6 49 799 10 mg Rosuvastatin. No Rapa
10/10/2023 4.5 1.31 95 0.4 37.2 91 12.2 42 4.5 49 723 40.96 Baseline. 10 mg Rosuvastatin. No Rapa
2/5/2024 4.8 1.1 97 0.39 39 91 11.6 42 4.1 49 35.5 6-8mg Rapa every 2 wks. 10mg Rosuvastatin
6/21/2024 4.4 1.23 90 91.2 12.3 4.6 50 2 months off due to surgery. 2 wks back on Rapa 6-7mg. 10 mg Rosuvastatin
7/24/2024 4.4 1.21 93 0.52 44 93 12.3 45 3.9 50 41.08 7mg Rapa. 10mg Rosuvastatin
10/25/2024 4.4 1.27 89 0.39 37 93 12.3 43 4.9 50 698 42.33 2 months off Rapa due to illness. No Rapa. 10mg Rosuvastatin
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