Reta Microdosing (<1.5mg) to improve lipids?

[Banana Joe]

I had already asked here, but it sadly didn't get any replies.

How many of you guys are taking microdoses of Reta (<1.5mg?) mainly to improve HDL/LDL?
I have seen quite a few people on YT making similar claims, but Big Paul is the first one that provided actual numbers.

Other benefits should be:
- improved insulin sensitivity (might be even a given)
- reduced visceral and liver fat via glucagon receptor signaling


I always had bad HDL/LDL (hereditary) and have started taking 0.2mg e2d of Reta just recently. So far I feel no reduction in appetite, which is critical for me, as I have become a terrible eater over the years. If I feel no ill effects, I might up the dose to 0.3mg e2d.
Haven't gotten a new blood panel as my diet is a bit terrible atm, and I need to fix that first to get any meaningful data.

 

[Ghoul]

I just checked how to get a prescription for Evolocumab where I live. I don't think I will be able to qualify. I know someone in the medical field, that mentioned a cardiologist who is apparently pretty generous with expensive examinations, I hope I can get at least heart MRT that way, without having to pay for it myself, as one has to, if there is no concrete indication for it.

Maybe that cardiologist can also be convinced to give Evolocumab, if I fake that I can't take any statins?
Will need a solid strategy for this, I guess....

Are you in the US?

And yes, "Doc my leg muscles hurt when I climb a flight of stairs or exercise, I stopped taking the statin for 3 days and the pain went away, but I know I need to keep my LDL down what can we do?" and play along with whatever he wants. Dose change, try a different statin. Same thing, every time you go back on a statin pain comes back.

After 2nd statin isn't tolerable, you can usually get Repatha prescription,

Suddenly becoming statin intolerant isn't unheard of.

You can search online "Repatha preauthorization requirements" and your insurance company name.

 

[ChemBB]

I know I am a retard for saying this, but wonder if I could take another drug like Cyproheptadine, to increase my appetite enough, so I can take 2mg (or more) of Reta...

It seems like it'd be easier to take Cardarine + Berberine for lipids + insulin sensitivity respectively than fight all these sides you're having

 

[Banana Joe]

It seems like it'd be easier to take Cardarine + Berberine for lipids + insulin sensitivity respectively than fight all these sides you're having

Good point, I do actually take Metformin at 500mg in the morning, and 1000mg in the evening for insulin sensitivity and longevity as done in the TAME trial. They use 1500mg XR Metformine, but I assume my morning/evening schedule is mimicking that well enough. Need to get a prescription for XR eventually though.

I am wary about long term use of cardarine though, still unsure what to make of the cancer risk. I have taken it too help with fat loos and it worked well, by boosting my endurance, but I taking it long terms seems a bit of a gamble IMO.

 

[ChemBB]

but I taking it long terms seems a bit of a gamble IMO.

I've been on 10-20mg/day for almost a year straight, RIP

I spent a while back digging into it and IIRC the carcinogenic properties were never replicated in humans, but maybe I'm slowly turning into a big cancerous mass inside

 

[Banana Joe]

I've been on 10-20mg/day for almost a year straight, RIP

I spent a while back digging into it and IIRC the carcinogenic properties were never replicated in humans, but maybe I'm slowly turning into a big cancerous mass inside

I must admit likely have not have looked into as deeply, but from what I can tell the trials were stopped BECAUSE of the findings in the rodent studies, so no wonder they were not replicated.
I would still use for a limited amount of time, it at doses of 2.5-10mg, or single doses of 10-20mg if I go for a day long bike ride for example.
But I really hesitate with long term use, other than countering the side effects of tren in terms of endurance, or to be able to do more cardio for fat loss or simply for performance reasons.

Can you quantify how much Cardarine improved your lipids approximately?

 

[ChemBB]

Can you quantify how much Cardarine improved your lipids approximately?

Unfortunately I don't have good comparative before/after data
I really wish I could, and it's an experiment worth doing

Something like take baseline measurements during TRT cruise, and then after 4 weeks of 10mg, and again after 4 weeks of 20mg or so.

 

[Ghoul]

Good point, I do actually take Metformin at 500mg in the morning, and 1000mg in the evening for insulin sensitivity and longevity as done in the TAME trial. They use 1500mg XR Metformine, but I assume my morning/evening schedule is mimicking that well enough. Need to get a prescription for XR eventually though.

I am wary about long term use of cardarine though, still unsure what to make of the cancer risk. I have taken it too help with fat loos and it worked well, by boosting my endurance, but I taking it long terms seems a bit of a gamble IMO.

Not worth the risk. Pharma doesn't walk away from drugs whose characteristics strongly suggest "blockbuster", as it was pre-GLP med times, and lipid lowering drugs were a super hot category, making a fortune.

As for the cancer developing in rodents known for getting cancer (the natural cause of death in that line is almost always cancer), that's not a bug, it's a feature.

Those animals are used for pre-human clinical trials precisely because they're more sensitive to carcinogen effects than humans, so what would take years or decades in humans takes months in them,

It's the height of arrogance to assume world class drug development teams don't know those rats are prone to cancer and dismissing the results that led to development being halted and tens of millions being lost was a misunderstanding on their part, but we, the bro scientists, see the error of their methods.

And I say this as someone who's used it in the past. .

 

[Banana Joe]

Unfortunately I don't have good comparative before/after data
I really wish I could, and it's an experiment worth doing

Something like take baseline measurements during TRT cruise, and then after 4 weeks of 10mg, and again after 4 weeks of 20mg or so.

I'd say I am gonna do it, but I gotta be honest and say, that the data would be useless, given how bad I am currently in adhering to my diet and cardio.

If it is of any consolation, your medical emergency made me reevaluate my very recent visit to the cardiologist. I think I would have otherwise just put it onto the backburner again, given he was too worried about my LDL.

Not sure yet how to best approach this, apart from the obvious thing, which is fixing my shitty diet, but I will keep you updated.

 

[Banana Joe]

Fuck me, I just had a look at your blood levels and they are certainly not worse than mine...
My hematocrit surely is NOT 42.

 

[eryximachus]

build the record necessary to get Repatha approved.

So there is no other way to buy the stuff? I wonder why the Chinese peptide manufactures aren't selling it.

 

[Ghoul]

So there is no other way to buy the stuff? I wonder why the Chinese peptide manufactures aren't selling it.

UGL (or even most legit pharma competitors trying to make a generic copy) can't come close to making evolocumab.

It's made by inserting DNA into mouse cells, a much more complex and slower process compared to inserting DNA into bacteria to make rHGH.

If rHGH is 2/10, this is 9/10 difficulty,

 

[DugPrime]

I changed nothing in my eating habits except the removal of Citrus Bergamot and addition of 2-2.3mg of Reta per week for 2 months. Dosed 1.5mg every 5 days or 1mg every 3-4 days. Depends on my mood.

2 month before and after:

On 250mg Test, 10mg Ezetimibe, 1g Jarrow's Citrus Bergamot, 3g EPA+DHA:

Before HDL: 52
Before LDL: 78
Before Triglycerides: 57

On 250mg Test, 10mg Ezetimibe, 2-2.3mg Reta, 3g EPA+DHA:

After HDL: 46
After LDL: 67
After Triglycerides: 39

So yeah 2mg of Reta would be solid for keeping LDL low. Not sure how well < 1.5mg would do. My HDL dropped probably from the removal of the citrus bergamot. My LDL might have been even lower if I still kept that in too.

I could see that you were on 10mg ezetimibe, so I wanted to share you this.

Ezetimibe 5 and 10 mg for lowering LDL-C: potential billion-dollar savings with improved tolerability - PubMed

These data strongly suggest that ezetimibe 5 mg and ezetimibe 10 mg are clinically equivalent with respect to LDL-C reduction and achievement of ATP III LDL-C goals. Widespread adoption of this low-dose strategy could result in a potential cost savings of more than a billion dollars annually...

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Conclusion: These data strongly suggest that ezetimibe 5 mg and ezetimibe 10 mg are clinically equivalent with respect to LDL-C reduction and achievement of ATP III LDL-C goals. Widespread adoption of this low-dose strategy could result in a potential cost savings of more than a billion dollars annually, with a potential reduction in hepatotoxicity.

 

[aaronben]

Nick Walker just claimed in this video (got no timestamp, sorry) he didn't go north of 2mg of Reta, and praised its health benefits at that dose (and below).

Might be that is lying like many pros, but I have never seen Nick speaking about dosages, or that made claims he is on whatever unbelievably low amount that some guys claim to be.
Therefore I don't see not much evidence to doubt his claims when speaking about Reta of all drugs.

0.3 mg a day or every other day gives you energy and a good mood, makes you feel good, then I took 3 mg at once, I was sick for two days, my heart rate increased by 20 points for two weeks, I felt like shit, depressed, I think Nick is right about low-dose reta, I'm a former heart attack

 

[ChemBB]

then I took 3 mg at once, I was sick for two days, my heart rate increased by 20 points for two weeks, I felt like shit, depressed

There must be wild variance in personal response to GLP-1's

I'm over here taking 3mg Reta + 0.75mg Sema E3D and thinking it could still be a bit stronger, ha

But I've also used GLP-1's for ~2 years

 

[Banana Joe]

There must be wild variance in personal response to GLP-1's

I'm over here taking 3mg Reta + 0.75mg Sema E3D and thinking it could still be a bit stronger, ha

But I've also used GLP-1's for ~2 years

Well, I guess I am the other end of the spectrum. GLP-1s look great on paper, but if I even have to force myself to drink, let alone eat, then the net outcome is pretty negative.
But like I said, I likely have less appetite to begin with, many people on 10mg of Reta.

 

[Ateam2023]

my 1st week of Reta has been good, I have had a fbg of@90 ( sometimes 89) all week, dropped 2 lbs since weigh in last Monday, no noticeable sides @.5 mg per week, so i will hold this dose for another week and evaluate my progress

 

[Banana Joe]

Keep us updated. 0.5mg should not do a thing, but if you dropped weight, and I basically stopped eating at 1mg, maybe dosages way below 1mg are actually worth another visit from me...

 

[juicybanana69]

I could see that you were on 10mg ezetimibe, so I wanted to share you this.

Ezetimibe 5 and 10 mg for lowering LDL-C: potential billion-dollar savings with improved tolerability - PubMed

These data strongly suggest that ezetimibe 5 mg and ezetimibe 10 mg are clinically equivalent with respect to LDL-C reduction and achievement of ATP III LDL-C goals. Widespread adoption of this low-dose strategy could result in a potential cost savings of more than a billion dollars annually...

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Conclusion: These data strongly suggest that ezetimibe 5 mg and ezetimibe 10 mg are clinically equivalent with respect to LDL-C reduction and achievement of ATP III LDL-C goals. Widespread adoption of this low-dose strategy could result in a potential cost savings of more than a billion dollars annually, with a potential reduction in hepatotoxicity.

I get it prescribed so it's fully covered, too much of a hassle to cut a pill in half. No downsides to it that I've witnessed on my bloodwork, just great lipid management.

 

[Ghoul]

I get it prescribed so it's fully covered, too much of a hassle to cut a pill in half. No downsides to it that I've witnessed on my bloodwork, just great lipid management.

Cutting it in half was a thing when it was a $600 a month brand name drug few could get covered. It's down to $5 a month for generics and 10mg/day was shown to be the most effective across a wide range of people. There's no need to skimp on it
now, and potentially get less than the optimal effect.

 

[Banana Joe]

Can any of you on around 1mg still overeat, or will even low that dose punish you with the known effects?
Given how much of a terrible eater I became, I am glad when, I once in a blue moon, have the desire to overeat a bit.