Fisetin to Clear Senescent Cells
Following studies with mice that showed significant senolytic clearance of senescent cells following large doses of the readily available flavenoid supplement Fisetin, my wife and I (ages 79 and 84) decided to try it. We have just completed two sets of massive Fisetin doses.
We had Life Extension blood-work done in October before the start, and we will have more again next week to observe any changes. The first set of Fisetin doses was on October 22-25 with 800 mg/day for three days followed by 600 mg on the fourth day, for a total of 4 g. I didn't notice much in the way of effects. Perhaps some reduction of small aches and pains and some increase in energy and mental acuity.
For the second set of doses done November 22-26, since we experienced no negative side effects in the first set we decided to increase the dosage a bit and to add 10 mg of BioPerine, a supplement that is reputed to magnify the effects and potency of flavenoids. For five days starting on Thanksgiving we took 500 mg of Fisetin and 10 mg of BioPerine twice per day, for a total of 5 g of Fisetin.
This time. I did experience one negative side effect. A few months ago, about 2 AM in the morning I awoke from a deep sleep and experienced a severe episode of vertigo. I turned over in bed, and the the whole room seemed to tilt. Suddenly, I didn't know which way was up. I staggered to the bathroom and vomited. The symptoms tapered off and disappeared in a few days, but it was a very distributing experience.
On the 2nd day of our 2nd Fisetin series, I experience a recurrence of that vertigo in the middle of the night, not as bad as my initial experience but still rather disturbing. I tolerated this mild vertigo and continued the treatment. My wife had no similar symptoms, and after my last dose I experienced no further vertigo symptoms.
On the positive side, following the second set of dosages I did feel very well, and very sharp and alert. This past weekend I ran my Shetland Sheepdog Taliesin in an AKC Canine Agility Trial in Mt. Vernon, WA, and we did very well, qualifying in 7 runs out of 15 and getting various colored placement ribbons. I was feeling quite sharp, and I even invented a new dog-handling technique that fixed an ongoing problem we were having.
Next week we will do the blood-work again, and I'll report any changes.
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For the last 3 days I've added 1600mg Fisetin (20mg/kg) to my normal mid-morning routine which includes 1g Quercetin, 1g Curcumin and 200mg Ubiquinol (kaneka) taken with a smoothie. The smoothie is loaded with fats and whole food sources of sulforaphane, pterostilbene, apigenin, luteolin, curcuminoids etc. which may be boosting the effects.
My experience:
(1) First day - odd jaw tightness, trouble focusing, extremely hard to resist urge to nap
(2) Second day - more intense jaw tightness, trouble focusing, unable to resist extended napping
(3) Third day - continued jaw tightness, trouble focusing, continued desire to nap
The effect takes 30-45 minutes to kick in and lasts for 8-10 hours. I am going to continue for 1-2 more days (4-5 total).
So far I seriously can't imagine taking Fisetin more than 2 days a month. Never expected it to have such a noticeable impact on how I feel since none of the other flavonoids with senolytic potential that I've taken have had similar effects. It feels a bit like my body is going into some kind of battery saver mode where full functionality isn't available. Like the onset of napping doesn't feel like an inability to resist a desire for sleep as much as it does like a bit is being flipped and my body starts much more aggressively shutting down unecessary processes.
The Fisetin I'm using is 400mg / pill from Do Not Age.
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Decided to do a tolerance test before going ahead with fisetin.
According to the info in this thread I might go for a dose north of 2000mg based on my weight for a hit and run treatment (92kg and age 50, good health).
I've had 100-200mg fisetin a day via capsules in the past and noticed nothing.
3 days ago I cut 5 of the Doctors Best capsules into a bowl (500mg) and mixed with fresh cream and some ground black pepper. Consumed with some fresh blueberries and rasperries.After around 90 minutes I started to feel like I was coming down with something. Then I started getting an ache in the finger joints on my left hand. Starting wondering how severe the feelings would get, and ended up lying down for 20 minutes. Then it all started to recede to the extent I went on my normal 3 mile lunchtime hike as I usually would.
Comments in the thread above have me thinking. It seems like a quarter dose had a reaction, but why so easy? Maybe the lecithin in the dairy cream was beneficial? Also perhaps it was my beverage; an hour after taking the fisetin I had my usual late morning brew a pint of hot green & black tea with lemon. (Two teabags with half a lemon sliced in). The lemon is to increase the bioavailability of some compounds in the green tea. Then was it warm water, the black tea, or just a coincidence I started to feel results after drinking this?
So, I'm going to take it steady. Some folks experienced nothing at higher doses than mine and that was not my experience. Next week I might try 700mg etc, and work towards an eventual 2000mg weekend shot.
I've also ordered some of the Senylitic Activator pills by Life Extension (they kind of fake the D+Q action). Once again I'll take that careful with an initial half dose, and certainly not weekly as they suggest. Also, won't be combining fisetin and other senylitics at the same time. There's that nagging concern of kicking off something unpleasant like an auto-immune reaction.
I'm not put off, in fact it might have taught me I have things going on in my left hand that I didn't know about. I have a slight arthritic ache in 1 finger joint as I type this, but now I'm thinking maybe I did before?
My energy levels are certainly improved but were already perhaps due to AKG, NMN or the vitamins I've been deficient in for years. Will report back when I do my proper senolytic dose with any observations.
The journey continues.
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I don't have high regard for anecdotal evidence, even my own, due to its great susceptibility to variations, confounding variables, placebo effect, etc. Nonetheless, I figure that it can't hurt to offer my own experience for those who might be interested. For the past three months I've been taking once weekly doses (as suggested on the package) of Life Extension's Senolytic Activator (theaflavins 275mg, bioavailable quercetin phytosome 74 mg, and apigenin 50 mg) along with a weekly dosing of 64 to 72 mg of their bioavailable fisetin, which they claim is the equivalent of up to 1600 to 1800 mg of regular fisetin. My age is 70 and my weight is 82 kg (about 180 pounds). I have felt no differences whatsoever on dosing compared to non-dosing days, but don't feel confident enough to offer any interpretation (or misinterpretation) of that fact. I'll leave that to you, friends!