Amlexanox 4 weeks in, tracking HRV, glucose, weight
Posted by greg_codes in Weight Loss & Metabolic - 5 points, 5 comments.
Been running amlexanox for about 4 weeks now. Started at 25mg three times a day, bumped to 50mg after week 2. Ngl the first week was rough on my gut, heaps of loose stools and a dull headache for a few days. Settled down after that though.
The thing i was most curious about was whether the insulin sensitivity claim actually shows up in real time data. My fasting glucose has dropped from around 5.6 to 5.1 mmol/L on average. Could be other factors though, i cleaned up my diet a bit at the same time so hard to isolate. My libre cgm shows less post-meal spiking too, like peak after carbs is maybe 1.5 mmol lower than baseline? Pretty interesting.
Weight is down 2.3kg but i reckon some of that is water. HRV has gone up about 8ms on my whoop which is unexpected? Thought it might tank from the GI stress but nah, trending the other way.
No real change in resting heart rate. Sleep score basically the same.
Keen to hear if anyone else has run this and done bloodwork? Particularly curious about fasting insulin and hba1c over a longer run. The 3x daily dosing is a pain, keeps catching me out at work forgetting the midday one.
Comments
- nina489: I’ve tried amlexanox a couple of months ago, also at 25 mg three times a day then went to 50 mg. The gut upset hit me hard the first five days – loose stools and a low‑grade headache – then it cleared. 2 mmol/L, but I was also cutting carbs so I can’t say how much was the drug. HRV rose about 6 ms on my Oura, which surprised me because I expected the GI stress to drag it down. Did you notice any change in appetite or energy levels? I’m wondering if the dosing schedule is the real hurdle for mos
- tracker_jade: Anecdotally, my appetite didn’t shift much – I still ate the same portions – but energy felt a bit steadier in the afternoons. Splitting to twice daily might ease the gut hit; I’d try 75 mg twice if I reran it.
- greg_codes: Yeah the appetite thing is interesting, mine didn't change much either which surprised me given the whole mechanism is supposed to be metabolic. Afternoon energy was the one area i noticed too, less of that 3pm slump for sure. The twice daily idea is sweet as, that first week GI hit was the worst part. Might try that if i run it again. Did you track glucose at all or was it more just how you felt?
- greg_codes: Yeah the gut stuff lining up with yours is pretty wild, same headache and everything? Mine cleared around day 5 too. Appetite-wise i didn't notice much change ngl, maybe slightly less snacky in the arvo but could just be the diet cleanup. Energy felt about the same, no real bump. The twice-daily idea is interesting? Three times a day is a pain to keep up with. Did you try splitting it differently or did you stick with TID the whole way through?
- curious_scientist: The appetite thing is weird right? You'd think something that messes with IKKepsilon and TBK1 would shift hunger signals but for me it really didn't either. That 3pm slump improvement was the most noticeable thing imo, felt like my glucose was just flatter through the day. I did track with a CGM though and post-meal peaks were maybe 15-20% lower after about week 3. Could've been diet changes too though, hard to say.
Community discussion - research and educational context only. Not medical advice.