Cleaning this up a bit to make it easier to read and added an additional note after #2's Ortho appointment yesterday.
Update 6/20/26: Rat#1
He still feels pretty good, but can't do real heavy lifting which is required for his job.
BUT, had a follow up visit with Doc. More Xrays and MRIs, then was referred to Surgeon, which was not a good sign.
Prior In 2018 when they opened his right shoulder, surgeon said it looked like hamburger, tissue is shredded, degenerative, not much to work with
Fast forward to now: after reviewing the Xrays and MRIs, they still want to do surgery, however, instead of a full shoulder replacement, will do another rotator cuff surgery and remove as much arthritis as they can, collarbone and shoulder are full of it.
Surgeon says, the tissue looks good and there is enough to sew to.
Whether the Cartalax/TB/BP combo was the reason, or whether his body simply had more regenerative capacity than they expected, IDK, but the fact remains, he now has repairable tissue where he previously had none. My thoughts are that the real evidence will show when they open it up again. Staying positive and hopeful 
Post surgery, plan to start a Klow stack to help with the healing along with physical therapy. Eventually add in another cycle of Cartalax.
As for Rat#2: plan to restart research in the next month or so, I ain't giving it up yet 
Lab Rat #1 — Shoulder OA + Post‑Surgical Pain
Background:
Two rotator cuff surgeries, arthritis in the joint, severe mobility limits. Couldn’t lift arms overhead, couldn’t hold weight, daily tasks were becoming impossible. Steroid injection in January gave ~2 weeks of relief. Durolane gave ~3 weeks. Advil was basically a food group. Shoulder replacement was on the horizon.
February — Research Cycle Begins
Baseline:
Continued Vitamin D3 (5000 IU daily)
Week 1
Protocol:
BPC‑157: 0.5 mg (Mon–Fri)
TB‑500: 0.5 mg (Mon–Fri)
Injection sites rotated between bicep and shoulder area
No weekend dosing
Notes: No side effects.
Week 2
Added:
Cartalax 1 mg daily
Continued BPC‑157 + TB‑500 (same schedule)
Notes: No side effects → titrated Cartalax to 2 mg.
Weeks 3–4
Protocol:
BPC‑157: 0.5 mg (Mon–Fri)
TB‑500: 0.5 mg (Mon–Fri)
Cartalax: 2 mg daily
Observation:
Pain decreased
Could lift arms overhead for the first time in a long time
Paused 1 week to assess → benefits maintained.
Cycle 2 (Weeks 1–4)
Repeated full protocol:
Cartalax 2 mg daily
BPC‑157 0.5 mg (Mon–Fri)
TB‑500 0.5 mg (Mon–Fri)
Results:
Significant improvement
Pain largely resolved
Shoulder mobility nearly normal
Cycle 3 (Current)
Week 2 and going strong.
Functional gains:
Building cabinets
Holding tools for long periods
Using saws
Doing tasks previously impossible (couldn’t even hold a coffee pot before)
Side effects:
None reported across all cycles
Summary:
Lab Rat #1 = Energizer Bunny.
Lab Rat #2 — Knee OA + RA
Baseline supplements:
NR, NAC, Glutathione(oral Reduced, D3-K2, Astaxanthin,
CoQ10 + PQQ reintroduced Week 8
Research Cycle — Week 1 (Started Apr 26)
Protocol:
TB‑500: 0.5 mg
BPC‑157: 0.25 mg
Cartalax: 1 mg
(Evening injections)
Note:
Lab Rat #2 was cautious with BPC‑157 due to a prior eye‑related reaction in January. Started low. No recurrence of eye issues so far.
Day 4 Observations:
Knees felt heavy, stiff, and fatigued
Literature suggests this can occur due to Collagen II upregulation
Morning stiffness slightly improved the next day
Update — Increased to 2 mg Cartalax
Knees still heavy
Stiffness/fullness without visible swelling
Monitoring bloodwork
Update 3
Lab Rat #1 thriving.
Lab Rat #2… not so much.
Stiffness → pressure → difficulty walking
Ice helped temporarily
Literature suggests this may be part of early “remodeling,” but unclear
Continued cautiously
Update 4 (5/16/26)
Lab Rat #1 = unstoppable.
Lab Rat #2 = officially paused research.
Entered a full flare in both knees
Walking became extremely difficult
Pain escalated beyond “uncomfortable”
Waiting for orthopedic evaluation
Very disappointed — had high hopes
Important note:
Lab Rat #2 has RA + OA, which complicates responses and may explain the flare. This shouldn’t discourage others whose physiology is different.
5/18/26
ORTHO appointment yesterday. I had a new Ortho due to I couldn't get into my primary nor could I wait any longer, I think I'm really going to like this one and going to switch. We have a similar history, both have Autoimmune and knee issues. Gave each other tips and tricks on supplements, meds, what works what doesn't etc. She learned a few things from me and I learned from her
My suspicions were confirmed, it's the RA aggravating the OA, and the flare up is due to it was never really calmed down from Dec. when a bad reaction occurred from an infusion. So with that said, had a steroid shot in both knees, today is an awesome day, can walk almost pain free, of course that's the steroid working Going to get scheduled for Gel shots, after that is done, I can then proceed with caution but not before discussing further with Ortho who is very open minded about the new frontiers of medicine, my hope is RENEWED. She did stress how important MSM, HA and collagen supplements are with this journey for support.
Read the full review: 
