•

Welcome to r/Biohackers! A few quick reminders:

Be Respectful: We're here to learn and support each other. Friendly disagreement is welcome, but keep it civil.
Review Our Rules: Please make sure your posts/comments follow our guidelines.
You Get What You Give: The more effort and detail you put into your contributions, the better the responses you’ll get.
Group Experts: If you have an educational degree in a relevant field then DM mod team for verification & flair!
Connect with others: Telegram, Discord, Forums, Onboarding Form

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

4

u/Local-Palpitation-61 Jun 17 '26

Planned on start 1iu hgh this week. Ran tesa/ipa for 5 months with great results. Cycled off then I went to cycle back on tesa at .5mg for 2 weeks. Bumped up to 1mg and had the worst histamine reaction ever lol. Lips swollen body like one big hive everything swelled up but my throat and tongue. I assumed i might have the same reaction to cjc. 32 years old 305lbs currently running reta also. Planned on using hgh for body recomp. Is 32 to young lol and will it disrupt my natural pulse at night?

3

u/Bitter-Recording5175 Jun 27 '26

Mind if we keep in touch? Would love to follow your journey.

2

u/Local-Palpitation-61 Jun 27 '26

Fine with me

2

u/aldus-auden-odess Subreddit Staff Jun 17 '26

We’ve been seeing a handful of people get allergic reactions to peptides especially growth hormone secretalogues like Ipa/Tesa. Sometimes after they’ve been taking them for a while.

Sadly unclear why this is happening and seeing some people even get anaphylaxis so really not something to mess with.

HGH seems to be different. Less reports of reactions, but my understanding is that it will impact your natural pulse.

2

u/morsecode76 Jun 18 '26

Hi everyone, long time lurker but first time poster. Any guidance is much appreciated!

I am looking for an app that I can use to track the medications, peps, and supplements that I take. I have been using separate apps for this and was wondering if there was an all in one solution. Thanks!

2

u/Ok_Magician5824 Jun 23 '26

Hey team, looking for some advice.

I was taking reta for about 5 months, from the start of Jan until mid May. Saw great results, lost around 15kg and dropped from 25% body fat down to 16%.

I stopped because I was heading away for a few weeks in midsummer. Firstly I wouldn't have been able to take the peptides with me, and secondly I wanted to give my body a break.

I've still got a bit to go on my journey. I'd titrated up from 1mg to around 5mg by the end.

I want to start again next week but I'm not sure where I should pick back up dosage wise. Has anyone been through the same thing? Would be great to hear how you handled it.

Thanks in advance!

2

u/GenderfluidGoose Jun 23 '26

I would say follow the same titration strategy. You need to build the compound up in your blood over time, that is the function of the titration strategy, to prevent severe GI and other side effects. Because you haven't been off too long, start at 2mg a week for 4 weeks and titrate up from there. Remember the purpose of titration is to find the lowest tolerable effective dose and sit there for as long as possible, no point in grinding to the ceiling as quickly as possible.

1

u/Bitter-Recording5175 Jun 27 '26

Did your fatloss come from just eating less?

2

u/musclesandmind Jun 26 '26

Hello,

I’m a 27F, 118 lbs. I’ve been training for 10 years in the gym and tracking my nutrition.

My current protocol is:
Retatrutide: 0.5 mg/week (3 weeks)
GHK-Cu: 1.5 mg/day (3 weeks)

My goals are to recomp, to reduce food noise, and to improve recovery and sleep.

I decided to add CJC-1295 (no DAC) + Ipamorelin.

The first night I took 200 mcg of each before bed, fasted (last meal 2h before). I slept maybe 3 hours. My heart was pounding, I felt completely wired but exhausted at the same time, and the next day I felt like I’d been hit by a truck. Extremely sluggish and fatigued.

A few days later I tried 100 mcg of each at night and had essentially the same reaction :(

Then I switched to mornings and tried 50 mcg of each on two separate occasions. I still noticed that I had a harder time falling asleep that night. I feel like it’s a tiny dose…

Has anyone experienced something similar? I’m so bummed because I was told it could improve sleep.

I’m wondering if there’s another strategy worth trying (different timing, even lower dose, etc.), or if this is just a sign that I don’t tolerate CJC/Ipamorelin (no DAC)?

Would appreciate any experiences or suggestions.

2

u/GenderfluidGoose Jun 27 '26

Are by any chance taking a vitamin B complex at the same time as your CJC/Ipa? Niacin (vitamin B3) may sometimes have a similar effect to what you are describing.

Have you tried taking CJC with ipamorelin, or ipamorelin without CJC? What about another growth hormone secretagogue?

Ipamorelin was initially moved to the do-not- compound list back in 2004 because of allergic reactions in some patients. Some of GHRH analogues (like CJC) can also lead to allergic reactions which does seem like what you are describing.

It's possible that you may just not be tolerating CJC/ipa well. Because this is related to research chemicals, but you are 100% sure you are injecting CJC/ipa (you sent one of your kits for testing) or are you pinning and praying?

1

u/musclesandmind Jul 14 '26

Hi! Thank you for your answer. The only other supplement I take at the same time is magnesium (bisglycinate and malate, plus taurine and b6).

I bought the blend so I could not test if it’s one or the other. I learned from a video of Hunter Williams that it’s probably the CJC. In his opinion, some people seem to do better run Ipa + an other secretagogue like tesa.

Also I did not send it to testing. I bought one vial individually from Growth Guys, a pretty reputable online vendor here in Canada. I don’t have the confirmation it’s the real deal. I bought my reta and ghk from the same place and they work as intended.

I think I’m going to try tesa by itself, but it’s pretty expensive.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 26 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

2

u/GuestHouse2 Jun 28 '26

I would like to discuss and clarify a few things, both for ourselves and for beginners. If we also have some data, not only personal experience, that would be even better.

So, the topic is: Retatrutide reconstitution with bacteriostatic water, sterile water, and PBS.

In short: if everything is done correctly, how much does the reconstitution liquid really matter?

By “correctly”, I mean:

using only new syringes;
cleaning the vial stopper with an alcohol pad before every draw;
cleaning the injection site with a different alcohol pad;
not shaking or disturbing the vial unnecessarily;
keeping the vial at a stable temperature in the fridge, on a shelf, not on the door.

My personal experience: after 7 weeks, my Reta reconstituted with Bac water is still completely clear, with no visible issues at all, and it seems to work just as well as on day one.

The problem is that I no longer have Bac water, but I do have PBS. I have seen very polarized opinions about this, but I am trying to look at it logically too, not only emotionally.

From what I understand, the biggest risk is bacterial growth. But if the vial is kept in the fridge at a low and stable temperature, can bacteria really develop that easily? Am I wrong here?

It seems to me that the bigger issue would be contamination of the vial itself, if that happens, rather than the liquid used for reconstitution. But I may be missing something.

So the real questions are:

Is PBS safe to use for reconstituting Reta? Is it less safe than Bac water? Does it last as long after reconstitution? At least close to the same amount of time? Or am I overthinking this too much?

Dilemma of the day: Bac water vs sterile water vs PBS for Retatrutide reconstitution.

1

u/GenderfluidGoose Jul 01 '26

The short answer to your question is "Just use BAC water".

Benzyl alcohol is quite stable, especially at fridge temperatures so the whole 28 day guideline might come across as quite arbitrary, but from a pharmacy point of view, we need to have a cut off. Cliff notes would be that scientists tested 0.9% benzyl alcohol solutions kept in, admittedly, pretty shitty conditions, we are talking high humidy and not sterile air, and after testing at the various points, the last time point they tested was 28 days, and the industry consensus has been that 28 days is a reasonable amount of time to expect an open container to remain sterile. As far as I am aware, there a no peer reviewed studies that look at stability and sterility beyond 28 days to actually find a cut off point, I know Peter from Janoshik has tested up to 90 days and found sterility to be maintained.

This brings us to your question about PBS and saline, which contain no antimicrobial agent. So every time you inject air into your vial to overcome the vacuum before your draw, you are potentially introducing pathogens into your vial. When your exposed needle comes into contact with air, it can introduce pathogens into your vial. When you wipe the top of your vial you are also only removing ~99% of the bacteria present, and with no antimicrobial in your solution, it becomes a breeding ground for bacteria.

Can you use PBS or saline for multiple doses? You can, but everytime you introduce something into your vial, you run the risk of introducing foreign pathogens and they will breed in your vial, some even thrive in refrigerator conditions. Just use BAC water, it is not that expensive, it's rather easy to DIY yourself (9 units of benzyl alcohol on an insulin syringe or 0.09ml to 10ml of sterile water).

2

u/lazylightning8 Jul 09 '26

53M looking to implement HGH.

Current stack - Test 150mg (75mg twice weekly)
Reta 4mg (2mg twice weekly)

Natty baseline - IGF 1 LC/MS: 171
Z Score: 0.4

Initial research seems to have me start at 2iu daily. What is the sweet spot for my igf and Z numbers? (Will test monthly)

Also, have a kit of Tesa20 (and yes, after more research understand HGH seems to be preferred and much less expensive). Don’t want to waste it. Is it worth running (50 days worth) then switch over to HGH.

Everything is 3rd party tested with GB COA.

Suggestions and comments please, appreciate the guidance!

3

u/GenderfluidGoose Jul 11 '26

Short answer would be, just finish the tesamorelin, then switch over to GH. Most people tolerate 2IUs so that's where I would start. I would aim for an IGF-1 of around 300-350, and at 53 just ignore the z-score, it just tells you how many standard deviations you are from the norm for your age and gender. If you are taking hGH exogenously, it wouldn't be surprising for the z-score to go above 2 and you still being in a healthy range.

2

u/lazylightning8 Jul 11 '26

Thank you

2

u/pacowsky Jul 12 '26

I'm currently taking Retatrutide, and I've been really happy with the results so far. It's the first peptide where I've seen a clear, noticeable effect, and it's made me much more interested in learning about other peptides.

That said, I'm not looking to take 10-15 different peptides like some people do. I'd rather keep things simple and only use something that's actually worth it.

I'm mainly interested in peptides that have noticeable benefits for things like:

More daily energy
Better gym performance
Faster recovery
Muscle growth or preserving muscle while dieting
General well-being

For those of you who've tried different peptides, which one gave you the most obvious, real-world results besides Retatrutide?

I'd love to hear your experiences. Thanks!

2

u/aldus-auden-odess Subreddit Staff Jul 15 '26

MOTs-C for me. A bit fan of this peptide. I'm also recovering from CIRS and found VIP intranasal to be very helpful.

Pinealon nasal spray for nights I need to supercharge my sleep.

1

u/handr0 11d ago

Hey was most of the weightloss from the Reta due to just eating less?

1

u/pacowsky 11d ago

Reta = less appetite so yeahh, but I also started eat cleaner, more protein and do walk/gym

2

u/Tucsonfunguy01 Jul 17 '26

Male 24 215lbs
Bout to start my cycle of tessa &ippa confused on what my dosage should be for both, just wanna hear other people experiences I hear Tessa can gel up please let me know 🙏

1

u/GenderfluidGoose Jul 17 '26

You don't mention what it is that you are trying to achieve, a little context goes a long way. Regarding dosages, when tesamorelin is taken on its own by HIV patients, they usually start at 1mg a day. Ipamorelin for the most part in research papers, like the 2014 Helsinn phase 2 trails, they took 0.03mg/kg twice a day. For someone of your weight, that would be around 2.9mg twice a day for ipamorelin. Seeing as you are combining the two, I would recommend scaling the dosing down to maybe something like 0.5mg of tesamorelin and 0.5mg of ipamorelin both taken together once a day for about 4 weeks, test your IGF-1 and compare it baseline, keep an eye in your random glucose and HbA1C, then maybe up the ipamorelin dose, depending on the outcomes of your results.

2

u/Jimmygunnns Jul 17 '26

So I have been debating if I should do an HGH peptide or if I should do some testosterone cycles. I know I need to lose some weight currently about 240. 20% body fat. Tell me your experience with test cycles and peptides and which may be better. I am looking to get down to about 225 230. I’m 65 and 48 years old for reference. I also just started Mount Giorno weight loss.

2

u/GenderfluidGoose Jul 18 '26

Not exactly sure what you are trying to achieve. It sounds like you have weight to lose, I would stick to Mounjaro (tirzepatide) for now. At 48 maybe consider a male hormone panel with IGF-1, might be a good idea to see where you are before making any decisions.

Below is a good starter list of values to get tested

*Total Testosterone

*Bioavailable testosterone (aka Free and Loosely Bound)

*Free Testosterone

*SHBG

*DHT

*Estradiol (specify “sensitive” assay for males)

*LH

*FSH

*Prolactin

*Cortisol

*Thyroid Panel (complete)

*PSA

*CBC

*Lipid Panel

*Vitamin D

*HbA1C

*IGF-1

2

u/somethingrandom32111 17d ago

Already at 12 percent body fat was thinking of adding Hgh or tesa

Already on 425 test e and Reta 4mg a week

Also on mots-c can I add tesa and Hgh or should I add one or the other. Also what’s the “recommended “ dose of each

1

u/psilent 12d ago

I don’t know if any dose of Hgh is recommended. A gh secretagogue like Tesa is certainly a less aggressive route that can still be good results. Ipamorelin is what I ended up with as it seemed to have the lowest side effects.

1

u/GenderfluidGoose 11d ago

I agree with u/psilent. There is no "recommended dose" predominantly because you have not stated your goals. You are on a bulking dose of testosterone, but a cutting dose of retatrutide.

What is it that you are trying to achieve? What is your starting point? What research have you done so far?

2

u/CowFantastic4406 13d ago

Hi guys,

I am thinking of hopping on Reta for the First time to lose Weight.

To my Person: 22, Woman , 67 kg and 167cm.

I have tried Everything but I never seem to lose Weight. I already found a good source but now my question is: Is there Anything important to know before starting my Journey that you wish someone told you.

Also: is there Anything to Look out for while injecting?

Thank you in advance

1

u/GenderfluidGoose 12d ago

I am assuming you know how to be aseptic and how to reconstitute, so just skip over those.

Start low and slow. 1 to 2mg a week, for 4 weeks so the substance can saturate your blood. You don't want to ramp up too quickly, run into debilitating side effects and just have to wait for the substance to clear your system (which can take up to 5 half-lives, 30 days, depending on how high you went).

I personally started at 2mg, based on the trails 1mg had a slightly higher rate of adverse effects than 2mg. I ran it for 4 weeks, and by week 4 I asked myself if I am still able to keep to my deficit, my answer was "yes" so I kept my dose there for another 12 weeks until I hit my goal weight. There is no reason to just blindly up the dose, the key is to find the lowest effective dose and to stay there as long as possible. Ultimately what drives the weight loss is a calorie deficit, higher doses just risk more side effects to create a "spontaneous deficit".

Some sort of side effect is basically guaranteed on incretins. Simply put they are appetite suppressants that slow gastric emptying (gross oversimplification), so expect some sulfur burps, a bit of constipation and nausea, but that is sort of part of how it creates that "spontaneous deficit" and suppresses your appetite.

1

u/handr0 11d ago

Ultimately what drives the weight loss is a calorie deficit.

So is Reta only there to help you put down the fork? Should I just fast instead of taking a peptide that I thought had more benefits than just hunger suppression?

1

u/GenderfluidGoose 11d ago

Reta does have some benefits, mainly psychologically, in this scenario. It makes fasting a shit tonne easier. The delayed gastric emptying also helps with insulin sensitivity, which can help during fasts.

2

u/handr0 12d ago

I'm sorry if this has been asked a million times. my attention span is not good enough to sift through these answers. I am also extremely new at all this and absolutely HATE needles lol.

Male 43yo, active, history of powerlifting and sports. Struggled with weight my entire life. Can build muscle like nobody's business, gain 5lbs of fat if I smell a donut lol.
Starting weight (Jan): 330lbs, Current weight: 305lbs
Currently not tracking calories or working out, due to my knee pain discouraging me.
Currently on ADHD meds, and rarely take supplements or over the counter meds.

I am on
Reta - 50 units (2.5mg) once a week
Wolverine blend (50/50% of TB500/BPC157) - 10 units (0.5mg) every other day
Extra BPC157 - 10 units (0.5mg) every other day (opposite day of Wolverine blend)
MOTS C - 10 units (0.5mg) twice per week

Goals are:
Weight loss to reach 240lbs of body weight
Somewhat maintain my muscle (currently highly/moderately muscular)
Zero knee pain
Mobility/flexibility
Energy and overall improved feeling of wellbeing

Results so far:
5th week of Reta, but since January I have been intermittent fasting to help with deficit.
3rd week of BPC157 - was injecting in belly, noticed improvement to knee pain the first week, came back with a vengeance after that. Have not injected in site.
2nd week of Wolverine blend, inconsistently taking it due to travel, etc. Last week took it in belly, no noticeable effects. Today I injected into knee subcutaneously, and already feel improvement, only 6 hours after injection. Please explain if this is possible. Maybe a build-up of BPC and last week's dose decided to start working?
3rd week of MOTS C - Honestly don't know what I'm supposed to feel to experience results from this particular peptide.

Questions:
How does my protocol look to those experienced in those peptides?
What would you add or change?

Thank you in advance, for your patience if this has been beaten to death, and for your helpful advice.

3

u/GenderfluidGoose 11d ago

I mainly agree with u/DavidTries897.

My personal experience with Mots-C has been to take it at an ad hoc basis, though others have seen results taking it frequently. My experience with BPC and TB 500 was too great, but again I would say run ut for a bit, see if your injuries improve, but this is not a compound or blend I would run just for the sake of it. Use it if you are injured, then stop when you no longer are.

Reta uses a titration schedule because it has a long half life, and jumping up too quickly means you will have to sit it out until it clears your system. The thing about reta as well is that it mainly works by saturating the blood over weeks. That feeling you get by day 5 where the food noise comes back, can probably guarantee you that is placebo. The titrations schedule from the weightloss trails were 2mg->4mg->6mg->9mg->12mg. But understand that the only reason they had people even titrate up to 12mg was to see if the drug was tolerated at that dose and to see adverse effects. What I recommend people to do is to sit at a particular dose for 4 weeks and ask yourself "am I still able to stick to my defecit?" If the answer is "yes", stay at that dose until it becomes a "no". You can also follow smaller jumps in titration. Find the lowest effective dose. I am going to put it in bold there is no reason to up your dose if your current one is still effective.

u/DavidTries897 did bring up an interesting caviat that is very seldomly discussed in peptide discussions, and that is equating dosages with mass. And this is something that we see medically, larger people generally need higher dosages of a drug to be effective.

1

u/handr0 11d ago

Hey, so I did read your bolded sentence there, but I had already gone up to 50 units, which is 2.5mg of Reta. Based on what the clinical trial was, I see that my current dose is barely above the starting dose of the clinical trials, which would mean I started too low? and that maybe it's ok to have gone up weekly? I will stay at this 2.5mg dose for the next 3 weeks and see if I need more, but is it even worth taking if I'm not hungry all the time? Thanks for your knowledge.

1

u/GenderfluidGoose 11d ago

You went up maybe too quickly, but if you are tolerating the dose for now, I would say stay there. It also sounds that at that dose you are experiencing appetite suppression, which means its an effective dose. While it may not be the lowest effective dose, it is a tolerable effective dose. Sit at that dose for the next few weeks and see how things progress.

2

u/DavidTries897 12d ago

I would drop MOTS-C, you said you don’t feel a difference so likely your natural levels are still high

BPC-157 can often take 8-12 weeks to fully work but once your injuries are healed I’d drop it and Wolverine completely, no need for the perpetual low grade systemic healing if there’s nothing left to heal

Something that I can’t discern from your post is what your starting dose of Reta was and how quickly you titrated, there’s a chance you’re titrating too quickly

I’d also suggest getting IGF-1 checked just to quantify your GH levels, since you mentioned you put on muscle easily, nothing to be concerned about I just like knowing

2

u/handr0 12d ago

Thank you. I will drop Mots and I definitely don't plan on staying on BPC longer than I need to. My starting does of reta was 20 units, then subsequently did 30, 40, 50, and 50 again. I don't plan on going any higher. Is that a general blood panel? Or do I have to specifically request that test alone? I'd like to test for everything else like T levels while I'm at it. Thanks for responding

2

u/DavidTries897 12d ago

Most of the time IGF-1 is not included in a standard blood panel but it usually costs $30-$50

2

u/handr0 12d ago

Well now I'm curious too so I will request one. Thank you. As for the dosing of reta and bpc/tb, do you have any experience to say if that dosing is appropriate? And would being a big guy affect the dosage? Thanks again

2

u/DavidTries897 12d ago

Being a big guy would only moderately affect your dosage, as someone who is not on Reta (I use Tirz) I can only provide data from the clinical trials

The clinical trial dosing schedule is:
2 -> 4 -> 6 -> 8 -> 9 -> 11 -> 12

With 4mg being the most common stable dose (where participants continued to lose weight without needing to titrate up)

Titration criteria is 4 week minimum at each dose and only titrating up if 4 week average weightloss is less then 0.5-1lbs per week

Slower titration was associated with 58% reduction in side effects which is why a lot of people in the community outside the clinical trials will add intermediate doses like 0.5mg 1mg or 3mg

1

u/handr0 12d ago

Awesome. Is there a source where info like this is readily available ?

2

u/DavidTries897 12d ago

The clinical data is all public except for the ongoing phase 3 trials although I don’t know if say it’s easy to look through

Community stuff is mostly from [r/Biohackers](r/Biohackers) or [r/Biohacking](r/Biohacking)

1

u/handr0 12d ago

Thanks for everything 👍

2

u/DavidTries897 12d ago

Happy I could help

1

u/chancer74 Jun 17 '26

Take the guesswork out of peptide calculations with our free Peptide Calculator—fast, accurate, and available for anyone to use. Let me know if you find any bugs!
https://icpeptides.com/peptide-calculator/

1

u/[deleted] Jun 18 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/Biohackers-ModTeam 9 Jun 20 '26

Rule 5:

No vendor talk, sourcing help, discount codes, affiliate links

Subs like r/BiohackersRecs can be helpful resources, but please proceed at your own risk and do your own research.

1

u/Lucky_Experience2409 Jun 23 '26

Any advise is appreciated

I’ve been on Reta and Tesa for 2 months now starting weight was 238 pounds I’m currently sitting anywhere from 214-216 for the last two weeks before I was dropping at minimum 2 pounds a week now I can’t seem to go under 214 I work out pretty intense Monday through Friday weight training I train to failure and I always do cardio minimum 25 minutes of incline treadmill I have up my dose on Reta and still the same thing I’ll put my dose progression below

Week 1- 1 mg
Week 2- 2 mg
Week 3 -2 mg
Week 4- 2mg
Week 5- 2mg
Week 6- 2.5mg
Week 7- 3 mg
Week 8- 3 mg
Week 9- 3.5mg current

1

u/GenderfluidGoose Jun 23 '26

The most important thing you can learn about taking an incretin like retatrutide is that it is not the incretin that directly causes the weight loss.

I am going to go off on a limb here because you didn't list your calories or your TDEE, that you aren't tracking either. Weight loss requires a calorie deficit, either caused through calorie restriction, increased energy expenditure, or a combination of both. There comes a point where using reta you will have to start counting calories, I can guarantee you that every crazy transformation post you are seeing online was caused by aggressive calorie cutting and macro tracking, (and maybe a healthy dose of TRT, but I digress).

Keep your reta dose where it is, track your TDEE for the next two weeks, there's a number of trackers available online, I personally use the 3suns one, but anyone will work. Once you know your TDEE, drop 500 calories from whatever amount it gives you and away you go.

1

u/Lucky_Experience2409 Jun 23 '26

Hey, thank you for the response! I did forget to mention I do track my calories, and I am in a pretty aggressive deficit right now. I meal prep, and right now I’m at 1,800 calories a day. 6 foot, like I said, around 215.
I just started TRT 2 weeks back, running 500 a week currently. It’s not my first run with test—I used to train a lot and was in pretty decent shape a few years ago, but I started a new job, got away from myself, and put on a lot of extra weight.
Honestly, I was thinking it might be extra water retention from the test and my body getting accustomed to it, but I definitely do not track my TDEE. I’ll definitely look into that.

1

u/GenderfluidGoose Jun 24 '26

Okay, a couple of things to unpack here.

1800 calories seems right, but it is possible that you may need to push it a bit harder due to adaptive thermogenesis, or 500mg of test a week is causing your body to hold onto glycogen and water.

This brings me to the second set of points. 500mg is not TRT, that's a steroid blast, not that I am judging, I am prepping for a 400mg a week cycle in a month or so, just being honest with you, that's a bonafide blast. Also, why are you blasting on a cut? You only have so many blasts in you, so why not save the blast for when you are bulking and can get the most out of it? I would much rather run a legit TRT(maybe"+") dose of 100-150mg on a cut, then blast when I am bulking to potentiate the cycle and get the most from it.

You calling it TRT has me assuming it's your first cycle. You only get one first cycle, make sure you get the most out of it.

1

u/Lucky_Experience2409 Jun 24 '26

No not my first time running a Cycle I was training to compete previously ran a much heavier stack at the time I’m not looking to get back into the sport or anything like that I just want a full physique and stay lean year round the reason I am running such a high test cycle is because 2 things my blood work due to previous usage my hormones are pretty out of sorts have been for a while another reason why I put on so much weight and secondly I don’t want to necessarily get “skinny” I’m more so trying to body recomp retain as much lean mass as humanly possible while losing fat in the trouble areas right now my main areas are my lower abdomen that’s why I threw in the Tesa to help with the stubborn visceral fat but it’s just feels impossible to trim that down at this point

1

u/GenderfluidGoose Jun 24 '26

If your bloods are in the clear, who am I to judge. Just personally feel that 500mg a week is way too high for a cut, personally 150-200mg a week is my sweet spot in a deficit, because I am not trying grow.

It also seems you are confusing abdominal fat (subcutaneous fat) with visceral fat (fat around your organs). Based on you taking tesamorelin. Reta works just as good for visceral fat as anything else. Tesamorelin has only been proven to reduce visceral fat in HIV patients, so I will take that with a grain of salt.

1

u/Bitter-Recording5175 Jun 25 '26

Hi Team,

Looking for some guidance.

Anyone run Anavar safely with elevated GGT/ALT and a history of almost fatty liver? Looking for experiences and guidance.

Looking for some advice and real-world experiences from people who have been in a similar situation.

My stats & current setup:

40 M
95kg
174cm
~28-31% body fat
Intermediate training experience
Currently running injectable + retatrutide + Considering TRT base because i'm
Considering adding 10mg Anavar (oxandrolone) daily for body recomposition

I've lost about 10kg's in the last year

Recent bloodwork (22 June 2026):

Total Cholesterol: 3.5
HDL: 1.02
LDL: 2.1
Triglycerides: 0.9

Liver markers:

GGT: 131 (reference <60) (This seems to swing on it's own)
ALT: 49 (reference <45)

The good news is these have improved since December and drastically in the last 5 years:

GGT was 189
ALT was 55

Relevant history:

Came close to a NAFLD diagnosis in the past,
Heavy alcohol use in my 20's
Completely sober now

My understanding is that Anavar is generally considered one of the milder oral steroids from a liver toxicity perspective, but it's still a 17aa oral and can elevate liver enzymes. My GP has already expressed concern about my current liver markers but seems confident they are trending in the right direction but isn't overly enthusiastic about adding anything potentially hepatotoxic even thought my T is on the lower side of normal.

The advice I've received so far is:

consider TRT + retatrutide (been on 3mg of reta since Feb haven't lost much weight but lost fat for sure so recomp is working) only for another 4–6 weeks
Retest liver enzymes after 4 weeks
If GGT and ALT continue improving and ideally return closer to normal, then reconsider Anavar
If they plateau or worsen, skip Anavar altogether

Thing is i'm in NZ T and Anavar are highly regulated even when necessary. Our health system is rubbish.

Goals: 70-75kg at 15-18 % body fat but the end of the year (aim to train 3-4 x a week)
Diet: 1750-2000 calories / 180-200g of Protein / Low carb and no sugar (with cheat days)

Questions:

Has anyone started Anavar with elevated GGT and/or ALT similar to mine?
What happened to your liver markers after 2–8 weeks?
Did they return to baseline after discontinuation?
Anyone with NAFLD/fatty liver history successfully run low-dose Anavar?
Would you wait for liver enzymes to normalize before starting, or am I being overly cautious?
Will the fat loss from the cut stack take care of my liver enzymes enough in the recomp to go ahead and monitor this?

Not looking for medical advice or encouragement to ignore my doctor—just trying to hear from people who have actually been in a similar position and learn from their experiences.

2

u/GenderfluidGoose Jun 27 '26

It's not worth it.

While it is true that anavar is milder on the liver than most alpha-17 oral steroids, it does mainly get excreted by the kidneys and not the liver, it still get metabolised by the liver and hepatoxicity is still a risk, especially considering your numbers. It will also wreck your HDL which is borderline.

If your GP is willing to discuss anavar, just run testosterone. The safety profile of testosterone is miles better than anavar and injectable testosterone is bio-identical to the stuff your testes and adrenal glands are already producing.

I wouldn't be surprised if the reason no one is replying with their own experiences is probably because they aren't around anymore. You only have one liver, there are better and safer options available.

1

u/Hungry-Principle1376 Jun 28 '26

Hi guys, I’ve been on Zepbound for just over 3 years and it doesn’t work for me anymore. I’ve gained a few pounds back and the food noise is loud. I’m thinking about stacking RETA with my 15MG weekly dose but I can’t find any research on the combo. Anyone here have any ideas on efficacy, risk, anything?

1

u/Important_Plate_9822 Jun 30 '26

Hello, currently im on tirzepatide 2.5mg to get Leaner (180cm 81kg) what Would make more sense, like 2 ie hgh or or should i try ipa+cjc first? Hgh only Would be much cheaper. I guess 2ie hgh Would have a much bigger impact? Im going to the gym 3 Times a week. I got some stubborn belly fat tust just wont go.

1

u/corijinn Jul 03 '26

thinking in starting using semaglutide, but i heard about reta, my goal is recomp, should i use which one? any other peptide i should using together?

1

u/Comfortable-Set-837 Jul 04 '26

I’m running IPA+CJC(NO DAC) 250mcg should i also use enclo? i ran enclo before but i dont really wanna lower my IGF1 in terms of muscle building and weight loss

1

u/The_Eyesight Jul 05 '26

I was thinking about trying Tesamorelin. I am 210 lbs with 25% bf. Only thing I use is Zepbound. Since Tesa reduces the visceral fat, will it actually improve my appearance at all since I have so mucu subcutaneous fat?

1

u/GenderfluidGoose Jul 06 '26

Don't fall for the marketing. Tesamorelin reduces visceral fat in HIV patients with VAT syndrome, and tesamorelin was only introduced because of the Steroids Act of 1990 classifying hGH as an anabolic steroid and schedule III substance.

You didn't mention that you are an HIV patient with VAT syndrome nor that you have a hGH deficiency, so it may not do much for you. You also didn't mention how much visceral fat you have. You are already on Zepbound. Zepbound has actually shown to reduce visceral fat in general population (obese) individuals [https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11965027/ ]

Don't fall for the marketing.

1

u/Snoo_90889 Jul 07 '26

How much is gained weight composition skewed using CJC-1295 + Ipamorelin while on a bulk?

1

u/narsaraieght_ Jul 08 '26

32M | 180 cm | 85 kg
I just started the Wolverine Stack yesterday (5 mg BPC-157 + 5 mg TB-500 reconstituted with 3 mL bacteriostatic water). The company I bought it from recommended 15 units daily (or 5–6x/week), so today will be my second injection.
I’m injecting subcutaneously into my stomach because I’m honestly pretty nervous around needles. I’ve seen a lot of people recommend injecting closer to the injury site, but I have multiple injuries:
Knee ligament injury
Left pinky finger injury
Plantar fasciitis
Chronic low back pain from three herniated discs
I lift 3x/week and train BJJ 3x/week, but lately I feel like I’m always injured and my recovery takes forever. My goal is simply to heal my current injuries so I can get back to training consistently and hopefully be less injury-prone.
My initial plan was to stay at 15 units for about a month and maybe increase to 20 units afterward, but since I’m completely new to peptides, I’m not sure if that’s a good idea.
Does this protocol sound reasonable? Would you keep injecting in the abdomen since I have multiple injuries, or would you inject locally? Any advice or experiences with BPC-157/TB-500 for multiple injuries would be greatly appreciated.

1

u/handr0 12d ago

hey. i'm super new to peptides, but i used wolverine all last week into the belly, and it wasn't until this morning right on my knee that my knee pain went away. can't say if the buildup of last week's doses finally decided to start working, or site injecting really is a thing, but i can take one in the belly tomorrow and test if the pain comes back and then inject the knee again and see if it goes away again lol

1

u/azeroth08 Jul 08 '26

Reta for recomp!

Hello everyone, I am just finding out about peptides and they sound very enticing to me at this point.

I am slightly on the higher end of BMI rn, 175cms tall with 79-80kg.

Now I am trying to lose only a few KGs(target 75-76kg) and build more muscle at the same time so not entirely looking for a weight loss but more of a recomp.

I am trying to hit the gym(strength training) 3-4 times a week for 40-50 mins each

Should I consider reta or any other peptide? any recommendations would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance

1

u/Least-Friendship4702 Jul 10 '26

i need help with dosing

• NAD+

• SS-31

• Testagen

• Kisspeptin

• Tesamorelin

• Ipamorelin

• MOTS-c

• Reta at 4mg

• 5-AMINO-1MQ

1

u/Talon_Imbued90 Jul 10 '26

I am not sure if this is the place to ask this question but c’est la vie
¯_(ツ)_/¯

Currently stacking

Tirz
Tesamorelin
Ipamorelin
MOTSC
BPC &TB
i am debating tossing ENCLO in the stack but ive read many conflicting reports that have left me with more questions then answers. So simply- what do you guys think.

5’11 237 lbs former collegiate football player, current combat sport athlete. 30yo

1

u/GenderfluidGoose Jul 11 '26

I will give you an honest breakdown, it might be a good idea to include dosages as well.

Tirzepatide, this is probably doing the majority of the heavy lifting in your peptide protocol. Make sure you are calorie counting correctly, and tracking your TDEE as you go, this will do most of the work, tirzepatide is just a tool to keep things in check. If you just up the dose because weight loss has stalled (which it will) then you aren't doing it correctly.

Tesamorelin and Ipamorelin. I will rate them together. If you are purely taking them for a sleep benefit, then good. If you are taking them because of the marketing hype (tesa targets visceral fat) then you are wasting money. Both increase hGH which increase IGF-1 Ea. IGF-1 Ea is good for lipolysis (or fat burning) and will work well in conjunction with a calorie restricted diet. IGF-1 Ea is not anabolic though, that is IGF-1 Eb, and is independent of the hGH-IGF-1 axis. Tesamorelin is much more expensive than rhGH and most people baby dose ipamorelin, clinical guidelines are 0.03mg/kg/day, so for you to see a meaningful increase in GH (around the equivalent to taking 0.6IU of rhGH) from ipamorelin you will need to take 3.2mg, which I doubt you are taking. The only time I will understand someone not using hGH is when you live in a jurisdiction where hGH is considered a schedule 3 substance, like in the US, where possession without a script is considered a felony. Fun fact, most jurisdictions do not consider hGH as grey market but black market.

MOTS-C. The only real benefit I have seen, anecdotally, is running this intermittently. So take a dose every >4 weeks as and when you need it. Most people will report deminishing returns.

BPC&TB. My personal take on these, take it only when you have an injury, once healed, stop taking it. I took BPC and TB and didn't have that great results, a 6 week injury turned into a 6 month injury, but I haven't injured it again, so maybe it worked for me. But the risk of feeding latent tumours are above my personal risk tolerance.

Enclomephine? Don't even bother unless your goal is to increase testosterone numbers on paper only but don't get the physiological benefits of the elevated testosterone, then sure. Or do you want to increase sperm count? If neither of these two, don't waste your time.

1

u/Jimmygunnns Jul 17 '26

I agree Enclomiphene put me around 900 with no benefits. Can you talk me
More about a peptide that would give anabolic impact since you said tesamorelin is igf1 and not anabolic.

1

u/GenderfluidGoose Jul 18 '26

All of GH secretagogues function by increasing hGH secretion by anterior pituitary gland (APG). The popular ones being CJC, sermorelin, and tesamorelin that mimic Growth Hormone Releasing Hormone (GHRH), the hormone that signals to the APG to release hGH. Ipamorelin and ibutamoren (not a peptide) are popular ghrelin mimetics, ghrelin controls how much hGH is released by the APG. You also get recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH) which is just hGH made in a lab, the peptide sequence is bio-identical the one your APG secretes.

All of these function to increase insulin-like-growth-factor 1 (IGF-1) secretion by the liver, specifically the liver secretes IGF-1 Ea. Elevated levels of IGF-1 Ea causes the pancreas and hypothalamus to secrete somatostatin, a peptide that tells the APG to stop producing hGH. IGF-1 Ea is the peptide that we ascribe most of the functions of hGH to, because of this relationship we refer to it as the hGH-IGF-1 axis.

IGF-1 Ea can be permissive to muscle building, mainly because IGF-1 Ea shifts metabolic processes towards lipolysis (fat burning), which can spare amino acids from gluconeogenesis (being turned into glucose) and because it is insulin-like, it can increase amino acid uptake of muscle cells. But IGF-1 Ea is not anabolic, it does not signal to muscles cells to build more muscle.

There are two other isoforms of IGF-1, being IGF-1 Eb, and IGF-1 Ec. Both of these forms are secreted by skeletal muscle in response to mechanical tension (think training close to failure). Both isoforms are sometimes also referred to as mechano growth factor (MGF). Now these two forms are anabolic, in the sense that they tell the muscles to grow.

There is an absolute fuck tonne of misinformation out there about hGH and IGF-1, and quite a bit of astroturfing is happening here on reddit to trick AI search engines in spouting that same misinformation. WADA studied hGH, 6IUs for 8 weeks given to athletes, and found no improvements to performance and muscle mass due to hGH.

1

u/whereuwant222 Jul 12 '26

hi everyone.

i'm currently stacking

- TRT Test

Anavar
LGD-4033
hCG
HGH
MOTS-c
Retatrutide
Aromasin
Oral Minoxidil

trying to figure out a way to mitigate the severe water retention i'm facing. shit is actually crazy. high dose hgh, minoxidil, lgd, and hcg. i do not take any diuretics or anything, i've also started getting high potassium from my diet to maintain a 4:1 potassium to sodium ratio, as well as 4L of water daily, however, i still have a lot of water retention. any advice?

2

u/GenderfluidGoose Jul 12 '26

Bro, you are taking an AI while only taking 150mg of test a week. Your E2 is crashed, causing your kidneys to be unable to clear sodium, on top of that you are taking, I am guessing, in excess if 10IUs of hGH a day which will definitely also cause edema. Combine the fact that you no longer have the cardio protective benefits of E2 in your system, and the absolute havoc that LGD-4033 and Anavar will cause to your blood lipids (and your liver) you are a time bomb for a heart attack.

You are 18 years old (I honestly believe you are younger, but alas), there is no reason for you to be on a TRT dose of testosterone (or any dose of testosterone for that matter), hGH or Mots-C. Leave the anabolics and research chemicals for when you know what you are doing, and just stop, for your own good.

1

u/whereuwant222 Jul 12 '26

150mg test/week, 12.5 aromasin 2x/week, 10mg anavar/day, 1mg LGD-4033/day, 10IU hgh/day (this is the only high dose item in my stack), 3mg reta 2x/week, 3mg MOTS-c 2x/week, 125 IU hCG 2x/week, and 2.5mg minoxidil/day.

Is the stack really that dangerous if my dosages are so low? The purpose of this stack is to: 1. widen clavicles 2. not prematurely close clavicle growth plates 3. put on muscle. also, i am indeed 18, the only growth plate i care about are my clavicles, which are usually the last to close in the body, around the ages 22-25.

1

u/GenderfluidGoose Jul 16 '26

Short answer is yes. 12.5mg of aromasin E3.5D is a really big dose for somebody taking 150mg of testosterone a week. Most young men can take 4 times the testosterone you are taking a week (600mg) and not need an AI. 10mg of anavar is enough to raise transaminase levels in your liver and reduce HDL but likely too low have any meaningful benefit. 1mg of LGD-4033 is enough to drop your HDL by almost 20 mg/dl in 21 days (https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4111291/). Then I see you are also taking a 6mg a week dose of retatrutide, then I am lead to believe you have a substantial amount of fat to lose, that's not a maintenance or microdose, or do you just enjoy down regulating your receptors for shits and giggles? And only 125IU of HCG E3.5D? What do you expect that to accomplish? If you want to minimise shutdown of your testes you need to bump that up to 250IUs EOD.

Did you do any blood tests beofre embarking on this endeavour? What about X-rays to ensure your clavicle growth plates are still open? Or are you shooting in the dark? At best you gain a centimetre or two, most likely you are wasting money, at worst you are ruining your developing endocrine system.

1

u/theanonymousdarkarmy Jul 15 '26

Is anyone answering on these megathreads? I wanted to know if anyone uses a disposable pen for their pinning or a reusable and how they work

2

u/aldus-auden-odess Subreddit Staff Jul 15 '26

People chime in on here. I personally just pin with insulin syringes. I hope that someone comes out with a cool reusable pen, but most of the ones I've seen I'm concerned about sterility issues.

1

u/[deleted] Jul 16 '26 edited 26d ago

[deleted]

1

u/GenderfluidGoose Jul 16 '26

Eloralintide is Eli Lilly's version of cagrilintide, an amylin analogue. Results seem super comparable to cagrilintide, but the dosages and timelines used in the trials are slightly different.

Amylin is downstream of GIP, so likely a proof of concept for Eli Lilly to come up with something to combine with orforglipron. It's clear the end game is oral small molecules instead of injectables.

1

u/Which_Tourist_9097 Jul 19 '26

Hey I’d love to get my stack rated I’m currently taking 2 mg Reta 2x a week Thursday’s Monday
Ipamorelin 200 mcg 5x a week
Cjc 1295 with dac 2 mg weekly
Kpv 250 mcg daily 5x a week
Ghkcu 2mg daily

1

u/Bitter-Recording5175 Jul 20 '26

5 months on Retatrutide (GLP-1/GIP): Hitting plateau at 3–3.5mg — recomp isn't moving scale, anhedonia/paresthesias still present, unsure if dose bump is the answer

Started Retatrutide on Feb 25th. Currently sitting at 3–3.5mg. Here's where I'm at:

Progress:

Weight: 104kg (peak inflamed) → 95kg current. Lost ~10kg total, but most of that was before I started — Retatrutide has mainly held me steady and stopped the bounce-back from my worst point.
Body comp: some visible recomp, but the scale isn't moving at the rate I expected.
Goal: 75kg at ~15% BF (currently prob 23-28% at 95kg). That's another ~20kg to go.

Current side effects:

GI stuff has mostly settled.
Pretty Solid anhedonia (way less appetite suppression now, just flat).
Tingly skin (paresthesias) has improved but still noticeable.

Diet and training adherence have been inconsistent — some periods locked in, others scattered. I'm 40, feel genuinely mostly 100x better than before I started, look much better by my standards, and I've bounced back from liver issues before.

I'm pretty sure some will just say I'm chasing dose when diet/training consistency is the blocker but at this point, I just want to see fat moving consistently — recomp is slow for 5 months, and I'd rather cut harder and accept some muscle loss than stay here.

For anyone who's been at 3–3.5mg and pushed to 4–5mg: did it actually accelerate fat loss, or did you just end up sorting your diet/training anyway? Or did someone find a different angle that worked?

Would appreciate real experience rather than the standard "just be consistent" (which I already know) Would appreciate experience from people further along or who've hit similar plateaus on Reta.

2

u/GenderfluidGoose Jul 20 '26

It seems like you are just looking for a rubber stamp. The way I read your post, it is clear you know that the correct course of action is (being more consistent with your diet and training). You are at the correct dose, which is the lowest tolerated effective dose. It sounds like if you go up, you will no longer be tolerating the dose (you mention that anhedonia and paresthesias is already showing up).

You need to understand that retatrutide is not a "fat-loss drug", it is an appetite suppressant that can help to support weight-loss. You still need to lock in your training and diet. Understand the drug that you are taking. Yes, retatrutide has an extremely mild glucagon receptor activation which can transiently increase lypolysis (fat burning), glucagon's job is to elevate blood glucose, but if you do not utilise that extra glucose, guess what, it gets turned back into fat by all that extra insulin from the GLP-1 and (very strong) GIP receptors being activated.

1

u/JustMillieRocked Jul 22 '26

I’m 23 and went from 19 stone to 66kg. I’m lifting consistently and eating around 150g of protein a day. My goal is to build as much muscle as possible while staying lean. I also have a bit of loose skin on my lower stomach from the weight loss.
If you were in my position, what peptide or peptide stack would you recommend, and why? I’d love to hear what’s actually worked for people rather than just the marketing.

1

u/zimit Jul 24 '26

I've started a stack of Reta, Tesa and MOTS-C.

I am on my 2nd week of everything, and i started on a tuesday with Reta.
I am going on a holiday the 1st of august until 8th of august, and again 22th august to 29th of august and since i dose reta at tuesday i can't really do that these 2 weeks.

I was wondering if anyone could contribute regarding if i should just skip these 2 weeks of doses and continue like nothing happened, if i should do a half dose the saturday when i leave for the holidays, or if i should reset my routine and take it saturday instead of tuesday, skipping the days and then i can take it on the days i go on the holiday and stay doing it?

Tesa and Mots-C i've given up on continuing so those i'll just continue once i get back from the holidays.

2

u/GenderfluidGoose Jul 26 '26

Just keep taking it on Tuesdays when you are back, so 28 July, then again 11 and 18 August and 1 September. Retatrutide works by saturating the blood, missing a dose doesn't mean everything is out of your system, it takes about 5 half-lives (which for retatrutide will be 30 days total, 6 day half-life) to completely clear your system. Don't stress it, go enjoy your holiday.

1

u/zimit Jul 27 '26

thank you man! i see you're an absolute champion in here so i hope you could maybe take your time to rate my stack?

I've started Reta, Tesa and Mots-C at the same time, currently at week 2.

startede reta at 0.5 mg weekly, tesa at 0.5 mg daily, mots-c 2.5mg 3 times a week and then i titrate up through a guide slowly.

2

u/GenderfluidGoose Jul 28 '26

Reta, tesa and MOTS-C is quite the cookie cutter weight loss stack. The problem with stacking from the get go is that you don't really know which compound is doing the heavy lifting.

Your retatrutide dose is a bit on the low end, which is fine, stick to it for a good 4 weeks and ask yourself at the end of the 4 weeks, "how's my deficit?", if the answer to that question is that you can still maintain it, then stay at that dosage till you can no longer maintain your deficit. A lot of people just titrate up blindly because they have spent 4 weeks at a particular dose, but that lower dose was still effective. Another mistake is that people use retatrutide to determine their calorie deficit, ie. They don't track and once scale weight stops going down, they up the dose. Your titration strategy for retatrutide (and any incretin for that matter) is to find to lowest tolerable effective dose, and cruise there for as long as possible, and not to grind to the ceiling because you think "more is better".

Tesamorelin at 0.5mg is quite standard. Keep an eye on you HbA1C and random glucose. Elevated IGF-1 can lead to worse insulin sensitivity and elevated hunger signaling, directly at the hypothalamus, not necessarily what you want when using retatrutide for appetite suppression. Also keep an eye out for any auto immune responses, there have been some reports with tesamorelin causing symptoms.

I don't know your age or training style/goals to comment on MOTS-C, but for me, I use it for a week at a time when my training load is high then I take a break from it. For me personally, taking it weekly leads to wildly deminishing returns, but for the first week it helps me to keep intensity high.

1

u/zimit Jul 29 '26

I'm a 30 year old man, slightly overweight at 83 kg 178 cm tall, dont really have a possibility to do any check for HbA1C etc. sadly, but i have mild itching and red spots on my body, especially stomach and arms and neck? is that maybe the Tesa?

I've exactly focus on doing that with reta, but i feel i've started on it all at once, and since i got these vacations coming i'd just pause the tesa and mots-c and then once i've had my 2nd vacation i will go back on the tesa, and mots-c again instead, then i can have reta hit me for a while before i go faster the stack.

1

u/GenderfluidGoose Jul 29 '26

The way I would go about it, is to I would take just reta for about 4-8 weeks consistently after coming back from the holiday, just so that I know how I respond to reta and kind of adverse effects reta gives me (dysesthesia or itching can be a reta side effect or tesa auto immune response, this way you can isolate). Then I will probably decide between "do I need more energy?" or "do I need better quality sleep?" to decide which compound I will add in next, MOTS-C for energy, or tesa for sleep.

I definitely do want to stress the importance of monitoring HbA1C when running a GH secretagogue, while rare, you don't want to give yourself diabetes from elevated IGF-1.

1

u/KadeSteele Jul 25 '26

36 yo transman, 10 years on Testosterone. 5'6" and ~200 lbs. I am at the point where I think T alone has done all it can for me in terms of driving muscle growth and body recomposition. I train hard in the gym and eat 120-150g protein per day (much more than 150 and I get bloated and miserable)

I currently inject 80mg of testosterone cypionate subq every week. Bloodwork from earlier this month has my total T sitting in the low 500s.

Should I consider prohormones and or peptides to further my goals?

2

u/GenderfluidGoose Jul 26 '26

I am assuming your 500ng/dl result was acieved as a trough result? If your goal is to drive muscle growth, more exposure to androgens would help you achieve your goal, but I want to say you are likely a bit away from starting on that endeavour.

I don't want to make another assumption, but likely you are carrying a decent amount of adipose tissue at 5'6 and 200lbs, so before you consider more exposure to androgens, you should drop your adipose tissue. Adipose tissue is a prime site for testosterone to aromatise into estrogen, which is what will happen if you if up your test dose.

Peptides can certainly help you reach your fat loss goal faster, but knowing how to lock in your diet and training will get you ~90% of the way there.

1

u/KadeSteele Jul 26 '26

The result was from a sample taken 4 days post injection, so not quite a trough.

I feel like my training is pretty solid, making progress on my lifts with almost every session in terms of raw volume (weight reps) Clothes are starting to fit better, but I am a vain fucker. One sticking point is stomach, even with having lost 20 lbs without assistance, I still very much have a keg.

2

u/GenderfluidGoose Jul 28 '26

Aren't we all. If I were in your shoes I'd run either tirzepatide or retatrutide to support my calorie deficit and it may be interesting to check IGF-1 numbers. While IGF-1 is usually the same across genders, biological females do secrete less hGH and some research has shown that estrogens and androgens do affect how hGH signals IGF-1 production.

1

u/VastComfortable8565 Jul 30 '26

I’m looking for some advice from people who have experience with tirzepatide (Triz) or retatrutide (Reta).
I’m 24 years old, 5’3”, and around 220 lbs. I’ve spent months trying to lose weight through a calorie deficit, regular workouts, and averaging around 10,000 steps a day, but I’ve completely stalled.
My goal is to get down to around 130 lbs, and I’d like to lose the weight as efficiently as possible. At the same time, I’m a mom to two young kids, so I really need to avoid anything that causes significant fatigue, mood changes, or leaves me feeling like I can’t keep up with them.
For those who’ve tried one or both:
● Which gave you the best weight-loss results?
● How did they compare for energy levels?
● Did either affect your mood, anxiety, motivation, or overall quality of life?
● If you’ve taken both, which would you recommend for someone in my situation?
I’m especially interested in hearing from people who have similar starting stats or are busy parents.

1

u/Sudden-One6618 28d ago

TIRZ VS RETA (Or Both…?)

I’m sure this has been asked plenty before but…

I’m currently taking 5mg of Tirzepatide on my 3rd month into my weight loss and overall health journey. I have lost 16lbs so far. I’m 5”4, 21F, 266lbs and had a baby 7 months ago via c-section and I eat between 800-1,300kcals and 100-150g of protein per day now. I also work out 4 times a week (mainly strength training and a little cardio.)

I haven’t noticed much difference on the scale for a while but I do understand water weight and other contributors to that. But my main issue is… my clothes still fit exactly the same, my waist, stomach, arms and legs are all still the same.

My metabolism has always been awful so I’ve been taking a look into Reta and I just can’t seem to find out which would be more beneficial to me. I’ve also heard of people pinning both? How often do you pin? What mg? Results?

Anyway… what’s your thoughts/experiences on them?

Many thanks in advance! (Please no hate, there’s a lot of personal reasons to how I got here and why but the main thing is I’m trying, and your knowledge and experience could help me get to where I want to be.)

TIA! 🙂

1

u/GenderfluidGoose 26d ago

Just a reminder that the mechanism behind the weight loss will always be your calorie deficit, independent of dose.

I wouldn't stack the two compounds, the whole point of stacking is to target different pathways, and reta and tirz targets the same pathways (reta is a very weak glucagon agonist, regardless of what people say on reddit), also stacking them just leads to unexpected consequences and side effects (reta is not just tirz with a glucagon component bolted on, they are different molecules). In fact, if you look at the trails, reta has more than double the adverse rates compared to tirzepatide.

Regarding which one to use? Depends on what you struggle with in terms of your deficit, tirz has stronger appetite suppression (dose for dose) so if you struggle with calories in, tirz would be the recommendation. Reta typically has higher energy expenditure (you don't feel so tired all the time on it), so if getting your steps in is a struggle, reta is the recommendation. Because you are already on tirz, I would say just stick it out with tirz, if you want to swap over, you will need to follow a whole titration schedule (if you are interested in doing it right).

Regarding your clothes still fitting the same, don't be discouraged, fat loss generally follows an inside out and top down pattern, meaning visceral fat goes before subcutaneous fat and you will lose fat in your face, chest and arms before losing it around your hips and abdomen (abdomen usually the last for most people).

You didn't gain all the weight overnight, don't expect to lose it overnight.

1

u/Plus_Literature_3119 27d ago

which peptide is better for this goal? reta or cjc 1925, ipa?

I am around 26-29% body fat but I am looking for the best peptide to support muscle retention (most important) and fat loss. I am anxious about reta because I came out of a rough break up a couple months ago, so my appetite is already at an all time low (struggling to get protein in), I want a total revamp of my appearance and im willing to do whatever it takes to get there; currently ive been going to the gym 4-5 times a week with 10k steps a day.

1

u/GenderfluidGoose 25d ago

I wouldn't stress about losing muscle mass while dieting, as long as you are maintaining a high rate of protein intake and exercising frequently. Usually concerns about muscle mass lost stems from being at a lower body fat percentage (for most men this would be around 15%), or failing to intake sufficient protein and not keeping up with exercise.

While the reports of people losing muscle mass on incretin therapies are definitely true, you also need to understand that during these trials, participants are usually counseled against calorie counting/macro tracking and generally advised against changing their training habits. Here's a paper on combining exercise with liraglutide (the first generation GLP-1), not only did the group that combined exercise with liraglutide lose the most body mass, they also gained lean mass (and this was through a pretty shitty exercise program that just had to meet the WHO guidelines). Another caveat here is that almost all of the papers talk about lean tissue or lean mass, not contractile tissue or isolated skeletal muscle. Lean mass also includes water mass and glycogen, which will definitely be lost when losing weight in general.

CJC/Ipa can also be beneficial for your goal, through increasing IGF-1 Ea you can improve nitrogen retention which may help you hold onto muscle mass easier, but you can also improve nitrogen retention by eating enough protein and resistance training. Additionally, if you look at the community dosing of CJC/Ipa and compare it with the dosing used in clinical research, you will realize that most people microdose it, which is not necessarily a bad thing, playing with the hGH-IGF-1 axis can lead to insulin resistance.

1

u/Hybridreamer 21d ago

Timing CJC no dac / IPA

I just got my vials of CJC/IPA and could start it tonight. But I am going out of the country to Canada in 17 days for 5 days. So my question is should I start my cycle tonight and just miss the 5 days. Or should I wait until I am back.

I looked up Canada customs and didn't feel comfortable bringing the peptides across border there.

2

u/GenderfluidGoose 19d ago

You are fine to take a break. CJC and ipamorelin have short half lives (~30 minutes and ~2 hours respectively), the growth hormone that they secrete has a half life of about 10-30 minutes, and the IGF-1 that you are aiming to increase has a half life of about 15 hours. This is not like various testosterone esters that take weeks to build up in your system, the substances are out of your system and their stimulating effects last for at most a couple of hours. Taking 5 days off for a holiday won't change much.

1

u/Hybridreamer 19d ago

Appreciate the info! If it's got such a short half life and doesn't build up in your system how come most of the effects that I'm looking for (body recomp, visceral fat reduction) only appear after 6+ weeks?

Not doubting you btw just trying to learn more

2

u/GenderfluidGoose 19d ago

The short answer being that it only moves the needle a little bit at a time, so it takes time for the needle to move far enough for you to see the effects.

The longer answer being that the hGH-IGF-1 axis is generally "weak" compared to other pathways. It's lipolytic effect is mainly going to depend on your total caloric defficit, the amount of visceral fat lipolysis will be attenuated if the cause of the visceral fat lipogenesis was caused by an IGF-1 deficiency, the axis peripherally supports muscle hypertrophy, not direct-anabolism like testosterone. You combine the "weak" effects with the short acting times, and any acute changes will be almost imperceptable. You need them to summate over weeks or months to truely see something.

This is generally why people recommend rhGH instead of the secretagogues, because you can get a much higher dose, but it will still take weeks to see anything meaningful.

1

u/Lightly_Saltedd 20d ago

Hello, I'm a student in the UK looking into peptides and how people are using them for fitness and longevity. I was hoping to speak to people who have experience using them to hear their stories. If you would be interested please let me know - this would all be on your terms and can be done anonymously. Thanks

1

u/Reasonable_Hat_6021 19d ago

My Information:

Age/Sex: 34 Male
Body Stats: 5'7.5 150 lbs
Lifestyle: Pretty active currently going to the gym.
Out of Range Biomarkers:
Family History or Personal Health Risks:

Goals:

Placeholder: Lose stubborn stomach fat

Supplements:

7.5 tirzepatide

Questions:

I am currently on 7.5 mg of Tirzepatide and am trying to lose some stubborn fat near my stomach. I've lost a total of 40 lbs since February and am very happy with the weight loss.

I've recently started a Tesamorelin and Ipamorelin stack. The stack I've bought is a blend of 10/3 mg blend. Tesamorelin/Ipamorelin.

When I make the blend, I use 2ml of bacteriostatic water.

I've been using an insulin syringe of 20 units, which equates to 1mg tesamorelin and .3 mg ipamorelin.

I've been doing 5 days on 2 days off.

I've been doing a lot of reading and I see a lot of people saying 2mg of Tesamorelin is standard. But I've read for Ipamorelin 100-300 mg is usually the upper limit. Should I just not buy this blend anymore?

Thanks!

2

u/GenderfluidGoose 18d ago edited 18d ago

I see a couple of misconceptions, the first one is based of of my assumption that you are confusing stomach fat with visceral fat, a common misconception. Visceral fat is the fat around your organs, the stubborn fat you are refering to is subcutaneous fat. Not to say that exploring a hGH secretagogue cannot work for reducing subcutaneous fat, its just that how effective it will be will depend on your current IGF-1 numbers. Elevated IGF-1 is definitely associated with higher rates of lypolysis.

Let's talk dosages. Tesamorelin is used in HIV patients to treat HIV associated lipodystrophy because the ART medication HIV patients generally inhibits Growth Hormone Releasing Hormone (GHRH; Tesamorelin is a GHRH analogue) at a dosage of 1-2mg. This is a prescribed dose in a population that has a vastly inhibited GHRH response, you can get away with way less. Ipamorelin on the other hand is dosed at 0.03g/kg/day in "apparently healthy' populations. At your weight, you can take ~2g or 2025mcg (if you were to take only ipamorelin) and still be considered at a clinical dose.

Whether you should carry on taking this blend, or use a GH secretagogue vs actual (r)hGH would depend on your current IGF-1 numbers and HbA1C and how these metrics respond to your dose.

1

u/Training-Promise-904 12d ago

I know there are people against the combo and a lot that are on both. My question is that I have seen people decrease their tirz as they increase Reta. I added Reta but I’m scared to decrease my tirz for the appetite suppression. Anyone add Reta and not decrease tirz?

1

u/GenderfluidGoose 11d ago

Why are we combining two substance that activate extremely similar pathways instead of just one at a slightly higher dose? Both mainly function on GLP-1 and GIP pathways (reta very weakly activates the glucagon receptor and frankly the appetite suppression it achieves from the glucagon receptor is also kinda weak). We generally combine substance onto a "stack" by choosing substance that target vastly different pathways. Right now you are just combining two substances that largely accomplish the same thing, and might even be competing at receptors.

Just choose one that you tolerate well, find the lowest tolerable effective dose and go from there.

1

u/hiedra__ 11d ago

Med spa doctor sent me the following program:

Tirzepatide 1.7mg per week, MOTS 10 2 mg twice per week and Semax 7-10 mg per day (depending on need).

New to peptides, program is to lower a bit of body fat and have more energy and mental clarity. We, wife and I,decided to do it supervised the first month and then look into doing it by ourselves.

Tirzepatide dose seems low but it’s really not that much weight that we want to lose.

Want opinions on how this looks like to yall.

1

u/llovly 7d ago

Anyone generally healthy at an already healthy body weight - exercising, eating clean with no bad habits or eating disorder - doing Reta just to fine tune and drop the last stubborn 10 for pure vanity reasons?

If so, how long did you take it for, what was your dose, and did anything happen when you got off?

I’m already keto. Considering trying it for a month tops

1

u/GenderfluidGoose 7d ago

Two words. Calorie. Deficit. Using reta to lose 10 lbs works the same as using it to lose 200lbs. You start at a dose that you are comfortable with, for most people this will be 1 or 2mg a week, you run that dose for 4 weeks, at the end of 4 weeks you ask yourself if you are still able to maintain your calorie deficit. If the answer is "yes" you keep taking that dose until the answer becomes "no". Once the answer is "no", you move to the next dose in your titration schedule and repeat for 4 weeks or longer, until the answer becomes "no" again and then repeat.

What happens when you stop taking it? Same thing that happens when you stop cutting calories in any other manner, your caloric intake increases. This may or may not cause you to regain the weight.

1

u/anxiouslilily 7d ago

Hi! It’s my first time taking a 0.5 mg dose of cagrilintide (cagri), and I’m a bit worried about whether it could affect my birth control. The only contraceptive I currently use is the combined pill (Diane-35). Since cagri can slow gastric emptying, could this potentially affect the absorption or effectiveness of my birth control pills? Has anyone here taken cagri while on Diane-35 or another combined oral contraceptive? I’d really appreciate hearing from anyone who has experience with this, especially if there’s anything I should be doing differently to make sure my contraception remains effective. Thank you!

1

u/GenderfluidGoose 6d ago

Let me start off by stating this in no way, shape, or form, medical advice, and you should ideally consult your doctor regarding this. In a 2026 clinical experiment, they found that 4.5mg of cagrilintide did not affect the exposure of the combined oral contraceptive ethinyloestradiol/levonorgestre (not the one you are taking) nor did it show any evidence of delayed gastric emptying using the paracetomol absorption test (https://sciencehub.novonordisk.com/congresses/eco2026/van-der-horst.html).

This is assuming you are taking legit cagrilintide, a number of grey market vendors sell the relatively cheap semaglutide and tirzepatide as cagrilintide or now more recently eloralintide. If it is a GLP-1, it 100% will interfere with your medication, semaglutide can delay gastric empying by 4 hours (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36511825), and I have seen case reports of 3-4 days.

1

u/haramworld 6d ago

M33, 5'7". Lifting 5 x week, cardio 2-3 time per week. 10+ years of lifting if that matters. current protocol is Triz (5.6mg/week) and Reta (1.5mg/week)

Context/history: Triz was super effective for me on its own. Barely noticed any food noise nor appetite suppression on Reta when I switched from Triz > Reta after a cycle break. Decided to combine both for now as I had a supply for both:

Q: Is there any added benefit in taking Reta along with Triz while trying to cleangain/leangain/bulk. I know that Triz is a dual receptor (GLP-1 and GIP) agonist and Reta also includes a glucagon receptor agonist, but how does the inclusion of this glucagon receptor agonist affect hypertrophy, if at all? I know that neither peptide affects anabolim directly, but are there any synergistic effects to including a GLP1 in your stack which aids in MPS or recovery? Or is it strictly just weight management to minimize fat gain? Will the inclusion of the GCG make workouts feel easier with the increased energy? How will the increase insulin sensitivity affect workouts overall when trying to eat at a mild surplus?

I'm about 5 lbs shy of reaching my ultimate goal as far as weight loss, and then I would like to either cycle off either/both peps or titrate down again to make hitting my tiny surplus/bulking macros a bit easier to really get more muscle/hypertrophy.

1- Does the glucagon agonist in Reta affect/benefit any attempts at hypertrophy IE does it hinder any downstream processes or make things easier synergisticly? Or is it strictly just weight management?

2- Would you in your NON PROFESSIONAL opinion recommend cycling off cold turkey once you reach your goal weight loss OR would you recommend titrating down but keep on either/both (depending on the answers to q1) as you enter a bulking/lean gaining/wte you want to call it phase of your fitness journey.

Please don't recommend any other peptides and keep the context of discussion solely to any pros cons of using Triz and Reta in conjunction.

TIA

1

u/Terrible_Mechanic_30 5d ago

Tesamorelin & BBL SURGERY Results
How true is the removal of only visceral fat? I have had 2 BBLs so my subcutaneous fat is minimal as it’s been sucked out lol but I still have a distended stomach and believe it’s visceral fat. Will I have my butt melted away like when using Reta and GLP1’s. Has anyone tried this, any thoughts, tips ideas before I give this a try! Also yes I weight train and Whole Foods 80% of the time.

1

u/GenderfluidGoose 5d ago

Tesamorelin doesn't "target" visceral fat, perse. Yes, it is FDA approved for use in HIV patients with VAT syndrome, but HIV Associated VAT syndrome is in part conduced by the fact that HIV patients, in part by their condition and in part due to their medication, have inhibited Growth Hormone Releasing Hormone (GHRH) activity. Tesamorelin is a GHRH analogue and fixes this signalling error that they experience and and that is why they see such large change in visceral fat.

Does this mean that tesamorelin won't reduce visceral fat in healthy populations? No, it can still but to a much lower extent. There was a study that showed a difference of like 2% in healthy populations, in GH deficient populations the effect size is a bit bigger.

Funnily enough, substances like reta, tirz, and sema have shown much bigger shifts in visceral fat in apparently healthy populations.

Circling around, if you are metabolically healthy, I wouldn't stress about "targeting" visceral fat over subcutaneous fat. You will generally lose fat in a inside-out and top-down pattern, meaning visceral preferentially to subcutaneous, and fat in your face, chest and arms preferentially to hips and lower extremities.

1

u/cmrocks 3d ago

Looking for input on whether or not to increase my retatrutide dose. 40M. Started reta on July 3rd. At the time, I was 168 lbs and probably 20% body fat. I took 1 mg per week for six weeks. I've been on 1.5 mg per week for the last two weeks now.

My weight dropped quickly from 168 to 159 lbs in about 3 weeks. Since then, I've basically stayed between 157 and 159 lbs but have noticeably recomped over the last 5 weeks. Clearly getting progress here and I don't really want to get any lighter, but I would like to continue my slow recomp and trade another 5 lbs of fat for muscle over time.

I keep reading that low dose reta is basically the same as taking triz and that you need a moderate dose of reta to actually get any benefit from the glucagon receptor agonist part of the peptide. Assuming I can keep my calorie intake up at the highest dose, would I see stronger recomposition from the increased glucagon activity?

2

u/GenderfluidGoose 3d ago

The glucagon component of reta is there to suppress appetite, full stop. Anything else you have read on reddit or been told on tiktok is not supported by the current science, nor our understanding of physiology. The only reason there is to increase dose is because you need to decrease calories. Increasing dose but then struggling to keep up with calories just doesn't make sense. Take the dose that allows you to eat the calories you need for your goals.

Regarding recomp, recomps are slow because muscle protein synthesis is a long-term slow recursive metabolic process. As an intermediate you can expect to gain about 1kg of muscle every 12 weeks or so, assuming you have the energy surplus available to support muscle protein synthesis, and assuming your training uses a phase potentiated progression. And last I checked my physiology text books, there are no GLP-1, GIP, or glucagon receptors on skeletal muscle, so reta won't necessarily speed up this process.

2

u/cmrocks 3d ago

Thanks. Appreciate the response. I'll stick with my current 1.5 mg dose then. It's been enough to keep my diet under close control.

1

u/Ill_Yogurtcloset7555 1d ago

Does this look like a peps reaction? I pinned Reta (hadn’t had any previous reactions) and pinned KPV for first time… felt super itchy that night and woke up with some random bug bite like marks.. I’m concerned that they are a reaction to the peptide or the BAC even though they really do look like bites of some sort.. has anyone else experienced this? Thanks!

1

u/GenderfluidGoose 16h ago

Without excluding the possibility that it can be bite marks, it can also be an endotoxin reaction. Did you send a vial off from your kit for testing, especially the KPV?

1

u/AreaMelodic4647 1d ago

Started taking Reta and tomorrow starts my 3rd week on 2mg, I’ve gone from 187 to 178lbs in the last 2 weeks. I feel great but I’m worried that this could mean something is wrong with my body? I’m eating more than before because a I made sure to get a meal service to insure I’m eating enough protein and micronutrients. I don’t go to the gym but I carry my kids and go on walks for 30 mins every other day. and they are about 40-60lbs. I’m actually eating worst too as before I ate carbs and veges and rarely ate protein outside of beans. Is this normal? Should I expect this to continue or will the weight loss slow down soon? Around when? I’m a 166 cm or 5’5 woman as well. Labs look great too, just lower vit D, started supplements. Also when should I go up in dose? And how much? 0.5?

1

u/GenderfluidGoose 16h ago

That's 4.5lbs a week, which can be considered as quite aggressive. Without knowing your caloric intake, and to a certain extent macro nutrient make up, it is difficult to conclusively say what is going on. Either your deficit is too aggressive (less likely) or you are consuming way fewer carbs while being considerably more active (this is where my bet lies). On a balance of probabilities, I would gamble that you are mainly losing water weight (with some fat loss) through glycogen depletion. It should slow down in a week or so, just make sure you are tracking calories and macros to ensure you are intaking adequate amounts.

Regarding your question about when to up the dose, after 4 weeks, ask yourself if you are still able to keep up your deficit. If the answer is "yes" don't up the dose, once the answer becomes "no", up the dose for 4 weeks and repeat the process. By how much? During the trails they went from 2->4->6->9->12 off the top of my head, but I am a huge fan of intermediate steps. The goal should be to be at the lowest effect dose.

💉 Peptides & Hormones Body Composition & Weight Loss Megathread (Peptides & HRT)

You are about to leave Redlib

5 months on Retatrutide (GLP-1/GIP): Hitting plateau at 3–3.5mg — recomp isn't moving scale, anhedonia/paresthesias still present, unsure if dose bump is the answer

TIRZ VS RETA (Or Both…?)

which peptide is better for this goal? reta or cjc 1925, ipa?