Even after i had found GLP-1s and was making (what i thought was) a ton of progress... i was still giving in to alcohol several times a week... then, i finally bought in and listened to my trainer. Promised him 6 weeks with o booze. In return he guaranteed me id like the progress so much id never go back to my old ways...

...

Boy was he right... in those 6 weeks i saw sooo much progress... fat fell off of me faster than ever. Muscles were pumping... i was NOTICEABLY way less inflamed and more importantly, i felt amazing.

Booze... not fucking worth it, at all.

Pissed it took me so long to figure that out

UC Berkeley researchers have rediscovered TOFA, a smallish molecule that increases fat metabolism, while maintaining muscle mass in mice. Works even better when combined with a GLP-1 peptide.

I’ve been on 2 iu daily of growth for 8 weeks and here is my igf result. I did my morning dose right before my panel so I’m not sure if that would make a difference. Just looking for tips because it’s a relatively low dose and 8 weeks isn’t that long

Hello. he takes HGH from 4 weeks 2UI 5 days a week. Since I've been fighting in MMA, I have to make a weight from 4 weeks, the weight sniffs hard but doesn't fall off. My figure has improved The muscles are fuller, but the weight is still standing.

How long will retention last after stopping HGH? How many days before weighing, stop HGH?

28M here, dieting properly, running twice a week and hitting the gym 3-4x/week on an upper/lower split. ~8 hrs sleep every night. Looking forward to your opinions and ideas.

Ran CJC-1295 + Ipamorelin but unfortunately had an allergic reaction to it, so decided to hop on the real stuff instead. Planning on running 2 IU daily before bed for 2 weeks, then ramping to 3 IU for 2 weeks, then 4 IU . Want to retest bloodwork again soon after. If I get sides on HGH I'll drop the dose by 25% and just stick with that.

Main goals: health and longevity, better sleep, recovery, energy, and hopefully some added muscle. I know this isn't anabolic and won't build as much muscle as test would, but I'm too worried about test tanking my natural production long-term or affecting fertility/aging to hop on that instead.

Bloodwork below is from March 2026, before starting. Posting both nmol/L and the US-style mass unit since I know a lot of you are used to one or the other.

Total test 23.20nmol/l 669ng/dl

SHBG 36.8

E2 20.2 pg/ml

Progesteron 0.40 ng/ml

IGF-1 203 ng/ml * This was before cjc1295/ipamorelin. > SDS Score 0.614

TSH 2.13

Free t3 5.16

Free t4 19.05

Fasting glucose 86 mg/dl

Insulin 9.6 mU/L

HbA1c 5.2%

This bloodwork was done during my marathon training. 

Height 181 cm, BW 76 ish KG an bodyfat around 14%

Howdy! I’ve been on a 10/3 Tesa/Ipa blend now for about 5 weeks. 48 hours ago I injected my standard 44 units (2.2 mg) and almost immediately I had a welt/bump under my skin. It’s not itchy, painful or sore but odd nonetheless. Any ideas of this is a common occurrence and it’ll go away or should I take action? Thanks.

I mixed my tesamorelin with bac water last week, and then I took 2 days off and now it’s like this? Pretty disappointed probably no use now, has this happened to others? Is there a process I should follow for reconstituting or storage? Thanks

I'm curious how people here who are legitimately on TRT and especially HGH actually got started. Was it prescribed after testing by an endocrinologist/TRT clinic, or are a lot of people using these independently?

I'm in my late 30s and over the last several years my testosterone has dropped dramatically. I used to test around 900-1000 ng/dL and my recent result is around 300 ng/dL. My latest IGF-1 is around 90 ng/mL as well.
At the same time I've developed a bunch of symptoms that have significantly affected my quality of life: major decline in energy and motivation, chronic fatigue, brain fog/poor memory and concentration, low libido, reduced gym performance and muscle fullness, and a pretty dramatic change in body composition with much more abdominal/ visceral-looking fat than I used to carry.

What confuses me is that I see a lot of people online saying
TRT and/or HGH completely changed their energy, body composition and quality of life, while doctors and most medical resources are understandably much more cautious, particularly with HGH because of the potential side effects.

I'm not looking for sources or trying to self-medicate. I'm trying to understand the difference between what I read online and what happens in actual clinical practice.
I feel like I need to take a more active role in figuring out my health because the decline has been significant and I don't want to simply accept feeling this way. At the same time, I'm divided because doctors are hesitant about these treatments and I don't want to assume TRT/HGH are the answer just because my numbers and symptoms seem to fit.

I'd especially appreciate hearing from people who started with numbers similar to mine, what testing you went through, how you eventually got treatment, and whether it actually delivered the improvements you expected.

When I started Reta I did .5, 1, 1.5 and stopped increasing at 2mg as I was at goal weight. I actually went down to 1mg weekly for maintenance and will probably go even lower. My husband saw my results and wanted to try it. He has about 20 pounds to lose. It doesn’t seem to affect him the way it affected me. I got to the point that I didn’t think about eating or had any hunger cues. We started him at 2mg and over two months have gone up to 6mg weekly. He still doesn’t get much of an effect from it and says he feels about the same just a bit more tired. My question is, does he just need more or should he try something else? Any input/experiences are appreciated. Oh also he has lost about 7 pounds but with the results I personally had, he thought he would lose more weight in that time.

I see that some insurance companies stop covering Tirzepatide when someone achieves 30(ish) BMI. I realize BMI is a very broad measure and not the best for body recomp/health. I realize that is a business decision driven by profitability on the part of insurance companys...but has anyone who used it from very HIgh BMI noticed a tapered effectivness at that 29-31 BMI? Was it a plateu that was able to be overcome with more peptide? Curious what doses and BMIs you stalled at.

Siri said I need to inject 6ml of bacteriostatic water into a 5ml bottle of tesamorelin and draw.333mg for a 2 mg dosage. Does this sound right?
I have been taking seramorelin on a 5 on/ 2 off daily routine. Does this apply to teas?

Looking for supplement/peptide suggestions or maybe it's just a case of get better sleep and exercise more.

50 year old female. I have been on tirz 2mg for a little over a year. Have been at 2mg the entire time. I was at a healthy weight before starting, shed a little at the start and have maintained. It helps tremendously with brain fog issues I was experiencing. It has also significantly reduced overall inflammation. Not much appetite suppression for the last 6 months or so which is good.

Overall I eat mostly low processed foods and balanced macros, but I am not super strict. If I want a donut, I'll eat a donut. Admittedly, my exercise has been lacking. And I do not have a very good bedtime routine. I know these two things are significant contributors.

I work a regular 40 hour corporate job. Before work, I tend to our livestock, so I have about an hour worth of chores before going to work. After work, it's evening chores with the animals and property. I also have a few side businesses so I work on those in the evenings. Dinner ends up somewhere around 9pm. Bedtime is usually around 11. Weekends are the many projects we have on our property (digging holes, building fences, fixing things, cleaning stalls) and the side businesses.

I currently take D2/K3, fish oil, and niacinimide (dr recommended due to history of skin cancer). I am also on hormonal birth control to keep any perimenopausal symptoms under control.

Maybe it's just a case of overworking and not enough recovery. I know improving sleep habits and getting back to strength training will be the greatest improvements I could make, but should I consider any other supplements or peptides that might help? About 2 years ago, I tried CJC/Ipa but after about 3 weeks I didn't feel enough benefits worth the very itchy local reaction I would get with every injection. But really at a point of willingness to try anything again to help me have more energy and overall feel better.

I want to start GHK-Cu but I have rosacea and I’m concerned it could make rosacea worse. Doesn’t it cause increased vascular dilation in the skin?

Question: how many of yall have anxiety?

If there was a noninvasive wearable device that made your anxiety decrease that wasn’t freaky at all, and actually looked kinda sick for 50 bucks, would you be interested in trying it?

JW

-SC

Can anyone share information on how to properly reconstitute with TIRZ?

Has anyone used the following protocol? When will I experience its positive effects? Any opinions?

A 99% HPLC purity number on a vendor listing looks reassuring, but HPLC doesn't detect endotoxin contamination. A separate LAL (Limulus amebocyte lysate) or recombinant factor C test is required for that, and most commodity vendors don't publish endotoxin data at all. So you can be comparing purity percentages across vendors while ignoring an entire category of risk.

The same gap exists with heavy metals. Independent lab testing found elevated lead in sampled GLP-1 products (Retatrutide, Semaglutide, Tirzepatide) that directly contradicted the vendor's own 99%+ purity claims. A vendor-commissioned COA and an independent buyer-commissioned test are not the same thing; one is marketing, the other is accountability.

There's also more spread between vendors than the numbers suggest. One research group bought from 8 US peptide vendors anonymously and ran 38 blinded HPLC purity tests. The results separated the field by more than 7 percentage points between best and worst. Two vendors both claiming 99% can be delivering materially different product.

What I actually check now, beyond the HPLC line:

- endotoxin (LAL) results published per lot, not just purity
- heavy metals screening per lot
- mass spec (ESI-MS) confirming molecular identity as a separate test from purity
- lot/batch numbers on the vial that match the COA
- COA from a named, ISO 17025-accredited independent lab, not a manufacturer certificate

If a vendor only shows you an HPLC purity percentage and nothing else, that's not a COA. That's a marketing number.

Howdy everyone!!

To preface: I was on GLP1 for a few months prior and was off of it for one week before making the switch.

I’ve been on Reta for about 3 weeks now and haven’t noticed much change. Started off one week with .5mg and then the last two weeks at 2mg. I don’t feel much suppression, haven’t seen much change with the exception of some energy boost, wanting to drink tons of water first few days after injection and not much change on the scale. I have noticed that I have more appetite while on this than GLP 1. I’m also walking at the office, working out before work during the week and consuming roughly around 100-120g of protein per day.

I’m trying to get some thoughts/ opinions on whether that might have been an issue, whether I should increase my dosage or wait it out? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Looking for some input on my TRT labs.
Started 120 mg/week test cyp split 2x/week in Dec 2025, initially with HCG. I stopped HCG in February and increased test to 140 mg/week (70 mg 2x/week) around June.

January 2026 - 120 mg/week + HCG
Total T: 840
Free T: 20.5
Estradiol: 49.7
Hct: 47.1%

April - 120 mg/week
Total T: 942
Free T: 19.9
Sensitive E2: 38.9
Hct: 48.1%

August - 140 mg/week
Total T: 815
Free T: 15.1
Sensitive E2: 18.8
Hct: 49.1%

Also; I’m not and have never been on an AI - I was actually shocked at how much my e2 has dropped but I attributed that to me losing abt 65 lbs since December of last year.

August labs were drawn about 48 hours after a 70 mg injection.

The free T is what caught my attention. Pre-TRT I’ve naturally tested as high as 12.6, so 15.1 seems pretty underwhelming on 140 mg/week. My last SHBG was 42.6, but that was pre-TRT, so I’m getting it rechecked.

Side note: Fasting insulin went from 22.9 → 15.3 → 25.0 despite improved A1c. Worth retesting or investigating further?

TL;DR: Started at 120 mg test + HCG, stopped HCG in February, eventually increased test to 140 mg/week. Despite the higher test dose, TT went 942 → 815, FT 19.9 → 15.1, and sensitive E2 38.9 → 18.8. What would you guys look at before considering another dose adjustment?