A synthetic six-amino-acid peptide that copies the stomach's hunger hormone to make the pituitary gland release a burst of the body's own growth hormone. That pulse is well established; almost everything beyond it is unresolved. Hunger, stress-hormone output, and blood sugar rise, and fluid retention is common. Nearly all tissue-protection evidence comes from the single institute that developed it. (Full Review)

Protocol

Dose

100 µg subcutaneously

Response saturates near 1 µg/kg, so higher single doses add stress-hormone exposure without adding hormone release.

Frequency

2–3× daily

Two to three separated administrations; cycles of 8–12 weeks with 4-week breaks are typical.

Timing

Empty stomach

Commonly on waking, mid-afternoon, and before sleep; fasted-state dosing matters more than clock time.

Time to effect

Growth hormone pulse

30–45 min

Peaks after administration and resolves within about 3 hours.

Appetite surge

20–30 min

Immediate and the most reliable subjective marker that the material is genuine.

Body composition

8–12 weeks

Where changes occur at all; IGF-1 needs 2–3 weeks of consistent dosing to reach a new steady state.

Benefits

High: Acute, dose-dependent release of endogenous growth hormone

Medium: Retained growth hormone response into later adulthood; stimulation of appetite and food intake

Low: Preservation of lean mass under catabolic stress; modest increase in light sleep; reduced disability after severe ischemic stroke

Speculative: Cardioprotection after ischemic or toxic myocardial injury; accelerated wound closure and reduced hypertrophic scarring; cytoprotection of liver, gut, lung, and kidney; mitochondrial and antioxidant support relevant to biological aging; bone formation and preservation of bone mineral density

Contraindications

Recombinant human growth hormone

Somatostatin analogues (octreotide, lanreotide, pasireotide)

Active malignancy, or in remission for less than 5 years

Proliferative diabetic retinopathy, or non-proliferative retinopathy under active ophthalmological follow-up

Uncontrolled type 2 diabetes (hemoglobin A1c above 7.5% or fasting glucose persistently above 126 mg/dL)

Untreated moderate-to-severe obstructive sleep apnea (apnea-hypopnea index of 15 or more events per hour without established treatment)

Active Cushing's syndrome, or systemic glucocorticoid therapy above roughly 7.5 mg prednisone-equivalent daily

Severe hepatic impairment (Child-Pugh Class C)

Advanced heart failure (New York Heart Association Class IV)

Pregnancy and lactation

Competitive athletes in any sport subject to anti-doping testing

Inability to source material with independent analytical verification of identity, purity, and sterility

Key Interactions

Glucocorticoids (prednisone, dexamethasone, hydrocortisone)

Insulin and insulin secretagogues (glipizide, glimepiride, insulin itself)

GLP-1 receptor agonists (semaglutide, tirzepatide, liraglutide)

Dopamine-blocking medications (risperidone, haloperidol, metoclopramide, amisulpride)

Other growth hormone secretagogues and GHRH analogues (sermorelin, tesamorelin, CJC-1295, ipamorelin, MK-677)

Thyroid hormone replacement (levothyroxine, liothyronine)

Oral estrogen therapy and combined oral contraceptives

Androgens and testosterone replacement

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (ibuprofen, naproxen)

Supplements with additive growth hormone effects (arginine, ornithine, glycine, gamma-aminobutyric acid, alpha-glycerylphosphorylcholine, melatonin)

Supplements that blunt the response (fish oil, medium-chain triglyceride oil, fat-containing meals)

Supplements that oppose the metabolic risk (berberine, chromium, myo-inositol, magnesium)

Risk & Side Effects

High: Marked appetite stimulation and unintended weight gain; activation of the stress-hormone axis; reduced insulin sensitivity and rising fasting glucose

Medium: Fluid retention, peripheral edema, and nerve compression symptoms; contaminated, misidentified, or mislabelled product

Low: Prolactin elevation; receptor desensitization and loss of response; injection-site reactions; sweating, transient flushing, and slowed heart rate

Speculative: Promotion of occult tumor growth through IGF-1 signaling; cardiac structural remodeling under sustained growth hormone elevation

Monitoring

Marker	Target	Why
IGF-1	100–170 ng/mL in adults over 40; below the 75th percentile for age and sex	The only meaningful readout of whether the peptide is working
IGF binding protein 3	3.0–4.5 mg/L	Shows how much IGF-1 is bound versus free and biologically active
Fasting glucose	75–86 mg/dL	Earliest marker of the insulin-antagonizing effect of growth hormone
Fasting insulin	2–5 µIU/mL	Detects loss of insulin sensitivity well before glucose moves
Hemoglobin A1c	4.8–5.3%	Confirms whether a glucose rise has persisted over months
Morning cortisol	10–15 µg/dL at 8 a.m.	Detects the stress-hormone activation that is intrinsic to this peptide
Prolactin	Below 10 ng/mL in men; below 15 ng/mL in women	Detects the class's modest prolactin elevation before symptoms appear
TSH and free T4	TSH 1.0–2.0 mIU/L; free T4 in the upper half of the reference range	Thyroid status materially alters the response and must be stable before assessing it
Apolipoprotein B	Below 80 mg/dL, or below 60 mg/dL where cardiovascular risk is elevated	Growth hormone elevation shifts lipid handling; this is the most reliable marker of that shift

Cadence: Full panel before the first dose; IGF-1 at 3 weeks; fasting glucose, fasting insulin, and hemoglobin A1c at 4–6 weeks and again at 3 months; prolactin and morning cortisol at 6 weeks; thereafter the full panel every 3 months while dosing continues, and once more 2–3 weeks into any off-period.

Qualitative Assessment

Hunger intensity and timing after each dose, and whether it is still present after 6–8 weeks
Sleep quality, time to fall asleep, and night-time waking, since sleep architecture is directly affected
Morning puffiness in the face and hands, and ankle swelling by evening — the earliest signs of fluid retention
Numbness or tingling in the hands, particularly overnight, which signals nerve compression from retained fluid
Joint aching and muscle soreness disproportionate to training load
Waist circumference measured weekly under identical conditions, which tracks the appetite-driven fat gain that a scale weight alone can mask
Recovery quality between training sessions, and whether perceived exertion at a fixed workload is falling
Energy stability through the afternoon, which degrades early when glucose control is deteriorating
Libido and, in women, cycle regularity — the earliest symptomatic signals of prolactin elevation

GHRP-6 for Health & Longevity

Protocol

Benefits

Risk & Side Effects

Monitoring

Qualitative Assessment