CJZ
#411
I find him Seeds good source as well (one of many) and the fact that he’s a practicing physician (one of many using peptides) and supports medical education and general education is great for the advancement of these important molecules.
On the broader topic of this thread: Little of what we’re doing here (or at least talking about, as I can’t say what others are doing) is without some risk and I believe in the pursuit of longevity / healthspan, we’re all taking risks.
Dietary supplements are some of the least tested compounds on the market and yet few (outside this and other groups like it) even research the things they ingest in the pursuit of “health”. I’m quite confident myself, and for many others in this group, that if I’m using a compound then I’ve investigated it (and it’s source) to the best of my ability, understand the (many) possible risks, measure exhaustively (I run quarterly comprehensive labs, many spot labs, annual liquid biopsy, bi-annial full body MRI, periodic other diagnostic test, etc) and know and measure the impacts I’m expecting (and discontinue when I’m not seeing the desired result). To be at the tip of the spear we’re all taking some level of risk and for some of us, that risk includes using research chemicals, sourced as best we can, from the most reputable providers, validated as best we can through testing and crowdsourced feedback.
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aussimi
#412
I am interested in trying some of the peptides but there are so many different sources that it’s hard to know which ones are trusted reputable sources. For those of you here who use them, where do you get yours?
Ulf
#413
After some pain when injecting GHK-Cu in the belly, I followed advice by injecting (also subQ) in the glutes (top outer corner). Pain- and hassle-free.
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CJZ
#414
Hi @aussimi, I’ve used products from Peptide Solutions, Solution Peptides, and Limitless Life Nurotropics, all with success in that I had no issues and generally was able to identify either the benefits I was looking for or no side effects / no results (we’re all Nof1 so, not everyone is going to have an “amazing” result with every peptide but, you obviously don’t want any negative consequences.
All of those vendors were recommendations from meaningfully sized communities, of like minded people, in other groups I belong to, who all compare notes regularly and keep an eye on each other and the vendors.
To the points raised above, no one can guarantee these vendors are operating 100% above board nor that there aren’t “mistakes” given this is an unregulated way to get these compounds but, based on the community support from the communities I belong to and the successful (or at least non-harmful) results me and my family have had with peptides from these companies, I’m comfortable using their products.
In addition, based on the positive feedback from a number of members of this esteemed group, I plan to add Skye to that list and give them a try as well.
I personally test extensively with significant blood work, constant monitoring of BP, regular blood glucose monitoring, and other spot checks depending on what I’m taking and I alway monitor closely when adding a new compound or trying something for the first time. I would recommend choosing one goal and one vendor and starting very slowly to assess how you react. It’s tempting once you pull the trigger to try and address “everything” that’s been ailing you all at once but, that is definitely not the way to go with peptides. Low dosing and slowly assess any you try.
Good Luck!
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aussimi
#415
Thank you for the recommendations!
Tim
#416
Dr. Koniver adds his voice to the board-certified chorus of internet personalities who blithely declare that peptides have no side-effects. Meanwhile, Dr. Seeds wrote in his eminently readable book that a major side-effect of at least five popular peptides is “peripheral edema.” i have injected one of those peptides-- CJC-1295/Ipamorelan–about 10 or 12 times. Each time I use it, it gives me a club foot that swells beyond the confines of my shoe.
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No drug that I know of doesn’t have serious side effects for some users.
When used correctly, the odds are that most people will not have any adverse side effects from the common peptides.
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As I’ve been looking more into why so many peptide companies have excipients in their peptides it has become more obvious as to why… and the answer to that may also affect accurate dosing.
Weighing 2mg, 5mg even 10 mg in single vials is not easy to do in mass production. For a variety of reasons, density varies greatly from peptide to peptide so you can’t easily do this by volume and weighing accurately to ± 0.10 mg at speed is also very difficult and requires expensive equipment and a very high level of QC.
What is “easy” is to mix 10mg of peptide in 30mg of excipients. Or 1kg of peptide with 3kg of excipients. Then you would be putting 40mg of powder in the vial and that is much easier from a mass production perspective. Many off-shore suppliers do this.
What is not “easy” about this?? ensuring that each 40mg of powder contains 10mg of the active ingredient.
One reason we do not take the easy path when dealing with peptides. Accuracy and purity are more important to me.
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Janoshik - the man, the myth, the testing legend - has come up again in this thread, and some of us discussed him a few weeks back. I’ve sent samples to him to test.
Here is a recent and rare interview with some interesting tidbits. It’s PED focused, but peptides are mentioned.
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Terri
#420
Agreed! I started .2 mg of Sermorlein (115lbs, 5’4", 68 y/0) and over a 5-week time period (5 days on 2 off) I developed a progressively worse allergic reaction. Starting with a niacin-like flush, escalating to nausea & immediate stomach issues. It seemed to be exacerbated if I administered after I’d ingested food. Not one to give up (I know, I know), I waited 1 week and tried .05 with a tiny reaction, then moved up to .1 with little to no reaction. I get injection site redness/itchiness which I rub with castor oil and it all but disappears. My IGF-1 was 101 ng/mL. Ater 3 months, I test again in a few weeks. That’s when I’ll see if the lower dose is enough to address my suboptimal levels. One dose does not fit all.
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The margin of error, depending on the compound being tested, ranges from 5% to 10%.
People don’t want to hear that, they want to hear 99% “pure” LoL! what is that 5% to 10%? people ask, is it going to hurt me?
https://www.janoshik.com/details/
His death was an accident, that all I can share.
Which accident happened to him? Did he fall out a window, drown in a pool or commit suicide by shooting himself from 2 yards away?
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Or even spray himself with a nerve toxin thinking it was perfume.
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Lowroad
#424
I recently purchased the SLU-PP-332 peptide from Peptides.GG, attracted by its potential exercise-mimicking benefits. Unlike other peptides I’ve used, it arrived in a liquid form (a HUMCO-based suspension) rather than a powder to be reconstituted with BAC water.
Given the form, I’m unsure of the best administration method. Would it be safe and effective to inject subcutaneously, or is it intended solely for sublingual use? I contacted Peptides.GG, but they refrained from providing guidance, as it is sold for ‘research purposes.’
Does anyone have experience with administering this type of suspension, or with SLU-PP-332 in general?
Not what I expected, a decrease in Telo length this test. Sample taken end of September.
But my DunedinPACE continues to improve.
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No, suspensions are for oral administration. That’s not a sterile solution for injection.
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Ulf
#427
Could you share how much your telomeres are increasing, and what protocol (epitalon?) that you are doing for how long?
My telomeres are abysmiallly lshort, many years older than my chrono age despite a near-perfect lifestyle, so am researching whether more frequent dosing is feasible. Most pundits seem to agree that epitalon should be cycled at the most every three, more often every six months, to avoid adaptation. One outlier is dr Heather Smith-Fernandez with her continuous daily injections.
On the other hand, the first article you linked indicates that telomere length TL does not reflect underlying aging processes and therefore cannot be considered as a universal marker of biological aging. Findings from available epidemiological studies on the links between TL and age-related diseases and mortality are rather inconsistent and contradictory, and it is far from clear whether change in TLis a cause or effect of aging. But I would think that even if it as an effect rather than cause, epitalon lengthening telomeres will be a very good thing; the general anti-aging effects that are claimed for epitalon (that trial showing 2.6x lower mortality IIRC) should be behind the lengthening.
On the other hand, the first article you linked indicates that telomere length does not reflect underlying aging processes and therefore cannot be considered as a universal marker of biological aging. Findings from available epidemiological studies on the links between TL and age-related diseases and mortality are rather inconsistent and contradictory. it is far from clear whether change in telomere length is a cause or effect of aging. But I would think that even if it an effect rather than cause, epitalon lengthening telomeres will be a good thing; the general anti-aging effects that are claimed for epitalon (that 2.6x lower mortality trial) should
I’ve indicated several times the Telomere dichotomy and that, in my opinion, Telo length, for me, is a proxy indicator for a healthy telomerase system. Although telomerase inhibition can be used to treat some cancers, telomerase not known to cause cancer. Cancer cells use telomerase to stay “alive” and replicate indefinitely by increasing telo length in cancer cells.
Theoretically that (increasing telo length) should also work in supporting healthy cells.
Up to the date of this sample the only thing we used that would be considered a Telo length enhancer was NMN (switched from NR about a year ago). Will continue to use NMN as it’s now in our baseline. Theoretically any changes/additons would be changes related to that as opposed to dropping one thing and adding another.
This test would also reflect our use of the MAX-5 Super Mix (which contains 800mg NMN plus 4 other interesting compounds) Those 4 “new” extra compounds may have contributed as well.
Only started with Epithalon in early September so I don’t think that would have been the thing that made this current improvement. But it may have, we’ll see at the next test.
I decided on a daily dose of 150mcg in our night time combo of Ipa + CJC-noDAC, we do that 5 nights a week. Will cycle the Epithalon 1 month on, 2 months off while we continue the IPA+CJC protocol, until the next test.
Our next test will be June 2025 (every 9 months).
By then I’m sure I’ll be adding something new to my bio-hacking endeavour.
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FWIW, I have taken Epithalon for ~6 weeks and noticed a great improvement in sleep quality. That was not what I was taking it for, but it was a nice side effect.
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@desertshores I’ve started to notice that as well. Like you, it took a while but I’m sleeping soundly from 10:30pm to 6:00am without any waking. That just started about a week ago, so about a month of 5 nights a week.
One of our sons lives at home and he gets up every morning around 4:00am and takes a shower before he heads to the gym. I used to hear him come upstairs and start his shower and I’d fall back asleep. This past week I’ve only heard him once.
I will probably do a lot more reading on Epithalon and see if it makes sense to just leave it in my night time stack and not bother cycling on and off.
I’ve decided not to stop MOTS-c and that is now a permanent addition to my morning stack. After much reading I’m comfortable with that regimen. The more I read about this one, the more interesting it gets 
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