Article written by High Dose Wisdom
Before we start
First of all, I need to state that I am not a medical doctor and none of the following information provided here is to be taken as diagnosis, medical advice or encouragement to do what I have done with my own body. I am merely reporting my own experiences in the name of open discussion and self-exploration. Please consult your medical doctor for any health-related assessments and medical prescriptions.
What life was before
Life passes quickly. One job follows the next, a move to new places, cities or countries, new relationships and all the daily stresses and life challenges that come with it — were not a problem when I was 25.
At 25 I studied abroad, went on months-long scientific expeditions in deserts and northeastern Siberia, worked hard, succeeded at my first jobs, constantly sucked new knowledge in and was energized to experience reality as fully as possible.
As life went on the challenges seemed to have only gotten bigger and not smaller. The fight for financial stability. The fight for emotional stability. The fight for spiritual growth. The fight for health. They all intensified the more I woke up, grew and faced the challenges of life. Going along, this was all well — until I moved to a new country 2 years ago.
An expensive urban area, building a new life and business while my partner was debilitatingly chronically ill. Then 38, I realized that my mental clarity and overall well-being had decreased quite a bit.
It took me quite a bit of caffeine in the mornings, which I never used just to fight the increasing dullness and fatigue that was setting in. It was hard for me to keep up with my peers at work. My thinking was definitely restricted and pigeonholed. It was scary. It was like a drowning swimmer that pulled another couple of strokes after getting a dose of fresh air — just enough to not die but far away from getting anywhere.
Now, before you judge and say good nutrition, workouts and meditation would be the solution, let me say that the level of instability that I experienced on all levels of my life at at the same time was too high. I barely kept pace with not completely falling apart.
To remedy this, I tried natural testosterone protocols with Pine pollen and Eleuthero. Bulletproof coffee and all kinds of stacks of nootropic supplements, minerals, and Vitamins. They all did not work well enough or made me jittery which I don’t like. I even micro-dosed entheogens for a while. It worked well but was not a long-term option. The minute they wore off the fog came back quickly. It was not sustainable.
A vacation, meditation, breath-work and emotional release work alleviated some of the general pressure but did not change my overall bodily feeling either.
Other than that, I seemed to be ok. Nutrition was ok, not super good but not too unhealthy either. While not feeling sick — I was not in good shape. In other words: I felt really old and spent — and no amount of vitamins, entheogens or therapy could change that sustainably.
What life is now
This went on until I came across peptides and monolaurin. Both let me reclaim that long lost feeling of health, vigor, and vitality that I enjoyed so much at 25! It felt like life had begun again.
A second chance. My mental clarity got super sharp without any microdoses, my body craves for good workouts 4–5 times a week, I eat regularly and my sex drive is that of a teenager (with nightly erections again).
Overall it is tremendously enjoyable to be alive. Not 25 and inexperienced but with all the knowledge and lessons learned and integrated in the 13 years since then. Despite the ongoing challenges, stress does not touch me. I seem to be immune to it and work just gets done without losing focus and without existential adrenaline.
It’s great. What’s even more amazing is that the whole process only took 4–6 weeks, with first effects setting in already after 1 week.
So how did I get here?
Always intrigued what people do, I met some successful entrepreneurs who mentioned in a side note that Toni Robbins and other hollywood celebrities were taking HGH (human growth hormone).
They also mentioned that they once took a doctors prescribed HGH cure probably worth between 10–20k USD and felt like reborn afterwards.
Skin glowing, muscle building up, all the aches and pains gone that used to plague them.
I had never heard about that and started looking into it. Now, HGH is being used in bodybuilder circles (and celebrities apparently). I’m not a bodybuilder and not so much interested in fat burning and incredible muscle growth.
However, it gets more interesting than that: HGH is part of a large class of substance called Peptides. Peptides are proteins consisting of less than 50 Amino acids and there are literally thousands them. Many of them are naturally occuring in our human body where they are in charge of all kinds bodily functions at the cellular levels. They control sleep, regeneration, skin properties, libido, the length of telomeres, inflammation and infection response among many others.
Many of them and their function mechanics are still being researched. For others there is already a solid history of animal and human studies. Some peptides like HGH and Triptorelin are banned by the World Anti Doping Agency in sports.
That said, peptides are not steroids as often confused in the case of HGH. They are not scheduled in most countries and can be purchased for research and animal test purposes (excluding human administration). In the US, doctors can prescribe certain peptides while compounding pharmacies and labs do ship them within the bounds of the official medical system. A similar situation exists in the UK where they are not illegal but only allowed for research purposes.
It is certainly not advisable to purchase peptides as research chemicals on the internet! Just search for “peptide reddit scam” on google and you will find that pretty much every vendor out there supplies either completely fake, unclean, or heavily diluted product.
The Peptides
The peptides I came across most frequently, can be broadly categorized into the following categories:
Muscle growth, fat loss: HGH, MGF, CJC, HGH Fragment, FTPP Adipotide, GHRP and others
Recovery, health & restoration: Thymosin Beta 4 (TB-500), BPC-157
Brain, memory: Selank, Semax, P21, DSIP
Anti Aging: Epitalon, Thymalin, Matrixyl, FOX-04 DRI
Skin & immune system: Melatonan-II, GHK-CU,
Love: Oxcytocin, PT-141
In particular my interest was drawn to the peptides that had reportedly strong healing and restorative effects:
BPC-157: This peptide is known as quick-acting joint, tendon and ligament treatment in the bodybuilding and body-hacker communities. Several clinical trials (mostly with animals) have demonstrated its value in healing damaged muscle, bone, ligament and tendon issues quickly.
In addition, BPC-157 has also proven highly effective in protecting certain organs. It seems effective in treating and preventing burns, inflammatory bowl disease and stomach ulcers and may even help repair liver damage (in rats) after chronic and prolonged exposure to alcohol.
It was shown to stimulate collagen production and the creation of new blood vessels thus increasing blood flow to damage areas in the body and speeding up recovery times.
Epitalon: This peptide controls cell function by inducing the production of telomerase which repairs the telomeres.
Telomeres sit at the end of chromosomes as a protective cap. They prevent chromosomes (DNA packages) from losing base pairs during cell division. They also prevent chromosomes from fusing with each other. When cells divide, at each division some of the telomere cap is lost until it is worn down. The cell can’t reproduce any longer because the telomere is too short. The cell dies. Therefore, short telomeres are linked to ageing.
Most of the research on Epitalon has been conducted in Russia and is led by Vladimir Khavinson, Director of the Saint Petersburg Institute of Bioregulation and Gerontology. Again, a majority of the studies has been conducted on animals.
(A bibliography can be found at the bottom here and a research summary of the last 35 years of russian research here. Use the google translate function and its actually readable).
Summarizing the last 35 years of peptide research Vladimir Khavinson states that life expectancy of test subjects increased 25–40% after pro-longed peptide treatment.
Epitalon seems to counteract the neurological processes of aging and seems to increase the anti-oxidant status in the body and even have certain anti tumor effects.
Thymalin: Studies have shown that this immunomodulator molecule does occur naturally in the thymus. The thymus is a specialized lymphoid organ. It is critical to the development of active T-cells as part of a functioning immune system.
The decreased or missing activity of the thymus in old age is associated with increased susceptibility to severe infections and cancer development. It impairs the immune response to infections and the immune surveillance against tumors.
Thymic immunomodulators seem to have the potential of restoring the integrity of thymic activity in the thymus. In this way immune responses to infections and are up-regulated.
Researchers of the St. Petersburg Institute of Bioregulation and Gerontology of the North-Western Branch of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences and the Institute of Gerontology of the Ukrainian Academy of Medical Sciences (Kiev) clinically assessed the geroprotective effects of thymic (Thymalin) and pineal Epithalamin (Epitalon) peptide bioregulators in 266 elderly and older persons during 6–8 years both peptides were given at 10 mg daily for ten consecutive days once every 6 months.
“The obtained results convincingly showed the ability of the bioregulators to normalize the basic functions of the human organism, i.e. to improve the indices of cardiovascular, endocrine, immune and nervous systems, homeostasis and metabolism. Homeostasis restoration was accompanied by a 2.0–2.4-fold decrease in acute respiratory disease incidence, reduced incidence of the clinical manifestations of ischemic heart disease, hypertension disease and osteoporosis as compared to the control.
Such a significant improvement in the health state of the peptide-treated patients correlated with decreased mortality rate during observation:
2.0–2.1-fold in the Thymalin-treated group; 1.6–1.8-fold in the Epithalamin-treated group; 2.5-fold in the patients treated with Thymalin plus Epithalamin (Epitalon) as compared to the control.”A separate group of patients was treated with Thymalin in combination with Epithalamin annually for 6 years and their mortality rate decreased 4.1 times as compared to the control.
(An additional overview of thymus peptide studies and actions can be found here.)
GHK-CU: Copper Peptide which is a naturally occurring human tri-peptide. In plasma, the level of GHK-Cu is about 200 ng/ml at age 20, , but declines to 80 ng/mL by age 60. This decline in the GHK-level coincides with the noticeable decrease in regenerative capacity of an organism.
Scientific studies conducted in different research laboratories around the world have established that human tri-peptide GHK-Cu possesses a multitude of biological actions including activation of wound healing, attraction of immune cells, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects, stimulation of collagen and skin regeneration and promotion of blood vessels growth.
“Recently, GHK-Cu has been gaining publicity as a prospective therapeutic agent for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), skin inflammation, and metastatic colon cancer. It has been established that it is capable of up- and down-regulating at least 4,000 genes in the human genome, essentially resetting DNA back to a healthier state.” (source)
Recent studies indicate its important role in stem cell biology and anti-tumor defense. Since GHK-Cu plays an important role in skin biology, it is widely used in cosmetics as a reparative and anti-aging ingredient.
A few words on administration
The classical way to administer peptides is injection. Some are available as topical serum like the GHK-CU copper peptide or as a nasal spray in case of the nootropic ones like Selank and Semax.
There seems to be a consensus that indicates that injection is the best method to get the highest amount of peptides directly into the body.At the same time, some people do seem to use nasal and oral sprays with some success and scientists are working on special creams that transport peptides into the body.
Either way, I did not try oral or nasal administration. I opted to classically inject the peptides with a 31–30gauge 100IU(1cc) insulin syringe.
Now, injecting myself is nothing I have ever done before so I wanted to make sure what I was getting into. It was not hard to find some videos with people showing how to do it, thus taking away my slight anxiety.
After all, the injections do not need to be intravenous (IV) which would be scary indeed, and certainly not a case for an at home administration. Luckily, peptides work with both intramuscular (IM) and subcutaneous (under the skin) injections.
Since I did 2 injections a day for 2 months, I rotated the injection sites. This was just a precaution. In the end, there was no bruising or any other negative effects on my skin from the injections at all.
There is enough fatty tissue around the hips, belly, thighs, chest and upper arm/shoulder areas to not inject into the same area more than once every couple of days. The needle was so fine and short that both types of injection were hardly noticeable, if at all.
What I did not like was IM injections into the calve or arm muscles. They both hurt and restricted my range of motion afterward. The best areas for me were the shoulder, chest, upper thigh and the area that some refer to as love handles.
At last, the basic rules for medical things were always observed:
Clean environment, clean hands, swiping the top seal of the peptide vials before drawing any liquid with an alcohol swab. Cleaning of injection area with a sterile alcohol tissue before and after injection.
Reconstitution
Peptides come as a powder in a vial (lyophilized). They cannot be readily injected. They have to be reconstituted with bacteriostatic water or sterile water. The amount of water needs to be calculated in accordance to the dose desired.
Fortunately there are several reconstitution calculators available. In essence the goal was to inject as less fluid as possible while being easily able to measure the dosage accurately. For example, I would dilute 5mg of BPC-157 with 2ml of bacteriostatic water which required me to draw 20IU of fluid into the syringe to have a 500mcg dose.
Backfill
The insulin needles are very fine and even the piercing of the rubber seal on top of the peptide vials would blunt the needle just enough to make it hurt a bit when injecting. To remedy this situation I reverted to “backfilling” the injection syringe: This is done by pulling the plunger out of the injection syringe while filling in the liquid with another syringe through the “back” of the first syringe. The plunger is inserted again. That way the needle stays sharp for its one-time use.
Dosages used
Epitalon: 5mg once a day for ten days
Thymalin: 5mg once a day for ten days
BPC-157: 500mcg twice a day for 6 weeks
GHK-CU: Topical Serum. Applied as needed.
Effects
Since I just finished the first set of administration a couple of weeks ago it is too early to talk about any long-term effects or negative rebounds. So far no negative side effects are noticeable and the positive effects remain stable:
Very calm and centered: Stress does not touch me at all. I can stay focused, friendly and firm even when things get tough.
Light and joyful mood: My mornings are wonderful. I smile a lot because I feel good and it comes very natural from inside. My interactions with others have positively changed.
Sharp and concentrated mind: My creativity has returned and thoughts ideas and connections spring up in my mind on a constant basis. I can spot opportunities and make the right connections to other information in my brain. No fog, haze or heavy thinking. Everything comes easy.
Amazing skin: My skin seems to radiate and it feels extremely smooth. The wrinkles on my arms decreased. The pockets under the eyes have disappeared. I had very dry skin my entire life and literally no cream or lotion would give relief for longer than a couple of hours, no matter the price or if medicinal or not. One week of copper peptide and I don’t even need to apply lotion to my skin more than once every two days lightly. My skin stays moisturized even after a weekend in the sauna and thermal pools! To be honest it’s almost unbelievable.
Natural: All the changes feel very natural. None of the other approaches I tried felt sustainable or like the real me. They all just produced spikes that then would plummet again. With the peptides I feel like my real self at full capacity. This is the feeling I had when I was young! What is better now, is that I feel young but have the mind and experience of an older person.
Further Reading
Most sources and studies are directly linked in the text.
Further guides and experience reports for certain peptides can be found on youtube and Reddit. Just type in the name of the peptide. Keep in mind that many youtubers and vendors are actively trying to steer discussions in online platforms towards their products. Be aware.
Community:
https://www.reddit.com/r/peptides