Pepdexpepdex
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№ 006

Ipamorelin

Bumps your natural growth-hormone pulses without hitting cortisol or prolactin. A selective GH secretagogue.

GH-axis
Evidence: Limited

Ipamorelin: Bumps your natural growth-hormone pulses without hitting cortisol or prolactin. A selective GH secretagogue. Ipamorelin gently nudges your body to release more of its own growth hormone, without the side effect baggage of injecting actual HGH.

FDA ⓘ
Not approved
WADA
Banned
Typical dose
100-300 mcg sub-q
Half-life ⓘ
~2 hours
Route ⓘ
Subcutaneous
Schedule
1-3x daily
In plain English

Ipamorelin gently nudges your body to release more of its own growth hormone, without the side effect baggage of injecting actual HGH. People run it for sleep, recovery, and slow body-comp shifts. Tiny doses, multiple times a day.

Status & legalityWhat do these mean? →
Natty? ⓘ
Not natty
FDA ⓘ
Not approved

Not FDA approved.

Compounding ⓘ
Category 1

Compounding pharmacies may prepare under physician prescription (post Feb 2026 reclassification, pending formal FDA publication).

WADA ⓘ
Banned (S2)
Prescribed ⓘ

Some anti-aging and longevity clinics prescribe via compounding pharmacies, off-label.

Who it's for

  • →Users wanting GH benefits without the bloat / sides of HGH
  • →Sleep / recovery focused stacks
  • →Beginners to GH-class peptides

What to expect

  1. Week 1

    Deeper sleep within the first few nights.

  2. Week 4

    Recovery improvement noticeable. Skin/hair starts looking better.

  3. Week 8

    Cumulative effect on body composition for users in a clean diet.

Looking at Ipamorelin? Your next 3 steps

  1. 1Work out your exact dose

    Vial size + BAC water turns into the exact units to draw for Ipamorelin.

    Open calculator →
  2. 2See what to stack & monitor

    The companion supplements and the bloodwork worth tracking on this kind of protocol.

    Bloodwork guide →
  3. 3Save it & ask the Coach

    A free account saves your stack; membership adds the stack-aware AI Coach.

    Create free account →

How it works (mechanism)

Selective ghrelin/GHS-R1a agonist that triggers a clean GH pulse from the pituitary without elevating cortisol, prolactin, or aldosterone. Cleanest of the GH secretagogues for that reason.

Dosing protocol

Members only

Stacks well with

Members only

Stack essentials

Members only

Side effects

01Head-rush at injection
02Mild hunger pulse 30 min post-dose
03Tingling in hands rarely

When NOT to use

  • ⚠Active malignancy
  • ⚠Pregnancy / nursing

Bloodwork to monitor

  • • IGF-1 baseline + at week 8

Common mistakes

  • • Eating within 30 min of injection (food blunts the GH pulse)
  • • Skipping the pre-bed dose
  • • Not cycling off

Drug & supplement interactions

  • ⚠Eating within 30 minutes of dose blunts the GH pulse
  • ⚠Limited documented drug interactions, but always disclose to provider

The Pepdex take

The cleanest secretagogue in the family, minimal side effect surface, gentle pulse, doesn't crank cortisol or prolactin like GHRP-2 or Hexarelin do. Best 'is GH-axis work for me?' compound to run solo for one cycle before stacking. Once you know it works for you, pair with CJC-1295 (no-DAC) and forget about it.

Community patterns

Members only
Free, no account needed

New to Ipamorelin? Grab the starter checklist.

Drop your email and we'll send the one-page first-cycle starter checklist, plus a heads-up if Ipamorelin changes legal status. No account needed.

No spam. No selling your email. Just the checklist and the occasional reclassification alert.

AI Coach, live sample
Members only
is 250mcg of bpc enough for a knee injury?
For a knee, 250 mcg sub-q daily is the standard working dose and a solid place to start. The trick with BPC is consistency, give it weeks, not days. Inject close to the joint, run it 4-6 weeks, and don't drop below 200 mcg, it tends to stop cracking the threshold reliably down there. If it hasn't moved at all by week 3, that's when adding TB-500 earns its place.
how much bac water for a 10mg reta vial?
3 mL is the standard play for a 10 mg reta vial. That's 3,333 mcg/mL, clean unit math across the titration: 2 mg = 60 units, 4 mg = 120 units, 6 mg = 180 units on a 100-unit insulin syringe. Run 2 mL instead if you want fewer, more concentrated shots (5,000 mcg/mL, so 2 mg = 40 units). Since most people titrate up over ~12 weeks, 3 mL keeps the numbers cleanest.
what should i track on bloodwork for tirzepatide?
Lipid panel, ALT/AST (liver enzymes), and an A1C, baseline before you start then every 3 months. If you've got metabolic-syndrome history, add fasting glucose and insulin so you can actually watch insulin sensitivity improve. You don't need a big hormone panel for a GLP-1.

Ask the Coach anything about Ipamorelin or your own stack. This is it working.

Trained only on Pepdex content. Does the dose math, flags interactions, knows your stack. Won't push vendors, won't pretend to be a doctor.

Get the Coach, $7.99/mo →

Frequently asked

What is Ipamorelin?+
Ipamorelin gently nudges your body to release more of its own growth hormone, without the side effect baggage of injecting actual HGH. People run it for sleep, recovery, and slow body-comp shifts. Tiny doses, multiple times a day.
Is Ipamorelin FDA approved?+
Not FDA approved.
Is Ipamorelin legal?+
Ipamorelin is not FDA-approved. It is sold by compounding pharmacies (with a prescription) and as "research only" by peptide vendors. Possession is generally not criminalized but distribution without authorization may be. Verify local laws.
Is Ipamorelin banned by WADA?+
Ipamorelin is on the WADA prohibited list under Banned (S2).
Are you still natty after taking Ipamorelin?+
No. Ipamorelin is a performance-enhancing peptide and would disqualify a strict natty claim.
Do doctors prescribe Ipamorelin?+
Some anti-aging and longevity clinics prescribe via compounding pharmacies, off-label.
What's the typical dose of Ipamorelin?+
100-300 mcg sub-q, 1-3x daily. Pre-bed dose is the most important pulse.
What are the side effects of Ipamorelin?+
Common side effects include: Head-rush at injection; Mild hunger pulse 30 min post-dose; Tingling in hands rarely. Less common effects and full safety details are on the entry page.
How long until Ipamorelin starts working?+
Deeper sleep within the first few nights.
What can you stack with Ipamorelin?+
Common pairings: CJC-1295 (no DAC) for synergistic GH pulse; Standalone for sleep focus. Full stacking protocol and timing on the entry page.
Where do people get Ipamorelin?+
Ipamorelin is most commonly sold by research-only peptide vendors and by compounding pharmacies (the latter requires a prescription). Pepdex is not a vendor, see /coa for how to verify a Certificate of Analysis before buying from any source, and /guides/scam-vendor-spotting for vendor red flags.
Ipamorelin vs CJC-1295 (no DAC), which is better?+
Ipamorelin vs CJC-1295: how they differ mechanistically and why the standard protocol pairs them. Full head-to-head comparison: https://pepdex.co/compare/ipamorelin-vs-cjc-1295
Ipamorelin vs MK-677 (Ibutamoren), which is better?+
MK-677 vs Ipamorelin: oral vs injectable GH-axis support, with side effect and tolerance trade-offs. Full head-to-head comparison: https://pepdex.co/compare/mk-677-vs-ipamorelin
Ipamorelin vs Tesamorelin, which is better?+
Ipamorelin vs Tesamorelin: ghrelin mimetic vs GHRH analog. Two different paths to a higher GH pulse. Full head-to-head comparison: https://pepdex.co/compare/ipamorelin-vs-tesamorelin

Head-to-head with Ipamorelin

Compare
Ipamorelin vs CJC-1295 (no DAC) →
Compare
Ipamorelin vs MK-677 (Ibutamoren) →
Compare
Ipamorelin vs Tesamorelin →
Compare
Ipamorelin vs Hexarelin →

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