Reta with Tesamorelin
- Thread starter Phatmax
- Start date
GeraltRedhammer
GLP-1 Apprentice
The recommended dose of tesamorelin is 2 mg at night, 2–3 hours after the last meal. In studies, a 1 mg dose proved to be significantly less effective. Taking tesamorelin alongside ipamorelin has a synergistic effect and enhances its efficacy, which is how I dose it.
Tesamorelin is expensive, which is why I’m wondering whether to replace it next time with CJC (without DAC) combined with Ipamorelin – apparently they work in the same way.
Tesamorelin is expensive, which is why I’m wondering whether to replace it next time with CJC (without DAC) combined with Ipamorelin – apparently they work in the same way.
Zydeceltico
GLP-1 Enthusiast
Tesamorelin targets visceral fat specifically so you won't get the same results by replacing tesa with CJC. I stack tirz, tesamorelin, CJC(No DAC), and Ipamorelin and have had very, very positive results. ymmv.........and the very best results - for me - have come from letting that stack be a strong tool for me to replace poor lifestyle habits with positive healthy ones (i.e., food choices, exercise, and proper sleep).
The peptides don't do the work for me. They give a great assist in doing the work to get and stay fit.
Volkswagen57
GLP-1 Apprentice
Very interesting. I currently use cjc (no DAC), and ipamorelin. Curious what protocol you're running/ where you found your protocol. Personally I've been doing 500mcg of each every night about a half hour before bed. Been doing this for 2-3 weeks. I've give I definitely sleep better.
There is no time of day to run tesamorelin. I take it in the middle of the day, fasted and sometimes non-fasted. This has not impacted the rise in my IGF-1 levels. Note that there is no time-of-day indication for the pharma version of tesamorelin, you take it once a day and that's it. You also need to track your IGF1 levels when taking these medications for safety. Do a search here, there are many threads where GH and secretagogues are discussed.
Galapagosfit
GLP-1 Apprentice
i heard the samething. this is the best combo. but I did not tried yet. looking for more testimonies before making an order.
Calm Logic
GLP-1 Specialist
Ideally with fasting insulin.
jmon1977
GLP-1 Apprentice
What dosages are you running the 3 secretagogues at?
Zydeceltico
GLP-1 Enthusiast
tesa: 2mg/daily fasted before bed
ipa & cjc(no dac): .5mg ea/daily fasted before bed
osulawkid
Recently Joined
🚫No Source Discussion🚫
I have personally found that 1mg may be less effective, it was night and day with reduced side effects like GI issues and water retention at higher doses. This was combined with IPA which may change things
Cannonball72
GLP-1 Apprentice
I am on Reta and Tesa. Reta 2x/week, 1.5mg per pin, and Tesa 1.5mg/pin 5 days on, 2 off. Have been titrating up to these levels since beginning of Feb. Have been very happy with the results when combined with disciplines exercise regimen.
Reduction in trunk size is noticible, I still have a spare tI’ve around the belly button, but the progress has been steady.
It seems the fat melts from top to bottom for me, I have seen this in the past as well.
The major difference in this protocol vs without Reta and Tesa is the speed and ease. Stress/emotional/boredom eating has gone away, no discipline or struggle at all.
Reduction in trunk size is noticible, I still have a spare tI’ve around the belly button, but the progress has been steady.
It seems the fat melts from top to bottom for me, I have seen this in the past as well.
The major difference in this protocol vs without Reta and Tesa is the speed and ease. Stress/emotional/boredom eating has gone away, no discipline or struggle at all.
latviantower
GLP-1 Enthusiast
Didn’t care for the ipa side effects of increased hunger and maybe water weight(?). Used to do “recommended” Tesa dosing of 2 mg before bed 5 & 2, then an astute member of this forum directed me to the Egrifta clinical study (BP’s $brand name$ tesa). 2 mg daily (no weekly pause), preferably fasted - time of day not specified. Duration? Closest I’ve seen to a definitive answer is six months - but you probably won’t need it that long! If you shop around you can pick up 20 mg kits for under $200 - a full six month run would require 2 kits of 20’s (or 4 of 10’s).
Calm Logic
GLP-1 Specialist
And, of course, very few of us will "need" six months, especially since blood results for IGF-1 seem more likely to be in range than for testosterone.
Those people in the tesa studies are deficient, so in theory may have less sides like carpal tunnel. If managing sides, I would agree 5/2 isn't necessarily the best approach, since you can lower daily dose anyway. 5/2 is good for me for HGH since I have a backlog of other peptides to inject anyway.
The Seeds book on tesa dosing:
Last edited:
UpDownLeftRightAS*
GLP-1 Apprentice
That used to be the case for egrifta, but they updated their tesamorelin guidance....1.28mg seems to be the sweet spot. https://www.egriftawr.com/about-egrifta-wr
bogardbilla
GLP-1 Apprentice
Egrifta WR is a different compound though, hence why the dosage is smaller. From your Perplexity link:
RadicalCrimson
GLP-1 Enthusiast
I think 3 different formulations were approved at different times: the original, WR, and SV.
I don't know how the newer formulations differ, but I know that the 2mg dose was chosen for the phase 3 trial because the phase 2 trial that compared it with 1mg showed that the VAT reduction with 1mg was not statistically different from placebo.
https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/drugsatfda_docs/nda/2010/022505Orig1s000CrossR.pdf
The phase 2 trial: https://www.natap.org/2007/HIV/020807_05.htm
I don't know how the newer formulations differ, but I know that the 2mg dose was chosen for the phase 3 trial because the phase 2 trial that compared it with 1mg showed that the VAT reduction with 1mg was not statistically different from placebo.
https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/drugsatfda_docs/nda/2010/022505Orig1s000CrossR.pdf
The phase 2 trial: https://www.natap.org/2007/HIV/020807_05.htm
Derbyshire
GLP-1 Apprentice
Hello all, I am torn with this. I have added a fair bit of research and keep coming back to Tesa not being a fit for the risk against rewards. It seems Tesa can lose fat and at a good % but this fat is under the stomach muscles and not your middle "tyre". Reta is reported to do a great job of this, but Tesa can also reverse quickly if underlying factors like diet, sleep, and hormones haven't changed. I see Tesa being mentioned a lot and being advertised by posters to support with belly fat but the link below and other studies confirm it is organ fat more than typical above the abs fat.
https://img.thebody.com/pinf/2010/tesamorelin.pdf
https://img.thebody.com/pinf/2010/tesamorelin.pdf
Egrifta SV is a single one-day dose. Egrifta WR is a week’s worth of daily doses.I think 3 different formulations were approved at different times: the original, WR, and SV.
I don't know how the newer formulations differ, but I know that the 2mg dose was chosen for the phase 3 trial because the phase 2 trial that compared it with 1mg showed that the VAT reduction with 1mg was not statistically different from placebo.
https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/drugsatfda_docs/nda/2010/022505Orig1s000CrossR.pdf
The phase 2 trial: https://www.natap.org/2007/HIV/020807_05.htm
UpDownLeftRightAS*
GLP-1 Apprentice
I'm in aggressive agreement here, good eye! I love perplexity! The drug and amount of bioavailability stays the same though, correct? At the end of the day we are still talking about tesamorelin mg's and its bioavailability. I guess I should read up a bit more, and make a better link to the standard 10mg kits I've purchased as well.... (antidotal however, I've seen great results from resistance training and a stint of 1mg daily w/ Tesa)
bogardbilla
GLP-1 Apprentice
Yes, if I understand it correctly taking 2mg of the original Egrifta and 1.28mg of Egrifta WR ends up in the same amount of Tesamorelin getting absorbed by the body.
RadicalCrimson
GLP-1 Enthusiast
FWIW, Tesa protocols say no titration, but Isa protocols do, so I’m doing it for both:
I’m also wearing a glucose monitor, and somehow my glucose seems to be getting lower and lower, so I guess insulin resistance is not a concern, lol.
I’m at the 1500 phase.
- 0.5 weeks at 100/1000
- 0.5 weeks at 133/1000
- 2 weeks at 200/1500
- Then 266/2000. Could go to 300/2000.
I’m also wearing a glucose monitor, and somehow my glucose seems to be getting lower and lower, so I guess insulin resistance is not a concern, lol.
I’m at the 1500 phase.
RadicalCrimson
GLP-1 Enthusiast
The FDA approval paper I linked above says:
- If fasting glucose reaches 110, either go back to 1mg, or switch to 2mg every 2 days
- If IGF-1 reaches 3 standard deviations (+3.0 Z-score?), discontinue entirely.
Last edited:
RadicalCrimson
GLP-1 Enthusiast
Yes, Subcutaneous Adipose Tissue (SAT) even slightly up (+2%), but those people with a 27 BMI (close to mine) saw a 1.4kg (3 pounds) reduction in fat (mostly in the trunk), AND a 1.7kg (almost 4 pounds) increase in lean mass, total delta 3.1kg.
IOW, they gained more muscle than they lost fat.
Obese people would probably see even better numbers.
I’ll take it.
Last edited:
RadicalCrimson
GLP-1 Enthusiast
Bear in mind that this Phase 2 trial was only for 12 weeks.
The Phase 3 trials were for 52 weeks, but they played the evil switcharoo with placebo at 26 weeks (placebo gets Tesa, half of Tesa gets placebo, the other half is the lucky one that gets the full year).
Those extended results are the green line (T-T):
If you stop Tesa after 6 months, you’re the blue line (T-P).
The Phase 3 trials were for 52 weeks, but they played the evil switcharoo with placebo at 26 weeks (placebo gets Tesa, half of Tesa gets placebo, the other half is the lucky one that gets the full year).
Those extended results are the green line (T-T):
If you stop Tesa after 6 months, you’re the blue line (T-P).
Last edited:
RadicalCrimson
GLP-1 Enthusiast
Bear in mind that these are all HIV patients who have been taking their HIV medication for years, AND HAVE CONTINUED TAKING IT AFTER DISCONTINUING TESA.
There has been no official explanation to my knowledge as to what causes extra VAT in patients using HIV medication.
Probably because nobody signed up for the trial that switched those up for placebo 😀
There has been no official explanation to my knowledge as to what causes extra VAT in patients using HIV medication.
Probably because nobody signed up for the trial that switched those up for placebo 😀
Last edited:
Derbyshire
GLP-1 Apprentice
Thank you for this. The Blue line is the one that bothers me. But if the people on this kept taking their meds for HIV which is believed to be the reason for the extra VAT, I suppose the reveral is highly likely. It would be interesting to see on people who wasn't taking the HIV meds and see where that blue line would then go. Reading what people say about Tesa and the results they get, seems that Tesa is the way to go instead of CJC-1295 without DAC + IPA?
UpDownLeftRightAS*
GLP-1 Apprentice
As an aside, it seems a bit surprising that this drug is still in production with a 2025 new formula (outside of off-label use), given that the HIV therapies most associated with fat redistribution, particularly early protease inhibitors dating back to the late ’80s and early ’90s.
When you look at what patients went through during that era, often relying on experimental treatments with significant side effects, it really underscores how far the science has come.
From what I’ve seen, including some summaries from Perplexity, modern therapies tend to be associated more with modest overall weight gain rather than the pronounced fat redistribution patterns seen with earlier regimens.
When you look at what patients went through during that era, often relying on experimental treatments with significant side effects, it really underscores how far the science has come.
From what I’ve seen, including some summaries from Perplexity, modern therapies tend to be associated more with modest overall weight gain rather than the pronounced fat redistribution patterns seen with earlier regimens.
Quatroskin
GLP-1 Apprentice
What was your starting dose and schedule? 5 on 2 off or everyday?
RadicalCrimson
GLP-1 Enthusiast
See above, I’ve only started 2 weeks ago. Every day.
