I'm 55 should I take Tesamorelin or just go for hgh and trt?

What are your goals?

I am a few years younger than you, female, and currently on Reta, KLOW, TRT, Tesa and Ipa. The Tesa and Ipa are helping me with workout recovery and sleep. This cycle ends this week and then I’ll see where I am and how I’m feeling.

I also have HGH laying around, but my feeling is that if you can get whatever you need from Tesa or CJC, then that is the safest way to go as it works with your body, whereas HGH is straight up GH replacement.
 
Have you ever tested your IGF-1?
I'm about to start Tesa but I'm already at upper limit of range of normal so it will be interesting to see what difference it will make if any. I personally would not take HGH, at least at this point of my research.
 
I would add lipids, blood pressure and glucose and hb1ac, if any of these are not great it could alter whether it is a good idea or might be worth fixing first, and if glucose or hb1ac are high raising hgh or igf-1 will increase it further. And replacement doses of hgh at 55 are more like 0.6 to 1iu/day, most people online are using pretty high doses with significant chances of major adverse effects, and look those up if you haven't already. I do not know if you are on GLP's but in theory at least they should prevent a lot of the issues with increased sugar levels from hgh or secretagogues.
I assume you had test levels measured before adding trt?
 
lessthanhalf said:
I would add lipids, blood pressure and glucose and hb1ac,
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And fasting insulin too for a baseline. And ideally fasting insulin regularly, if going on HGH or tesa, along with the IGF-1.

Testing can be a pain and the costs can add up (even with Fitomics or GoodLabs), but it's better than the alternative. It's another reason to cycle, haha.
 
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Yes I'm on reta. I just had all my labs done except the IGF-1 and just a little elevated alt because of fatty liver. Down here in Colombia I can get any labs for like $4 a test or for free. My test levels were under 200 4 years ago and I just started trt again.
 
wulf00777 said:
Yes I'm on reta. I just had all my labs done except the IGF-1 and just a little elevated alt because of fatty liver. Down here in Colombia I can get any labs for like $4 a test or for free. My test levels were under 200 4 years ago and I just started trt again.
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I would recommend improving your fatty liver before starting anything else. It's proven that this treatment significantly improves fatty liver in just a few weeks.
That would be a good starting point.
 
HGH will give better results and is cheaper than any combination of secretagogues. Yes it "shuts down your natural production", but even if you are on it for years, if you stop taking it, your natural production fires back up. Though, at your age, I don't know how relevant any of that is. I'm 48 and the only reason I'm taking CJC/Ipa is because HGH even at low doses gave me horrible carpal tunnel to where it was negatively impacting my sleep. My wife is taking my HGH and I'm jealous 😂
 
55 here as well. I tried serm and ipa, couldn't tell any difference. I tried all the test boosting strategies. Nothing got my test over about 500 and I wanted to be 900-1000, so I just went to trt and hgh. I remember reading that once you hit 50, all other strategies start becoming ineffective.
 
It's just my opinion, however I believe that when you start stacking too much, then you lose the ability to tell what is working for you or not. For me, I figure out what my goal is and then pick one or two things to make that happen. Every month or two do a reassessment of your goals. You may have made your goal or something else may have become more important for you. It could be that what you are doing is working and you should stay with your protocol. You may want to drop one peptide, and try another. Adding to the stack may not be the best for you.
 
I've no dog in this fight but at 59 I'm interested in which way you decide to go. I have a few kits tesa/Ipa and a literal metric shit ton of HGH in the freezer so I can go either way but have a plan to do the tesa/ipa first and see where that goes/takes me before we move into the HGH. I've got nothing but time (and needles. Lots of NEEDLES).
 
ktg123 said:
55 here as well. I tried serm and ipa, couldn't tell any difference. I tried all the test boosting strategies. Nothing got my test over about 500 and I wanted to be 900-1000, so I just went to trt and hgh. I remember reading that once you hit 50, all other strategies start becoming ineffective.
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Yes my brother said the same thing. He said your body isn't going to produce enough at 55 even with Tesa and ipa/cjc but I may try to get my igf1 tested.
 
What are you guys going for with the HGH? There is more than one kind of HGH and they have different effects. Several of you are over 50 and the typical HGH sold is HGH191aa (Somatropin) and it has side effects can be serious, ranging from joint/muscle pain and edema (swelling) to increased risk of diabetes. Common, often dosage-dependent, side effects include carpal tunnel syndrome, high blood pressure, and insulin resistance. It will also help grow muscle.

Those over 50 that aren't trying to look like my avatar should probably look into HGH fragment 176-191 it won't build muscle, yet will help with weight loss. and some of the other good effects of HGH without the side effects that I listed.

Seriously, we need to stop lumping the two forms of HGH together like they are the same thing. They are different. Jmon1977 touched on his experience with carpal tunnel, you can bet that he was taking HGH191aa
 
wulf00777 said:
Yes my brother said the same thing. He said your body isn't going to produce enough at 55 even with Tesa and ipa/cjc but I may try to get my igf1 tested.
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You have no idea what your pituitary will produce until you've been tested. I'm right at 65 and my natural IGF1 is 193 ng/ml with a ref. range from 64-240, so its closer to the upper end of normal. If you jack it up with GH, there's no limit control, at least with secretagogues it's still your natural production, just enhanced. Much safer!
 
People saying HGH is cheaper either want a supra-physiological dose of GH (is that you?), or have tried tesamorelin and found it doesn't move the needle (is that you?). For me, I've found that 1mg/day of tesamorelin is more than enough: it moved my z-score a full point, which is a great response. You should try both, and see what works for you with labs. GH is not that cheap either, especially when you start to need to run 4+ ius.
 
My IGF1 is mid range normal for my age 52, I've debated same OP question. Problem with HGH is when it suppresses your natural GH , there's not direct way to dial dose in.. IGF1 isn't same as GH and TRT can be easily adjust and have good labs to track.

So as result, I've done nothing. Plus risk for cancer is always concern, not causing, but accelerating something that may be unknown.
 
Following, I am also 55 and while I have been on prescription test cyp for ten years, I have been enjoying success with my GLP journey this winter. I have KLOW and Tesa coming and am looking to start those unless I hear something compelling otherwise but my research has suggested those would be good next peptides to experiment with at my age.
 
frankpeptid said:
My IGF1 is mid range normal for my age 52, I've debated same OP question. Problem with HGH is when it suppresses your natural GH , there's not direct way to dial dose in.. IGF1 isn't same as GH and TRT can be easily adjust and have good labs to track.

So as result, I've done nothing. Plus risk for cancer is always concern, not causing, but accelerating something that may be unknown.
Click to expand...
IGF1 is not the same hormone but the amount of GH you produce whether exogenous or endogenous directly affects your IGF1 level. That is your gauge to "dial it in". Test your IGF every 6 to 8 weeks and adjust your HGH, Tesa, Ipa, whatever accordingly.
 
AcadiaPeptides said:
Following, I am also 55 and while I have been on prescription test cyp for ten years, I have been enjoying success with my GLP journey this winter. I have KLOW and Tesa coming and am looking to start those unless I hear something compelling otherwise but my research has suggested those would be good next peptides to experiment with at my age.
Click to expand...
Can i ask why you were prescribed Cyp out of all esters? did they give you an explanation?
 
slick1 said:
IGF1 is not the same hormone but the amount of GH you produce whether exogenous or endogenous directly affects your IGF1 level. That is your gauge to "dial it in". Test your IGF every 6 to 8 weeks and adjust your HGH, Tesa, Ipa, whatever accordingly.
Click to expand...

Why IGF-1 can mislead (this is the important part)​


1) GH ≠ IGF-1 (they uncouple more than people think)​


You can have:


  • High GH, normal IGF-1
    • Hepatic resistance
    • Poor nutrition
    • Androgen/estrogen imbalance
  • Normal GH, high IGF-1
    • Exogenous GH timing
    • Insulin effects
    • Liver sensitivity differences

👉 The relationship is nonlinear and context-dependent



2) Liver is the bottleneck​


IGF-1 is primarily liver-derived, so anything affecting hepatic signaling changes the readout:


  • Insulin levels (major driver)
  • Caloric intake
  • Protein intake
  • Liver health (relevant with prior NASH history)
  • Thyroid status

👉 IGF-1 reflects “liver response to GH”, not GH itself



3) Binding proteins distort the signal​


Most IGF-1 is bound to IGFBPs (especially IGFBP-3)


  • Total IGF-1 ≠ free (bioactive) IGF-1
  • Binding protein shifts can change measured levels without changing biology much


4) Exogenous GH breaks the model​


With GH injections:


  • You override normal pulsatility
  • Timing matters (when labs are drawn relative to injection)
  • You can get:
    • Transient GH spikes without proportional IGF-1 rise
    • Or disproportionately high IGF-1 depending on dosing pattern

👉 Two people on the same dose can have very different IGF-1



5) Tissue-level effects ≠ serum IGF-1​


GH has direct effects independent of IGF-1:


  • Lipolysis
  • Insulin resistance
  • Fluid retention

So you can see:


  • Edema
  • Carpal tunnel
  • Glucose changes

…with only modest IGF-1 elevation



6) Age-adjusted ranges are wide​


IGF-1 reference ranges vary by:


  • Age (major)
  • Lab assay
  • Sex (minor)

👉 “Normal” doesn’t mean optimal or safe
👉 High-normal may still be supraphysiologic for a given individual



When IGF-1 works well vs poorly​


Works best:​


  • Screening for acromegaly
  • Diagnosing true GH deficiency
  • Long-term trend monitoring (same person, same lab)

Works poorly:​


  • Fine-tuning GH dosing for performance/aesthetics
  • Detecting short-term GH spikes
  • Assessing side effects or tissue-level exposure
 
slick1 said:
IGF1 is not the same hormone but the amount of GH you produce whether exogenous or endogenous directly affects your IGF1 level. That is your gauge to "dial it in". Test your IGF every 6 to 8 weeks and adjust your HGH, Tesa, Ipa, whatever accordingly.
Click to expand...
It's not a direct correlation as you suggest.
 
lessthanhalf said:
I would add lipids, blood pressure and glucose and hb1ac, if any of these are not great it could alter whether it is a good idea or might be worth fixing first, and if glucose or hb1ac are high raising hgh or igf-1 will increase it further. And replacement doses of hgh at 55 are more like 0.6 to 1iu/day, most people online are using pretty high doses with significant chances of major adverse effects, and look those up if you haven't already. I do not know if you are on GLP's but in theory at least they should prevent a lot of the issues with increased sugar levels from hgh or secretagogues.
I assume you had test levels measured before adding trt?
Click to expand...
whats the general cycle on HGH? Is it for life or you cycle off it etc?
 
LabRatts said:
I've no dog in this fight but at 59 I'm interested in which way you decide to go. I have a few kits tesa/Ipa and a literal metric shit ton of HGH in the freezer so I can go either way but have a plan to do the tesa/ipa first and see where that goes/takes me before we move into the HGH. I've got nothing but time (and needles. Lots of NEEDLES).
Click to expand...
Lovedog100 said:
What are you guys going for with the HGH? There is more than one kind of HGH and they have different effects. Several of you are over 50 and the typical HGH sold is HGH191aa (Somatropin) and it has side effects can be serious, ranging from joint/muscle pain and edema (swelling) to increased risk of diabetes. Common, often dosage-dependent, side effects include carpal tunnel syndrome, high blood pressure, and insulin resistance. It will also help grow muscle.

Those over 50 that aren't trying to look like my avatar should probably look into HGH fragment 176-191 it won't build muscle, yet will help with weight loss. and some of the other good effects of HGH without the side effects that I listed.

Seriously, we need to stop lumping the two forms of HGH together like they are the same thing. They are different. Jmon1977 touched on his experience with carpal tunnel, you can bet that he was taking HGH191aa
Click to expand...
You make some great points and exactly why I posted the question. This is HGH191aa and my point of using it would be for longevity, building and retaining muscle while on reta combined with trt, also for recovery. But I don't plan to take any until I get my igf-1 tested. But thank you for the thoughtful post. Food for thought.
 
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