Repost - Cylon357's Peptide Healing log

[Cylon357]

Original post date 2/18/2020

I have cut back to once a day dosing effective yesterday. Just too much shizzle going on right now to keep up with two pins. Instead of 2x250mcg, I'm doing one 500mcg subq in the belly. I have about 10 days left on this run.

The big question: has it helped? That is still hard to say. I have been taking it easier lately and using the BPC and the knee pain has subsided. Now, whether that is from taking it easy or the BPC or just natural healing I cannot say for sure. I am starting to believe that the most pain I experienced was from the fracture / contusion of the femoral condyle. That has likely healed because now when my knee acts up, its just a mild pain, relative to what it was. Did the BPC help with that? I dunno. Maybe.

I am starting a fresh work out regimen that will involve more weights, less impactful cardio and hopefully less knee pain overall. Squat workouts have just been OK. I can get through them without pain if I wear knee sleeves and don't go heavy right now. This week will tell the tale.

I visit the surgeon again in about 10 days. The next several days will likely make the cut / no cut decision for me.

EDIT: I have also added super low dose MK from MA. 12.5 mg every 3rd day. No, it doesn't seem like much, but I'm looking at life as a marathon not a sprint.

Last edited by Cylon357; 02-18-2020 at 08:29 PM.

[Cylon357]

Original post date 4/6/2020

Just a heads up, I'm starting a second run today, this time including TB. More details soon...

[Cylon357]

Original post date 4/6/2020

Welcome back to the world's most boring log. Nobody has a gun to your head, and if by chance they DO, what the f@ck is wrong with them making you read this??

Anyhow, this morning, I injected 1mg TB-500 and 250mcg BPC-157 subq near my knee. I'm using Thymosin Labs products, in part because theirs doesn't say 'for research only', rather 'for veterinary use only'. I know a mouse could starve on the difference between those two terms, but maybe it just makes my brain feel a little better. Totally unrelated, I now count by stomping my feet and whinnying, but I'm sure that is coincidental.

I opted not to run TB-500 in the previous run because of 'Poop Fest 2020' (details in another thread, I'm gonna make you look for it if you really want it, you sick puppies*), though I took the same dosage today without the same problem. I may have falsely accused TB previously but better safe than sorry.

I also have a Ipamorelin / CJC blend that I will likely add next week at anti-aging doses (whatever the hell that means). Probably 250/250 mcg once a day, 4 to 5 days a week. I will start low, though to assess my tolerance. BTW, this is from Peptide Sciences.

Now, will any of this make a difference with a torn meniscus? Probably not, but it is conceivable that I could get lucky. Why I would think that I have no idea, but fingers crossed, right? Also, at 50+, there are other nagging injuries that this will likely help with, so we will see.

Note that I had to postpone the visit with the ortho because of Covid-19.... That is actually ok with me in this case. That will give me time to do this second run and see if the situation improves.

Boring as@ updates whenever I feel like it or there is something of interest (HIGHLY subjective) to report.


* = search the site for 'mad pooper' and find the details.

Last edited by Cylon357; 04-06-2020 at 06:48 PM.

[Cylon357]

Original post date 4/11/2020

Not an update, but a quick heads up: Thymosin Labs has a 40% code of TAKE40. Keep in mind that they really only carry 4 products:
BPC-157
TB-500
A blend of BPC and TB
A blend of MK-677 and BPC-157

I ordered the BPC/TB blend and another bottle of the TB-500. That should give me a full 30 days of TB-500 and BPC-157 for this second run from the same place.

Just more useless info (except maybe that coupon code).

[Cylon357]

Original post date 4/13/2020

I did my first preliminary dose of Ipamorellin / CJC blend today, mostly to test for a reaction. Went subq in the belly with 100 mcg of each on an empty stomach. No issues experienced - MAYBE a little light headedness but not too bad. You know how the power of suggestion works, so maybe I was just imagining things. At any rate, tomorrow I will do 150-200 and if all goes well, start 200-250mcg before bed 4 or 5 days a week.

I'm still doing 400mcg Thymosin Alpha 1 with both TB-500 at 1mg and BPC around 500mcg per day. Single injection in the knee area or belly, depending on how I feel at the moment. Generally in the knee area, tho.

BTW, fresh needles are awesome, aren't they? I have started backloading the 3 drug cocktail and man, a new needle goes in so much easier than when I use the same needle to load and inject. I can not imagine doing IM without a fresh needle.

One last thing: there is a fairly well put together summary guide on peptides put out by Taylor Made Compounding. I will include the url here but don't want to violate any rules, so admins, please advise if I need to redact.

https://imcwc.com/wp-content/uploads...de-Catalog.pdf

That's all for tonight.

[Cylon357]

Original post date 4/14/2020 in response to AGs comment about GHK-Cu dosage

Yeah, dosing seems to be the most open to debate topic RE: peptides. For example, I've seen Epitalon recommended at 5mg x 2 daily for ten days, where this guide suggests a different approach.

I'm assuming there are two reasons for these type of variations:
1 - different studies influence recommendations
2 - MONEY (like suppliers can get more $ if people use more)

I like to operate under the first as a general rule, but be aware that the second can be an influencer, too.

Also, I believe that this particular guide is geared more towards general health and anti-aging than performance enhancement and muscle growth we associate with body building, etc. So that too would influence dosing.

BTW - I have no idea how long that link might be active. You may want to download the pdf and keep locally.

[Cylon357]

Original post date 4/15/2020

Today, I cut out the Thymosin Alpha 1. I'm not sure it was really necessary as an immune system booster. Maybe it's useful, maybe not, but I'm not really in need right now. It will go to the freezer for future possible use. I have no reason (other than super mild and well controlled asthma) to worry about my immune system. I was probably being a little paranoid there.

I dosed TB-500 and BPC-157 at the doses I have been using (1mg/500mcg). Nothing exceptional to report there.

I did my squat workout today WITHOUT knee sleeves or wraps of any sort. I kept it super light but I had no issues. I did put the sleeves on to do my 1.5 mile cool down walk, though. No problems to report.

That said, I had every intention of using the sleeves today, I just forgot them. I don't use them on the regular EXCEPT for exercise so it is easy to overlook. Really, there were three factors that contributed to me forgetting them:
1 - the weather threw me off (I walk a mile to warm up and the bottom fell out on me real fast)
2 - I had a long lunch but time crunched and was thinking about that
3 - My own dumbassery (totally a word)

I know that number 3 trumps the bunch, but I was hustling trying to get changed, saw the sleeves and thought 'oh, better not forget them but I have to get out there before the rain hits' and ended up totally forgetting them. In fact, I didn't realize they were missing until I was about halfway through my squats. I kept hearing my knees grinding and was like 'hmm, that is odd, I havent heard that in a while OMG WHERE ARE MY SLEEVES?!?!' but by then I was like f*ck it, lets see how it turns out.

Turned out pretty well. No notable pain from the squats though as I already said, I did use the sleeves for the walk to cool down. I went ahead and hit the knee with diclofenac because it was slightly irritated. BTW, diclofenac gel is awesome. Anyhow, I'm starting to believe that as long as I keep my impact to minimum (no running, no kick boxing, etc) that I will likely dodge surgery. I'm hoping that I can AT LEAST do some deadmills but have not tried that yet. Maybe after this run of TB/BPC.

Which, by the way, I have about 2.5 weeks left on, though it is possible I extend the run another two weeks. After that, I'm going to just do maintenance doses of the TB-500 (2mg every 2 weeks) for a while and see how it goes.

Finally, I am starting the Ipamorelin/CJC combo in earnest tomorrow night. The test doses didn't trigger any negative reaction, so tomorrow I will try 200mcg each, about 30 minutes before bed. Will update on that if anything interesting occurs. And as always, what one person finds 'interesting', another may find boring as f*ck all.

[Cylon357]

Original post date 4/16/2020

Thymosin Labs is running a bit behind with my most recent order. It won't be here until Monday (4/20 so I expect some CBD oil or something). Turns out they are located in New Jersey and thus may be impacted by the whole CV-19 thing.

So, I reconstituted some TB-500 I had ordered around December, that I had in the freezer. This is from Pep Warehouse and clouded up immediately. I don't know if this is because it has been in the freezer or is bad product, but I DO know I won't be using it. Anybody else experienced this? I've seen a few reddit folks talk about it, but wanted to get input from this forum.

My knee is slightly achey from the workout yesterday, probably because I forgot the sleeves. Quads and calves have that pleasant 'you are going to walk like Fred Sanford tomorrow' feel. Is it wrong that I'm looking forward to it?

[Cylon357]

Original post date 4/20/2020

A couple of items of note (though that is HIGHLY subjective)

My knee is still a bit achey from squatting without the sleeves. So, for future use, sleeves it is. Maybe this is enough to convince me to get the surgery... or at least it might be in a pre or post Corona world. No elective surgeries going on here ATM, which is just as well because a) I really don't want another damn surgery and b) I want to give the peps whatever chance they have to work.

I did get my order from Thymosin Labs today. I've already reconstituted one vial of the Prohealix blend with 1.4 ml bac stat water. Yes, that is an odd number but it makes the draw easy. I will administer .2ml daily, which will give me 1mg TB-500 and 400 mcg of BPC-157 in one dose. The BPC-157 number is actually a little higher like almost 430 mcg, so I think this is a good overall mix. I will run that for two weeks (because that's all I have) and then go back to separate TB/BPC dosing. I have TB-500 and BPC-157 on hand, but want to run this mix first.

One last thing, totally unrelated: based on a conversation in another thread, I ordered slin pins from GPZ. Holy sh!t they are fast! I ordered on Thursday around lunch Eastern time, and they had the package to me by Saturday. I'm in Florida, so I thought that was impressive as hell.

Here is a rando pic of the goods from today. Because posts are always better with pics.

NOTE: pics are just gone

[Cylon357]

Original post date 4/25/2020

Disclaimer - long boring ass update forthcoming. Maybe you insomniacs should wait till bedtime to start reading this. You are so welcome.

The CJC and Ipamorelin combo seems to be helping with sleep. I got almost 10 and a half hours last night. That has happened a few times over the past couple of weeks. I've read that you don't really start seeing good results with this combo until around week 5, and this is the end of week 2 (with week one being lower dose to assess tolerance). I'm dosing this at 200 mcg each 5 nights a week, though will start 250 each next week 4 nights per week (just to do one less shot)

Possibly also noteworthy in regard to sleep is that I have started including mucuna pruriens in my post workout protein mix. I found this to be a helpful OTC supplement, particularly related to quality sleep.

Note that I had a great experience with mucuna pruriens and tongkat ali together in my pre-HRT days. I've been promising to chronicle this since the day I joined the forum... Of note here is that I am from the True US South (Tennessee) and we can spend anywhere from a few seconds to several years "fixin'" to do something. American by birth, Southern by the grace of God.

Anyhow, I really like the Prohealix combo from a convenience factor. Personally, I would like to see just a little more BPC in the mix (it is 7mg TB-500 and 3mg BPC-157) but bear in mind, I am far from an expert on the products. Most articles tend to point towards 500mcg BPC per day and dosing this at 1mg TB-500 / day means the BPC comes up a little short.

I went a little heavier on the squats this week with no significant pain but I used the sleeves this time. There is magic in sleeves. I'm doing 3 weeks active / 1 week deload right now, and this is about the end of my 3rd week. I deadlift on Sunday and overhead press on Monday, then the deload week starts. Oh, I also deadlifted a little heavier last Sunday. I don't think conventional deads are going to be particularly bothersome for my knee.

BTW, my routine looks like this in general
Exercise 5 days per week
1 mile walk to warm up, 1 mile walk after to cool down
Mon OFF
Tues Squat
Wed Bench
Thu Just the walk (though I'm adding the punching bag, climber, rowing machine combo here between the walks starting next week)
Fri OFF
Sat Deadlift
Sun Overhead Press (and I will likely add some heavy bag work at the end of this starting next week)

Yes, I know that schedule doesn't quite match what I said above, but I got a day off in this go round and will adjust with the deload week. And each weight lifting day includes assorted assistance exercises.

I may also try out some deadmills next week on the Squat and Deadlift days. I really like deadmills but I'm concerned about the knee... we'll see how that goes. I also just got some mini farmers walk handles that I will incorporate both on deadlift day (for farmers walk) and overhead press day (for shrugs). I don't like barbell shrugs in front because my ding dong gets in the way, nor do I like them in back because my a** gets in the way. In short, I'm looking forward to using the handles. Listen, if that seems like TMI, it's probably because it is.

ALL of that jibber jabber aside, the question still remains: are any of the peps helping with the knee? That is still indeterminate. I have a follow up with the ortho for sometime in May / June, when exactly is dependent on Covid-19. And as you might imagine, I will have another boring update at that time. Don't worry, insomniacs, I'll almost certainly add an update before then. I got you covered, just call me "Nice Guy Cy" :P

[Cylon357]

Original post date 4/26/2020

BTW, in the interest of completeness, I feel like I should mention that before I started the BPC-157 in the first run, I had a nagging issue at the attachment point of the inner head of the triceps by the elbow on my left arm. That is gone. I can't say for sure if BPC, TB, just taking it easy, or some combination of all 3 helped there. All I can say is: there was pain, now it's gone. Oh, and I HAVE stopped taking it easy (at least on the triceps) so I'll keep an eye out and see if it returns.

[Cylon357]

Original post date 4/28/2020

I tried upping the dose of the CJC/Ipamorelin combo the other night from 200mcg each to 250. That was a little too much. I feel a little flush at 200 but 250 was a bit uncomfortable. I MIGHT be able to get used to it, but since it only means one extra shot a week, will likely keep that it at 200 5x per week instead of 250 4x.

I did both heavy (well ok HEAVIER) squats and deadlifts this week. No issues with the knees from either. Got a crazy sore outer hip / glute from the deads, I guess. Kind off odd but its done now. Deadlift day was when I used the mini farmer walk handles for the first time. I didn't actually walk with them, but used them to super set barbell calf raises with one legged raises, both off a block. That was fun. I also used them the next day to do shrugs. That, too, was fun.

Keys to rehab so far seem to be:
- proper peps
- rest
- sleeves for the knees

Not necessarily in that order. It may be that the only thing I really get to take away from using the peps (at least the TB and BPC) is getting comfortable with needles and subq injections. At some point, that will be a thing and one less thing to worry about at that time.

I'm pretty sure the CJC/Ipamorelin is doing something because I sure feel the sides and generally experience better sleep with than without. I know that is a long term thing but every journey starts with a single step...

[Cylon357]

Original post date 4/29/2020

So today, I pushed the knee a bit. I did the following routine
1 mile walk to warm up, followed by 2 rounds of

3 min run on treadmill (10:00 mile pace)
3 min working the heavy bag
3 min climber with intervals
3 min on the rowing machine with intervals

1 mile walk to cool down.

So a bit short of an hour, including warm up and cool down. The knee was noticeable but not problematic. I showered and hit it with the diclofenac. So, I likely can't squat heavy and jog in the same week, but maybe. I like jogging for conditioning (it works for me - don't judge me :P ), but recognize that extended running can be problematic. 3 minutes at a time, on a treadmill no less, is not what I would call 'extended' but I will probably not do it that often. I'll sub in some bike time or an extra round with the bag or whatever that is lower impact. My knee may be achey tomorrow, but we will see.

One thing of note: that particular routine, whatever style of training you want to label it (HIIT? Aerobic? anything but Crossfit) wears me the hell out. I'm sitting here barely able to keep my eyes open and know I will sleep well tonalasjflasf u02ur2 a a azzzzzz

[Cylon357]

Original post date 5/3/2020

Wednesday's HIIT routine has not caused any knee problems which is awesome. Note however that this is a deload week, and I won't actually hit the weights until today. This will be a light full body thing to prevent excessive soreness when I start back in earnest on Tuesday. I did end up walking 3 miles yesterday and doing some body weight exercises so I haven't been TOTALLY slacking, just slacking a fair amount. Wait, you mean that isn't what a 'deload week' is supposed to be?? When was this decided? Anyhow, recovery is important, especially when you are 50+ and a HRT'er.

I tried 250mcg each of the CJC and Ipamorelin on Friday night. I think that is a bit too much for me. I was a bit more light headed at time of injection and felt tired the next day even though I slept well and for like 9 hours. I ended up taking a 2 hour nap yesterday afternoon. I don't know if that is related to the peps, but it did seem more of an issue after I increased the dose. I will stick to 200 each 5x week.

I've been toying with the idea of adding MK-677 back into the mix at a super low dose. I will probably hold off on this as the hunger is real and I want to see what the CJC/Ip brings on its own. But at some point, I may add 12.5 mg, 3 nights a week just to see how they work together. That will likely be a few months away.

[Cylon357]

Original post date 5/23/2020

Welcome back to the log that never ends! Wait, you don't want to be here? Well, you can let the door knob hit you where the good Lord split you on your way out of this thread. :P

Anyhow, I've been meaning to distill my thoughts on this experience down some. Here goes my first effort.

Summary
I started with knee pain from a torn meniscus, this is well documented. I tried BPC-157 by itself and BPC with TB-500.
I added some OTC supps like Tumeric, Ginger and Glucosamine. I have used knee sleeves and diclofenac gel.

High level conclusions
Not all peps are created equal.

Good BPC and TB help.

Knee sleeves work but are not a cure.

Tumeric and Glucosamine help with joint pain.

Diclofenac is the bomb for quick, spot, pain relief.

Peptides
BPC-157 and TB-500
I tried TB-500 and BPC-157 from Peptides Warehouse. I only shot the TB from them one time. That first run ended up being just BPC-157. Results were negligible if any.

The second time I ran TB-500 and BPC-157 from Thymosin Labs. This seemed to help. I got rid of some tricep pain for sure with this round and eliminated a few other minor aches and pains. I was relatively pleased with this run. I rate it effective but not AMAZING.

That said, don't buy the whole 'heal your body like wolverine' bit. I know that is a bit of click bait, but temper your expectations. Though these peps may help more with certain injuries more than others, I wouldn't call them miraculous in my case. Still though, if you are willing to try anything to avoid surgery or just consider yourself your own personal lab rat, give them a shot. Just find a good source.

I will be running 2.5mg of Thymosin Labs TB-500 product twice a month for the next several months. And I would be willing to bet that I post on it here

Mod GRF and Ipamorelin
I added these two in about halfway through the second run of the healing compounds. I used a 5mg / 5mg blend from Peptide Sciences. I ran and will continue to run these at anti-aging doses indefinitely (250mcg/250mcg per day, 30 minutes before bedtime, 5 nights a week). I like this combo. I ran a blend before, but I'm going to run them separately though simultaneously to see if that makes a difference. Said another way, two vials instead of one. Less convenient, but I have read that one of the compounds can break down the other and avoiding blends is a good way to avoid that.

CJC with DAC and Ipamorelin
I ran this for a short time after I ran out of the blend mentioned above. In fact, I will finish it tonight. These products were from Mike Arnold. I ran the CJC at 500mcg twice per week, and the Ipamorelin same as above. I did not feel sides from these products like I did with the blend. I do not know if this is because of the difference in the compounds, the fact that one was a blend and the other wasn't, or if the product was bad (I don't really believe this because MA is legit with other products).

Note that MA has an absolutely legit MK-677 which I bet would be great going forward, both in healing and in long term use. I just can't afford the appetite it gives me right now.

Knee sleeves
As I have stated, in this thread and elsewhere, I REALLY don't want another gaddomn surgery right now. Knee sleeves are part of how I'm trying to avoid being cut on again. In short: they help. I don't use fancy or expensive ones, but I do have two pair. One that fits like a tight sock, one that fits almost like knee wraps. Both of those are exaggerations but really just mean that one is looser, the other tighter. I wear the tight ones when I squat or deadlift, the looser ones for all other exercise. These are a nice, inexpensive option so far for me to avoid surgery. No, I won't be running a 5k (or even two miles) without pain but that's OK. More time and effort in the weight room. I CAN do my HIIT routine that involves 3 minute rounds on the treadmill, though. And that is really enough for now.

OTC
I use a tumeric and ginger combo, plus a glucosamine supplement on the daily. These help with joint pain. I know these do because I took them out of the rotation for a week (because how many dang pills am I taking in a day??) and felt the pain getting worse. Added them back in and pain was back to tolerable.

Holy Grail of Pain Relief
Diclofenac gel. This shit is the bomb. You know it must be legit because I swore there without editing it. When I irritate the knee, I can apply some of this topical and it brings relief in minutes. Totally worth it.

Summary
So, there you have it. If I had to rank these.... Well, hells bells, let me just rank them in my case FOR PAIN RELIEF:
1 - Diclofencac
2 - Knee sleeves
3 - Tumeric and Glucosamine
4 - Peptides

I won't stop using peps but that is for a longer term anti aging thing and other benefits than just pain relief, so don't think I don't like them. In the context of pain relief, they were probably the least effective. The 'Gang of Four' will be an ongoing thing for me.

And thus concludes the world's most boring log.

NAH, just fuzzing with you! I will post here again BWAH HA HA!