General Dosing Guidance

This guide covers the general mechanics of dosing that apply across nearly every peptide: understanding units, converting a target dose into a volume you can actually draw up, and the common ways protocols are structured around frequency. It does not recommend specific amounts for specific compounds: appropriate doses vary widely by peptide, purpose, and individual, and that’s information you need to get from a real, compound-specific source rather than a generic guide. Individual compound pages link back here for this framework.

Units: mcg, mg, and IU

Peptide doses are almost always expressed in micrograms (mcg) or milligrams (mg): 1 mg = 1,000 mcg. A small number of compounds (mainly ones with a pharmaceutical history, like some growth hormone products) are dosed in international units (IU) instead, which measure biological activity rather than weight and don’t convert to mcg/mg by a fixed ratio. Always check which unit a given number refers to before doing any math with it. Mixing them up is one of the most common dosing mistakes.

From Vial to Syringe: Reconstitution Math

Most peptides ship as a freeze-dried powder in a vial, labeled with a total weight (e.g., “5 mg”). Reconstituting means adding a liquid, almost always bacteriostatic water, to dissolve that powder, and the amount of liquid you add determines the concentration of the resulting solution.

Concentration = total peptide ÷ total liquid volume.

For example, a 5 mg vial reconstituted with 2 mL of bacteriostatic water gives a concentration of 2,500 mcg/mL (5,000 mcg ÷ 2 mL). Once you know the concentration, you can work out the volume for any target dose:

Volume = target dose ÷ concentration.

Using the same example, a target dose of 250 mcg would require 0.1 mL of that solution (250 ÷ 2,500).

Insulin syringes are typically marked in “units” rather than mL, where 100 units = 1 mL on a standard U-100 syringe. That same 0.1 mL dose would be drawn to the 10-unit mark. If your syringe is marked differently (some are U-40 or measure directly in mL), the unit-to-mL relationship changes, so check the syringe itself rather than assuming.

Using more bacteriostatic water produces a more dilute solution (larger injection volume for the same dose, which can make small doses easier to measure accurately); using less produces a more concentrated one (smaller volume, more doses per vial). Neither is “correct”: it’s a tradeoff between measurement precision and how many doses you get out of a vial.

Frequency Patterns

Protocols are generally structured around one of a few common frequency patterns:

• Daily: the same dose administered once (or sometimes twice) every day.
• Every other day (EOD): dosing on alternating days rather than every day, often used to reduce total weekly exposure while maintaining a regular rhythm.
• A few times per week: a fixed schedule like twice or three times weekly, common for compounds with a longer half-life where daily dosing isn’t necessary to maintain an effect.
• Cycling: alternating a period of active use with a period off, as opposed to continuous use.

Which pattern applies depends on the specific compound’s half-life and the reason it’s being used. That’s compound-specific information, not something a general guide can responsibly generalize.

Titration

Many protocols start at a lower dose than the eventual target and increase gradually rather than starting at full strength. The general logic is to assess individual tolerance before committing to a higher amount, adjusting based on response rather than following a fixed number blindly. If you’re following a protocol from any source, a starting point described as a “typical” dose is still just a starting point, not a guarantee of how you personally will respond.

Injection Basics

Most peptides discussed on this site are administered subcutaneously (into the fat layer just under the skin) rather than intramuscularly, using a short, thin needle. Common injection sites include the abdomen (avoiding a couple of inches around the navel) and the outer thigh. Rotating sites, not injecting the same exact spot repeatedly, helps avoid local irritation and tissue changes over time.

Storage

Reconstituted peptides are generally less stable than the freeze-dried powder and are typically stored refrigerated (not frozen) once mixed, with a usable window that varies by compound: often in the range of a few weeks, though this isn’t universal. Unreconstituted, freeze-dried peptide is generally more stable and can often be kept longer, ideally refrigerated or frozen, before mixing. Heat, light, and repeated freeze-thaw cycles all tend to degrade peptides faster, so check for changes in clarity or color as a general (though not foolproof) sign a solution may have broken down.