I'm running it right now but caught a cold in the middle of it so the sleep tracking I was doing to try and rate the efficacy of it is basically useless now. There's a few different schools of thought (depending on which translation of Russian you align with) and I chose the stronger one. Running 10mg/day for 20 days.

TAMUallen said:

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Yall that ordered from peptideplugs... how'd that go? Any issues? Surprises good or bad?

Was shipping fast inside TX?

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Was great for me ordering from them. Been doing Reta/Tesa for a few weeks now and down 10lbs. At first there was nothing but I did notice that shirts felt looser and all of a sudden the scale moved. Been lifting almost every day and forcing protein. Food is pretty much an afterthought so I really have to force myself to eat.

Also has curbed other addictions like to zero. It's crazy. I did have some gastric issues on the 3rd day almost like I was prepping for a colonoscopy but that passed.

I was very skeptical of all this but I've been going down the rabbit hole now and am looking at doing a cycle of MOTSC next

bthotugigem05 said:

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I'm running it right now but caught a cold in the middle of it so the sleep tracking I was doing to try and rate the efficacy of it is basically useless now. There's a few different schools of thought (depending on which translation of Russian you align with) and I chose the stronger one. Running 10mg/day for 20 days.

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Epitalon is NOT a 5-10mg daily protocol!! I'm tired of seeing it - maybe perpetuated by peptide resellers. That's the wrong dose and has never been the right dose. This incorrect information is everywhere on the web, X and ChatGPT. That's based on a study 1/10th the potency of… https://t.co/Z27rYsp56z

— Tony 🇺🇸 PeptidePlugs.com (@tonymission) June 8, 2026

Everyone favorite Tony says that's not for synthetic epithalon which is what we're buying so that has me scared to go the high dose after digging into it more. I've ran that question through chapgpt and grok and they lean more on Tony's thinking. I guess im gonna run 1mg and see how I feel.

I'm starting this protocol in July and adding Pinealon along with it for a 20 day cycle.

I'll keep y'all posted how my cycle goes.

Excited for DEXA on Friday, looking for more visceral fat reduction and I think I'll see it. Has nothing to do with the epitalon but still. It'll be 8 weeks clear of Tesa, also getting a blood draw to see where my igf and fasting insulin re-baselines to before considering another cycle. Getting close to goal weight and really want to get the last bit of visceral fat gone without causing too much metabolic distress.

I think I want to begin a peptide cycle, but I don't know anything about it other than what I've seen on this thread. Is there a "starter's guide" somewhere?

Awesome man, good luck. My wife and I got our Dexa yesterday and everything is going great. More muscle, less fat, visceral down a little more, and bone density off the charts.

This stuff works if you do it right!

Malachi Constant said:

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I think I want to begin a peptide cycle, but I don't know anything about it other than what I've seen on this thread. Is there a "starter's guide" somewhere?

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TikTok is pretty good actually. What peptide/s or what is going to be your purpose?

Really good on Tesamorelin

Malachi Constant said:

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I think I want to begin a peptide cycle, but I don't know anything about it other than what I've seen on this thread. Is there a "starter's guide" somewhere?

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What is your specific goal? I'd say have a goal and use one to help and start slow. Reta seems to be the gateway pep it was for me at least. I had success with it and tried others. I'll identify a goal and research what can help and run a cycle. Used 4 different ones now about to try epithalon. This thread is great and YouTube is your friend here. Good luck!

Just received my order from Peptira (flawless process, TY for posting that in here). I was doing some independent research on peptides and glad I found this board to give me the confidence to pull the trigger.

Been taking Wegovy for the last few months with little benefit and paying $300/month through HIMS so giving this a go. I will post updates, mostly as accountability to myself.

Beginning tonight after fasting:
Reta
Tesa
Ipa

Current stats 6/10/26
Age: 37
6'2 228.0 lbs
BP: 128/92
HR: 64

The Why: Feel like crap. Ready to turn my physical health around. Just lost my dad to Prostate Cancer a month ago and he didn't do anything to take care of himself. (diabetes, 5-CABG, list goes on and on) My wife has alluded to that physical touch is correlated to how well I take care of myself too, hah!

Good luck man. Get your bloodwork done and check testosterone. Also, go get a dexa scan and see what your body fat percentage is and lean muscle mass.

Lean mass will tell you how many grams of protein you need to prevent muscle loss (1g/lb)

You need measure both those things and not worry as much about the scale.

Good on you for taking charge. Good luck!

And not to belabor the point or be repetitive... but have you had your hormones checked lately? I know it gets mentioned a lot, but if your testosterone is in the toilet, peptides can only do so much (very little actually) to help you feel less crappy.

jmcfar_98 said:

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Really good on Tesamorelin

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Seemed like good info. Anyone else pick up on the don't freeze it note? I was assuming the best storage for the powders was in the freezer from other discussions.

Granted, I listened to this one while driving, but if I had to guess I'd say he was talking about not freezing the reconstituted solution (which you shouldn't do with any reconstitued peptides).

Was he referring to not freezing the lyophilized powder? That is also usually unnecessary as keeping it in the fridge in a cool dark place is fine for years of shelf life.

It has been about a year and my testosterone was 249 and 10.1 pg/ml. So low. Been doing the ashwaghanda and fadogia agrestis to try and naturally help. I would say I notice a difference when taken consistently. Never cross referenced with more labs.

A baseline would be a good idea as I get going with this.

AgEng06 said:

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Granted, I listened to this one while driving, but if I had to guess I'd say he was talking about not freezing the reconstituted solution (which you shouldn't do with any reconstitued peptides).

Was he referring to not freezing the lyophilized powder? That is also usually unnecessary as keeping it in the fridge in a cool dark place is fine for years of shelf life.

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Powder.

You need to get on testosterone immediately. That low, there is no herb on the planet that will raise and keep your levels raised.

Seriously, your hormones are in the tank. You're wasting your time and your money on peptides if you don't fix your hormones.

MosesHallEnforcer said:

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You need to get on testosterone immediately. That low, there is no herb on the planet that will raise and keep your levels raised.

Seriously, your hormones are in the tank. You're wasting your time and your money on peptides if you don't fix your hormones.

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Yes, this.

Sheesh. Didn't know I should even consider that below 40y. I will work on getting an updated blood panel and start exploring.

AnyOtherName said:

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Sheesh. Didn't know I should even consider that below 40y. I will work on getting an updated blood panel and start exploring.

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It is not always an age thing... if you have a terrible diet, poor sleep, sedentary lifestyle, etc. you can have low T much younger than that.

Improve all of those things and your T will be much better but TRT will do that overnight. I am not a fan of hopping on TRT when you have other variables in your control that don't require a permanent commitment - unless the symptoms truly warrant the use.

I can honestly say I have prob 2.5/3 of those, which I know there is an opportunity to overcome. Really not looking to jump right into TRT without giving a consistent training regimen a shot first.

Yeah, your weight/height doesn't seem like you have an enormous mountain to scale. Do NOT underestimate sleep... it has been one of the bigger game changers for me in the last 2 years or so and I am almost 3 years older than you.

Improve those things and then compare numbers. If it is still not where it needs to be, hop on TRT - unless you have start having some really bad side effects of Low T... then throw it all out the window.

I disagree with this quite a bit. In sorry he isn't getting his testosterone 900 plus with any diet exercise or sleep or herbs ever. And testosterone therapy isn't a permanent commitment. He can get off at anytime and take hcg and other things to jump start his natural production again.

But after he experiences normal test levels he won't want to hop off.

Anyway, I have said my peace.

He is 37 years old... the likelihood of anyone that age having that number without TRT supplementation is pretty low. And I never indicated that he would triple his numbers, rather has things outside of age/biology that are dragging his numbers down.

TRT is not permanent but you wouldn't know that based on the people taking it... those that get off are only off briefly because they cannot achieve the levels/feelings that they have when on it. There is nothing wrong with trying to control the variables influencing your T levels, aside from age, and unless you have some really severe side effects, as I stated earlier.

I know it is hard to address underlying problems rather than treat the symptom, but at some point you need to work on the cause too and the sooner the better.

We're all here to help and support you man.

Maybe consider going and talking to a doctor? There are telehealth options as well.

I think we would all agree that number seems low regardless of age. T gets to be a chicken or the egg question with exercise and motivation. It only gets worse as you get older. Talking to a specialist is easy and they should give you all options to consider.

Should probably only trust us "stayed at a Holiday Inn online experts" so far, but we do know the typical ranges and some of the effects of it being low, often from personal experience.

Not to beat a dead horse... but I do think addressing some of the things you pointed out will help his numbers. I don't think they are going to get him to feeling like he has fixed the issue though.

Unfortunately sometimes TRT is necessary to get the desired result, and it's happening in younger men every generation. Environmental factors play a big role in this and is why there are men in their 60s and 70s with higher natural T levels than 20-30 year olds now (but that's maybe a discussion for another day/thread).

I'm 42 years old, and over the last year my total T has consistently been in the 900-1100 range without any supplementation. The problem, however, is that my free T was tanked due to extremely high SHBG. There are things that can be done to lower SHBG and therefore increase my free T, but they aren't/weren't going to get me anywhere close to where TRT can... and therefore into actual "feeling good" territory.

I will look into it. I am due for annual anyway. I do want a more proactive PMP here in Dallas if anyone has one. i am also going to give my lifestyle an overhaul as well. So regardless there will be results. TIA gents

check out Rise Mens Health. They are based in Roanoke, TX, but are a virtual PCP. I've used them for approx 2 years for my TRT script and they've also made other recommendations in addition to TRT.

Hold off on the Tesa and let the Reta do its work. Before starting GH-related peptide you need to know your fasting insulin, fasting glucose, HbA1c, and IGF levels.

Shouldn't he just get a full blood panel now to get those numbers and then start Reta and the tesa?

Just curious the reasoning why Reta first then blood work, then GH secretogue?

Full blood panel for sure would be optimal before starting anything. As for Tesa, I generally think most of the work people need to do can be accomplished by Reta. I think starting the two at the same time can confound the results and make it less obvious the impact each is having, particularly for someone starting out and with the typical cost of Tesamorelin for a 8-12 week cycle.

I think the current community hype around Tesa and MOTS-C as "fat shredders" is a bit overstated (not saying anyone here is being ridiculous about it, but what I see on Peptide Reddit and PepTok) so that's where my GLP-1 first for a while stance comes from.

The specific bloods I mentioned before starting a GH secretagogue (or exogenous HGH) are important to get baseline levels to gather data about what your natural IGF levels are without the secretagogue, mid-cycle bloods to assess the impact on those levels and to make sure insulin resistance is in check, and then post-cycle to see where your IGF levels land before deciding to run again.

Im needing more BAC, is FarrisLabs still a good spot to buy?