Tesamorelin Dosing Guide
An approved growth-hormone releaser: 2 mg a day on the label, 1–2 mg in community use.
Tesamorelin is the compound in Egrifta, an FDA-approved drug for reducing belly fat in a specific patient group. That gives it something most peptides lack: a real, trial-tested daily dose. Community use copies that dose or halves it, and adds a bedtime convention the label does not require.
At a glance
- Typical dose
- 2 mg per day (label); 1–2 mg in community use
- How often
- Once a day; some use 5 days on / 2 off
- Route
- Subcutaneous — abdomen, rotating sites
- Timing
- Label: any time. Community: before bed, 2+ hours after eating
- How long
- Continuous on the label (26–52 weeks in trials); 8–12 week courses in community use
- Vial size
- 10 mg
How much
The original FDA dose, used in the phase 3 trials, is 2 mg once a day. That is the figure most sources anchor to. Newer formulations deliver the same effect at a lower labeled dose (Egrifta WR 1.28 mg; Egrifta SV 1.4 mg), but research vials are dosed by the original 2 mg standard.
Community use ranges from 1 to 2 mg a day. 1 mg is the most common “entry” dose, and some guides start at 1 mg for a week before moving to 2 mg.
How often & when
The label says once daily, every day, at any time, with no fasting requirement. Community guides most often inject before bed, at least two hours after eating, on the reasoning that it lines up with the body’s overnight growth-hormone pulse; a minority inject in the morning fasted.
About half of the community guides use 5 days on / 2 days off. That pattern never appears in the label or trials.
How long
On the label it is continuous — trials ran 26 weeks with a 52-week extension and found no loss of effect over time. Community sources run 8–12 week courses (8 on / 8 off, or 3 months on / 2 months off). The visceral-fat effect is slow and reverses after stopping.
Mixing the vial
Doses below are for a standard U-100 insulin syringe (100 units = 1 mL). The formula: units = dose in mg ÷ concentration in mg/mL × 100. Bacteriostatic water is the usual diluent. A standard peptide vial holds about 3 mL of liquid at most — the store’s vials included — so every row below stays at or under 3 mL. Guides elsewhere that call for 4–5 mL will not fit.
| Vial | Water added | Concentration | Doses in units |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 mg | 2 mL | 5 mg/mL | 1 mg = 20 units · 2 mg = 40 units · 5 doses of 2 mg per vial |
| 10 mg | 2.5 mL | 4 mg/mL | 1 mg = 25 units · 2 mg = 50 units |
| 10 mg | 3 mL | 3.33 mg/mL | 1 mg = 30 units · 2 mg = 60 units |
At 2 mg a day a 10 mg vial lasts only five days, so most people buy in multiples. Refrigerate after mixing and use within about 28 days.
How to reconstitute
Not sure how to mix the vial? Our free Reconstitution Calculator walks you through it: enter the vial size, how much bacteriostatic water you're adding and the amount you want per dose, pick your syringe, and it tells you exactly what mark to draw to, the concentration, and how many doses the vial holds — with a syringe diagram and a step-by-step worked example.
Practical tips
- Injection-site redness and itching, joint aches, fluid retention and tingling are the side effects listed most often. Rotate sites.
- The fat-loss effect is specific to deep belly fat and builds slowly (trials measured over 26 weeks); it is not a general weight-loss drug.
- Bedtime, fasted dosing is a community habit, not a label requirement — the label allows any time of day.
- The 5-on / 2-off pattern is common online but has no trial basis; the label is every day.
What the evidence looks like
Evidence level
Human. Tesamorelin is FDA-approved with phase 3 randomized trials behind the 2 mg daily dose (in HIV-associated lipodystrophy). The 1 mg, 5-on/2-off and cycling conventions are community practice, not trial-derived.
For what the compound is and how it is studied — mechanism, research history and the primary literature — read the reference entry: Tesamorelin.
Batch-tested with published COAs
Tesamorelin on the store
Every vial is tested by an independent lab, with a batch-linked certificate of analysis you can check before you buy. This page is educational; purchasing happens on the store.
Common questions
How many units is 2 mg of tesamorelin?
40 units when 10 mg is mixed in 2 mL (5 mg/mL); 50 units at 2.5 mL; 60 units at 3 mL.
Morning or night?
The label does not care. Most community guides say bedtime on an empty stomach; some say morning fasted. Pick one and be consistent.
Is 1 mg enough?
1 mg is the most common community entry dose; the trial-tested dose is 2 mg. Several guides start at 1 mg for a week and then move up.
Sources
The figures above were compiled from the following pages. Where an FDA label exists it is listed first; the rest are vendor, clinic and community dosing references, which are not peer-reviewed.
- DailyMed — Egrifta WR label (NIH) — 1.28 mg once daily, abdomen, rotate sites; original 2 mg dose equivalence Open
- Peptide Dosing Protocols — Tesamorelin — 2 mg once daily; 10 mg + 2 mL = 5 mg/mL, 2 mg = 40 units; trial durations Open
- The Peptide Catalog — Tesamorelin dosing guide — 1 mg/day, 5 on / 2 off, 8 weeks on / 8 off Open
- Peptide Dosage — Tesamorelin — 2 mg daily with 1 mg first-week ramp; bedtime Open
- Path to Peptides — Tesamorelin protocol — 2 mg daily or 5 days/week; morning fasted variant Open