CJC-1295 Ipamorelin Dosage Guide: Units, Timing, and Cycles Explained

If you've just been prescribed this peptide blend, the first thing you probably want to know is: what's the right CJC 1295 Ipamorelin dosage, and how much do you actually draw into the syringe?

Most protocols use 100 to 300 mcg of the blend as a single subcutaneous injection at bedtime, taken at least 2 to 3 hours after eating. Many settle at 200 mcg, five days on and two days off, and most people start near 100 mcg and step up over three to four weeks.

Here's the part that trips people up. Your dose is written in micrograms, but your syringe is marked in units, and the conversion changes completely depending on your vial size and how much bacteriostatic water you added. Two people on the exact same 200 mcg dose can end up drawing 4 units and 20 units.

In this guide, we'll walk you through the standard dosage ranges, a week-by-week titration schedule, the reconstitution math that turns milligrams into syringe units, plus timing, cycle length, storage, and the mistakes worth avoiding. We'll also show you what to expect when you start a supervised protocol with us. Here's the full picture, starting with the short version.

At a Glance

Now the detail, because those numbers only matter once you can convert them into something you can draw into a syringe.

What You Are Actually Dosing

CJC-1295/Ipamorelin is a compounded blend of two peptides that signal the pituitary gland to release more of your body's own growth hormone. It is prescription-only and given by subcutaneous injection.

These two compounds approach the same pathway from opposite ends.

CJC-1295 belongs to the GHRH analog family. It copies a message your hypothalamus is already producing on its own, a prompt for the pituitary to put out growth hormone. Picture it as opening the pipe wider.

Ipamorelin sits in the secretagogue category. It latches onto the ghrelin receptor, a different trigger sitting on those very same pituitary cells. Ipamorelin is described as selective, meaning it triggers a growth hormone pulse without much effect on cortisol or prolactin at typical doses.

Neither compound adds growth hormone to your body. Both signal your pituitary to release more of what it already makes.

That matters for dosing. Because the response depends on your own pituitary output, more is not automatically better. Past a certain point, you are pushing a signal into a system that has already responded, which is why nearly every protocol caps the per-injection dose.

For the fuller comparison against other options in this category, see how CJC-1295 compares with sermorelin.

DAC or No DAC Changes Everything About Your Dose

This is the detail most dosage guides skip, and it causes the most confusion.

CJC-1295 exists in two forms.

The DAC version comes with a Drug Affinity Complex, which tethers the peptide to albumin so it stays in circulation for several days. In the pharmacokinetic work by Teichman and colleagues, published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism in 2006, the terminal half-life came in around 5.8 to 8.1 days.

Strip the DAC away, the form usually sold as Modified GRF (1-29), and that tether is gone. Its half-life is roughly half an hour.

Here is why it matters to you. Almost every blended vial dispensed for daily bedtime use contains the no-DAC form. Its short action sits alongside ipamorelin's, producing a brief pulse rather than a flat, days-long elevation.

So if a guide quotes a 6 to 8 day half-life and then tells you to inject nightly, those two facts do not belong in the same protocol. Check your pharmacy label. If it says CJC-1295 with DAC and your instructions say daily, ask your prescriber before your first injection.

Standard Dosage Ranges

Across published protocols and clinical practice, CJC 1295 Ipamorelin dosage clusters into a fairly narrow band. Here is what that band looks like.

Three hundred micrograms per injection is where most protocols stop. Going higher tends to add side effects without a proportional response, because the pituitary pulse has a ceiling.

A few things move your number within that range:

• Body size. Larger frames often sit at the higher end.
• Age. Natural growth hormone output declines with age, so starting points differ.
• Sex. Many providers start women 10 to 20 percent lower and adjust from there.
• Other medications and conditions. These can change what is appropriate entirely.
• How did you tolerate the first two weeks? Usually, the deciding factor.

The protocol we describe for this therapy is 200 mcg by subcutaneous injection just before bedtime, five days per week, with two off days. Wider ranges appear in the literature. Your prescription is the one that applies to you.

The Question Nobody Answers: Per Compound or Total Blend?

One of the most common sources of confusion with compounded CJC-1295/Ipamorelin is whether the listed dose refers to the total blend amount or the amount of each individual peptide.

For example, when a prescription states “200 mcg,” it may refer to:

• 200 mcg of the total blend: In a 1:1 formulation, this could contain 100 mcg of CJC-1295 and 100 mcg of Ipamorelin.
• 200 mcg of each peptide: This would mean 200 mcg of CJC-1295 plus 200 mcg of Ipamorelin, for a combined total of 400 mcg.

Different pharmacies and protocols may present doses differently, which is why confirming the exact meaning of the prescribed amount is important.

Before using your medication, ask your pharmacy or provider:

"Is my prescribed dose the total amount of the blend, or is it the dose for each individual peptide?"

How to Titrate: A Week-by-Week Schedule

Almost nobody starts at their target dose. Stepping up gives your body time to adjust and gives your provider a chance to check in before you settle. The schedule below is a general pattern drawn from published protocols, not a protocol we prescribe. The protocol we describe for this therapy is the 200 mcg, five days on and two days off pattern above.

Two rules go with that table. Do not skip steps to reach the target faster, and do not raise your own dose between provider visits.

For a realistic sense of what tends to be noticed and when, see what a realistic results timeline looks like.

Reconstitution and Units: Turning mg Into Something You Can Draw

Some pharmacies dispense this blend already mixed. If yours arrives as a dry powder, called a lyophilized cake, you add bacteriostatic water to dissolve it. Follow your pharmacy's label first, and use the math below to check your numbers. The volume of water you use determines strength, and that strength is what translates your dose into syringe markings. This is where most people get stuck, so here is the whole thing in plain arithmetic.

The Two Numbers You Need

Concentration. Divide the vial's total micrograms by the milliliters of water you added.

A 5 mg vial is 5,000 mcg. Add 2 mL of bacteriostatic water, and you get 2,500 mcg per mL.

Units: on a U-100 insulin syringe, the barrel runs 100 units to the milliliter, which puts a single unit at 0.01 mL. 

Take the dose, divide it by the strength for a milliliter figure, then scale that by 100 to land on units.

At 2,500 mcg per mL, a 200 mcg dose is 0.08 mL, which is 8 units.

Worked Examples

Look at the 10 mg row. A 200 mcg dose is 4 units. Now the 2 mg row. That identical dose now reads 20 units, five times further up the barrel. That is why you cannot copy a unit count from a forum post. Units are meaningless without the vial size and water volume attached.

Extra diluent pushes each dose higher up the barrel, and a bigger draw is simply easier to read. Less water pushes doses into the low end of the barrel, where a half-unit misread becomes a large percentage error. If your dose lands under about 5 units, ask your pharmacy whether a larger reconstitution volume is appropriate.

Mixing It Correctly

• Bring the vial up to room temperature first, then swab each rubber stopper with alcohol. 
• Pull the volume of bacteriostatic water you calculated into a clean syringe. 
• Angle the needle in and let the diluent trickle along the glass wall on its way down. Avoid jetting it straight into the powder cake.
• Turn the vial slowly between your fingers until everything goes clear; shaking is never the answer. 
• Label the vial with the date you mixed it and the concentration you calculated.
• Refrigerate it.

Cloudiness that won't clear, floating specks, or any shift in color mean that the vial is finished; set it aside. Call your pharmacy. 

When to Inject and Why Timing Matters

Your body releases its largest natural growth hormone pulse shortly after you fall asleep. Evening dosing lines up with that window.

The other half of the rule is food. Eating raises insulin, and elevated insulin blunts the growth hormone response. That is why protocols specify an empty stomach.

Practical version:

• Inject just before bed.
• Give yourself a 2- to 3-hour gap from the last time you ate.
• Avoid eating after the injection until morning.
• Keep the time consistent from night to night.

Some athletes use a second daily dose around training. Only do that if it is written into your prescription, because it changes your daily total.

Forgot one? Let it go and pick the schedule back up the following night. Do not double up.

How to Inject at Home

Subcutaneous refers to the cushion of fat sitting beneath the skin; muscle is not the target. It is shallow, with a very fine needle.

• Wash your hands and confirm the dose on your prescription label.
• Swab the stopper again with an unused alcohol prep.
• Draw your calculated units into a U-100 insulin syringe, typically 29 to 31 gauge.
• Tap out any air bubbles and push them back into the vial.
• Prep the site, then give it time to dry on its own 
• Gather a fold of skin, the belly, staying a couple of inches clear of the navel, the top of the thigh, or the rear of the upper arm.
• Insert at 45 to 90 degrees, depending on how much subcutaneous tissue you have.
• Press the plunger slowly, over about 5 to 10 seconds.
• Pull the needle straight out, let go of the fold, and press gently on the spot. Skip the rubbing.
• Retire the syringe straight into your sharps bin. Never reuse a needle.

Rotate sites every night. Repeatedly injecting the same spot is the most common cause of lumps, tenderness, and uneven absorption.

Cycle Length and Taking a Break

How long you stay on the protocol matters as much as the dose.

Most protocols run 8 to 16 weeks, followed by a break of 4 to 8 weeks. Twelve weeks of use followed by four weeks off is what you'll see most often. Some providers add the weekly rhythm on top of that, which is where the five days on and two days off pattern comes from.

The break exists for receptor sensitivity. Continuous stimulation of the same receptor can make it less responsive over time, so off-periods are built in.

Long-term data beyond about six months of continuous use is limited. That is a genuine gap in the evidence, and it is the honest reason cycling is standard practice rather than optional.

Storage and Handling

Peptides are fragile. Storage errors quietly reduce potency, and a weakened vial looks exactly like a good one.

• Before mixing: keep the sealed vial refrigerated or frozen, per your pharmacy's label, and away from light.
• After mixing: refrigerate at 36°F to 46°F. Reconstituted blends are commonly labeled as usable for about 28 to 30 days.
• Never freeze a reconstituted vial. Ice crystals damage the peptide structure.
• Never shake. Swirl gently.
• Keep it in its box. Light exposure degrades peptides.
• Do not leave it on the counter after your injection. Return it to the refrigerator right away.

Your pharmacy's label is the authority on the shelf life that applies to your vial.

Common Dosing Mistakes

These come up constantly, and all of them are avoidable.

• Copying units from someone else. Their vial size and water volume are almost certainly different from yours.
• Escalating too fast. Jumping straight to 300 mcg skips the information titration is meant to give you.
• Injecting after a late meal. Food works directly against the timing logic.
• Inconsistent timing. Bouncing between 9 pm and 1 am makes it impossible to judge how you are responding.
• Reusing injection sites. This causes lumps and changes absorption.
• Leaving the vial out. Room temperature exposure adds up across a month.
• Adjusting your own dose. A forum post has no idea what your history or your labs look like.
• Not writing down the concentration. Come back to that vial in three weeks, and the 2 mL versus 3 mL question becomes a coin flip.

Side Effects and Who Should Not Use It

The bulk of what gets reported is minor, and it usually surfaces in the opening weeks or right after a dose goes up.

What we see recorded most often are local reactions where the needle went in, soreness, a red patch, or puffiness. In fewer than 1% of patients, dizziness, flushing, headaches, or hyperactivity have been reported.

Water retention and tingling in the hands come up in wider discussion of growth hormone secretagogues as a class. Raise anything that concerns you with your provider, along with joint pain or swelling that does not settle.

This therapy is not appropriate for everyone. Using it while pregnant or nursing is not advised. Tell your provider what you already take before you start, corticosteroids and thyroid medications in particular, and give them your full medical history.

Walk into your consultation with everything written down: prescriptions, anything you buy off the shelf, and every supplement. That conversation is much easier before you start than after.

One more item if you compete. WADA bans both categories, secretagogues and GHRH analogs alike, with no in-season or off-season distinction.

How Progress Gets Tracked

A dose is a starting point. Tracking is what turns it into the right dose.

Whether bloodwork is part of your plan is a question for your prescriber, so ask at your consultation. Where labs are used, the marker most often referenced is IGF-1. It reflects sustained growth hormone activity better than a single growth hormone reading, which fluctuates hour to hour. Fasting glucose and HbA1c are also commonly discussed, since growth hormone signaling interacts with glucose metabolism.

Alongside the labs, keep a simple record: sleep quality, morning energy, recovery, injection site reactions, and any side effects. Two lines a night is enough. When your provider asks how the first eight weeks went, that log beats memory.

Legal Status and Where It Comes From

The FDA has approved neither of these two compounds. In the United States, both are available by prescription and are prepared by compounding pharmacies rather than manufactured as approved products.

The FDA maintains public lists that determine which bulk substances compounding pharmacies may use, and it reviews and updates those lists over time. You can read how that framework works on the FDA's page covering bulk drug substances used in compounding under section 503A. Because these lists change, your prescriber and your pharmacy are the current source of truth on what is available to you.

What falls outside those criteria carries equal weight. Vials sold online as "research chemicals," or labeled "not for human consumption," sit outside that system. They carry no verified identity, no verified purity, and no accountability. You cannot dose accurately from an unverified vial, no matter how careful your math is.

How a Supervised Protocol Is Built

At ThinWorks, this starts with a free consultation covering your medical background, your current medications, and your goals. From there, our team recommends a peptide or combination, explains administration, and stays involved as you go.

Pricing depends on which peptide you are prescribed, your dose, and your program length. We walk through the cost live in the consultation instead of posting a figure that likely wouldn't match your plan anyway. Insurance plans rarely pick up peptide therapy. 

You can see the full protocol we describe, including administration and timing, on our CJC 1295 Ipamorelin Peptide Therapy in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida service.

Worth putting in any clinic, ours included 

• Is my vial CJC-1295 with DAC or without?
• Is my prescribed dose the total blend or the amount of each peptide?
• What volume of diluent belongs in this vial, and where does my dose fall on the barrel?
• Which pharmacy is compounding it?
• How long is my cycle, and when do we reassess?
• What would make you stop or change my protocol?

A provider who cannot answer all six clearly is not the right provider.

The Bottom Line

Here's what actually matters out of everything above.

Your dose is most likely 100 to 300 mcg of the blend, given as one subcutaneous injection before bed, with 200 mcg being the number most protocols settle on. That part is straightforward.

What isn't straightforward is the conversion. Micrograms are what your prescription says. Units are what your syringe shows. Get the vial size or the water volume wrong, and you can be off by a factor of five without noticing anything, because the injection feels identical either way.

So before your first dose, pin down three things with whoever fills your prescription:

• Is your vial CJC-1295 with DAC, or without?
• Is your prescribed dose the total blend, or the amount of each peptide?
• How much bacteriostatic water goes in, and how many units does that make your dose?

Keep these three details documented before starting your protocol. They help you understand your prescription accurately and ensure you are following the dosing instructions provided by your healthcare professional. 

One honest note to close on. The published evidence behind these protocols is thinner than the confidence of most articles written about them, and long-term data beyond roughly six months is limited. That's the real reason titration, scheduled breaks, and a prescriber who knows your history matter more than any single number in a table.

Still have questions about how CJC-1295 and ipamorelin get dosed? The ThinWorks clinical team is happy to take them. Email pbg@thinworks.com or call 561-235-0100 whenever it suits you; someone on our staff will talk it through and give you answers built around your situation. You can also browse our blog section for more in-depth guides. 

Frequently Asked Questions

How Many Units Is A 200 Mcg Dose Of Cjc-1295/Ipamorelin?

Usually between 4 and 20 units, depending on your vial. Reconstitute a 10 mg vial with 2 mL and 200 mcg lands on the 4-unit mark. From a 5 mg vial mixed with 2 mL, it is 8 units. From a 2 mg vial mixed with 2 mL, it is 20 units. Always calculate from your own vial.

What Is The Best Time Of Day To Inject Cjc-1295/Ipamorelin?

Right before you turn in, provided dinner was 2 to 3 hours earlier. Evening dosing lines up with your body's largest natural growth hormone pulse, and an empty stomach avoids the blunting effect of elevated insulin.

Do Men And Women Use Different Doses?

Largely the same. The ranges overlap heavily, though many providers start women 10 to 20 percent lower and titrate from there. 

How Long Should A Cjc-1295/Ipamorelin Cycle Last?

Most protocols run 8 to 16 weeks, followed by a 4 to 8 week break. Three months on and one month off is the most common pattern. Long-term data beyond about six months of continuous use is limited, which is why breaks are standard.

What Happens If I Miss A Dose?

Skip it and resume your normal schedule the following evening. Do not double up. One missed night does not meaningfully change a protocol measured in weeks.

How Long Does A Reconstituted Vial Last?

About 28 to 30 days refrigerated for most blends. Once reconstituted: no freezer, no shaking, and leave it in the carton so light can't reach it. Follow your pharmacy's label if it specifies something different.

Is Cjc-1295/Ipamorelin FDA-Approved?

No. It has not. Neither molecule holds an approval. In the US, they move only on a prescription, and compounding pharmacies are the ones preparing them. Availability is set by FDA compounding rules, your prescriber, and your pharmacy.

Can I Raise My Own Dose If I Am Not Noticing Anything?

No. Doses above roughly 300 mcg per injection tend to add side effects without a proportional response, because the pituitary pulse has a ceiling. If you are eight weeks in and want to reassess, that is a conversation with your prescriber, who can tell you whether an IGF-1 check makes sense in your case.

What Is The Difference Between CJC-1295 With Dac And Without Dac?

Duration of action, and that single variable rewrites your entire dosing calendar. With DAC, it is roughly 6 to 8 days, so dosing is weekly or twice weekly. The no-DAC form, sold as Modified GRF (1-29), clears in about half an hour, which is why it's an everyday injection. Premixed vials almost always hold the no-DAC version.

Can CJC-1295 And Ipamorelin Be Mixed In The Same Syringe?

They already are, if you were prescribed a blend. A blended vial contains both compounds premixed, so one injection covers both. Do not combine separate vials yourself. Ask your pharmacy whether yours is a blend or two separate prescriptions.

How Much Bacteriostatic Water Should I Add To The Vial?

Whatever your pharmacy's label specifies, it is commonly 1 to 3 mL. More water makes each dose a larger number of units, which is easier to measure accurately. If your calculated dose lands under about 5 units, ask your pharmacy whether a larger volume is appropriate.

Related Blogs

• CJC-1295 vs. Sermorelin
• What Is CJC 1295 Ipamorelin
• CJC 1295 Ipamorelin Results Timeline

Treat this piece as background reading. Nothing here substitutes for medical advice or functions as a prescription. CJC-1295 and ipamorelin are prescription compounds. Talk with a licensed provider about whether any peptide therapy is appropriate for you.

‍