Sermorelin Peptide: What It Is, Dosage, Side Effects and Benefits

Sermorelin peptide is one of the oldest growth hormone peptides and one of the few that was once an FDA-approved drug. It doesn’t add growth hormone to your body. It tells your pituitary gland to release more of its own, in short pulses, the way your body already does.

• What it is: A peptide of 29 amino acids, the first part of GHRH
• FDA status: Approved as Geref (1990, 1997); discontinued in 2008
• Sport: Banned at all times by WADA (S2.2.4)
• What people take: 200-500 mcg a shot (Regimen users), 300 mcg most common
• How often: Every evening, or five evenings a week
• Common vial: 10 mg, mixed with 2 or 3 mL of bacteriostatic water
• Half-life: 6-7 minutes after an IV dose

What Is Sermorelin?

Sermorelin (sermorelin acetate, also written GHRH 1-29) is a lab-made copy of the first 29 amino acids of growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH). GHRH is the signal your brain sends to the pituitary to release growth hormone. Those 29 amino acids are the shortest piece that still does the full job, which is why sermorelin works like the natural hormone.

It works one step up: it raises growth hormone, and growth hormone raises IGF-1, the marker on a blood test. Sermorelin itself is cleared from the blood in minutes, but the growth hormone pulse it triggers peaks about 30 minutes after a dose and lasts 2 to 3 hours.

Sermorelin Dosage: How Much and How Often

There is no adult label dose. Geref was approved for children with growth hormone deficiency at 30 mcg per kg of body weight, injected under the skin once a day at bedtime.

Adult studies used more:

• 0.5 or 1 mg twice a day for 14 days in older men (Corpas, 1992).
• 2 mg every night for 6 weeks in men aged 64 to 76 (Vittone, 1997).

What people take is lower. Most Regimen users on sermorelin take 200 to 500 mcg a shot, and 300 mcg is the most common dose. 49% take it five days a week and 44% every day. Most (81%) take it in the evening, which matches the bedtime dosing in the studies.

How to Reconstitute Sermorelin (Units to Draw)

Most Regimen users on sermorelin use a 10 mg vial and mix it with 2 or 3 mL of bacteriostatic water. Here is what common doses come to on a 100-unit (1 mL) insulin syringe:

More water means more units for the same dose. For any other vial or dose, the peptide calculator works as a sermorelin dosage calculator, and the peptide reconstitution guide covers the mixing itself.

Sermorelin Side Effects

The product information and the children’s trials list the same two as most common: brief facial flushing and pain at the injection site, usually gone within minutes.

In the adult studies, sermorelin did not change fasting blood sugar, blood pressure or routine blood tests, and the 6-week trial reported no significant side effects. These were small, short studies, so long-term effects in adults are not known.

It should not be used during pregnancy or breastfeeding, or by anyone allergic to it.

Sermorelin Benefits and Results: Does It Work?

The adult evidence is a handful of small studies from the 1990s:

• Growth hormone and IGF-1 go up. In 10 older men, twice-daily shots for 14 days raised 24-hour growth hormone and IGF-1 to the levels of young men (Corpas, 1992).
• Muscle and fat did not change in 6 weeks. In 11 men aged 64 to 76, 2 mg nightly raised growth hormone at night but not IGF-1, with no change in muscle or fat on a body scan (DEXA). Two of six strength measures improved (Vittone, 1997).
• Children grew faster. In children with growth hormone deficiency, height velocity rose over 12 months, though less than with growth hormone itself.

No large trial has tested sermorelin for fat loss, muscle, sleep or anti-aging in adults. Those uses come from clinics and the community, not from trial results.

Sermorelin vs Tesamorelin, Ipamorelin, CJC-1295 and HGH

• Tesamorelin is the full 44-amino-acid GHRH with a stabilizing group added. It is FDA-approved (Egrifta) to reduce abdominal fat in adults with HIV-associated lipodystrophy. Sermorelin is the shorter 29-amino-acid piece with no stabilizer. The tesamorelin guide has its dosing.
• CJC-1295 is also a modified GHRH(1-29), changed to last longer in the body.
• Ipamorelin works on a different receptor, the ghrelin receptor, so it is often stacked with a GHRH peptide like CJC-1295. See the CJC-1295 and ipamorelin guide and ipamorelin vs sermorelin.
• HGH (somatropin) is growth hormone itself. Sermorelin makes your own pituitary release it.

How Long to Run Sermorelin

22% of Regimen users on sermorelin run it in cycles. The most common is five days on and two off each week, and some run 12 weeks on and 4 off. The rest take it without a planned break. The studies ran from 2 to 6 weeks in adults, so there is no tested answer for longer use.

Where to Inject Sermorelin

Sermorelin goes under the skin. Most Regimen users on sermorelin inject in the belly or the love handles. The peptide injection sites guide shows each spot.

Is Sermorelin Legal?

Sermorelin was an FDA-approved drug until its maker discontinued it, and the FDA later said that was not for safety or effectiveness reasons. It is not on the FDA’s list of compounding substances with safety concerns. For tested athletes, it is banned at all times: the 2026 WADA Prohibited List names it under growth hormone-releasing factors (S2.2.4).

Track Sermorelin With Regimen

85% of Regimen users on sermorelin also track another compound, most often NAD+, retatrutide, tirzepatide or testosterone, which makes it hard to tell what is doing what. Regimen, a sermorelin tracker, keeps sermorelin on its own schedule with reminders, and puts IGF-1 and your sleep and energy on the same timeline as your doses.

For more compounds, see the list of peptides. This article is for education and tracking. It is not medical advice.

Sources

• Geref approvals, discontinuation and the safety determination: Federal Register, March 4, 2013 and Drugs@FDA, NDA 020443.
• Structure, half-life, storage and side effects: Geref 50 product information, HPRA.
• Pediatric dose and trial review: Prakash and Goa, BioDrugs, 1999.
• Adult studies: Corpas et al., 1992; Vittone et al., 1997.
• Tesamorelin: Egrifta WR prescribing information, DailyMed. Ipamorelin: Raun et al., 1998. HGH: Genotropin prescribing information, DailyMed.
• Compounding: FDA, bulk drug substances that may present significant safety risks.
• Sport: WADA 2026 Prohibited List.
• Regimen app data: the current sermorelin protocol of each Regimen user (dose, schedule, time of day, vial, water, cycles) and injection sites logged in the 180 days to October 27, 2026.

All sources checked October 27, 2026.