The steps
- Wash your hands. Wipe the stopper of the peptide vial and the water vial with an alcohol swab and let them dry.
- Decide how much water to add. The dosage page for your peptide gives an amount for each vial size.
- Draw that amount of bacteriostatic water into a syringe.
- Push the needle through the stopper of the peptide vial. Tilt the vial and let the water run slowly down the glass, not straight onto the powder.
- Swirl gently until the liquid is clear. Do not shake it.
- Write the date and the concentration on the vial, then put it in the fridge.
Walk through it with your numbers
Type in your vial and the water you plan to add. The steps fill in with your numbers.
How much water to add
There is no single right amount. The water does not change how much peptide is in the vial. It only changes how much liquid each dose takes up.
Pick an amount that puts your dose on a line you can read. Under 5 units is hard to see on any syringe. Over 100 units will not fit in one 1 mL syringe.
| Water added | Concentration | 250 mcg is |
|---|---|---|
| 1 mL | 10 mg/mL | 2.5 units |
| 2 mL | 5 mg/mL | 5 units |
| 3 mL | 3.3333 mg/mL | 7.5 units |
The calculator does this for any vial and dose.
Working out the concentration
Divide the milligrams in the vial by the millilitres of water you added.
- 5 mg vial, 2 mL of water: 2.5 mg/mL.
- 10 mg vial, 2 mL of water: 5 mg/mL.
- 30 mg vial, 3 mL of water: 10 mg/mL.
Then a dose in mg divided by that number is the volume in mL, and mL times 100 is the mark on a U-100 syringe.
What goes wrong
- Guessing the water. If you do not know how much went in, you do not know the concentration, and every dose after that is a guess.
- Using a chart for a different vial size. Ten units from a 5 mg vial is half the dose of ten units from a 10 mg vial mixed the same way.
- Shaking. Swirl instead. It makes less foam and is gentler on the peptide.
- Not writing it down. Put the date and the mg/mL on the vial.
Questions
Can I use sterile water instead of bacteriostatic water?
Sterile water has no preservative, so it is meant for a single use. Bacteriostatic water is used when a vial will be drawn from more than once. Follow the label where there is one.
Does it matter if the water hits the powder directly?
Letting it run down the glass makes less foam and is gentler on the powder.
The powder is not dissolving. What now?
Give it a few minutes and swirl gently. If it stays cloudy or has bits in it, do not use it.
Related
How to read an insulin syringeHow to store peptidesPeptide calculatorPeptide dosage chartDosages A to ZAll guides
DosageFacts is an information site. It is not medical advice. Talk to a licensed professional before using any medication.