Peptides for beginners: what to know before a first vial
A peptide vial holds a dry powder measured in milligrams. Water is added to make a liquid, and the dose is drawn with an insulin syringe marked in units. This guide explains each of those words and how to read a dosage page.
What is in the vial
Most peptides are sold as a freeze-dried powder in a small glass vial with a rubber stopper. The number on the label, such as 5 mg or 10 mg, is the weight of peptide in the whole vial. It is not a dose.
The powder cannot be measured as it is. Water is added to turn it into a liquid of known strength, and from then on a dose is a volume of that liquid.
What people have ready
- The peptide vial, with the milligrams printed on it.
- Bacteriostatic water, which is sterile water with a small amount of preservative.
- U-100 insulin syringes. The 1 mL size has 100 unit marks. The 0.5 mL and 0.3 mL sizes are easier to read for small doses.
- Alcohol swabs for the two stoppers.
- A sharps container for used syringes.
The words on a dosage page
mg and mcg are weight. 1 mg is 1,000 mcg. mL is volume. mg/mL is concentration, which is how much peptide is in each millilitre once the water is in.
Units are the marks on an insulin syringe. On a U-100 syringe, 100 units is 1 mL, so 10 units is 0.1 mL. Units measure liquid, not peptide. The same 10 units holds a different dose in every vial, depending on how much water went in.
More on this in units, mL and mg explained.
Where a dose comes from
Every chart on this site carries one of three tags, and the difference matters more than anything else on the page.
- Label schedule. The dose is printed on the label of a medicine approved by the FDA or Health Canada. It was tested in large trials and reviewed by a regulator.
- Trial doses, no label. The dose was given to people in a published study, but no regulator has approved the product.
- Reported range, not a label dose. The numbers are what people report using. No human trial has tested them. The page says so, and lists what studies do exist.
A neat chart can make a reported range look as solid as a label. It is not. Read the tag first.
Before anything else
Check the legal status on the page for your country. Many peptides here are not approved medicines in the US or Canada, which means no regulator has checked what is in the vial.
Talk to a licensed professional before using any medication. This site shows how the numbers work. It cannot tell you whether something is right for you.
Questions
Is the number on the vial the dose?
No. It is the total weight of peptide in the vial. A 10 mg vial holds many doses.
Do I need a special syringe?
The charts on this site are written for U-100 insulin syringes, where 100 units is 1 mL.
What is bacteriostatic water?
Sterile water that contains a small amount of preservative, so a vial can be drawn from more than once.
Related
How to mix a peptide vialHow to read an insulin syringePeptide 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.