Tesamorelin dosage calculator
Tesamorelin (Egrifta®) dosage calculator with reconstitution math for 2mg, 5mg, and 10mg lyophilized vials. FDA-approved GHRH analog for visceral fat reduction. Live U-100 insulin syringe draw.
How to use this Tesamorelin dosage calculator
This Tesamorelin dosage calculator runs reconstitution math live for the most common Tesamorelin vial sizes — 2mg, 5mg, and 10mg lyophilized vials — and returns the exact mark to draw to on a 1mL U-100 insulin syringe. The defaults above (5mg vial, 2mL bacteriostatic water, 1mg target dose) match the most common Tesamorelin protocol and pull to the 40-unit mark on a U-100 syringe.
Pick your Tesamorelin vial size
The supplier presets above cover the three vial sizes you'll see: 2mg lyophilized vial (smaller cycles), 5mg lyophilized vial (the standard), and 10mg lyophilized vial (extended protocols). The 5mg vial is the most common research format because it cleanly yields a 30-day supply at the standard 1mg-2mg daily dose.
Pick your BAC water volume
Tesamorelin reconstitutes cleanly at 2mL of bacteriostatic water for a 5mg vial — a 2.5 mg/mL concentration where 1mg pulls to a clean 40U mark and 2mg pulls to 80U on a U-100 syringe. The 10mg vial typically uses 2mL of BAC water (5 mg/mL — halves every draw). Lower BAC volumes are possible but produce hard-to-read draws at smaller doses.
Set your Tesamorelin target dose
Tesamorelin is dosed in milligrams — switch the unit toggle to mg. The FDA-approved dose for HIV-associated visceral adiposity is 2 mg subcutaneously once daily. Off-label and research protocols typically use 1–2 mg per day, with some protocols using lower 1 mg doses for fat-loss research and the full 2 mg for visceral fat reduction. Enter your dose and the calculator returns U-100 units, injection volume, concentration, and doses per vial.
Read the U-100 syringe units
Pull the plunger to the indicated unit mark on a 1mL U-100 insulin syringe. At default settings (5mg/2mL/1mg dose), the draw is 40U. The visual syringe above shows the fill in real time — drag it directly to scrub through doses live.
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Tesamorelin dosage and reconstitution guide
Tesamorelin (Egrifta®) is a synthetic 44-amino-acid analog of growth-hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH), FDA-approved for the reduction of excess visceral abdominal fat in HIV-infected patients with lipodystrophy. It is the only GHRH analog with full FDA approval and the only peptide on this calculator with Phase III clinical data demonstrating ~15–20% visceral adipose tissue (VAT) reduction. This guide covers Tesamorelin dose math, the dosage chart by purpose, reconstitution at 2mg / 5mg / 10mg vial sizes, half-life, cycle length, the Tesamorelin vs Ipamorelin and Tesamorelin vs Sermorelin comparisons, and the Tesamorelin + Ipamorelin stack.
Tesamorelin dosage chart by purpose
Tesamorelin dosing is built around a daily subcutaneous injection. The FDA-approved indication is HIV-associated visceral adiposity at 2 mg/day; off-label and research protocols cluster at 1–2 mg/day for various GH-axis and fat-loss applications. Doses below are common values from research and clinical literature, not medical recommendations.
| Research purpose | Daily dose | Frequency / route | Typical cycle |
|---|---|---|---|
| Visceral fat reduction (FDA-approved) | 2 mg | 1× daily, subQ pre-bed | 6 months minimum (clinical) |
| General fat loss research | 1–2 mg | 1× daily, subQ pre-bed | 12–16 weeks |
| GH/IGF-1 elevation research | 1 mg | 1× daily, subQ pre-bed | 8–12 weeks |
| Tesamorelin + Ipamorelin stack | 1 mg + 200–300 mcg ipamorelin | 1× daily, subQ pre-bed (combined) | 12 weeks on / 4 off |
| NAFLD / liver fat research | 2 mg | 1× daily, subQ pre-bed | 6 months |
| Bodybuilding / recomp | 1–2 mg | 1× daily, subQ pre-bed | 12 weeks |
Tesamorelin concentration matrix — vial size × BAC water
Auto-generated from supplier vial sizes against the standard BAC water volumes. Use this to choose your reconstitution before you draw.
| Vial size | 1 mL BAC | 2 mL BAC | 3 mL BAC | 5 mL BAC |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 mg | 2.0 mg/mL | 1.0 mg/mL | 0.7 mg/mL | 0.4 mg/mL |
| 5 mg | 5.0 mg/mL | 2.5 mg/mL | 1.7 mg/mL | 1.0 mg/mL |
| 10 mg | 10.0 mg/mL | 5.0 mg/mL | 3.3 mg/mL | 2.0 mg/mL |
Draw units at common Tesamorelin doses
U-100 insulin syringe units to draw, computed at the most common Tesamorelin reconstitution (2mL BAC water).
| Vial (at 2mL BAC) | 0.5 mg | 1 mg | 1.5 mg | 2 mg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 mg | 50.0 U | 100.0 U | >100U ⚠ | >100U ⚠ |
| 5 mg | 20.0 U | 40.0 U | 60.0 U | 80.0 U |
| 10 mg | 10.0 U | 20.0 U | 30.0 U | 40.0 U |
Tesamorelin reconstitution — 2mg, 5mg, 10mg vials
The 5mg lyophilized vial is the most common Tesamorelin research format. Reconstitution at 2mL of bacteriostatic water yields a 2.5 mg/mL concentration; a 1mg dose pulls to 40U on a U-100 syringe and a 2mg dose pulls to 80U — both readable marks. The 2mg vial reconstituted with 1mL yields 2 mg/mL (1mg = 50U, 2mg = full 100U syringe). The 10mg vial reconstituted with 2mL yields 5 mg/mL (1mg = 20U, 2mg = 40U), which extends cycle coverage but produces smaller draws.
Tesamorelin half-life and dosing timing
Tesamorelin has a serum half-life of approximately 26–38 minutes — extremely short, which is exactly the design intent. The brief pulse mimics the natural pulsatile pattern of endogenous GHRH release, triggering a downstream pulse of growth hormone from the pituitary that lasts several hours. This is why Tesamorelin is dosed once daily (typically pre-bed) rather than multiple times — the pituitary GH response is the functional duration, not the peptide's serum presence. Dosing pre-bed aligns the induced GH pulse with the body's natural overnight peak, maximizing IGF-1 generation and downstream fat-mobilization effects.
Tesamorelin cycle length
Clinical Tesamorelin protocols (HIV lipodystrophy) run 6 months minimum to demonstrate visceral fat reduction. Off-label fat-loss protocols typically run 12–16 weeks of daily dosing followed by a 4-week break, repeated as needed. GH-axis elevation cycles are shorter (8–12 weeks). Tesamorelin's mechanism is restoration of physiological GHRH signaling rather than supraphysiological GH dosing, so tolerance development is minimal — but intermittent cycling preserves pituitary responsiveness over long-term use.
Tesamorelin vs Ipamorelin
Tesamorelin and Ipamorelin both elevate growth hormone but through different mechanisms. Tesamorelin is a GHRH analog — it binds GHRH receptors on the pituitary and triggers GH release through the same pathway endogenous GHRH uses. Ipamorelin is a ghrelin mimetic / GH secretagogue — it binds GHSR-1a (the ghrelin receptor) and triggers GH release through a parallel pathway. The two are complementary: combining a GHRH analog with a ghrelin mimetic produces a stronger GH pulse than either alone. Tesamorelin has full Phase III clinical data and FDA approval; Ipamorelin remains a research peptide. Tesamorelin is dosed once daily at 1–2 mg; Ipamorelin is dosed 1–3× daily at 200–300 mcg per dose.
Tesamorelin vs Sermorelin
Both Tesamorelin and Sermorelin are GHRH analogs, but they're not interchangeable. Sermorelin is a 29-amino-acid truncated GHRH fragment with a serum half-life of ~10–15 minutes. Tesamorelin is the full 44-amino-acid GHRH sequence with an N-terminal modification (trans-3-hexenoic acid) that resists rapid enzymatic degradation, extending half-life to ~26–38 minutes and producing a longer pituitary stimulus. The result: Tesamorelin produces a stronger and more durable GH/IGF-1 elevation per dose, has Phase III clinical data, and carries FDA approval. Sermorelin is older (1990s-era), cheaper, and remains in use clinically for pediatric GH deficiency, but Tesamorelin is the more potent option for adult research applications.
Tesamorelin + Ipamorelin stack
Tesamorelin + Ipamorelin is the most-discussed GH-elevation peptide stack because the two compounds work through complementary receptor pathways (GHRH receptor + ghrelin receptor) and produce a synergistic GH pulse larger than either compound alone. A common stack runs Tesamorelin at 1 mg subQ pre-bed alongside Ipamorelin at 200–300 mcg subQ pre-bed (combined into a single injection if drawn from separately reconstituted vials, or via pre-blended supplier vials). Some protocols use 1 mg Tesamorelin + 200 mcg Ipamorelin once daily; more aggressive protocols use 1 mg + 300 mcg twice daily. Cycle length follows the Tesamorelin protocol (12 weeks on / 4 weeks off).
Tesamorelin for visceral fat reduction
Visceral adipose tissue (VAT) — the metabolically active fat surrounding abdominal organs — is the primary clinical target for Tesamorelin. Phase III trials in HIV patients demonstrated ~15–20% VAT reduction over 6 months at 2 mg/day, an effect not achieved by diet, exercise, or other GH-axis therapies. The mechanism is indirect: Tesamorelin elevates IGF-1, which suppresses lipoprotein lipase activity in visceral fat depots while sparing subcutaneous fat. Off-label use for non-HIV visceral adiposity (general central obesity, NAFLD, metabolic syndrome) extrapolates from this clinical data and is a major driver of research-protocol use. Subcutaneous fat is less responsive to Tesamorelin than visceral fat — this is a feature, not a bug, since visceral fat carries the cardiometabolic risk that subcutaneous fat does not.
Tesamorelin side effects
Subcutaneous Tesamorelin is generally well-tolerated. The most common observations from clinical trials are injection-site reactions (redness, mild pain, irritation) and transient arthralgia (joint stiffness) particularly in the first weeks. IGF-1 elevation is the intended effect and is monitored in clinical use; supraphysiological IGF-1 levels (>SD+2) can produce edema, carpal tunnel symptoms, and theoretical long-term concerns about insulin sensitivity and cancer risk. Tesamorelin is contraindicated in active malignancy and in pregnancy. Glucose intolerance can develop in susceptible individuals due to GH antagonism of insulin signaling — periodic fasting glucose monitoring is standard in clinical use.