← GLP-1 overview

GLP-1 Dosage & Reconstitution Guide

Research and educational use only — not medical advice, and not for human consumption. The figures below are summarized from public sources, product labeling, and community reports, and are not a prescription or a substitute for a qualified clinician.

Typical dose
0.25 mg
Route
Subcutaneous injection
Frequency
once weekly
After mixing
5 mg/mL (5000 mcg/mL)

Reconstitution

GLP-1 ships as a freeze-dried (lyophilized) powder that has to be mixed with bacteriostatic water before use. Draw 2 mL of bacteriostatic water into a syringe and add it to a 10 mg vial, letting the stream run down the inside wall of the glass rather than blasting the powder directly. Swirl gently — never shake — until the solution is clear, then keep it refrigerated.

Worked example. 2 mL into a 10 mg vial gives a concentration of 5 mg/mL (5000 mcg/mL). A 2.4 mg dose then works out to 0.48 mL = 48 units on a U-100 insulin syringe. Scale the water volume up or down to make your target dose land on an easy-to-read mark (1 unit = 0.01 mL).

  1. Wipe both vial stoppers (peptide and bacteriostatic water) with an alcohol swab and let them dry.
  2. Draw 2 mL of bacteriostatic water into a syringe.
  3. Inject it slowly against the inside wall of the peptide vial.
  4. Swirl gently until fully dissolved; do not shake.
  5. Label the vial with the contents, concentration, and date, and store it in the refrigerator.

Dosing schedule

Phase Dose Volume Insulin units (U-100) Notes
Weeks 1–4 0.25 mg 0.05 mL 5 units weekly — starter step
Weeks 5–8 0.5 mg 0.1 mL 10 units weekly
Weeks 9–12 1 mg 0.2 mL 20 units weekly
Weeks 13–16 1.7 mg 0.34 mL 34 units weekly, if needed
Week 17+ 2.4 mg 0.48 mL 48 units weekly maximum

Timing & cycling

Same day each week, with or without food. If a dose is 5+ days late, restart the ramp rather than doubling.

Cycle length. Open-ended in clinical use; the ramp exists to manage nausea, not to reach a finish line. Escalate only when the current step is tolerated AND has stopped producing progress.

Storage & handling

Keep the lyophilized (unmixed) vial refrigerated at 2–8 °C (36–46 °F) in a dry, dark place — it tolerates short periods at room temperature during shipping. Once reconstituted, store it at 2–8 °C, never frozen, and use it within about 2–4 weeks (sooner if the solution turns cloudy or discolored). Swab the stopper before every draw and use a fresh needle each time.

Supplies you'll need

  • GLP-1 vials — about 2 for an 8-week run at the upper dose
  • Bacteriostatic water — 2 mL per vial (a 10–30 mL multi-dose bottle covers several vials)
  • U-100 insulin syringes (0.3–0.5 mL / 30–50 unit barrels are easiest to read) — roughly 8 for 8 weeks, plus spares
  • Alcohol swabs — one per injection and one per vial draw
  • Sharps container for safe needle disposal

Key points

  • Semaglutide-pattern schedule shown; the same ramp logic applies across GLP-1 agonists but the numbers differ by compound.
  • Personal/family history of medullary thyroid carcinoma or MEN2 is a hard contraindication in the approved labeling.
  • Muscle loss is the quiet cost of fast loss — lift and eat protein.
  • Many people never need the top steps; the right dose is the lowest one that works.

What to monitor

Weight weekly, plus attention to hydration and protein intake. Severe abdominal pain = stop and get seen (pancreatitis/gallbladder).

Legal & prescription status

Yes. This is an FDA-approved prescription medication (GLP-1 receptor agonists such as semaglutide (Ozempic, Wegovy) and liraglutide (Saxenda)), so a legitimate, human-grade version is available only through a licensed prescriber and pharmacy. The lookalike 'research chemical' versions sold online are unapproved, not quality-controlled, and labelled 'not for human consumption.'

References

  1. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
  2. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
  3. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
  4. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
  5. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
  6. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

This guide is for research and educational purposes only. It is not medical advice and does not describe a product approved for human use. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before considering any peptide protocol.