IGF-1 LR3 Dosage & Reconstitution Guide

Reconstitution

IGF-1 LR3 ships as a freeze-dried (lyophilized) powder that has to be mixed with bacteriostatic water before use. Draw 1 mL of bacteriostatic water into a syringe and add it to a 1 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. 1 mL into a 1 mg vial gives a concentration of 1 mg/mL (1000 mcg/mL). A 40 mcg dose then works out to 0.04 mL = 4 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 1 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

Timing & cycling

Often taken post-workout, injected subcutaneously for systemic effect or into a trained muscle for a theorized local effect. Because it can lower blood sugar, take it with or right after a meal and avoid dosing right before sleep.

Cycle length. Commonly run in short blocks of about 4 weeks on, then off, based on concern that continuous use downregulates the IGF-1 receptor; some users prefer even shorter 10-14 day blocks.

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

• IGF-1 LR3 vials — about 6 for an 8-week run at the upper dose
• Bacteriostatic water — 1 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 56 for 8 weeks, plus spares
• Alcohol swabs — one per injection and one per vial draw
• Sharps container for safe needle disposal

Key points

• Potent and microgram-dosed: a 1 mg vial holds roughly 20-50 daily doses, so it is essentially always sold as a 1 mg vial; a listing like '10 mg (1 mg)' means a 10-vial box of 1 mg vials.
• No human trials or pharmacokinetic data exist for IGF-1 LR3; all dosing and cycling advice is community-derived and unverified.
• Keep fast-acting carbohydrates on hand and do not inject on an empty stomach or before bed, due to hypoglycemia risk.
• IGF-1 is mitogenic; anyone with a personal or family history of cancer should treat this compound as high-risk.
• Reconstituted peptide should be refrigerated and used within a few weeks; it is banned in sport (WADA) and sold not for human consumption.

What to monitor

Blood glucose and hypoglycemia symptoms (shakiness, sweating, confusion), plus body weight/water retention and injection sites; anyone with cancer risk factors should be especially watchful.

Legal & prescription status

Not approved for human use; sold only as a research chemical ('for research use only, not for human consumption'). Related rhIGF-1 (mecasermin) is prescription-only for rare IGF-1 deficiency, and IGF-1 LR3 is banned by WADA.

References

1. IGF-1 and skeletal muscle hypertrophy/atrophy (Cells, 2020)
2. Optimizing IGF-I for skeletal muscle (Growth Horm IGF Res, 2014)
3. Circulating IGF-I and prostate cancer risk meta-analysis (2016)
4. Mecasermin (recombinant human IGF-I) clinical profile (2009)