Typical dose30 µg per kg body weight (about 900 µg for a 30 kg child)
How oftenOnce a day
Half-lifeAbout 10–20 minutes
Vial sizes2 mg, 5 mg, 9 mg
The simple version
What it does
It nudges your body to release more of its own growth hormone.
How people take it
The old label dose for kids was 30 µg per kg as a shot once a day at bedtime.
Know this
There's no good evidence it reverses aging, and no long-term safety data in healthy adults.
What it is
Sermorelin is a lab copy of the front part of GHRH, your brain's own signal to release growth hormone. The FDA approved it as Geref in 1990 and 1997 to test for and treat growth hormone deficiency in kids, and the maker stopped selling it in 2008 for reasons that weren't about safety or effectiveness. Today it's mostly made by compounding pharmacies for clinics.
How it works
It tells your pituitary (a small gland under the brain) to release a short burst of growth hormone, much like a natural pulse, which then raises IGF-1, another growth signal. Because your body's natural brakes still work, it's harder to overdo than shots of growth hormone itself, though not impossible.
What people use it for
Raising your own growth hormone and IGF-1
Adults whose growth hormone has dropped with age (off-label clinic use)
Sleep quality
Body composition
The evidence
Some human studies
In a one-year study of 110 kids with growth hormone deficiency, a nightly shot roughly doubled how fast they grew without raising blood sugar. In older adults, nightly shots raised night-time growth hormone, but gains in IGF-1, muscle or strength were small and mixed in small, short studies. There's no good evidence it reverses aging, and no long-term safety data in healthy adults.
30 µg per kg body weight (about 900 µg for a 30 kg child)
How often
Once a day
When
At bedtime
Cycle
Long-term, under a pediatric endocrinologist
Route
Subcutaneous injection
Why: This is the dose from the main kids' trial behind the old Geref approval, and the calculator number assumes a 30 kg child. Bedtime matches the body's biggest natural growth hormone burst, early in deep sleep.
Older adults (research)
Trial dose
Dose
10 µg per kg body weight (about 700 µg for a 70 kg adult)
How often
Once a night
When
Around 9 PM / before bed
Cycle
16 weeks in the study
Route
Subcutaneous injection
Why: This was used in a study of adults aged 55–71 that compared it with a dummy shot, using a very close version of sermorelin. The calculator number assumes a 70 kg adult, and another study in older men used 2 mg nightly for 6 weeks.
Standard (clinic/community)
Reported
Dose
200–500 µg
How often
Once a day, often 5 days on and 2 days off
When
Before bed, at least 2 hours after your last meal
Cycle
Often 3–6 months, with IGF-1 blood tests along the way
Route
Subcutaneous injection
Why: It lasts only minutes, so it's timed to add to the natural burst during sleep. Food raises insulin, which blunts growth hormone release, so it's taken on an empty stomach. Weekend breaks are a habit, not a tested rule.
Start at the low end, and change one thing at a time. If you take medication or have a health condition, check with a doctor first.
We may earn a commission from these links. Counts include one syringe and two swabs per dose.
Stay safe
Side effects
Pain, redness or swelling where you inject (most common)
Face flushing
Headache
Dizziness
Trouble swallowing or a strange taste (rare)
Water retention
Higher blood sugar over time (less common than with real growth hormone)
Skip it if
Active cancer or a past cancer (growth hormone and IGF-1 can feed tumor growth)
Pregnant or breastfeeding
Low thyroid that isn't treated
Diabetes, unless a doctor is tracking your blood sugar
Diabetes-related eye damage (retinopathy)
Pituitary disease or past pituitary surgery
Interactions
Steroid anti-inflammatory medicines (glucocorticoids) can blunt the effect
Thyroid medicine: your thyroid levels affect how well it works, so get them checked first
Insulin and diabetes drugs: growth hormone works against insulin
Medicines that act on somatostatin, one of the body's growth hormone brakes (like octreotide), can block it
Get help right away for swelling of the face or throat, trouble breathing, chest pain, or a spreading, hot, red injection site.
Storage & legal
Storage
Powder: fridge. Once mixed with bacteriostatic water: fridge, use within about 2–4 weeks (follow the pharmacy label if prescribed).
Legal status
FDA: Once FDA-approved (Geref: pituitary test from 1990, children's growth hormone deficiency from 1997). Discontinued by the maker in 2008; approvals withdrawn in 2009. FDA ruled in 2013 that it was not withdrawn for safety or effectiveness reasons. Not currently approved; available by prescription from compounding pharmacies.
Sport (WADA): Prohibited at all times (S2, growth hormone-releasing factors). Sermorelin is named on the list.
No. The maker stopped selling it for business reasons, and in 2013 the FDA put in writing that it wasn't pulled for safety or effectiveness. That's why compounding pharmacies can still make it with a prescription.
How is it different from CJC-1295 No DAC?
CJC-1295 No DAC is sermorelin with four building blocks swapped so it breaks down a bit more slowly. Sermorelin has real human trial data; the modified version doesn't.
Is it the same as taking growth hormone?
No. It asks your pituitary to release its own growth hormone, so your natural brakes still work. The effect is usually milder than injected growth hormone, and it does nothing if your pituitary is damaged.
Sources
Thorner M, et al. Once daily subcutaneous growth hormone-releasing hormone therapy accelerates growth in growth hormone-deficient children during the first year of therapy. Geref International Study Group. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1996;81(3):1189-96. PubMed 8772599
Prakash A, Goa KL. Sermorelin: a review of its use in the diagnosis and treatment of children with idiopathic growth hormone deficiency. BioDrugs. 1999;12(2):139-57. PubMed 18031173
Vittone J, et al. Effects of single nightly injections of growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH 1-29) in healthy elderly men. Metabolism. 1997;46(1):89-96. PubMed 9005976
Khorram O, et al. Endocrine and metabolic effects of long-term administration of [Nle27]growth hormone-releasing hormone-(1-29)-NH2 in age-advanced men and women. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1997;82(5):1472-9. PubMed 9141536
Walker RF. Sermorelin: a better approach to management of adult-onset growth hormone insufficiency? Clin Interv Aging. 2006;1(4):307-8. PubMed 18046908
FDA. Determination That GEREF (Sermorelin Acetate) Injection... Were Not Withdrawn From Sale for Reasons of Safety or Effectiveness. Federal Register, March 4, 2013 (Docket FDA-2012-P-1071). Source