#41

I would trust a used car salesman more than I would trust the two authors promoting their business, the Institute For Hormonal Balance.

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#42

I guess you’re missing the point of my question?

#43

Fine. You go and get a used car salesman to advise you on improving your healthspan/lifespan. Sounds like a plan. You do you.

#44

Not at all. I’m well aware that neither the patient nor the physicians could be sure what worked. They deliberately chose a “shotgun strategy”…and it worked.
In a perfect world with unlimited time and money yes; you could run lots of trials with “n= lots” and conclude which treatments worked. Maybe they all contributed.
I just don’t see the point in sitting at your computer trying to pick holes in a published paper for no other reason than to “seem” smart.

I don’t know the physicians. I don’t know the patient. All I know is what was published. They presented data. It seems reasonable. If you’re not happy with it; write to them.
So they stand to make some $$ if they get more people asking for the treatment? Welcome to the real world!

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#45

Why is it you can’t just converse without the ad hominem?

#46

I would like to focus on this issue a bit because I am facing a similar issue and would appreciate the input.

I am looking at making a diy hair tonic to hopefully kickstart more hair growth where it’s getting thin.

Obviously the scientific approach would be to test one compound at a time and one combination at a time.

But that could take a long time, and I care less about optimizing the formula and instead just want to maximize the chance of success.

So my predisposition is to mix all the purported growth agents and see what happens.

It seems I am trading off a deeper understanding of what actually works,vfor faster possible results and potentially greater side effects.

Your thoughts?

It seems a similar situation as cited above.

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#47

Could grow an arm or two. Or supervillain arc.

–

It’s probably best for safety to start with one at a time, in order of priority. I’m not sure what that says about Bryan Johnson’s purchasable blueprint with 74 interventions though.

image

I don’t know if blood tests are necessary between every intervention. For Bryan Johnson’s blueprint it would take 6 years with 1 month in-between tests. I think most of us prefer to take as few blood tests as seldom as possible (maybe once every two years).

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#48

I completely understand your dilemma.
You care less about “how” something may work than the success of it actually working.
We are all looking at a clock counting down. It’s quite daunting and it leads people (like me) to accept more risk in the hope of more return.
(As a complete aside there used to be a watch that you bought and you input your DOB. When started, it displayed your estimated remaining lifespan and counted down. Users commented that they were much more productive!)

I can’t advise you on specifics regarding hair regrowth or stopping the thinning as it’s not an area of main concern for me.
But, in the interest of saving time, yes, I think you should prioritise results over optimisation.

My most basic advice for anyone is to read. Read, read, read the literature until it hurts. Let it sink in and let your mind dwell on it for a while. Then choose your strategy.

Perhaps I seemed snippy at KarlT in my post yesterday. It wasn’t an ad hominem attack. I just think the question was rhetorical and superfluous. If we assume that the authors told the truth (always a risk) then we know their combination worked but we don’t know the contributions of each factor. End of story.

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#49

Right on. Maximizing results in a rather short time span. No time to try testing one by one. The perfect is the enemy of the good.

#50

Deeinflorida, So far my trial of a nasal spray form of BPC 157 + TB 500 is of no benefit either. I will follow it with a trial of an oral form of BPC 157 Arginate Salt + SNAC (Salcaprozate Sodium) for at least a month looking for any benefit. Peptides are somewhat expensive for what you get and I’m naturally pessimistic, but I’ll give it a fair trial.

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#51

Replying after a few months again because I finally got around to trying it also. I ordered vials from one of my usual sources and made my own nasal spray with sterile saline and metered mister bottles.

I feel it kick in at 300mcg, but have been using 600mcg as my standard dose. Within 30 minutes I get a pretty strong feeling of wakefulness/alertness that seems to last 4-6 hours. I haven’t done any cognitive tests but the ability to be fully awake does help my concentration and productivity in the morning when I’m usually at my worst. It seems to nullify the residual melatonin and trazodone in my system and feels much better and more powerful than caffeine. That said, I don’t take breaks from caffeine so I have a tolerance to it.

I have also been testing DIY oxytocin nasal spray, which gives me a nice calming effect and an overall better mood. It’s subtle, but I would say I feel more like myself on it, less prone to annoyance.

NA Selank Amidate vials are in the fridge waiting, but I’ll hold off on that for a little bit while I use the oxytocin.

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#52

Agent Smith, I want to make sure I understand. You’re taking 600 mcg N-Acetyl Semax Amidate with success, but you also bought NA Selank Amidate and oxytocin?

My experiments with peptides so far has been an expensive waste of money. I suppose for any number of reasons including the possibility of the supplier. So, please list your supplier. I may try something from them next time.

Thanks.

#53

As I’ve said before, if something isn’t broken, you can’t fix it. Peptides can be valuable for specific needs, such as aiding healing and repair after an injury or surgery, supporting muscle growth, or reducing appetite and promoting weight loss (as with Semaglutide).

Some peptides have benefits that must be taken with a bit of faith because there is no easy way to prove the benefits in humans. One is epithalon, which upregulates telomerase activity and elongates telomeres in animal studies, but this is not easy for the average Joe to measure. And, even if it increases telomere length, it doesn’t prove that it extends lifespan.

I view peptides much like supplements; just because some studies say they provide benefits doesn’t necessarily mean they will benefit me.

After decades of exploring supplements and three years of discussing them on this forum, I’ve reached the end of my supplement journey.

The field of peptides, however, is growing exponentially and holds great promise for improving human healthspan. Game-changing peptides like Semaglutide, Retatrutide, and Tirzepatide are already transforming lives. Most research peptides available today are relatively low-risk, provided you purchase pure, genuine products.

If you’re young and healthy, peptides like Semax may offer little to no benefit. These are more useful for older individuals, like myself, who are trying to combat or slow down age-related declines.

As for suppliers, some have been mentioned in this thread that are probably okay because they have been around for some time, provide some third-party verification, etc., and have positive reviews on several social networks, including Reddit.

If you haven’t experienced any benefits from peptides, it’s likely because you’ve chosen ones that don’t address your specific needs—or there wasn’t anything to fix in the first place.
Of course, dosage and length of use are also involved.

In any case, I wouldn’t give up on peptides just yet. Do some more research and maybe try some different suppliers.

I have been happy with the peptides I have received from the following suppliers, but I do not endorse any peptide supplier. Do your own research.

“Buy Nootropic Sprays | Nootropic Source | Kratom | Peptides”
“https://pharmagradepeptides.is/”
“https://aminousa.com/”
“Skye Peptides”

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#54

Please say more….have you settled on a final stack or quit all together?

#55

I am down to a few of the usual suspects.
Only a few that I consider essential for me, such as lithium, in the form of lithium orotate.
A daily low-dose multivitamin/mineral supplement to make up for things lacking in my diet.
I do take a bit extra vitamin D/K, and melatonin.
Other than that, I take drugs and peptides.

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#56

Outstanding. This is where I hope to get to soon. Still hitting the gym?

#57

I won’t list my suppliers in the open because too much publicity has lead to problems for vendors in the past, but I will DM options to anybody who asks and have helped several here already. Give me a day because it’s Christmas. :slightly_smiling_face:

I purchase from a Chinese vendor or a bulk low-margin reseller of Chinese products that each have a good track record of paying for verifiable testing themselves, who hold up well to independent testing done by the community, and who deliver on orders. These are not the only options, but they work and they have stocked US warehouses.

I have ethics problems with many domestic sellers because most purchase vials in bulk from the same handful of reliable Chinese vendors, put fancy labels on them, often falsely claim US production, sometimes do their own testing, sometimes don’t, and then mark the prices up 5-10x.

For example, if someone is paying much more than about $1.2-2.4/mg for retatrutide or $0.5-1/mg for tirzepatide, they’re probably getting fleeced by someone who is exploiting information asymmetry and is likely lying about their sources and manufacturing. That said, if someone needs something very fast and is willing to pay a premium, I understand. And to be fair, part of the premium is related to the legal risk, as these vendors are committing multiple felonies. There have been notable arrests over the years, one very recently.

…

A possible reason that NA SEMAX Amidate is working for me is that I mixed it myself, so it has been fresh and temperature controlled.

But, yes, I have a large library of peptides on hand, including selank and oxytocin, always purchased as “kits” of 10 vials.

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#58

I still go to the gym regularly, and I believe that exercise is the most important addition to one’s lifestyle for extending healthspan. While I’m not sure whether it’s due to my genetics or my commitment to exercise, I attribute both to my healthspan being significantly better than it would be without them, compared to the supplements I’ve taken.

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#59

I also think that exercise is the most power lever we have for managing our health. I don’t see exercise or any vigorous physical activity as a hack; it’s a signal or stimulus to our physiology to run the programs that give us the capable, resilient body we want (or as close to it as we can get). As we get older the “use it or lose it” rule operates faster and faster, so we have to stay with it. While it’s never too late, it does get harder with age to recover if we stop exercising because we get injured or sick or “too busy”. I try to build some headroom (extra fitness to lose) in case I do have to stop for a while. Fortunately I love it and would never quit due to boredom.

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