# Ipamorelin

Selective ghrelin-receptor GH secretagogue; sleep and recovery, GH axis plus reactions.

- Page: https://peprank.xyz/peptides/ipamorelin
- Category: Hormones & libido (Research peptide)
- Also known as: 'ipa'; often blended 'CJC/Ipa'
- Routes: Injection
- Safety tier: Strict: Avoid · Balanced: Avoid · Evidence only: Avoid
- Risk axes (0 none to 3 severe): Seen harm 3, Mechanism 2, Data gap 2, Silent harm 3, Product 3
- Positive: 42% of 51 graded reports glowing or positive, shrunk toward the 49% all-report average by 8 reports' weight
- Rank: #50 of 61 research peptides
- Graded reports: 51 (Glowing 5, Positive 16, Mixed 6, Nothing 5, Negative 10, Bad reaction 9)
- Evidence: Small human studies — Phase 2 IV for post-operative ileus, failed
- Access: Grey market
- Onset: Flushing or head rush, if any, within minutes of the shot; sleep often changes within days (some get insomnia the first week); body-composition changes, if any, at 6-12 weeks.
- Lasts: Half-life about 2 hours; each dose gives one GH pulse that is over within 2-3 hours, so it is taken once to three times daily, usually at bedtime fasted.
- Cost per month: ≈ €11–100 (at 100–900 mcg/day, XL Peptides at €3.83/mg, trust-3 shop)
- Dose users report: 140–190 mcg/day (median 160 mcg, n=6), ≈ €16–22 a month at that dose
- Updated: 2026-10-30

**Why Avoid under the strict bar:** GH/IGF-1 axis elevation plus repeated anaphylaxis reports, including a coroner-attributed death.

## What users report

Better sleep ('magical'), recovery and gradual body recomposition from weeks 6-8, almost always with CJC-1295. About 30-40% see little. Common complaints are hunger, night sweats, raised night heart rate and sleep disruption. Delayed allergic reactions (lumps, then itching, then flushing and breathlessness around week 8) recur. An Australian coroner (Oct 2026) attributed actor Richard Norton's 2025 death to anaphylaxis after CJC-1295/ipamorelin taken above the prescribed dose.

**Effects:** deeper sleep; recovery; slow fat loss / recomposition

**Downsides:** hunger; flushing, head rush; water retention; night sweats / disturbed sleep

**Risks:** GH/IGF-1 axis elevation (glucose, theoretical neoplasm promotion); Progressive hypersensitivity and anaphylaxis (case reports; coroner-confirmed death 2025, Australia); FDA notes deaths in an IV ipamorelin gastric-motility study

**Typical use:** 100-300 mcg subQ 1-3x/day, typically at bedtime fasted, 5 on / 2 off.

**Getting it:** Never approved anywhere and on the FDA's Category 2 list, though some US and Australian anti-aging clinics still prescribe it. Most users buy research vials, usually a premixed CJC-1295/ipamorelin blend.

**Stacked with:** CJC-1295 (no DAC) (The default pairing, usually in one vial; a GHRH plus a ghrelin agonist gives a bigger GH pulse. Most reports on this page are for the combo.); Retatrutide or tirzepatide (The dominant 2026 pattern: GLP-1 for fat loss, CJC/ipa for sleep and muscle retention. Ipamorelin's ghrelin-driven hunger can override the appetite suppression.); Tesamorelin (Tesa/ipa blends are the pricier alternative for belly fat; several users who reacted to CJC moved to tesamorelin, though some then reacted to it as well.)

## Risk profile

- **Seen harm 3/3:** Coroner-attributed death: anaphylaxis to injected CJC-1295 with ipamorelin killed Richard Norton in 2025 (double dose, asthma and cardiomyopathy contributing), and the TGA reported three more anaphylaxis cases with the pair. In its only trial two IV-treated cancer-surgery patients died of complications FDA could not link or rule out, with more hypokalaemia and hyperglycaemia than on placebo; first-hand reports add anaphylaxis needing ICU care.
- **Mechanism 2/3:** A ghrelin-receptor agonist that raises GH and IGF-1; FDA highlighted the trial's excess hypokalaemia (12.5% vs 3.4%) and hyperglycaemia.
- **Data gap 2/3:** One phase 2 trial of IV dosing in 114 surgical patients; no human data for the subcutaneous use people practise.
- **Silent harm 3/3:** Its credible long-term harms (tumour promotion and insulin resistance from raised IGF-1) would be silent; anaphylaxis is sudden and can follow weeks of uneventful use.
- **Product 3/3:** Grey-market vials or compounded injections; ipamorelin was among the compounds in the 6,441-sample quality study.
- **Never if:** Active cancer or a history of cancer; A history of anaphylaxis; Diabetes or impaired glucose tolerance; Pregnancy or breastfeeding (no human reproductive data)

## Top reports

- Glowing, sleep, 100 mcg at night: “Holy sh*t it worked. 100mcg of ipamorelin last night gave me my best sleep ever” — [@Mqsley on X](https://x.com/Mqsley/status/2061062308986859944)
- Glowing, sleep: “Holy crap when I took CJC-1295 no DAC and Ipamorelin for 10 weeks it changed my life! I felt like a superhero and my sleep was CURED. I slept like a tank I could get like 10 hours worth of sleep in only 6 and my rem and deep sleep like doubled.” — [@Lucas_Gallooo on X](https://x.com/Lucas_Gallooo/status/2052128186809372829)
- Glowing, sleep, 200 mcg CJC + 200 mcg ipamorelin, 5 on / 2 off: “Sleep has been magical. Overall weight has been steadily dropping as it was before. What I have noticed is that I am getting more defined. Muscle mass is looking leaner and mid section has been looking tighter.” — [r/BodyHackGuide](https://www.reddit.com/r/BodyHackGuide/comments/1w165sk/started_ipamorelin_and_cjc1295_side_effects/p6k22kg/)
- Glowing, sleep, "200mg" (sic) CJC/ipamorelin blend nightly: “in only like 2-3 days, my sleep has been restored, and for once in my life, I am actually getting the sleep I need to function at the highest level. It truly worked very well for me, CJC/IPA in particular ... A bit of a histamine reaction, but nothing that srs imo.” — [@Whynotyou on X](https://x.com/Whynotyou/status/2062016766029844821)
- Glowing, sleep: “CJC + Ipamorelin. Best and deepest sleep I’ve gotten in years” — [@JEOxendine on X](https://x.com/JEOxendine/status/2115788156297462021)

## Cheapest in Europe

- [Semax Polska](https://semaxpolska.com/en/ipamorelin-40-mg/) (PL): Ipamorelin 40 mg nasal kit, €45, €1.13/mg (also contains 5 mg GHK-Cu, judged as [GHK-Cu (injectable)](https://peprank.xyz/peptides/ghk-cu-injectable) since the nasal route is systemic: Strict Avoid · Balanced Avoid · Evidence only Caution)
- [XL Peptides](https://xlpeptides.com/product/ipamorelin/) (GB): Ipamorelin 5mg Research Peptide, €19, €3.83/mg
- [Baltic Peptides](https://balticpeptides.com/product/ipamorelin/) (LT): Ipamorelin 10mg, €50, €5.00/mg
- [Europa-Peptide](https://europa-peptide.de/en/shop/ipamorelin/) (PL): Ipamorelin 10mg, €59, €5.90/mg
- [Particle Peptides](https://particlepeptides.com/en/buy-peptides/11-ipamorelin-10mg.html) (SK): Ipamorelin 5mg, €32, €6.44/mg

## Studies

- [Raun et al. 1998: Ipamorelin, the first selective growth hormone secretagogue](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9849822/) (animal, 1998): In rat pituitary cells, rats and swine it released GH as potently as GHRP-6 but, unlike GHRP-6 and GHRP-2, did not raise ACTH or cortisol even at doses 200-fold above the GH-releasing dose.
- [Gobburu et al. 1999: pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic modelling of ipamorelin in human volunteers](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10496658/) (controlled, 1999): Dose-escalation IV infusions in healthy men: half-life about 2 hours, one GH pulse peaking at about 40 minutes and falling to negligible levels at every dose.
- [Beck et al. 2014: randomized phase 2 trial of ipamorelin for postoperative ileus after bowel resection](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25331030/) (rct, n=114, 2014): IV ipamorelin twice daily for up to 7 days was well tolerated (adverse events 87.5% vs 94.8% on placebo) but did not speed return to a solid meal (25.3 vs 32.6 h, p = 0.15); development stopped.
- [Sinha et al. 2020: growth hormone secretagogues for body composition in hypogonadal men (review)](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32257855/) (review, 2020): Urology review of sermorelin, GHRP-2, GHRP-6, ibutamoren and ipamorelin as TRT add-ons for body composition; concludes that clinical efficacy data are still largely lacking.
- [Dominikowski et al. 2026: performance-enhancing peptides acting on the GH-IGF-1 axis (review)](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42395176/) (review, 2026): Reviews CJC-1295, ipamorelin and other GHS bought as research compounds; reported harms are cortisol and prolactin rises, appetite change, dysglycaemia, fluid retention, joint pain and injection-site reactions, with mitogenic risk plausible but unproven.

## Sources

- [Coroner: Richard Norton's death triggered by CJC-1295 and ipamorelin (ABC, 29 Oct 2026)](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-10-29/victoria-peptide-death-coroners-report-richard-norton/107320590)
- [FDA category 2 note on ipamorelin acetate](https://www.fda.gov/drugs/human-drug-compounding/certain-bulk-drug-substances-use-compounding-may-present-significant-safety-risks)