# MK-677

Oral GH secretagogue (not a peptide); hunger, bloat, insulin resistance, CHF signal.

- Page: https://peprank.xyz/peptides/mk-677
- Category: Hormones & libido (Research peptide)
- Also known as: ibutamoren; Nutrobal
- Routes: Oral
- Safety tier: Strict: Avoid · Balanced: Avoid · Evidence only: Avoid
- Risk axes (0 none to 3 severe): Seen harm 2, Mechanism 2, Data gap 1, Silent harm 3, Product 2
- Positive: 48% of 29 graded reports glowing or positive, shrunk toward the 49% all-report average by 8 reports' weight
- Rank: #38 of 61 research peptides
- Graded reports: 29 (Glowing 3, Positive 11, Mixed 4, Nothing 2, Negative 6, Bad reaction 3)
- Evidence: Human RCTs — Elderly, hip fracture, obesity; not approved
- Access: Grey market
- Onset: Hunger within 15-60 minutes of the first dose; deeper sleep and vivid dreams from the first nights; weight and water gain in the first week; strength gains, if any, over 2-4 weeks.
- Lasts: One oral dose keeps GH and IGF-1 raised for about a day (half-life roughly 4-6 hours), so it is taken once daily, usually at bedtime; water weight and hunger fade over weeks after stopping.
- Cost per month: ≈ €18–54 (researchers' estimate)
- Dose users report: 9.6–23 mg/day (median 20 mg, n=7)
- Updated: 2026-10-30

**Why Avoid under the strict bar:** GH/IGF-1 elevation, insulin resistance and a CHF safety signal in an RCT.

## What users report

Lifters like the appetite, sleep and fullness, but most say gains are mostly water and fat. People keep glucometers or berberine handy because of insulin resistance. Lethargy, tingling hands and bloat are routine. 'Just run HGH' is a common verdict.

**Effects:** appetite and weight gain; deeper sleep; fuller muscles (water); IGF-1 increase

**Downsides:** intense hunger; water retention / bloat; lethargy; numb/tingling hands

**Risks:** Raises fasting glucose and HbA1c; insulin resistance; Congestive heart failure signal: hip-fracture RCT terminated early (FDA category 2); GH/IGF-1 elevation

**Typical use:** 10-25 mg/day oral.

**Getting it:** Never approved anywhere; sold as capsules or liquid by SARM and research-chemical shops, often mislabelled or swapped (MK-777 products have tested as LGD-4033). FDA category 2 bars compounding; banned by WADA.

**Stacked with:** RAD-140 or other SARMs (The classic SARM-shop cycle; makes it impossible to tell what MK-677 itself did, and one documented RAD-140 + MK-677 cycle ended with ALT at three times normal.); Berberine or metformin (Taken by many users to blunt the rise in blood sugar; some also keep a glucometer.); Testosterone or AAS cycles (Used alongside gear for sleep, appetite and recovery.); Enclomiphene (Paired in 'natty plus' cycles to keep testosterone up while on SARMs.)

## Risk profile

- **Seen harm 2/3:** A randomised trial in 123 older hip-fracture patients was stopped early for a congestive heart failure signal, which FDA cites as its reason for barring it from compounding.
- **Mechanism 2/3:** An oral ghrelin mimetic that raises IGF-1 by 50-70% for as long as it is taken; over two years it raised fasting glucose, cut insulin sensitivity and raised cortisol, with oedema.
- **Data gap 1/3:** Never approved, but tested in sizeable RCTs: 563 Alzheimer patients for a year and 65 older adults for two years.
- **Silent harm 3/3:** IGF-1-driven tumour promotion would be silent and delayed; the glucose rise shows on a blood test and fluid retention is visible.
- **Product 2/3:** Sold as grey-market oral research-chemical liquid or capsules.
- **Never if:** Active cancer or a history of cancer; Heart failure or significant heart disease; Diabetes or impaired glucose tolerance; Pregnancy or breastfeeding (no human reproductive data)

## Top reports

- Glowing, energy, 2.5 mg/day: “The mk has flipped my life on its head. I used to sleep 12+ hours, now I feel perfect off of 6.5, sleep study scores have tripled” — [r/NooTopics](https://www.reddit.com/r/NooTopics/comments/1u28z9y/mk677_patched_the_symptoms_of_my_5_year_struggle/)
- Glowing, recovery: “MK677 solved a lot of long standing seemingly unrelated issues I had that no Dr had worked out, in the space of about a week.” — [r/suppgains](https://www.reddit.com/r/suppgains/comments/1m9c8iu/mk677_fixed_me/)
- Glowing, sleep: “felt like someone was massaging me the whole night, could sleep through a tornado, never slept deeper.” — [r/NooTopics](https://www.reddit.com/r/NooTopics/comments/1wc4bgh/how_to_replicate_deep_sleep_from_mk_677/)
- Positive, recovery: “My hands and feet would get super numb while working out. ... After the total 8 weeks I increased my bench from failing 215 to hitting 255. Gained around 15 lbs and had minimal side effects.” — [r/workout](https://www.reddit.com/r/workout/comments/1njss4c/mk677_honest_review/)
- Positive, recovery: “i took mk 677 for a month and went from 72-77kg. All my lifts went up (bench press +15kg). you get hungry but its not that bad, sleep and recovery were great but my left arm would feel numb at night.” — [r/moreplatesmoredates](https://www.reddit.com/r/moreplatesmoredates/comments/1oumoap/i_took_mk_677_for_a_month/)

## Studies

- [Nass et al. 2008: oral ghrelin mimetic MK-677 on body composition in healthy older adults](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18981485/) (rct, n=65, 2008): 25 mg/day for 2 years raised GH and IGF-1 to young-adult levels and added 1.1 kg fat-free mass, but did not change strength or function; fasting glucose rose and insulin sensitivity fell.
- [Adunsky et al. 2011: MK-0677 for patients recovering from hip fracture (phase IIb)](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21067829/) (rct, n=123, 2011): 25 mg/day raised IGF-1 and improved gait speed but not most functional measures; the trial was stopped early for a congestive heart failure signal.
- [Sevigny et al. 2008: MK-677 has no clinical effect on Alzheimer disease progression](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19015485/) (rct, n=563, 2008): A year of 25 mg/day raised IGF-1 but did not slow Alzheimer's progression compared with placebo.
- [Chapman et al. 1996: daily oral MK-677 stimulates the GH-IGF-I axis in healthy elderly subjects](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8954023/) (rct, n=32, 1996): 25 mg/day for 4 weeks roughly doubled 24-hour GH and restored IGF-1 to young-adult levels, while fasting glucose rose from 5.4 to 6.8 mmol/L.
- [Copinschi et al. 1997: prolonged oral MK-677 improves sleep quality in man](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9349662/) (controlled, n=14, 1997): 25 mg at bedtime increased deep (stage IV) sleep by about 50% and REM by over 20% in young men, and REM in older adults.
- [Murphy et al. 1998: MK-677 reverses diet-induced catabolism](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9467534/) (rct, n=8, 1998): During two weeks of calorie restriction, 25 mg/day turned nitrogen balance from negative to neutral and raised IGF-1 compared with placebo.

## Sources

- [Adunsky et al., MK-0677 in hip fracture recovery: phase IIb (Arch Gerontol Geriatr 2011)](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21067829/)
- [FDA category 2: ibutamoren (CHF risk)](https://www.fda.gov/drugs/human-drug-compounding/certain-bulk-drug-substances-use-compounding-may-present-significant-safety-risks)