These 3 work in 3 different ways, so they are not straight substitutes for each other.
Hitting the ghrelin receptor makes your pituitary release a pulse of its own growth hormone.
| Comparison | Ipamorelin NNC 26-0161 | Ipamorelin + CJC-1295 blend CJC/Ipa · CJC-1295 and Ipamorelin | IGF-1 LR3 Long R3 IGF-1 · LR3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| How it works | How it works Ipamorelin does not contain growth hormone. It signals your pituitary to release your own, by copying ghrelin, the hormone that makes you feel hungry. | How it works The blend pairs two different signals that reach growth hormone release by separate routes, which is why they are combined rather than doubled up. | How it works IGF-1 LR3 is a modified version of the hormone that growth hormone works through, engineered to stay active far longer than the natural form. |
| What it is | A gentle shot that nudges your body to release its own growth hormone. | The popular growth-hormone combo in one shot, for muscle, recovery, and sleep. | A powerful muscle-builder that also drops blood sugar hard. |
| Status | Research only | Research only | Research only |
| Typical dose | 0.2–0.3 mg per dose | — | 0.02–0.05 mg per day |
| How often | Daily, often at night | Daily, often at night | Daily, cycled |
| Stays active | ~2 hours | Not established | Not established |
| Dose comes from | Community practice | No established range | Community practice |
| Cycled? | Commonly cycled, often quoted as 5 days on and 2 days off, or 8 to 12 weeks on and 4 off Community practice | Each half is cycled on its own schedule, usually 8 to 12 weeks on and 4 off Community practice | Commonly run in 4 week blocks Community practice |
| What it does | |||
| Drug class | GH secretagogue (GHRP) | GHRH + GHRP combo | IGF-1 analog |
| Used for | A gentle nudge for your body to release more of its own growth hormone. People use it to recover faster from workouts, sleep deeper, build lean muscle, and lose a little fat. | The most popular growth-hormone combo in one shot: one part sets a steady base and the other adds a clean pulse, for muscle, fat loss, recovery, and sleep. | A powerful muscle-builder that drives growth in muscle cells and speeds recovery, staying active for hours. |
| Receptors hit | — | — | — |
| Numbers | |||
| Full dose line | 0.2 up to 0.3 mg per dose (start low, increase slowly) | ~100 mcg CJC + 200-300 mcg ipa | 0.02 up to 0.05 mg per day (start low, increase slowly) |
| Why that cycle | The reason for cycling is real; the schedule is not. Sustained exposure to a ghrelin-receptor peptide blunts the growth hormone response to a later dose, which has been shown in people. But no published study has tested any on/off pattern for ipamorelin, and ipamorelin's own desensitisation has never been measured in humans. Every specific number you see traces back to vendor and clinic pages, including one widely repeated citation to a 2019 study that does not exist. | The pairing exists because the two halves do not blunt each other. Losing response to a ghrelin-receptor peptide does not reduce the pituitary's response to a GHRH peptide, and the reverse is also true. No study has tested this blend on any schedule. | The block length comes from community practice. The stated concern is that holding IGF-1 high for long periods drives growth in tissue you did not intend, and it can drop blood sugar hard. No human study establishes a schedule or a safe duration. |
| Weight / effect | Not measured in a trial | Not measured in a trial | Not measured in a trial |
| Chain length | 5 residues | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| Common vial | 5 mg | 10 mg | 1 mg |
| Before you start | |||
| Route | Under the skin (subcutaneous) | Under the skin (subcutaneous) | Under the skin or into muscle |
| Do not use if | Active cancer, as a precaution with anything raising growth hormone Pregnancy Banned in drug-tested sport | Active cancer, as a precaution with anything raising growth hormone Pregnancy Banned in drug-tested sport | Any history of cancer, given the growth-promoting mechanism Diabetes, or any use of insulin, because the blood-sugar drop can be dangerous Pregnancy Banned in drug-tested sport |
What separates them
Proof behind the dose. Every dose here comes from community practice. Not one is backed by a published human study, which is worth knowing before you read the numbers as if they were equivalent.
What doesn't differ: None of them has a measured effect size from a published trial, so there is no number to rank them on.
What people actually report
Ipamorelin
- Generally mild, but it is not approved for this use and is banned in drug-tested sport.
- Signs of an allergic reaction
- New lumps or masses
Ipamorelin + CJC-1295 blend
- It is off-label and banned in drug-tested sport.
- Signs of an allergic reaction
- New lumps or masses
IGF-1 LR3
- High risk: it can drop blood sugar dangerously, so it must never be combined with insulin, and it carries a theoretical cancer-growth concern.
- Banned in drug-tested sport.
- Signs of very low blood sugar such as shaking, sweating, confusion, or fainting, which needs fast-acting sugar and urgent help
- New lumps or masses
Side effects are what users and trials report most often, not a complete list. Anything sudden, spreading, or breathing-related is an emergency regardless of which compound caused it.
People also compare
This comparison does not cover cost, long-term safety, or how you personally will respond. Effect figures come from separate trials in different populations and are not always directly comparable to each other. Nothing here is medical advice or a recommendation to use any of these. Talk to a clinician about your own situation.