Desmopressin (DDAVP)_Dosage, benefits & legal status
Also known as DDAVP, desmopressin acetate, Nocdurna, Noctiva, Minirin
A vasopressin analog with more FDA approvals than any other peptide, and a real hyponatremia risk.
Common vial size is what vendors typically sell, not a recommendation. Enter your own vial in the calculator.
What is Desmopressin (DDAVP)?
Plain language first. The technical label stays, but it never stands alone.Overview
A tweaked version of the hormone that tells your kidneys to keep water. It treats bedwetting and some bleeding disorders. Its danger is diluting your blood sodium, which can cause seizures.
Desmopressin acetate, a synthetic vasopressin analog modified to enhance antidiuretic activity at the V2 receptor while eliminating vasopressor activity. Multiple FDA approvals across indications and formulations, covering central diabetes insipidus, primary nocturnal enuresis, nocturnal polyuria, haemophilia A and von Willebrand disease. Hyponatremia is the principal safety concern and carries a boxed warning on certain formulations.
What it's used for
A prescription drug for diabetes insipidus, bedwetting, night-time urination and some bleeding disorders.
How does Desmopressin (DDAVP) work?
What it does in the body, and where.Desmopressin is vasopressin with two changes, and each change removes a problem.
- 01Two modifications, two effectsAlterations to the vasopressin molecule boost its antidiuretic action and remove the blood-pressure-raising effect of the parent hormone. That separation is what makes it usable.
- 02It works on the kidney's water channelsActing at V2 receptors, it increases water reabsorption in the collecting ducts, concentrating urine and reducing its volume.
- 03The bleeding indication comes from a different receptor effectIt triggers release of stored von Willebrand factor and factor VIII from the vessel wall, which is why it is used before minor procedures in mild haemophilia A and von Willebrand disease.
- 04The risk is diluting the bloodHolding water while continuing to drink normally lowers blood sodium. Hyponatremia can cause seizures and can be fatal, and it is the reason fluid restriction instructions accompany the prescription.
What else is it used for?
Each use below carries its own evidence level. Approved means regulators have cleared it for that purpose. Investigational means it is in trials. Early research means it is being studied and is not established.
- Central diabetes insipidusFDA-approved
- Bedwetting in children and night-time urination in adultsFDA-approved
- Haemophilia A and von Willebrand disease, by releasing stored clotting factorFDA-approved
- Use by athletes as a masking agent, which is prohibitednone
The published record
Papers and trials about Desmopressin (DDAVP)
372 papers tagged human · 186 not reviews or lab · 33 clinical trial publications
127 registered trials · 15 with posted results
Furthest stage reached: Approved in the US
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Prohibited at all times, in and out of competition. S5 Diuretics and masking agents (desmopressin named). Specified Substance.RegulatorsCounted from Europe PMC indexing, not read by a person; a human tag can land on reviews, commentary or lab papers; clinical trial publications is the narrower count. 501 papers and 100 trials indexed in detail.
At a glance
Four things to know about Desmopressin (DDAVP)
Evidence
FDA-approved
Category
Sexual and hormonal
Common vial
Varies
Half-life
About 3 hours
How much, and do you cycle it?
The range, and whether you take breaks.Set by the label and the formulation, varies by indication. Set by the prescription FDA label
This is a prescription drug. Duration and schedule are set by the label and the prescriber, not by a cycling convention.
About 3 hoursFDA label
Three hours in people with normal kidney function, rising to about 9 hours in severe kidney impairment. The label also describes a two-phase decline of 7.8 and 75.5 minutes. The antidiuretic effect lasts longer than the drug, up to 12 hours at higher doses.
Source: DDAVP injection label, Human Pharmacokinetics
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How is it given?
Dosing context and source notes.Supplied as a ready-made solution, so there is nothing to mix.
Label range: 2 up to 4 mcg per day. FDA label, read via a reproduction
Dosing depends entirely on the indication and the formulation, which include tablets, sublingual tablets, nasal sprays and injections. These are not interchangeable milligram for milligram. The injected figure is the label dose for central diabetes insipidus, given under the skin or into a vein (DDAVP injection, 4 mcg/mL). For bleeding disorders the label dose is 0.3 mcg/kg by intravenous infusion, which the calculator cannot draw.
By nasal instead: 10 to 40 mcg per day. DailyMed (Desmopressin Nasal Spray)
How do you store it?
Before mixing, and after.Fridge after opening. Use within about 30 days.
Store sealed Desmopressin (DDAVP) in the fridge. Once opened, keep it upright in the fridge and plan to finish it inside roughly 30 days. Keep it out of light and do not freeze the liquid.
What are the side effects and cautions?
Known cautions and warnings for this compound.Fluid restriction is part of how this drug is used safely. The serious risk is hyponatremia, and it develops from holding water while drinking normally. Formulations are not interchangeable.
Solubility, computed: 33% charged residues, 44% hydrophobic. Water usually sufficient.
A first-pass rule from peptide manufacturers' guidance. It does not account for disulfide bridges, salt form or how the powder was dried, and it predicts what should be easy rather than what will happen in your vial.
Who should avoid it
- Low blood sodium, or a history of it
- Moderate to severe kidney impairment
- Heart failure or any condition requiring diuretic treatment
- Uncontrolled thirst, or an inability to follow fluid restriction
- Use outside a prescription, where no label governs the dose
Stop and get help
- Headache with nausea, vomiting, confusion or drowsiness, which can signal low blood sodium
- A seizure, which is a medical emergency
- Unusual weight gain or swelling
- Signs of an allergic reaction, including facial or throat swelling or trouble breathing
Common effects
- Headache
- Nausea
- Nasal irritation with the spray forms
- Low blood sodium, which is the effect to watch for
Where this page says nothing is established, that means nobody has studied it, not that a compound is safe.
Is Desmopressin (DDAVP) approved?
And where the numbers on this page come from.Yes. Desmopressin (DDAVP) is FDA approved and available on prescription in the United States.
- Approval statusFDA-approved
- RouteBy mouth, as a nasal spray, or by injection
- Checked24 August 2026
- DoseFrom the drug label. The manufacturer tested this range and a regulator reviewed it.
- Vial sizeFrom what vendors typically list; not a recommendation.
- SourcesNone traced yet.
What has happened recently
FDA-approved across several formulations and indications, including central diabetes insipidus, primary nocturnal enuresis, nocturnal polyuria, haemophilia A and von Willebrand disease. Certain formulations carry a boxed warning for hyponatremia. Prohibited in sport at all times by WADA as a masking agent.
What regulators say
From official documentsProhibited at all times, in and out of competition. S5 Diuretics and masking agents (desmopressin named). Specified Substance.
Checked 12 September 2026WADA: The 2026 Prohibited List (in force 1 January 2026)
Banned in drug-tested sport. Most research peptides are prohibited under WADA's S0 category, which covers any substance with no approval from any regulatory authority for human use. That means a compound can be banned without ever being named on the prohibited list. Check with your own anti-doping authority rather than assuming absence from the list means permitted.
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What else is like Desmopressin (DDAVP)?
Others in Sexual and hormonal, side by side.If you're weighing Desmopressin (DDAVP), it's worth reading ENDO-205, Goserelin (Zoladex), and Lanreotide (Somatuline Depot) in the same class.
A vasopressin analog with more FDA approvals than any other peptide, and a real hyponatremia risk.
- Dose
- Set by the label and the formulation
- How often
- Varies by indication
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- Dose
- 60 to 120 mg every 4 weeks (label)
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Guides for this compound
- How to Reconstitute a Peptide
Mix peptide powder with bacteriostatic water, step by step.
- How to Read an Insulin Syringe
Read the units, convert to millilitres, and draw the exact dose.
- mcg vs mg: The Peptide Dosing Mistake to Avoid
Your vial says mg and your protocol says mcg. Here is the conversion and how to check it.
- Why Does My Peptide Injection Itch or Welt
Injection-site irritation, a histamine reaction, or a true allergy, and how to tell them apart.
Sources
No primary source has been traced for this compound yet. Treat everything on this page as unverified until one is. How we grade evidence
Beyond these, 601 records are indexed. Browse the records