Stack
CJC-1295, ipamorelin and MK-677
The two-receptor growth hormone pairing with an oral secretagogue stacked on top. Three compounds, two of them acting on the same receptor.
The base pairing carries the one real mechanistic argument in this category. A GHRH analogue and a ghrelin-receptor agonist act on different receptors, so the claim is that they add rather than overlap.
MK-677 is the addition, and it pays to be precise about what it adds. It acts on the same ghrelin receptor as ipamorelin. So this is not a third route into the pituitary. It is more of the second one, taken orally and lasting far longer.
That changes the shape of what comes out. Ipamorelin gives a short pulse. MK-677's long half-life holds elevation up around the clock, which is the opposite of the pulsatile pattern the pairing is usually justified by. Running both means giving up on pulse shape as a goal. Almost nobody describes it that way.
Two effects turn up in nearly every report, and both follow directly from the mechanism. Water retention inside the first week, and a sharp increase in appetite. Neither is a sign of anything working.
The schedule
Commonly run, not recommended12 weeks. Doses are what sources describe rather than what we advise — where a source gave a range we show the range instead of choosing a number inside it.
| Compound | Dose | How often | Weeks |
|---|---|---|---|
| CJC-1295Early human trialsThe GHRH half. Prompts release through the first of the two receptors. | 100 mcg–300 mcg | Once dailyThe no-DAC version, dosed daily. The DAC version is a different molecule on a weekly schedule, and protocols do not transfer between the two. | 1–12 |
| IpamorelinEarly human trialsThe ghrelin-receptor half. Selective, producing a short pulse. | 100 mcg–300 mcg | Once dailyUsually given at night, on the reasoning that natural release peaks in early sleep. A convention, not a finding. | 1–12 |
| MK-677Early human trialsOral, and on the same receptor as ipamorelin. Sustains elevation rather than adding a route. | 10 mg–25 mg | Once dailyWater retention shows on a scale inside a week. Its trial history also includes a programme stopped early, which the compound profile covers. | 1–12 |
Things worth knowing
- MK-677 and ipamorelin act on the same receptor. Run this expecting three independent mechanisms and you are running two, one of them twice.
- Sustained elevation and a natural pulse are opposing goals. This stack chases both at once. Better to notice that before you start than three months in.
- Water retention makes the scale useless as a readout for the first few weeks. Judge this stack on early weight change and you are judging fluid.
- The appetite increase is reliable enough to plan around. It is also why people running this for body composition so often end up disappointed.
- Three compounds is three sets of unknowns, with no way to pin anything on any one of them.
Related
Questions
- Is MK-677 doing something the injections are not?
- Not by route. It reaches the same ghrelin receptor ipamorelin does. What it changes is duration. Its long half-life sustains elevation instead of producing a pulse, which is a different shape, not a different mechanism.
- Why does the scale go up in the first week?
- Water. MK-677 causes fluid retention quickly and reliably, often a few kilograms of it, and none of that is tissue. This is the single most misread effect of the compound.
- Do you need all three?
- Nothing establishes that you need any of them, and nobody has compared the trio against the pair. The pair has the mechanistic argument. The third compound adds duration on a receptor already being worked.
This page is educational. It describes what published research reports, not what you should do. Peptides discussed here are largely not approved for human use, and nothing on Bioalmanac is medical advice.