Compounded Sermorelin

Compounded sermorelin is prepared for you by a licensed compounding pharmacy in our clinical partner's network and is not FDA-approved. It is not a brand-name or generic product, and the FDA has not reviewed it for safety, effectiveness or quality. No FDA-approved sermorelin product has been sold in the US since the brand-name Geref was discontinued in 2008, for reasons unrelated to safety or effectiveness; sermorelin's standing as a compounding ingredient is under FDA review, and a prescriber may prescribe it only after attesting to a patient-specific need.

Sermorelin is a synthetic version of the first 29 amino acids of growth-hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH) — the fragment that carries its full activity. It signals the pituitary to release your own growth hormone, in your own pulsatile rhythm, subject to your body's own feedback loops. That feedback is the key difference from injecting growth hormone itself: your pituitary can still say no, which is why providers consider its safety profile more forgiving. Geref, the one sermorelin product the FDA ever approved, was a diagnostic and pediatric drug that left the market in 2008; the adult-longevity use rests on that mechanism and on small studies, not on a trial of outcomes in people like you. Geref was an injection, and the sources this page cites describe injected sermorelin. The pharmacy that fills this prescription prepares it as an oral capsule — 500 mcg, one a day — in every state we serve. Sermorelin is a peptide, and peptides taken by mouth are largely broken down in the gut; how much of a capsule reaches your bloodstream is not shown by those sources, and your provider will tell you that before prescribing it, not after.

1. 01

   Weeks 1–4

   With injected sermorelin, sleep quality is typically the first thing people notice. The capsule dispensed here has not been studied that way in the sources this page cites, so any change — or none — is something to assess with your provider.

2. 02

   Months 2–3

   Where recovery and composition changes are honestly assessed — anything faster is water and wishful thinking.

With injected sermorelin, injection-site reactions are the common ones, and flushing, headache and dizziness are reported; the sources this page cites do not describe the capsule's own side effects, so report anything new to the care team. Because it raises growth hormone through your own pituitary, the excess-GH risks of direct hormone injection are lower — but screening still matters, which is why a provider reviews your history first.

• Walker RF. Sermorelin: a better approach to management of adult-onset growth hormone insufficiency? Clinical Interventions in Aging, 2006;1(4):307–308 — a commentary on the mechanism, not a trial
• Federal Register, 2013-03-04 — FDA's determination that Geref (sermorelin acetate) was not withdrawn from sale for reasons of safety or effectiveness

Complete safety information is provided during your visit and with every prescription. This page is a summary, not a substitute for your provider's advice.