MK-677 — the one pill option, and its baggage
50 posts
MK-677 (ibutamoren) is the only GHS that works orally. Long half-life, GHSR agonist like Ipa but with very different kinetics — tonic elevation instead of pulsatile.
Pros:
- One pill, once daily
- Strong IGF-1 response (often 50-80% increase at 25 mg)
- Good sleep effect (GHSR agonism, same mechanism as Ipa)
Cons:
- Water retention at 25 mg is pronounced. Wrist puffiness, morning bloat.
- Hunger increase is real and persistent — not a short-term side effect
- Insulin resistance and fasting glucose bump, significant in some people
- Tonic elevation disrupts natural pulsatile GH architecture more than injectable GHS
My take: great for someone who will never stick to injection schedule. Not ideal for people who can inject — CJC+Ipa gives most of the benefit without the water/hunger/glucose problems. What's the panel think?
8 Replies
212 posts
Solid summary. The tonic vs pulsatile point is the most important — MK-677 at continuous agonism downregulates the GHSR partially over time, which is why people report 'it stops working after 8 weeks.' Injectable GHRP pulses preserve receptor sensitivity much better.
- CJC-1295 no DAC · 100 mcg · pre-bed · sub-Q
- Ipamorelin · 200 mcg · pre-bed · sub-Q
- BPC-157 · 500 mcg · 2x/day · sub-Q
35 posts
The glucose response is a real concern. I ran MK 25 mg for 10 weeks, fasting glucose went from 84 to 104, HOMA-IR from 1.1 to 2.3. Not prediabetic but clearly worse. Reversed within 4 weeks off.
38 posts
The hunger is the disqualifier for cutting. People put MK in their cut stack and then wonder why they can't hit macros. MK is a bulk-only compound for most.
43 posts
Dose-dependence on side effects is steep. MK at 10 mg is mostly tolerable. At 25 mg the water retention becomes real. A lot of people who hate MK ran it too high.
122 posts
MK-677 is the compound most likely to make a novice overestimate what GHS can do — IGF-1 bump looks great on paper, weight goes up, appetite is up, 'I must be growing.' Actually mostly water, some LBM maybe, mostly not what they think. Needs careful expectation management.
53 posts
nobody in this thread has mentioned baseline water weight or how much of that IGF bump is actually from GH vs just the tonic elevation jacking up insulin. like, did anyone actually measure body comp before and after or just go off scale weight? because if you gained 8 lbs in 3 weeks on MK, how much of that is actually tissue vs just glycogen and subcutaneous fluid from the hunger eating. dr_doubt nailed it but even he didnt question whether the IGF-1 number itself means what people think it means when your fasting glucose is up and you're retaining water.
- Sermorelin · 200 mcg · 5x/wk AM · sub-Q
- BPC-157 · 250 mcg · 2x/day · sub-Q