Changed my mind on AOD-9604 — I was wrong to write it off

D
Joined 2025
122 posts
dr_doubtRegular
3/18/2026 · 3466 views

Posted a year ago calling AOD-9604 useless. Standing by most of that take — it's not a meaningful fat-loss compound on its own and the obesity trial failures are real.

But a specific use case changed my mind: joint/cartilage-adjacent applications. There's a separate body of work on AOD-9604 for osteoarthritis and cartilage support that I wasn't engaging with. Ran it locally around a chronic AC joint issue for 4 weeks, pain curve moved in a way that other stuff hadn't.

So: AOD-9604 for fat loss — no. AOD-9604 as an adjunct for joint/cartilage issues — maybe, and worth a look.

Posting the update because I was confidently wrong on the second use case.

10 Replies

S
Joined 2026
117 posts
3/19/2026

Respect for the update. The cartilage/joint work on AOD is underappreciated. Still not fat-loss efficacy.

S
Joined 2025
97 posts
3/19/2026

The AC joint use case matches a niche I've seen. Local pin (not systemic) is key. Systemic AOD for joints would be diluted.

Growth + recovery
  • CJC-1295 no DAC · 100 mcg · pre-bed · sub-Q
  • Ipamorelin · 200 mcg · pre-bed · sub-Q
  • BPC-157 · 250 mcg · 2x/day · sub-Q
M
Joined 2026
24 posts
3/20/2026

Tried AOD locally around a meniscus tear alongside BPC. Subjective improvement, hard to attribute specifically. Encouraged by your report.

H
Joined 2025
212 posts
hexaclinicContributor
3/21/2026

The change-my-mind posts are the best genre in this forum. Thanks for modeling it.

Q2 stack
  • 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
C
Joined 2026
71 posts
3/22/2026

The Metabolic Pharmaceuticals patent literature on AOD-9604 for cartilage/OA is where this use case comes from. It's thin but directionally consistent with the emerging clinical work.

N
Joined 2026
34 posts
3/24/2026

Even as a skeptic this kind of update moves me. 'I was wrong about a narrower claim than I thought' is the most useful correction.

T
Joined 2025
52 posts
3/25/2026

Adding AOD locally to my rehab toolkit for AC joint and low-grade cartilage issues. Will report back.

Pulley A2
  • BPC-157 · 250 mcg · 2x/day local · sub-Q
  • TB-500 · 2 mg · weekly · sub-Q
P
Joined 2025
73 posts
3/27/2026

The standard-issue AOD fat-loss claim is still marketing-grade nonsense. The niche joint use is different. Good clarity.

Healing + skin
  • BPC-157 · 500 mcg · 2x/day · sub-Q
  • GHK-Cu · 2 mg · nightly topical · topical
P
Joined 2026
50 posts
4/1/2026

Honest updates > loud certainty. This is why I keep coming back.

S
Joined 2026
47 posts
5/2/2026

Yeah the cartilage literature is actually pretty interesting if you dig past the fat loss noise. The GH secretagogue angle on chondrocyte proliferation shows up in a few papers, though most are in vitro or animal models so grain of salt. Four weeks is a short window but AC joint stuff can move fast if you hit it right. Did you run it systemically or just local injection around the joint?

Focus stack
  • Semax · 600 mcg · AM intranasal · intranasal
  • Selank · 250 mcg · as needed · intranasal
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