42 y/o male here on trt and just started my first ever HGH run. i’m pinning every night and doing bloods every 6 weeks to see where im at. I started at 1.0 IU after getting a baseline and the source is legit so no issues there. the plan was to maybe work up to 4 IU eventually but looking at these numbers now im not so sure. all these were taken first thing in the morning fasted
8/28/25 Baseline - 140 ng/L (0.0 z score) 10/31/25 1.0 IU - 132 ng/L (0.2 z score) 12/10/25 1.5 IU - 198 ng/L (0.7 z score) 1/24/26 2.0 IU - 188 ng/L (0.6 z score)
kind of weird that it dropped slightly on 2 units compared to 1.5 - what do you guys think of the progression? anyone have insight on why it might be stalling or if i should just keep bumping it up like i planned. thanks for any help
man honestly bloodwork can be so finicky depending on how you slept or if you were extra dehydrated that morning. that tiny drop from 1.5 to 2.0 is basically a rounding error - i wouldnt sweat it too much yet.
are you pinning IM or subq? sometimes that makes a difference in how it hits your system. also you might just be a slow responder - everyone's liver processes gh to igf-1 differently.
honestly those numbers seem a bit low for 2 units if the gear is actually gtg. maybe try splitting the dose? like 1iu am and 1iu pm and see if that moves the needle on your next draw.
im 45 and on trt too. i found that my igf-1 didnt really "pop" until i stayed at a dose for at least 3 months. 6 weeks is good for monitoring but maybe give the 2iu some more time to saturate before you bump it again.
don't chase the numbers too hard if you're feeling the benefits. how are your hands feeling? any carpal tunnel or better sleep? if the physical effects are there then the bloods are secondary imo - but yeah that stall is annoying for sure.
prob just daily fluctuations tbh. i’ve had my igf1 swing 20 points just from a shitty nights sleep or a hard leg day before the test. keep at it and see what the next one says.
it's weird it dropped but i've seen weirder shit on bloodwork lol. if you're planning on going up to 4iu anyway just keep tapering up slowly like you are. just watch that fasted glucose though as you get higher up there.
might be worth checking your prolactin too just in case. but yeah - just looks like a standard "wait and see" situation. i'd stay at 2 for another month then maybe hop to 2.5 if you feel okay.
man that 1.5 to 2.0 drop is annoying but honestly it's probably just a testing variance thing. if you slept like crap the night before or were a little dehydrated it can throw the igf-1 numbers off by 10-20 points easily. i wouldn't sweat the 10 point difference too much, it's basically the same result.
honestly 188 on 2 units is kinda low if the gear is top tier? usually i'd expect to see you breaking into the 200s by now. are you pinning IM or subq? sometimes subq takes a bit longer to reach a stable peak in the blood. maybe try switching to IM for a week before your next blood draw and see if it spikes.
i had the same thing happen on my first run. i was bumping the dose every few weeks and my numbers were all over the place. my coach told me to stay on a dose for at least a full month before testing because igf-1 takes forever to stabilize compared to testosterone. id stay at 2.0 for another 4 weeks and test again before going to 3.
dude i've seen guys pin 2iu and hit 300+ and others barely hit 200. genetics play a huge role in how your liver actually converts the GH into igf-1. if you feel fine and arent getting crazy carpal tunnel or bloat then i'd just keep moving toward that 4iu goal. the numbers are only half the story anyway- how do you feel?
baseline of 140 isnt bad for 42 but yeah that 2iu result is a bit underwhelming lol. did you change brands or anything? sometimes "legit" sources still have slight variations between batches. if i were you id just jump to 3iu and see if that finally moves the needle. 1.5 to 2.0 is a pretty small jump in the grand scheme of things.
