@Subject-Light-1153's six-peptide "thoughts about these together?" grab bag
GLP-3R (reta?) Tesamorelin/Ipamorelin MOTS-C Selank NAD+ Semax
A grab bag with no doses and no goals. Six compounds — a triple incretin agonist, GH-axis stimulators, MOTS-C, two Russian nootropics, and NAD+ — all running blind without bloodwork or titration. The ingredients are individually defensible; the assembly is not. When something goes well or badly here, there is no way to attribute it to any one compound.
| Goal | Score | Grade | Weight | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Longevity | 70 | C- | 20% | MOTS-C, NAD+, and incretin/GH agents touch aging-related pathways, but with no monitoring, no doses, and no aging biomarker plan it's pure mechanism without measurement. |
| Cognition | 72 | C- | 20% | Selank and semax are explicitly nootropic; evidence is largely Russian-language and weak. Stacking both prevents per-compound attribution of any cognitive change. |
| Sleep & recovery | 70 | C- | 15% | Tesa/ipa can deepen slow-wave sleep via GH pulse; MOTS-C and selank touch recovery indirectly. Not the focus and no sleep-tracking signal in the post. |
| Energy & metabolism | 75 | C | 30% | Strongest axis: retatrutide has Phase 3 metabolic data, tesamorelin has FDA approval for visceral fat, MOTS-C activates AMPK. Undermined by no doses and conflicting effects on insulin sensitivity. |
| Body recomposition | 68 | D+ | 15% | Reta drives fat loss, GH axis preserves lean mass — but no protein target, no resistance training, and no doses. Body recomp without a barbell is wishful. |
Ingredients (6)
Retatrutide ("GLP-3R?")
Retatrutide ("GLP-3R?") on peptidelist.org ↗
- Dose
- unspecified
- Mechanism
- Triple agonist of GLP-1, GIP, and glucagon receptors. Drives substantial fat loss in Phase 2/3 trials, exceeding semaglutide and tirzepatide on weight loss and glycemic markers. Not yet FDA-approved for any indication.
- Take
- No dose disclosed, which is the entire problem. Retatrutide dose-finding (TRIUMPH-1/2) ran 1–12mg weekly with side-effect burden tracking dose; the standard titration is 2mg → 4mg → 8mg → 12mg over months. Without a stated dose and titration plan, there's no way to tell whether the author starts at a sane 0.5–2mg or skips straight to a GI-disaster dose. The "GLP-3R (reta?)" phrasing is also a tell — "GLP-3R" isn't a real receptor; retatrutide is a GLP-1/GIP/glucagon triple agonist. Author isn't sure what they're taking.
Tesamorelin / Ipamorelin
- Dose
- unspecified
- Mechanism
- Tesamorelin is a GHRH analog (FDA-approved for HIV lipodystrophy); ipamorelin is a selective ghrelin receptor agonist (GHRP). Combined, they amplify endogenous GH pulses — one from the hypothalamus, one from the pituitary.
- Take
- Tesamorelin has clinical dose data at 2mg/day SC for HIV-associated visceral fat; ipamorelin runs 200–300mcg 1–3x/day in enthusiast protocols. The author lists neither dose nor frequency. Worse: running this with retatrutide pushes the same axis from opposite directions — GH/IGF-1 elevation worsens insulin sensitivity, retatrutide improves it. With no IGF-1, fasting glucose, or HbA1c labs, there's no way to know where net glucose handling lands.
MOTS-c
- Dose
- unspecified
- Mechanism
- Mitochondrial-derived peptide encoded in the 12S rRNA region of mtDNA. Activates AMPK, improves insulin sensitivity, and has rodent data showing improved exercise capacity and metabolic health. Human evidence remains preliminary.
- Take
- Typical research-peptide protocols run 5–10mg 2–3x/week SC, but no dose is stated. MOTS-c is interesting biology with thin human data — worth running if you've isolated it as a variable. In this stack it's pure noise: any metabolic improvement will be overwhelmingly attributable to whatever retatrutide dose the author lands on.
Selank
- Dose
- unspecified
- Mechanism
- Russian-developed heptapeptide; analog of tuftsin. Modulates GABAergic and serotonergic systems with anxiolytic and mild nootropic effects in animal and small-cohort human studies. Typically dosed intranasally.
- Take
- Standard intranasal protocol is 250–500mcg 2–3x/day. The author lists no dose. Selank's clinical evidence is mostly Russian-language and never replicated under standard Western RCT methodology — interesting but anecdotal-to-weak. Stacking it with semax (same provenance, similar handwave-to-clinical-data ratio) is not additive evidence.
NAD+
- Dose
- unspecified
- Mechanism
- Coenzyme central to redox metabolism, sirtuin activity, and DNA repair. Levels decline with age. Whether exogenous NAD+ (oral, IV, or via precursors NMN/NR) raises tissue NAD+ in ways that translate to clinical benefit remains unsettled.
- Take
- Without a dose or route, this could be $30/mo of NMN capsules or $400+/mo IV NAD+ at a clinic. Oral NAD+ has poor bioavailability; precursors (NR, NMN) raise blood NAD+ but human outcome data is thin. NAD+ IV floods circulation but tissue uptake and clinical translation remain unproven — mostly theatrical at the dollar-per-benefit level relative to sleep, exercise, and the rest of the stack.
Semax
- Dose
- unspecified
- Mechanism
- Russian-developed ACTH(4-10) analog. Increases BDNF expression and modulates dopaminergic signaling. Russian clinical use covers stroke recovery and cognitive impairment; Western evidence is sparse.
- Take
- Typical intranasal protocol is 250–600mcg/day, with "NA-Semax" variants pushed to 1mg+. No dose stated. Like selank, the evidence base is largely Russian-language with limited Western replication. Pairing both means stacking two compounds with similar pharmacological lineage and similar evidence gaps — without per-compound titration, isolating any cognitive effect to one or the other is impossible.
Risks & interactions
- Zero dose disclosure across the entire stackhigh
Six interventions, not a single dose stated. Without starting dose, titration plan, or frequency, none of these compounds can be evaluated as safe or effective for the user — and any side effect that emerges can't be pinned to a specific compound. The post is asking 'thoughts on these together' before establishing what 'these' actually means.
- GH-axis + incretin triple agonist on opposite ends of insulin sensitivity, no labshigh
Tesamorelin/ipamorelin raises GH and IGF-1, which in some users worsens insulin sensitivity. Retatrutide improves insulin sensitivity and lowers fasting glucose. Running both blind, with no HbA1c, fasting glucose, or IGF-1 labs, means the author has no idea where their net glucose handling lands. Either compound alone with monitoring would be defensible; this combination without monitoring is not.
- Six concurrent novel agents prevent any n=1 attributionmedium
Classic kitchen-sink failure: even if each compound is individually defensible, running all six simultaneously makes it impossible to learn anything from the protocol. If something works, you don't know what. If something goes wrong, you don't know why. The right move is to sequence introductions one at a time.
- Retatrutide sourcingmedium
Retatrutide isn't FDA-approved and isn't available from US compounding pharmacies for this indication. The realistic sourcing path is research-peptide vendors selling lyophilized 'not for human use' powder — purity and dose-per-vial vary, and the author doesn't mention COAs. This is the highest-risk compound in the stack from a sourcing standpoint.
- Selank/semax sourcinglow
Both are typically sold as Russian or research-vendor intranasal solutions. Sourcing concerns are real but the safety profile at typical doses is benign; this is a low-severity sourcing flag, not a clinical risk.
GH-axis stimulation worsens insulin sensitivity in some users; retatrutide improves it. Running both blind, with no IGF-1 or HbA1c monitoring, means you're driving the same axis from opposite directions with no instrumentation. Drop tesa/ipa until retatrutide is at a stable dose and you have baseline labs — then re-introduce one variable at a time. This single removal also collapses the worst attribution problem in the stack.
Estimated cost
Research-peptide vendor sourcing assumed for retatrutide (~$80–120/mo at typical 4–8mg/wk reconstituted from lyophilized vial), tesa/ipa blend (~$60–100/mo), MOTS-c (~$60–100/mo), selank intranasal (~$30–60/mo), semax intranasal (~$30–60/mo). NAD+ range spans oral NMN (~$30/mo) to clinic IV NAD+ ($300–500+/mo per session). No doses stated, so range is wide.