GHRP-6 side effects and risks

Reported side effects

• Flushing: Reported in GH testing; denominator not stated., mild (source)
• Cortisol or prolactin increase: Both roughly doubled at 1 mcg/kg IV in one acute study., moderate (source)
• Blood sugar disturbance: unknown, moderate (source)
• Strong hunger and water retention: unknown, moderate (source)
• Serious events in stroke combination trials: 30/95 treated patients had severe events in COURAGE 2; authors attributed none to therapy., serious (source)
• Immune reaction or injection infection: unknown, serious (source)

Stop and get help if

• Trouble breathing, tongue swelling, fainting or widespread hives: Stop and get emergency care now.
• Sudden severe headache, new vision loss or repeated vomiting: Get emergency assessment now; a pituitary or pressure problem must be excluded.
• Chest pain, severe breathlessness or collapse: Call emergency services now.
• Persistent severe abdominal pain or repeated vomiting: Stop and get urgent medical assessment.
• Confusion, seizure, or low blood sugar that does not resolve: Get emergency help now; do not drive.
• Fever with a hot, spreading, painful injection site: Get urgent care for a possible injection infection.

Who should avoid it

• pregnant: Avoid during pregnancy. Reproductive safety is unstudied; this screen is precautionary.
• breastfeeding: Avoid while breastfeeding. Human infant exposure and safety are unknown.
• tryingToConceive: Avoid while trying to conceive. Human fertility and early-pregnancy safety are unknown.
• under18: Historical child studies do not support unsupervised use in minors.
• activeCancer: GH and IGF-1 are growth signals. Avoid with active cancer; this applies GH-treatment precautions to secretagogues.
• cancerHistory: Prior cancer needs a clinician review before raising GH or IGF-1. Recurrence risk with this compound is unknown.
• diabetes: GH-related changes can worsen insulin sensitivity. Review blood sugar control and medicines.
• heartCondition: Fluid retention may strain the heart. Heart-disease safety is not established for home-use schedules.
• uncontrolledBloodPressure: Review uncontrolled blood pressure before use. Fluid retention and pressure changes need assessment.
• kidneyDisease: Kidney-disease dose adjustments and repeated-dose safety are not established.
• liverDisease: Liver-disease dose adjustments and repeated-dose safety are not established.
• diabeticRetinopathy: Review proliferative eye disease before raising GH or IGF-1. This is a GH-class precaution.
• pancreatitisHistory: Review prior pancreatitis. GH-class safety concerns do not establish a risk rate for this compound.
• sleepApnea: Review sleep apnea and new swelling. GH-related tissue or fluid changes are a class concern.
• surgeryPlanned: Tell the surgical team about use and all stacks. Perioperative safety depends on the specific study setting.
• testedAthlete: WADA bans this compound at all times, including out of competition.
• other: Do not add a GH secretagogue when GH or IGF-1 is already excessive. Investigate the cause.
• other: A pituitary mass needs specialist review. GH testing and GH-raising drugs are not interchangeable.

Interactions

• Insulin and sulfonylureas: GH-class precaution: insulin sensitivity and medicine needs can change. Exact interaction trials for this peptide are lacking.
• Other GH secretagogues, GH, and IGF-1: Overlapping GH/IGF-1 effects can add hormone, swelling and blood sugar risks. Combination benefit is not established.
• Glucocorticoids and oral estrogen: These can change GH responses or IGF-1 interpretation. Do not change prescribed hormone replacement to alter a peptide response.
• Anticoagulants and antiplatelets: General injection precaution: blood thinners increase bleeding/bruising risk. A direct interaction with this peptide has not been established.
• Pegvisomant: In a small experiment, GH-receptor blockade changed GHRP-6 glucose and insulin effects. Review this combination with a specialist.

Product quality risks

• Unregulated products may have the wrong identity, dose or sterility. A purity percentage alone cannot establish injection safety.
• Studies identified glycine-modified GHRP-2, GHRP-6 and ipamorelin in black-market or seized preparations.
• No representative market-wide contamination or underdosing rate was found for this compound.