Sermorelin before and after: a realistic results timeline

If you're searching for sermorelin before and after, you probably want two things: what changes, and when. This page answers that with what controlled human trials measured and the week they measured it. There are no patient photos or testimonials here, for reasons explained below.

For what sermorelin is, how it works and how it compares with tesamorelin, start with Belle's sermorelin guide. If you only want the tesamorelin side, that's covered in Belle's tesamorelin guide.

The FDA history, briefly. FDA approved sermorelin as GEREF (Sermorelin Acetate) injection, indicated for the treatment of idiopathic growth hormone deficiency in children with growth failure. In a letter dated December 2, 2008, the manufacturer notified FDA that GEREF was being discontinued and requested withdrawal of the application. In 2013, FDA reviewed the available evidence and determined that both GEREF products were not withdrawn from sale for reasons of safety or effectiveness.

Why sermorelin results build slowly

Sermorelin is a 29 amino acid analogue of human growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH), described in a 1999 review as the shortest synthetic peptide with full biological activity of GHRH. Intravenous and subcutaneous sermorelin specifically stimulate growth hormone secretion from the anterior pituitary.

A 2006 article in Clinical Interventions in Aging frames the difference this way: unlike exogenous growth hormone, sermorelin stimulates the patient's own pituitary gland by binding to specific receptors to increase production and secretion of endogenous growth hormone. The same article notes that release of growth hormone by the pituitary is episodic or intermittent rather than constant as with injected growth hormone.

That's the mechanism, not a promise of outcomes. It does explain why any downstream changes in blood markers or tissue would show up over weeks and months rather than days, and why the trials below measured different things at different time points.

The sermorelin results timeline at a glance: what timelines online claim and what studies measured

Most week by week sermorelin timelines you'll find online are marketing claims, not measured results. Below, those claims sit next to what a human trial actually reported at a comparable point. One important label: Khorram 1997 studied a closely related GHRH 1-29 analog, not sermorelin itself, so its findings describe that analog.

Weeks 1 to 4: the first changes people look for

In Khorram 1997, ten women and 9 men between the ages of 55-71 self-injected placebo nightly for 4 weeks, then received 16 weeks of the GHRH analog. Compared with placebo, the analog produced a significant increase in 12-h integrated nocturnal growth hormone levels in women and men. Within 2 weeks, serum IGF-I and IGFBP-3 increased.

So the earliest documented change in that trial was a blood marker, not a feeling. Nothing visible was measured at 2 weeks.

Sleep deserves a plain statement, because online timelines usually put better sleep in week one. The one controlled trial on this page that measured sleep is Khorram 1997, and it reported that sleep quality was unaffected in both genders. Belle does not present sermorelin as a sleep treatment.

Months 2 to 6: body composition, strength and skin

In Khorram 1997, the rise in IGF-I and IGFBP-3 remained elevated for 12 weeks, returning toward baseline by 16 weeks in both genders. At the end of treatment, blood pressure and body weight were unaffected, skin thickness increased significantly in both genders, and lean body mass increased in men only, with no other changes in body composition or bone mineral density in either gender.

The quality of life findings also split by sex. Fasting insulin and glucose levels were unaltered, but a significant increase in insulin sensitivity occurred in men and not in women. General well-being and libido improved in men, but not in women.

Vittone 1997 looked at a shorter window in a different group: eleven healthy, ambulatory, non-obese men aged 64 to 76 years with low baseline IGF-I levels, treated at home as outpatients, measured before and after 6 weeks. Treatment increased mean nocturnal growth hormone release, the area under the growth hormone peak and peak amplitude, with no change in growth hormone pulse frequency or in levels of IGF-I, IGFBP-3 or growth hormone binding protein. Two of six measures of muscle strength, upright row and shoulder press, and a test of muscle endurance, abdominal crunch, improved.

What did not move in that trial matters just as much: treatment did not change weight, body mass index, waist to hip ratio, DEXA measures of muscle and fat, muscle histology, glucose, insulin or lipids.

Why before and after photos are a weak guide

Photo pairs are persuasive and nearly uninformative. A few reasons:

• Lighting, camera angle, posture and the time of day change how a body looks far more than most people assume.
• Weight change from diet, training or another medication alters the same photo set, and photos can't separate those inputs.
• People often start several things at once, so a photo credits whichever product is being advertised.
• There is no placebo group in a photo. Khorram 1997 ran a placebo phase precisely because that comparison is what tells you whether a change came from the treatment.

That's why this page shows measured endpoints and time points instead of images, and why Belle doesn't publish patient result photos for sermorelin.

What shapes your own timeline

Three things in the evidence above should set your expectations. First, results differed by sex in Khorram 1997: lean body mass, insulin sensitivity, general well-being and libido changed in men and not in women, while skin thickness changed in both genders. Second, Vittone 1997 enrolled only men who already had low baseline IGF-I levels, which is a specific starting point, not the general population. Third, both trials were small and short, so they describe what happened in those groups over those weeks and nothing beyond that.

Your own baseline labs, age, sex, training and sleep habits all sit outside what these studies can tell you. A licensed provider sets the protocol, decides whether sermorelin is appropriate for you at all, and reviews your progress over time. Dosing is never something to copy from an article or a forum.

Belle prescribes compounded sermorelin through a licensed compounding pharmacy after an online visit. Compounded medications are not FDA approved finished products. A licensed provider determines eligibility. As FDA puts it, compounded drugs are not FDA approved, which means the agency does not review their safety, effectiveness or quality before they are marketed.

If you want to see the program and what's included, here's Belle's sermorelin treatment page, and how peptide telehealth works walks through the visit, the prescription and delivery. Current pricing is below.

Side effects to watch for in the first weeks

The 1999 review of sermorelin reported that intravenous single dose and repeated once daily subcutaneous doses are well tolerated, and that transient facial flushing and pain at injection site were the most commonly reported adverse events. That review covered use in children with idiopathic growth hormone deficiency, so read it as a tolerability signal rather than an adult outcome.

In the adult trials of GHRH 1-29 described above, Khorram 1997 reported that the only adverse side-effect was transient hyperlipidemia, which resolved by the end of the study, and Vittone 1997 reported that no significant adverse effects were observed. Both groups were small.

Read Belle's important safety information before starting, and tell your provider about any reaction you notice, especially in the first weeks. If you're also weighing other peptides, the research summaries in this related peptide guide follow the same format: what was studied, and what it found. Peptides other than approved drugs are investigational.

Key points

• Sermorelin is a 29 amino acid analogue of GHRH that stimulates growth hormone secretion from the anterior pituitary, and that release is episodic rather than constant as with injected growth hormone.
• In Khorram 1997, a trial of a closely related GHRH 1-29 analog in ten women and 9 men aged 55 to 71, IGF-I rose within 2 weeks, stayed elevated for 12 weeks and returned toward baseline by 16 weeks.
• At 16 weeks in that trial, skin thickness increased in both genders and lean body mass increased in men only. Body weight was unaffected, and sleep quality was unaffected in both genders.
• In Vittone 1997, eleven men aged 64 to 76 with low baseline IGF-I had higher nocturnal growth hormone release after 6 weeks, with no change in weight, body mass index or DEXA measures of muscle and fat.
• Both trials were small and short, and results differed by sex. A licensed provider decides whether sermorelin is appropriate for you and reviews your progress.

Q: Does sermorelin change your face or skin?

A: In Khorram 1997, a trial of a closely related GHRH 1-29 analog, skin thickness increased significantly in both genders at 16 weeks. That is a measurement of skin thickness, not of wrinkles, facial appearance or photos. No study on this page measured appearance, so there is no evidence here to support a before and after face claim.

Q: Does sermorelin grow hair?

A: No human trial in the sources used for this page studied hair growth. That means there is nothing here to support a hair claim in either direction. Ask a licensed provider about hair concerns specifically.

Q: Is sermorelin a weight loss treatment?

A: Not based on these trials. Body weight was unaffected in Khorram 1997, and Vittone 1997 reported no change in weight, body mass index, waist to hip ratio or DEXA measures of muscle and fat after 6 weeks. If weight loss is your goal, that is a different conversation with a provider.

Q: How long does it take to see results from sermorelin?

A: Answer it with the measured time points instead of a promise. In Khorram 1997, IGF-I rose within 2 weeks and stayed elevated for 12 weeks, returning toward baseline by 16 weeks. In Vittone 1997, nocturnal growth hormone release was higher after 6 weeks. In Khorram 1997 at 16 weeks, skin thickness increased in both genders and lean body mass increased in men only. Your own response may differ.

Q: Will it improve my sleep in the first week?

A: Online timelines often list sleep first. The one controlled trial here that measured it, Khorram 1997, found sleep quality was unaffected in both genders. Belle does not present sermorelin as a sleep treatment.

Q: Is compounded sermorelin FDA approved?

A: No. Compounded medications are not FDA approved finished products, and FDA does not review the safety, effectiveness or quality of compounded drugs before they are marketed. Separately, FDA approved sermorelin as GEREF; the manufacturer notified FDA in 2008 that it was being discontinued, and FDA determined in 2013 that the GEREF products were not withdrawn from sale for reasons of safety or effectiveness.

Q: Why doesn't Belle show before and after photos for sermorelin?

A: Because photos can't separate lighting, posture, weight change or other treatments started at the same time, and they have no placebo comparison. The trials cited here report measured endpoints at stated weeks, which is a far better guide to what to expect.