Tesamorelin dosage chart: how many units on the syringe

A unit is a volume mark, not a dose

The numbered marks on an insulin syringe measure liquid, not peptide. On a U-100 syringe the barrel is graduated so that 100 units fill 1 mL. That scale exists for insulin, where the concentration is fixed by the manufacturer. Reconstituted peptide vials have no fixed concentration. You set it yourself when you choose how much water to add.

That is why every answer here carries three inputs: the vial size in milligrams, the water volume in millilitres, and the dose in milligrams. Drop one and the unit figure is meaningless. Someone saying they draw 40 units of Tesamorelin has told you nothing until they also say what was in the vial and how much water went into it.

The arithmetic is two steps. Vial strength divided by water volume gives concentration in mg/mL. Dose divided by concentration gives millilitres, and millilitres times the units-per-millilitre of the syringe gives the mark to draw to. The table above has already done both steps for the 5 mg vial.

What the 5 mg table shows

More water means more units for the identical dose. A 1 mg dose is 20 units when the 5 mg vial was mixed with 1 mL, 40 units at 2 mL, and 60 units at 3 mL. The peptide entering the body is the same in all three rows. Only the volume of liquid carrying it changes. Adding water does not weaken a dose, it spreads it across more of the barrel.

The same unit mark also appears for two different doses. Forty units is a 1 mg dose from the vial mixed with 2 mL, and it is also a 2 mg dose from the vial mixed with 1 mL. Double the peptide, same mark. This is the most common way a reconstitution goes wrong, and it is why writing the water volume on the vial label at the moment you mix is worth the ten seconds.

There is also a resolution effect. The 1 mL rows put small doses low on the barrel, where each mark covers more peptide and a misread costs more. The 3 mL rows spread the same dose across more marks. Wider dilution buys reading precision at the cost of barrel space.

The row that does not fit the syringe

One combination runs past the end of a standard U-100 barrel. A 2 mg dose from the 5 mg vial mixed with 3 mL comes to 120 units, more than one barrel holds. There is no mark for it. The dose has to be drawn as two fills of the same syringe, or the vial has to be mixed with less water so the dose fits in one.

Check this before you mix, not after. Once bacteriostatic water is in the vial the concentration is set, and if the volume for your intended dose exceeds the syringe you are stuck with the workaround for the life of that vial. Decide the dose first, then pick the water volume that puts it somewhere readable inside the barrel.

Other vial sizes, and what this page will not tell you

Tesamorelin is sold in 2 mg, 5 mg and 10 mg vials, and reconstitution volumes of 1, 2 and 3 mL are all in common use. The table here is computed for the 5 mg vial. The method does not change for the others: a 10 mg vial in the same water volume is more concentrated, so a given dose sits at a lower mark, and a 2 mg vial is more dilute, so it sits higher. Never carry a unit figure from one vial size to another. A number correct for a 5 mg vial will be wrong for a 10 mg vial, and wrong in the direction of an overdose.

We hold no reliable human pharmacokinetic data for Tesamorelin. This site therefore makes no statement about its half life, how long it takes to clear, or whether it accumulates. Everything here concerns concentration and volume only.

We also do not tell you what dose to use, how often, what to expect, or what it might do to you. There is no medical review behind this content and it does not answer clinical questions. Tesamorelin is approved by a regulator for human use in at least one market, which means a prescriber has access to the actual labeling. The 1 mg and 2 mg figures appear here because they are the amounts commonly seen in listings, which is a statement about what people search for, not an endorsement.

What we do not know

We hold no reliable human pharmacokinetic data for Tesamorelin, so this site makes no claims about its half life, how long it takes to clear, or how it accumulates. The arithmetic below concerns concentration and volume only.

This page answers arithmetic and handling questions. It does not tell you what dose to take, what to expect, or whether anything is appropriate for you, and there is no medical review behind it.

Common questions

How many units is 1 mg of Tesamorelin?

It depends on how the vial was reconstituted. From a 5 mg vial in 1 mL of bacteriostatic water, 1 mg is 20 units on a U-100 syringe. From the same vial in 2 mL it is 40 units, and in 3 mL it is 60 units. The dose delivered is identical in all three cases.

Does adding more bacteriostatic water make the dose weaker?

No. It changes the concentration, not the amount of peptide injected. A 1 mg dose from a 5 mg vial is 20 units at 1 mL and 60 units at 3 mL, and both deliver 1 mg. More water simply means drawing a larger volume for the same milligram amount.

My dose comes to more than 100 units. What do I do?

A standard U-100 barrel holds 100 units, so the 120 units for a 2 mg dose from a 5 mg vial in 3 mL cannot be drawn in one fill. Either use two fills of the same syringe, or reconstitute the next vial with less water. Choosing the water volume before mixing avoids the problem entirely.

How long does Tesamorelin stay in the body?

We do not have reliable human pharmacokinetic data for this compound, so this site makes no claim about half life, clearance or accumulation. The tables cover concentration and volume arithmetic only. Timing questions belong to a prescriber with access to the approved product labeling.

Can I use a unit figure from a 5 mg vial for a 10 mg vial?

No. A 10 mg vial mixed with the same water volume is twice as concentrated, so the same dose occupies fewer units. Reusing the figure means drawing more peptide than intended. Recalculate from vial strength and water volume every time you open a different size.