INTRO Two Months In

labrat1988

labrat1988

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Hit 2 months on my study today. Right now I’m on Reta (dosing went .5 for week 1, 1 for week 2, 1.5 across weeks 3-5, 2 at week 6, then 2.5 for weeks 7-8) plus 12 units of GLOW every day.

Age 37, training for about half my life (4-5x per week and 1-2 sports, so I’m active even though fitness isn’t my entire identity). Usually I run maintenance macros, but for years I’ve been stuck at a point where adding size while keeping abs visible hasn’t happened, so I’ve been trying to solve that. I’ve cut fats, increased carbs, and aim for roughly 160g protein daily. I also wanted to clear up some back acne scarring, sort out gut problems, and soften a few aging lines — that’s the reason for GLOW.

Appetite suppression hit hard in the first few weeks, then faded a lot. I don’t really get intense hunger or cravings… yet I can easily put away 2000+ calories (personally glad about that since I don’t want muscle loss, though it makes me wonder when I see people online saying they struggle to eat 1000). Since day 1 I’ve tracked macros and deliberately eaten at a deficit, so I can’t tell if Reta is doing the work or the diet is… but my stomach fat has definitely changed and vascularity is a bit more obvious.

GLOW is MAYBE helping? My skin is breaking out worse than it ever has, which I’m hoping means purging is working and clearer skin is coming, but the amount of breakouts on my arms, shoulders, and back is really embarrassing. I’ll keep going, but it’s tough. Gut seems somewhat better, though I can’t say if that’s GLOW or Reta.
 
Two-week update: there’s no doubt the Reta is doing its job, yet across the past two months I’ve seen a SEVERE rise in acne on my back. I’m on TRT, though I’ve kept the same dose for close to a year, and the breakouts appeared around the same point as when I began GLOW. Wondering whether this could be a possible side effect, and/or whether I ought to quit it? I’ve already tried Zinc and Magnesium to offset any “copper uglies,” but nothing has worked.
 
Your recomp results are impressive, no doubt. That said, the skin purging would be a dealbreaker for me when it comes to staying on GLOW. Is there anyone here who's used GLOW longer and can weigh in?
 
labrat1988 said:

Two-week update: there’s no doubt the Reta is doing its job, yet across the past two months I’ve seen a SEVERE rise in acne on my back. I’m on TRT, though I’ve kept the same dose for close to a year, and the breakouts appeared around the same point as when I began GLOW. Wondering whether this could be a possible side effect, and/or whether I ought to quit it? I’ve already tried Zinc and Magnesium to offset any “copper uglies,” but nothing has worked.
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Honestly, it's tough to dismiss how closely the timing lines up. Beginning right around when GLOW started feels like too big a coincidence to just wave away. Have you considered stopping it entirely for a few weeks, just to check whether things calm down? That could be the simplest approach to truly narrow down
 
labrat1988 said:

Two-week update: there’s no doubt the Reta is doing its job, yet across the past two months I’ve seen a SEVERE rise in acne on my back. I’m on TRT, though I’ve kept the same dose for close to a year, and the breakouts appeared around the same point as when I began GLOW. Wondering whether this could be a possible side effect, and/or whether I ought to quit it? I’ve already tried Zinc and Magnesium to offset any “copper uglies,” but nothing has worked.
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Any chance you could share a fresh update? A week into KLOW for me, and I've gone from zero breakouts for roughly 8 months post-accutane to 5 pimples over the past 7 days. My guess is this peptide isn't sitting well with me.
 
I’m also interested in how your acne is doing, since I tend to get acne too. Please let us know what you notice, boss!
 
It's been a week since I quit GHKCU, and my skin keeps improving daily. Active acne has dropped by at least 70%, I'd guess. I'm now fairly convinced GHKCU was behind it.
 
labrat1988 said:

It's been a week since I quit GHKCU, and my skin keeps improving daily. Active acne has dropped by at least 70%, I'd guess. I'm now fairly convinced GHKCU was behind it.
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I appreciate you posting about this. It's good that things are improving for you. I've had my own doubts about GHK-CU, since I've run into skin issues too... whether it's acne/"cooper uglies" and actually a purge/"good thing", or whether for some individuals it simply isn't the right match, given that the side effects appear not to clear up. I'm curious: what timeframes do other people rely on to decide between riding out a temporary "purge" and quitting?
 
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