TL;DR: It may be possible to improve results with bremelanotide by taking multiple daily micro-doses.
Like many, I have experimented with bremelanotide at the recommended doses, which range from a few hundred micrograms up to a couple milligrams in one subcutaneous injection. And also like many, I found the results to be disappointing. Libido was not affected, spontaneous erections during the day were infrequent and random, and nighttime erections were prominent and disturbed sleep. Although the effects were not as desired, they seemed quite strong, leading me to question how bremelanotide compares to α-melanocyte-stimulating hormone, aka α-MSH, the hormone it augments. Some rudimentary calculations suggest that standard doses of bremelanotide could be comparable to an increase in α-MSH by as much as two orders of magnitude. That’s somewhat like giving a hypogonadal male 100 mg of testosterone propionate every couple weeks. He may experience some interesting effects, but there’s still some likelihood the overall experience would be poor, and certainly not comparable to TRT.
Credit to @Guided_by_Voices for also experimenting with and recommending lower doses of bremelanotide. I suspect these doses of 100-300 mcg could still be large relative to normal physiology — having very roughly estimated that multiple small daily doses on the order of 10 mcg would provide stimulation comparable to endogenous α-MSH. I set about testing this premise as follows:
Phase 1, days 1-4
Protocol: 20 mcg bremelanotide injected SC at 6 am, 9 am, 12 pm, 3 pm and 6 pm.
Results: Compared to a lackadaisical baseline, libido was high, even excessive and distracting. This began on the first day and continued for the entire phase. The “itch” was nearly constant, and erections came easily in response to sexual ideation or the presence of nubile females. This was again in marked contrast to baseline, where daytime erections were very uncommon without more substantial stimulation. The two negatives during this phase were a reduction in average sleep duration by 30-40 minutes and a slight feeling of overstimulation throughout. In fact these led to a dose reduction and the second phase. This was unfortunate from a data-gathering standpoint, because if the first phase was part of a honeymoon period then the period’s full duration was not established.
Phase 2, days 5-8
Protocol: 10 mcg bremelanotide injected SC at 6 am, 9 am, 12 pm, 3 pm and 6 pm.
Results: There was a rapid return to near-baseline conditions, though sleep still seemed degraded.
Phase 3, days 9-12
Protocol: 15 mcg bremelanotide injected SC at 6 am, 9 am, 12 pm, 3 pm and 6 pm.
Results: Libido improved a small amount. There was improvement in spontaneity of erections, but nothing like during the first phase. Sleep was modestly impaired compared to baseline.
Phase 4, days 13-15
Protocol: 20 mcg bremelanotide injected SC at 6 am, 9 am, 12 pm, 3 pm and 6 pm.
Results: This was an attempt to see if the results of the first phase would reappear after the prolonged exposure to slightly lower doses. They did not. Over these three days libido and sexual function dropped below baseline. Modest sleep impairment continued.
Phase 5, days 16-17
Protocol: no bremelanotide
Results: After this washout period things seemed to return to baseline.
Discussion: These results point to the need for further research. It’s intriguing to consider that it may be possible to obtain much better results with bremelanotide when it is dosed appropriately. While multiple daily injections are going to be unappealing to most, it seems likely that these protocols could be reproduced with correctly dosed troches and buccal delivery. It looks as though four days of the initial protocol was nearing the end of a possible honeymoon period, with most benefits dissipating soon thereafter. If so then the appropriate reset period is yet to be determined. If this period is only a week or two then the protocol is promising. My sense is that even 20 mcg taken five times a day is a pretty high level of stimulation relative to baseline α-MSH activity — thus caution is advised if long-term use is contemplated. It is concerning that prolonged continuous use in this trial seemed to degrade libido and sexual function below baseline, though at least recovery was rapid.
I continue to speculate that this is not the only case where overdosing a peptide obscures its full potential. For example, long-term micro-dosing of oxytocin may yield profound results that are dissimilar to what’s seen with occasional administration of much higher doses.
Like many, I have experimented with bremelanotide at the recommended doses, which range from a few hundred micrograms up to a couple milligrams in one subcutaneous injection. And also like many, I found the results to be disappointing. Libido was not affected, spontaneous erections during the day were infrequent and random, and nighttime erections were prominent and disturbed sleep. Although the effects were not as desired, they seemed quite strong, leading me to question how bremelanotide compares to α-melanocyte-stimulating hormone, aka α-MSH, the hormone it augments. Some rudimentary calculations suggest that standard doses of bremelanotide could be comparable to an increase in α-MSH by as much as two orders of magnitude. That’s somewhat like giving a hypogonadal male 100 mg of testosterone propionate every couple weeks. He may experience some interesting effects, but there’s still some likelihood the overall experience would be poor, and certainly not comparable to TRT.
Credit to @Guided_by_Voices for also experimenting with and recommending lower doses of bremelanotide. I suspect these doses of 100-300 mcg could still be large relative to normal physiology — having very roughly estimated that multiple small daily doses on the order of 10 mcg would provide stimulation comparable to endogenous α-MSH. I set about testing this premise as follows:
Phase 1, days 1-4
Protocol: 20 mcg bremelanotide injected SC at 6 am, 9 am, 12 pm, 3 pm and 6 pm.
Results: Compared to a lackadaisical baseline, libido was high, even excessive and distracting. This began on the first day and continued for the entire phase. The “itch” was nearly constant, and erections came easily in response to sexual ideation or the presence of nubile females. This was again in marked contrast to baseline, where daytime erections were very uncommon without more substantial stimulation. The two negatives during this phase were a reduction in average sleep duration by 30-40 minutes and a slight feeling of overstimulation throughout. In fact these led to a dose reduction and the second phase. This was unfortunate from a data-gathering standpoint, because if the first phase was part of a honeymoon period then the period’s full duration was not established.
Phase 2, days 5-8
Protocol: 10 mcg bremelanotide injected SC at 6 am, 9 am, 12 pm, 3 pm and 6 pm.
Results: There was a rapid return to near-baseline conditions, though sleep still seemed degraded.
Phase 3, days 9-12
Protocol: 15 mcg bremelanotide injected SC at 6 am, 9 am, 12 pm, 3 pm and 6 pm.
Results: Libido improved a small amount. There was improvement in spontaneity of erections, but nothing like during the first phase. Sleep was modestly impaired compared to baseline.
Phase 4, days 13-15
Protocol: 20 mcg bremelanotide injected SC at 6 am, 9 am, 12 pm, 3 pm and 6 pm.
Results: This was an attempt to see if the results of the first phase would reappear after the prolonged exposure to slightly lower doses. They did not. Over these three days libido and sexual function dropped below baseline. Modest sleep impairment continued.
Phase 5, days 16-17
Protocol: no bremelanotide
Results: After this washout period things seemed to return to baseline.
Discussion: These results point to the need for further research. It’s intriguing to consider that it may be possible to obtain much better results with bremelanotide when it is dosed appropriately. While multiple daily injections are going to be unappealing to most, it seems likely that these protocols could be reproduced with correctly dosed troches and buccal delivery. It looks as though four days of the initial protocol was nearing the end of a possible honeymoon period, with most benefits dissipating soon thereafter. If so then the appropriate reset period is yet to be determined. If this period is only a week or two then the protocol is promising. My sense is that even 20 mcg taken five times a day is a pretty high level of stimulation relative to baseline α-MSH activity — thus caution is advised if long-term use is contemplated. It is concerning that prolonged continuous use in this trial seemed to degrade libido and sexual function below baseline, though at least recovery was rapid.
I continue to speculate that this is not the only case where overdosing a peptide obscures its full potential. For example, long-term micro-dosing of oxytocin may yield profound results that are dissimilar to what’s seen with occasional administration of much higher doses.
