Ibutamoren (MK-677) Frequently Asked Questions

Does Ibutamoren cause hair loss? What kind of side effects does Ibutamoren have?

No, it doesn’t cause any change in your body’s testosterone, estrogen, or DHT levels. There are no androgenic side effects and there is zero chance of accelerating male pattern baldness.

If any hair loss occurred as a result of Ibutamoren usage, it would be temporary shedding, not the progression of male pattern baldness.

Tingly fingers/hands, elevated blood sugar, intense dreams, some lethargy, water retention, as well as increased appetite is the extent of the side effects I am aware of.

Are the gains from Ibutamoren maintainable after coming off of it?

Yes, the gains are very maintainable as it has no negative impact on your natural testosterone or natural GH production.

Does timing matter when I take the Ibutamoren dose each day?

IGF-1 levels will remain elevated for up to 24 hours after taking a single oral dose of Ibutamoren, so once per day dosing is fine.

However, after taking MK-677 GH levels will drastically spike, which may cause lethargy.

Taking this into consideration, I always opt to use it pre-bed so I'm not lethargic at work or during my day time activities.

How does Ibutamoren work?

After ingestion, MK-677 signals the pituitary gland to secrete more growth hormone.

One common misconception is the assumption that MK-677 causes an increase in the quantity of daily GH pulsations.

What actually happens is that it increases the strength of each pulsation of GH from the pituitary gland, consequently increasing the body's total 24 hour GH production amount.

GH then stimulates the liver to produce Insulin-Like Growth Factor 1 (IGF-1).

How does Ibutamoren compare to injectable GH and peptides?

I’ve personally seen IGF-1 levels in several different individuals’ blood work (the most accurate method of determining GH levels within the body) taking Ibutamoren reaching the equivalent of at least a 3-4 IU daily dose of growth hormone.

These results were achieved at a fraction of the cost of exogenous GH (literally 1/20^th of the cost).

In contrast to peptides, Ibutamoren gives the same benefits but doesn’t cause pituitary desensitization like other GHRP’s do, doesn’t need to be injected, and is cheaper.

In short, Ibutamoren is as strong as injectable GH and peptides, but is much cheaper, doesn’t need to be stored in a fridge to prevent degradation, and doesn’t need to be injected.

Of all the various GH elevating compounds at our disposal, Ibutamoren is easily pound for pound the best bang for your buck.

Do I need to cycle Ibutamoren?

There is no shutdown of natural GH production with Ibutamoren, nor is there a need for PCT, but it should be cycled unless it was being used for the therapeutic treatment of growth hormone deficiency.

The first reason being that Ibutamoren will increase blood glucose levels, which can contribute to insulin resistance long-term (just like GH or peptides).

The second reason being that Ibutamoren seems to have a diminishing returns effect.

There are clinical studies showing a drastic spike in GH and IGF-1 levels up to the end of the first month, with a slow gradual decline in benefit over the next 11 months of the year.

There are other studies that exhibit this diminishing returns effect occurring at the 6 month mark, with the same slow gradual decline thereafter.

And then there are some studies not showing this diminishing returns effect at all.

Despite the limited data, the fact remains that Ibutamoren is a GH secretagogue, meaning the mechanism by which it functions is mediated through the pituitary gland which has a negative feedback loop to prevent the body from secreting too much GH.

It is plausible to assume that eventually the body will facilitate counter measures to bring GH and IGF-1 levels back down to baseline.

There is also some data that suggests that chronic ghrelin secretion may have a negative effect on stress response pathways in the brain long-term.

Although the supporting data is weak, cautious individuals should cycle Ibutamoren regardless.

I personally wouldn't use it for more than 6 months straight, and that would be much less if I had issues managing blood sugar.

If you're going to use it, get a baseline fasting blood sugar average by checking it upon waking on an empty stomach before consuming anything.

If you already have moderately high or high fasting blood glucose levels, I wouldn't even touch Ibutamoren (or GH) until those levels were brought to a more optimal level via lifestyle changes, diet changes, and/or insulin sensitizing agents.

If you do use it, monitor blood sugar closely, and if you start noticing that you have chronically high blood sugar, it may be wise to cycle off, or just not use it at all.

The number one cause of type 2 Diabetes in bodybuilding is excessive carbohydrate consumption in conjunction with growth hormone abuse.

Those individuals likely never monitored their blood sugar levels at all.

If you are going to use GH, a secretagogue, peptides, or anything that spikes GH/IGF-1, you should have a blood glucose monitor that you use regularly to ensure you aren't slowly inducing insulin resistance.

What can I expect from Ibutamoren results wise?

A rapid increase in muscular fullness, size, and improved sleep quality is commonly reported among Ibutamoren users.

It isn’t uncommon for individuals to gain up to 10-15 pounds, with almost half of that coming on substantially quickly in the first couple weeks.

It is a very dramatic compound and the results are very noticeable.

With that being said, do not misinterpret all of this weight as muscle tissue.

The main benefit GH has on body composition is improved nutrient partitioning, lipolysis, and increased muscular fullness facilitated via increased nitrogen and intramuscular water retention.

Despite the scale jumping up and the mass added looking lean, a very small amount of that (if any) would be literal muscle tissue.

A very obvious effect that is fairly typical is that sleep quality dramatically improves and REM sleep is easier to achieve.

An improvement of complexion, energy levels and immune system is a commonly reported benefit as well.

Can Ibutamoren Suppress Your Natural GH Production?

Ibutamoren inherently upregulates natural growth hormone production.

Despite it being an exogenous compound, the way it works is by stimulating the pituitary gland to secrete more growth hormone via the same mechanism it naturally would anyways.

All secretions of GH that occur with Ibutamoren in the body are natural, they are just amplified in strength.

There is no evidence to support that taking Ibutamoren will inhibit natural GH secretion events after discontinuing it.

Can Ibutamoren be used for cutting or bulking?

While you can cut or bulk on Ibutamoren, I generally advise bulking with it as it definitely has a tendency to drastically increase your appetite, making it extremely hard to cut down without an appetite suppressant.

If you want to cut down and get shredded on Ibutamoren I highly suggest you get a potent appetite suppressant as Ibutamoren will almost certainly increase your appetite significantly.

Can Ibutamoren counter the catabolic effects of T3?

It will absolutely help prevent catabolism caused by t3.

I'm not guaranteeing you won't lose any muscle as t3 can be VERY catabolic at high enough doses, but it will definitely help keep a lot of muscle on you you would otherwise lose.

There is a study that exhibits how T3 actually completely negated the nitrogen retaining benefits GH provides, so that in itself should exemplify just how catabolic T3 can be.

Effects of long-term growth hormone (GH) and triiodothyronine (T3) administration on functional hepatic nitrogen clearance in normal man.

Is Ibutamoren A SARM like Ostarine or LGD-4033?

No, it is a potent GH Secretagogue. It is non-steroidal, and it is not a SARM either despite popular belief.

A GH Secretagogue is a substance that signals the pituitary gland to secrete more growth hormone.

Would Taking A SARM With It Increase My Results?

Stacking Ibutamoren with a SARM would undoubtedly increase muscle growth potential.

While Ibutamoren is a GH Secretagogue stimulating the pituitary gland, SARMs operate exclusively on the androgen receptor.

As such, stacking it with a SARM like Ostarine or LGD-4033 would essentially be like stacking HGH with a low dose of Testosterone.

As you would expect, more muscle growth potential and a more drastic change in overall body composition could be achieved with a combination of the two, rather than one or the other on their own.

How do increased HGH and IGF-1 levels from the MK-677 benefit me?

HGH promotes and increases the synthesis of new protein tissues, allowing new muscle to be built.

It metabolizes fat incredibly well, improves complexion, has dramatic anti-aging properties, increases hair growth (where you want it).

It improves sleeping patterns (making for fewer unintended awakenings and better REM-stage sleep), it produces more energy, it may improve sexual performance, it builds stronger bones and it improves the quality and duration of heart and kidneys.

IGF-1 supports cellular division (the only hormone that can actually create brand new muscle cells via muscular cell division), repairs nerve damage, lowers body fat levels, and also exhibits anti-aging properties by tightening up loose skin, healing old injuries, as well as healing bones, tendons and ligaments.

How safe is it?

Ibutamoren has a promising safety profile based on all of the clinical data to date.

A 2 year clinical study of using Ibutamoren every single day at a dose of 25mg concluded that “daily administration of Ibutamoren significantly increased growth hormone and insulin-like growth factor I levels to those of healthy young adults without serious adverse effects.

The ghrelin mimetic Ibutamoren enhanced pulsatile growth hormone secretion, significantly increased fat-free mass, and was generally well tolerated”

Effects of an oral ghrelin mimetic on body composition and clinical outcomes in healthy older adults: a randomized trial

Are there any supplements I need to take with Ibutamoren?

Using 200 mcg Huperzine A 3 times per day may enhance the effects of Ibutamoren.

There is some data that suggests that Huperzine A may inhibit Somatostatin in the body.

Somatostatin is the body's counter measure to prevent HGH levels from getting too high.

Sort of like Myostatin's effect on inhibiting muscle growth.

Huperzine A may be able to inhibit Somatostatin, consequently freeing up more free/usable HGH.

Taking the Huperzine A will keep Somatostatin from inhibiting your pituitary released GH from the Ibutamoren.

While the evidence to support this is weak, Huperzine A is a great Nootropic and is very cheap, so I use it daily anyways just in case.

It has several benefits in its own right irrelevant to Somatostatin inhibition.

Using an insulin sensitizing agent like Berberine to keep blood sugar in check would also be something that could be very beneficial to use with Ibutamoren.

How long does Ibutamoren take to start working?

Ibutamoren starts working right away as the terminal half-life is 4.7 hours.

The drastic increase in GH levels will occur very quickly after ingestion, and usually by the end of the first week there is already a fairly substantial change in body composition due to the quick boost in intramuscular water and nitrogen retention it causes.

Do I need to take PCT after taking MK-677?

No, there is no PCT necessary as it doesn’t suppress natural testosterone levels, nor does it affect your natural GH production.

Does it need to be taken on an empty stomach?

No, having food in your stomach won’t affect the absorption at all.

Disclaimer: The information included in this article is intended for entertainment and informational purposes only. It is not intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice.