How much water do I add to a 1 mg IGF-1 DES vial?

There is no single correct amount: water changes how many units a dose is, not how many doses the vial holds. With 1 mL the vial is 1 mg/mL and 70 mcg is 7 units (0.07 mL) on a U-100 insulin syringe. The units table gives 1, 2, 5 mL.

How many doses are in a 1 mg IGF-1 DES vial?

50 doses at 20 mcg, 14 doses at 70 mcg, 8 doses at 120 mcg.

How long does a 1 mg IGF-1 DES vial last?

At 70 mcg a dose and on training days only, about 2.8-3.5 weeks. How long a mixed vial keeps is a separate limit; see storage below.

How many 1 mg vials do I need for a cycle?

1 vial at 20 mcg 4 times a week for 4 weeks; 4 vials at 120 mcg 5 times a week for 6 weeks.

What does 1 unit equal in a 1 mg IGF-1 DES vial?

10 mcg with 1 mL, 5 mcg with 2 mL, 2 mcg with 5 mL of bacteriostatic water, on a U-100 syringe.

Research use only · common protocol

IGF-1 DES 1 mg vial dosage

A 1 mg IGF-1 DES vial mixed with 1 mL of bacteriostatic water gives 1 mg/mL, so 70 mcg is 7 units (0.07 mL) on a U-100 insulin syringe. At 70 mcg a dose, one vial holds 14 doses.

Email me this plan, with a reminder before the vial's 28-day mark →

The common IGF-1 DES protocol is 20-120 mcg, on training days only, about 4-5 times a week, not on rest days - common practice, not a dose established in trials. Evidence, side effects and legal status are on the full IGF-1 DES dosing page.

IGF-1 DES 1 mg vial at a glance

Vial: 1 mg of IGF-1 DES per vial
Common dose: 20-120 mcg
How often: on training days only, about 4-5 times a week, not on rest days
Mixing example: 1 mL bacteriostatic water = 1 mg/mL; 1 unit = 10 mcg
Doses per vial: 50 at 20 mcg · 14 at 70 mcg · 8 at 120 mcg
Cycle: 4-6 weeks, then 4 weeks off

What IGF-1 DES is

Class:: Truncated 67-amino-acid analogue of insulin-like growth factor 1, missing its first three residues
Also called:: Des(1-3)IGF-1, IGF-1 Des(1-3), Truncated IGF-1
Used for:: Originally isolated and studied as a naturally occurring IGF-1 fragment in laboratory pharmacology, used to probe IGF-1 receptor signalling with reduced interference from binding proteins. Sold to consumers as a research chemical for localised, site-specific muscle growth, a use with no controlled human trial behind it.
Human evidence:: Animal / lab only. I could not locate a controlled human trial of IGF-1 DES, for muscle gain or any other consumer use, in the source registry this site cites from. What is published is in-vitro receptor and binding-protein pharmacology, and in-vivo animal studies using continuous infusion (osmotic minipump) in rats with reduced renal mass or after surgical gut resection, and bolus injection studies in pigs and marmoset monkeys measuring blood glucose - not the intramuscular injection method sold to consumers, and not a test of the molecule as a person would actually use it.
US status:: Research use only. Not FDA-approved for any indication in the US. I searched DailyMed, the FDA drug-labelling database, on 27 September 2026 for "IGF-1 DES" and found no listed product. IGF-1 DES is a distinct molecule from mecasermin (brand name Increlex), the only FDA-approved recombinant human IGF-1 product - see the "Not mecasermin" section on the reader-facing page. A published antidoping-detection study describes IGF-1 DES, alongside IGF-1 LR3 and R3-IGF-1, as a prohibited substance in sport, available as a black-market product for bodybuilding despite never being approved for human use.

The full picture, with every study: IGF-1 DES guide.

Units per dose: IGF-1 DES 1 mg vial

Water added	Concentration	1 unit =	20 mcg	70 mcg	120 mcg
1 mL	1 mg/mL	10 mcg	2 units	7 units	12 units
2 mL	0.5 mg/mL	5 mcg	4 units	14 units	24 units
5 mL	0.2 mg/mL	2 mcg	10 units	35 units	60 units

U-100 insulin syringe (100 units = 1 mL), to the nearest half unit. Water volumes are examples. Other numbers: dosage calculator.

Every dose from 20 mcg to 120 mcg, in units

With 1 mL of water in a 1 mg vial (1 mg/mL). Every dose across the common range, so you can read off any dose. The sources give a range, not a week-by-week schedule.

Dose	Draw on a U-100 syringe	Volume	Doses per vial
20 mcg	2 units	0.02 mL	50
40 mcg	4 units	0.04 mL	25
60 mcg	6 units	0.06 mL	16
80 mcg	8 units	0.08 mL	12
100 mcg	10 units	0.1 mL	10
120 mcg	12 units	0.12 mL	8

How many doses a 1 mg vial holds

Dose	Doses per vial	Weeks per vial
20 mcg	50	10-12.5
70 mcg	14	2.8-3.5
120 mcg	8	1.6-2

Weeks per vial at the common frequency (on training days only, about 4-5 times a week, not on rest days). Doses per vial do not depend on how much water you add.

Email me my IGF-1 DES 1 mg vial plan

Pick your water volume and dose and I will email you the numbers for this vial - units, volume, doses per vial and how long it lasts - plus the mixing and storage steps, and a reminder before the mixed vial reaches 28 days.

The common IGF-1 DES protocol

Dose	20-120 mcg per injection
How often	on training days only, about 4-5 times a week, not on rest days
Timing	Within about 10-15 minutes of finishing a training session, injected into or split bilaterally around the muscle just trained, followed immediately by 20-50 g of fast-acting carbohydrate to offset the hypoglycaemia risk.
Route	Intramuscular injection
Cycle	4-6 weeks
Break	4 weeks
Often paired with	BPC-157, TB-500
Sources agree?	Partly - the sources differ, and the ranges above cover them

Common practice from the vendors and clinics that publish it, not a dose tested in trials. Where it comes from: [1], [2]. I do not give week-by-week titration: none of these sources states one.

Supplies for one cycle with 1 mg vials

Counted for the low and high ends of the common protocol, mixing each vial with 1 mL of water. One new syringe per injection.

Plan	Injections	1 mg vials	Insulin syringes	Bacteriostatic water
20 mcg, 4×/week, 4 weeks	16	1	16	1 mL (1 × 10 mL bottle)
120 mcg, 5×/week, 6 weeks	30	4	30	4 mL (1 × 10 mL bottle)

Arithmetic on the protocol and this vial size. An opened multi-dose vial has a use-by date (see storage), which on a slow schedule can matter more than the dose count. Plan your own numbers with the protocol builder.

How to mix a 1 mg IGF-1 DES vial

For this vial: 1 mL of bacteriostatic water makes 1 mg/mL, so 70 mcg is 7 units (0.07 mL) on a U-100 insulin syringe. Pick a different volume from the units table if you want bigger or smaller draws; the number of doses stays the same.

Wipe the rubber stoppers of both the peptide vial and the bacteriostatic water vial with an alcohol swab and let the alcohol dry. ^[3][4]
With a new sterile needle and syringe, draw up the amount of bacteriostatic water you have chosen for the dilution. ^[3][4][5]
Inject the water into the peptide vial by aiming the stream against the inside glass wall, which helps prevent foaming. ^[6]
Swirl or roll the vial gently until the powder has fully dissolved; do not shake it. Do not inject the solution if it is cloudy or has particles in it. ^[3][4][6]
Label the vial with the date and time it was mixed, the amount of water added and how long it can be used after mixing. ^[3]
Store the mixed vial in the refrigerator at 2-8°C (36-46°F) and do not freeze it. ^[6]

Step by step with pictures: how to reconstitute peptides. About the water itself: bacteriostatic water.

Storing IGF-1 DES vials

Freeze-dried (lyophilized) peptide keeps far longer than peptide in solution; peptide suppliers advise storing the powder at -20°C away from bright light. ^[7]
Protect peptide vials from heat and light. ^[7][8]
Avoid repeated freeze-thaw cycles; a prescription peptide label also says not to freeze a vial once it has been mixed. ^[6][7]
Once a multi-dose vial, such as bacteriostatic water, has been opened (needle-punctured), date it and discard it within 28 days unless its manufacturer states another date. ^[9][10]

More detail: peptide storage and shelf life.

Injecting safely

The common IGF-1 DES protocol is an intramuscular injection, so the subcutaneous technique used for most peptides does not apply here; see the full IGF-1 DES dosing page.

Hygiene and warning signs

Use a new sterile needle and syringe for every injection and every time you enter a vial; never reuse them. ^[5][9][11]
Never share needles, syringes or pens with anyone, even if the needle is changed; unsafe injection practices spread hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV. ^[5][8][9]
Put used needles and syringes in a sharps disposal container straight away (FDA-cleared if possible), never loose in the trash, recycling or toilet, and dispose of the container following your community's guidelines. ^[12][13]
Contact a health care provider if the injection site shows signs of infection, such as redness, swelling, red streaks or a fever. ^[11]

How IGF-1 DES works

IGF-1 DES, or des(1-3)IGF-1, is human IGF-1 missing its first three amino acids, glycine-proline-glutamate. It occurs naturally: it has been isolated from cow colostrum, human brain and pig uterus, and probably forms when IGF-1 is cut after it is made. ^[14]
Losing the glutamate at position 3 greatly reduces binding to IGF-binding proteins, which normally hold IGF-1 in reserve. As a result it is generally about 10 times more potent than IGF-1 at making cultured cells grow and multiply. ^[14]
Only part of that extra potency carries over when it is given to animals, where its growth-promoting effects are most noticeable in gut tissue. ^[14]

What the IGF-1 DES research found

Human evidence: animal / lab only. Each result says what was studied.

Animal studyIn young rats with part of their kidneys removed, 7 days of des(1-3)IGF-1 by mini-pump at 0.9 mg/kg a day increased weight gain, food use and nitrogen balance, and lowered a urine marker of muscle protein breakdown. ^[15]
Animal studyIn rats after removal of 80% of the jejunum and ileum, des(1-3)IGF-1 at 0.96 mg/kg a day gained 20.8 g over the last 3 days of a 7-day infusion versus 14.0 g with vehicle, with a more positive nitrogen balance. ^[16]
Animal studyIn rats made catabolic with dexamethasone, des(1-3)IGF-1 and IGF-1 LR3 were about 2.5-fold more potent than native IGF-1 at reversing weight loss and improving nitrogen retention over 7 days. ^[17]
Animal studyIn diabetic rats, des(1-3)IGF-1 was 2.5-3 times more potent than native IGF-1 at restoring growth, but it did not reduce glucose loss in the urine, which insulin did. ^[18]
Animal studyAfter a single intramuscular injection of 100 micrograms/kg in rats, unchanged des(1-3)IGF-1 could still be detected in blood 24 hours later. Black-market IGF-1 analogue products showed abundant oxidised, lower-quality peptide forms. ^[19]

IGF-1 DES side effects and risks

No human study of IGF-1 DES has been published, so there is no human safety data; the effects listed are from animal studies.

Animal studyIn pigs and marmoset monkeys, des(1-3)IGF-1 was the strongest blood-glucose-lowering form of IGF-1 tested. At doses equal in glucose-lowering strength, its cumulative hypoglycaemic effect over 4 hours was about twice that of native IGF-1. ^[20]
Animal studyIn dexamethasone-treated rats, native IGF-1 increased total gut weight by up to 60% over 7 days, and des(1-3)IGF-1 had the same kind of effect at several-fold greater potency. ^[21]
Animal studyIn the gut-resection rat study, the kidneys were heavier in all IGF-treated groups and the thymus was heavier after des(1-3)IGF-1. ^[16]

Other things to know

A published pharmacology study comparing IGF-1 variants that bind poorly to IGF-binding proteins found des(1-3)IGF-1 was the most potent of the variants tested, including IGF-1 LR3, at lowering blood glucose in pigs and marmoset monkeys, and produced a longer-sustained hypoglycaemic effect than native IGF-1 in both species. That is an animal finding, not a human measurement, but it is a direct signal for this specific molecule, not an extrapolation from a different drug.
IGF-1 signalling drives cell growth and proliferation. No human trial has tested whether unsupervised, unmonitored IGF-1 DES dosing raises the risk of abnormal tissue growth; this is an unanswered question, not a documented finding.
No long-term human safety data exist for IGF-1 DES itself. What is published is laboratory reagent pharmacology and short-duration animal studies, not repeated-dose studies in people.
No established human half-life or dosing interval I could verify against a primary source. Sold as a research chemical labelled not for human use, with no independent verification of what a given vial actually contains.
A published antidoping-detection study describes IGF-1 DES as a prohibited substance in sport, available as a black-market bodybuilding product; a tested athlete should verify the current WADA Prohibited List directly.

Reported side effects and what the studies measured: IGF-1 DES side effects.

Where this vial size comes from

IGF-1 DES is sold as a 1 mg vial by the pages below, each checked on the date shown. I list them as evidence that this size exists, not as a recommendation to buy from them.

SwissChemsvendorLists it as: Total Compound Content: 1 mg per vial · checked 2026-09-28
Pinnacle PeptidesvendorLists it as: "IGF-1 DES 1mg research peptide" in individual vials · checked 2026-09-28

The doses come from the sourced common protocol on the IGF-1 DES dosing page, and every number on this page is arithmetic on those doses and this vial size.

Questions

How much water do I add to a 1 mg IGF-1 DES vial?: There is no single correct amount: water changes how many units a dose is, not how many doses the vial holds. With 1 mL the vial is 1 mg/mL and 70 mcg is 7 units (0.07 mL) on a U-100 insulin syringe. The units table gives 1, 2, 5 mL.
How many doses are in a 1 mg IGF-1 DES vial?: 50 doses at 20 mcg, 14 doses at 70 mcg, 8 doses at 120 mcg.
How long does a 1 mg IGF-1 DES vial last?: At 70 mcg a dose and on training days only, about 2.8-3.5 weeks. How long a mixed vial keeps is a separate limit; see storage below.
How many 1 mg vials do I need for a cycle?: 1 vial at 20 mcg 4 times a week for 4 weeks; 4 vials at 120 mcg 5 times a week for 6 weeks.
What does 1 unit equal in a 1 mg IGF-1 DES vial?: 10 mcg with 1 mL, 5 mcg with 2 mL, 2 mcg with 5 mL of bacteriostatic water, on a U-100 syringe.

References (21 sources)

[1] PeptideDosage: 20-100 mcg per injection on training days, titrated 20 mcg (week 1) to 40 mcg (weeks 2-3) to 60 mcg (weeks 4-6) up to a 100 mcg community ceiling; subcutaneous or local intramuscular, often split bilaterally; typical 1 mg vial reconstituted with 2 mL BAC water (other, checked 2026-09-27)
[2] Peptide Schedule: Training days only (4-5x/week): 50 mcg (beginner), 80 mcg (moderate), 120 mcg (aggressive); intramuscular, within 10-15 minutes of finishing training, into the just-trained muscle; standard cycle 4-6 weeks on, 4 weeks off; commonly stacked with BPC-157 and/or TB-500 for injury-recovery use; 20-50 g fast-acting carbohydrate required post-injection for hypoglycaemia (other, checked 2026-09-27)
[3] OpenStax, Rice University: 12.3 Preparing Unit-Dose Packaged Medications - Clinical Nursing Skills
[4] East Carolina University College of Nursing: Reconstitution of Medication
[5] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Considerations for Blood Glucose Monitoring and Insulin Administration
[6] DailyMed, National Library of Medicine: SEROSTIM (somatropin) for injection - prescribing information and instructions for use
[7] GenScript: Peptide Storage and Handling Guidelines
[8] DailyMed, National Library of Medicine: OZEMPIC (semaglutide) injection - prescribing information
[9] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Preventing Unsafe Injection Practices
[10] Pfizer: Bacteriostatic Water for Injection, USP - prescribing information
[11] MedlinePlus, National Library of Medicine: Subcutaneous (SQ) injections
[12] US Food and Drug Administration: Best Way to Get Rid of Used Needles and Other Sharps
[13] US Food and Drug Administration: DOs and DON'Ts of Proper Sharps Disposal
[14] Ballard FJ, Wallace JC, Francis GL et al. Des(1-3)IGF-I: a truncated form of insulin-like growth factor-I. Int J Biochem Cell Biol. 1996;28(10):1085-7.
[15] Martin AA, Tomas FM, Owens PC et al. IGF-I and its variant, des-(1-3)IGF-I, enhance growth in rats with reduced renal mass. Am J Physiol. 1991;261(4 Pt 2):F626-33.
[16] Lemmey AB, Martin AA, Read LC et al. IGF-I and the truncated analogue des-(1-3)IGF-I enhance growth in rats after gut resection. Am J Physiol. 1991;260(2 Pt 1):E213-9.
[17] Tomas FM, Knowles SE, Owens PC et al. Insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) and especially IGF-I variants are anabolic in dexamethasone-treated rats. Biochem J. 1992;282 ( Pt 1)(Pt 1):91-7.
[18] Tomas FM, Knowles SE, Owens PC et al. Insulin-like growth factor-I and more potent variants restore growth of diabetic rats without inducing all characteristic insulin effects. Biochem J. 1993;291 ( Pt 3)(Pt 3):781-6.
[19] Mongongu C, Coudoré F, Domergue V et al. Detection of LongR(3) -IGF-I, Des(1-3)-IGF-I, and R(3) -IGF-I using immunopurification and high resolution mass spectrometry for antidoping purposes. Drug Test Anal. 2021;13(7):1256-1269.
[20] Tomas FM, Walton PE, Dunshea FR et al. IGF-I variants which bind poorly to IGF-binding proteins show more potent and prolonged hypoglycaemic action than native IGF-I in pigs and marmoset monkeys. J Endocrinol. 1997;155(2):377-86.
[21] Read LC, Tomas FM, Howarth GS et al. Insulin-like growth factor-I and its N-terminal modified analogues induce marked gut growth in dexamethasone-treated rats. J Endocrinol. 1992;133(3):421-31.