My personal journey with TESA/IPA, RETA, GLOW ran this summer

Background: 37M with an active lifestyle and a demanding job that stresses the youth out of me. I’ve been on TRT 160mg weekly since I was 28 due to screwing up my pituitary gland from late-teen AAS abuse. I was in decent to mediocre shape before the stacks but have always had a good “physique” and the ability to get in shape fairly easily due to my love for bodybuilding and staying active. We just can’t stop aging, so I decided to spice up the summer with some peptides to see if they could help. Below are my reviews and results.

I’m by no means an “experienced peptider” (if there is such a thing), but I have taken them back in the day when they were truly only UG components.

Starting stats: 5'9", 218 lbs, calipered body fat at 28%, but still overall muscular even at 28% bf.

TESA 2mg / IPA 300 mcg (5 days on, 2 days off) – Started 6/1/25

For the first 6–8 weeks I thought I was feeling it, but it was placebo. The only thing I really noticed was the water weight I added on the reset day and dropped by day 2 off TESA/IPA.

By week 7, I actually felt a huge difference in workouts: way more concentrated, longer-lasting muscle pump, less water retention, more vascularity, and a much more stable mood and energy throughout the day.

By week 12, my weight stabilized at 196–198 lbs, body fat dropped to 14%, and my physique looked much more defined and harder. I’m still on TESA/IPA and plan to run it at least 5 more weeks before a 3-month break and possibly another cycle.

Bloodwork showed large improvements across the board compared to my last labs, and I’ll continue monitoring.

Advice for TESA/IPA: Plan to run at least 3 months or longer if you want real benefits. These aren’t miracle compounds and don’t compare to HGH or AAS for building muscle. Instead, they gradually improve body composition while boosting recovery, mood, energy, and overall wellbeing. Any review claiming results in 1–2 weeks is placebo — the real difference shows up after weeks to months, and it’s significant.

My only fear is liking this combo so much that I’ll want to run it forever, which wouldn’t be ideal financially or system-wise.

GLOW (GHK-Cu 2mg, BPC-157, TB-500) – Pinned daily for ~60 days, started 7/23/25

I wasn’t the most consistent since I traveled internationally and missed doses (so realistically 45–50 days). I also take vitamins, including zinc, which I believe helped this compound.

I used GLOW mainly for: receding hairline, lots of gray hair, fine wrinkles, joint pain, and inflammation. All improved significantly.

Hair: Biggest benefit. I normally lose hair even on MPB meds (probably TRT-related), but on GLOW I literally saw zero hair falling out. Existing hair became 2–3x fuller and darker, eyebrows much thicker/darker — like in my 20s. I even got multiple comments on looking more youthful. This alone boosted confidence.

Skin/wrinkles: Noticeable improvement, healthier look.

Recovery & cognition: Felt like I recovered faster from activity and had more cognitive focus. I have ADHD, and during GLOW I needed less medication — I had better control over thoughts/emotions. (Not medical advice; always consult a doctor before changing meds.)

Joint pain/inflammation: Definitely reduced.

Side effect: The only negative was random, pump-like “charley horse” pains, especially in my delts at night (I sleep on my side with my arm over my head). It made some nights miserable. This stopped almost immediately after discontinuing GLOW, so it may have been a secondary effect with TESA/IPA.

I stopped GLOW after 8 weeks, took 2 weeks off, and just started another 8-week run.

Advice for GLOW: This stack is incredible. If marketed right, it could rival the cosmetic industry — stronger hair, youthful skin, reduced pain/inflammation. Downsides: occasional sting and random pumps. Upside: looking like a god.

Retatrutide (3–4 mg weekly) – Started 7/30/25

I’ve been on RETA 4–5 weeks. Started at 1mg every 4 days = nothing. Upped to 2mg = still nothing. At 3–4mg = finally seeing effects, though I feel almost nothing.

It reminds me of clenbuterol (used by bodybuilders back in the day) — clen shredded fat fast but came with awful sides (rapid heartbeat, overheating, feeling miserable). RETA feels like a milder, cleaner version: much fewer side effects, milder results, but still noticeable.

Benefits so far:

Some energy boost.

Mild appetite suppression.

Protects against muscle loss.

Helps metabolism run more like when I was younger.

I don’t want to go higher on the dose since I still want to eat to hit macros, but the current dose gives benefits without full appetite suppression.

Still early with RETA — I’ll update after running it for 3–4 months.

Overall

If you research peptides properly, there are a lot of options that can help with different issues. While most are still “black-label” due to limited studies, I’d suggest sticking to safer peptides with multiple studies and following protocols closely.

These aren’t cheat compounds, but they can provide that push you need to improve lifestyle and health.

If you’ve tried any of these, I’d love to hear your feedback — would you run them again or not?