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age well
Peptide Therapy at RegenCen
Targeted treatments for metabolism, hormones, and healthy aging
Peptides are signaling compounds that govern how you burn fat, build muscle, sleep, and age. Your body already produces thousands of different types of peptides. Peptide therapy works by precisely restoring the signals that have weakened —under physician supervision — with treatments grounded in decades of research.
Peptides Quick Facts
Peptides we offer:
GLP-1 medications
Sermorelin
PRP
Best for:
Weight & metabolism
Body composition
Building bone & muscle
Sleep
Energy
Skin health
How they work:
Targeted signaling compounds, physician-prescribed
Treatment format:
Self-administered injection (weekly or nightly, depending on therapy)
Who evaluates you:
Licensed medical providers under the clinical review and guidance of Dr. Gustav Lo, MD (17+ years in hormone and metabolic medicine)
What are peptides?
You've probably heard the word everywhere — on podcasts, in your social feed, from someone who swears by them. But here's the thing: most people using the word “peptide” don't actually know what it means. And that matters, because the difference between a peptide that's healthy for you and one that's not comes down entirely to which one, for what purpose, and under whose supervision.
Peptides are short chains of amino acids — smaller than proteins, but made of the same building blocks. Your body already produces tens of thousands of them naturally. What makes them clinically valuable is their function: they act as signaling compounds, carrying specific messages to specific cells and triggering specific responses.
When your body receives a peptide signal, it's essentially receiving an instruction
- Burn this fat for fuel.
- Release more growth hormone.
- Stop thinking about food.
- Repair this tissue.
The reason peptide research has accelerated so dramatically in recent years isn't because something was invented. It's because scientists finally understood how many of these molecular messengers existed, what they were saying, and what happened when those signals weakened with age.
There's an important distinction between medical-grade peptide therapy and what‘s sold online. Here's what you need to know:
Most supplements labeled “peptides” don't survive the digestive process. Remember, peptides are chains of amino acids (like short proteins), and your digestive system is designed to do exactly one thing with them: break those chains apart, link by link, and use the pieces as raw material. Most of the signal is destroyed before it ever reaches its target.
As RegenCen's Founder & Chief Medical Officer Dr. Lo puts it: "The message goes into a shredder."
Medical-grade peptide therapy works because the chain is kept intact — delivered by injection in a way that preserves the signal so the body can receive and respond to it. That's the difference between something that does nothing and something that actually works.
There's also an important distinction between peptides that have been studied, developed legally, and are medically appropriate versus compounds being sold on gray-market websites for “research purposes only.” Some of those are simply unproven. Others have been explicitly prohibited from human use by the FDA. At RegenCen, we work exclusively with therapies that have been studied extensively, used safely in clinical settings, and prescribed within a clear legal framework.
One of the central realities of aging is that certain biological signals weaken. Growth hormone output declines steadily starting in our 30s. Appetite-regulating hormones shift. The body holds on to fat more aggressively and builds muscle less efficiently. Sleep architecture changes. Skin turnover slows.
These aren't random. They follow specific signaling pathways, and in many cases, restoring or amplifying the right signal can meaningfully reverse the pattern.
This is why peptide research has become one of the most active areas in longevity and metabolic medicine. The first major clinical peptide therapies, including GLP-1 medications, took decades to develop from initial discovery to approved drug. The research that produced them opened a door, and scientists and clinicians are now moving quickly through it.
How peptides fit into RegenCen’s approach to longevity care
At RegenCen, we think about treatment in layers.
The foundation is hormone replacement therapy, specifically bioidentical hormone replacement therapy (BHRT). When estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, and other key hormones decline with age, the effects ripple across nearly every system in the body: sleep, mood, energy, metabolism, cognition, libido, bone density, and more. Restoring hormonal balance addresses the broadest set of symptoms with the single most impactful intervention available in longevity medicine.
Peptides are the next layer. They're targeted. Peptides aim at specific, defined outcomes rather than broad systemic restoration. Where BHRT is the foundation, peptides are the refinement — they address what remains after the foundation is in place.
Think of it this way: after optimizing hormones, most patients see real, meaningful improvement across a broad range of symptoms. But some annoyances persist. The belly that won't respond. Sleep that's better but not right. Energy that's improved but still falling short. Body composition that's plateau'd. These are the kinds of specific, named complaints that peptide therapy is designed to address.
At RegenCen, we move from a broad approach to a targeted one — from addressing the whole target to aiming for a bullseye.
This is also part of what distinguishes RegenCen. We don't prescribe peptides as a blanket solution. We evaluate each patient individually, start with the foundation that addresses the most, and apply targeted therapies precisely where they're warranted.
The peptides we currently offer in clinical practice, and when each is most appropriate:
GLP-1 medications address metabolic health, weight management, appetite regulation, and blood sugar balance. They're best suited for patients whose primary challenge is weight that doesn't respond proportionally to effort, persistent food noise and cravings, or metabolic concerns including insulin resistance.
They can be used as a standalone treatment for patients whose hormones are otherwise healthy, and they're also used alongside BHRT for patients who are on hormone therapy and want targeted metabolic support.
Sermorelin addresses the growth hormone pathway, stimulating the body's own pituitary gland to produce more growth hormone naturally.
It's used for body composition (particularly visceral fat reduction), sleep quality, and energy. Sermorelin is particularly helpful in building (or rebuilding) muscle and bone, and boosting skin moisture and the “live layer” that gives us our youthful glow.
Sermorelin is most effective when used to refine progress that's already underway, most commonly in patients on BHRT who have seen real improvement but are hitting a wall with specific complaints. Lab work (IGF-1) informs whether someone is likely to benefit.
PRP — platelet-rich plasma — is your body's own concentrated source of growth factors and peptides. Drawn from a small sample of your own blood, the platelets are separated, concentrated, and reintroduced at a targeted site to signal tissue repair and regeneration.
PRP isn't a synthetic compound. It's your own biology, concentrated and directed. Because it's autologous (from your own body), it carries
no risk of immune reaction. At RegenCen, we use platelets for joint and tissue healing, sexual health, hair restoration, and skin rejuvenation.
GLP-1 therapy at RegenCen
GLP-1 medications — semaglutide and tirzepatide — work by amplifying a signaling pathway that's already part of your biology, targeting appetite, metabolism, and blood sugar simultaneously. What makes them genuinely different from prior weight loss approaches is that they don't just reduce appetite mechanically. These peptides change the underlying signaling that drives hunger, cravings, and the reward response to food. Most patients describe it as the food noise going quiet.
Beyond appetite and weight, GLP-1 medications show meaningful effects on cardiovascular markers, blood sugar regulation, and inflammatory signals. Emerging research continues to identify new applications.
At RegenCen, GLP-1 therapy is offered both as a standalone treatment and as part of a broader metabolic and hormone optimization plan.
See the full program details, what's included, and how to get started →
Listen to Ambyr Thompson, LPN tell her story of how she's achieved long-lasting weight loss with GLP-1 therapy at RegenCen.
A few things about GLP-1 therapy that are specific to how it fits within a peptide and hormone optimization approach:
This is the question we get most often from patients who are already on BHRT or considering sermorelin alongside a GLP-1 medication. It's a genuinely important question, because the three therapies work on different systems and serve different purposes.
GLP-1 and BHRT address different root causes of the same symptoms. Hormone therapy corrects the broad metabolic consequences of estrogen and testosterone decline, the kind of weight gain that responds poorly to effort because the underlying hormonal environment is working against you. GLP-1 medications address appetite signaling and insulin response directly. For many midlife patients, especially women in perimenopause and menopause, both are contributing to the problem. Starting with BHRT often makes a big difference, and for patients who still have significant metabolic or appetite-driven weight concerns after hormones are optimized, GLP-1 therapy becomes a logical next layer.
GLP-1 and sermorelin work on different but complementary systems.
GLP-1 medications reduce overall caloric intake and drive fat loss
through appetite and metabolic regulation. Sermorelin addresses what happens to body composition during that process, specifically the tendency to lose muscle alongside fat when in a caloric deficit. Growth hormone, which is released with signaling from sermorelin, is highly anabolic. It gives instructions to preferentially burn visceral (abdominal) fat while signaling the body to preserve and build lean mass. Patients using both therapies together often find they lose fat more effectively and maintain more of the muscle they've worked to build. The combination also addresses sleep and energy, which GLP-1 therapy alone does not target directly.
The order matters. For most patients in midlife, we recommend optimizing hormones first (BHRT), then evaluate whether GLP-1, sermorelin, or both are appropriate for what remains. Applying targeted therapies before the hormonal foundation is in place often means treating downstream symptoms rather than their cause.
This is one of the most important conversations we have with patients, and one of the most commonly misunderstood aspects of GLP-1 treatment. For many patients, GLP-1 therapy is a long-term commitment rather than a finite course. When the medication stops, the signaling changes stop with it. For a significant proportion of patients — research suggests around 75% — appetite patterns return and weight follows over time. This happens because the underlying biology that drove the original weight gain hasn't permanently changed; the medication was managing it.
This is not a failure - it’s our biology. At RegenCen, we discourage most of our GLP-1 patients from stopping completely after reaching goal. For some patients, that means staying on a lower maintenance dose long-term; for others, tapering off after reaching a goal and monitoring closely works.
Dr. Lo and his team discuss this candidly with every patient at the start of treatment. The evidence is also showing that stopping and restarting GLP-1 therapy is less effective than continuing, meaning that for patients at high risk of weight recurrence, going off the medication entirely is something to think hard about. We factor this into every patient's plan.
GLP-1 medications have a well-characterized side effect profile, primarily affecting the stomach and intestines: nausea, heartburn, and appetite changes that can be uncomfortable when adjusting doses. These effects are most common in the early weeks of treatment and at each dose increase, and they tend to improve as your body adjusts.
Managing these side effects well requires clinical experience - a lot of it. Our team has prescribed GLP-1 medications to thousands of patients and has
developed real-world familiarity with how these medications behave across a wide range of people. We know when to pause a dose
increase, how to support patients through the adjustment period, and when a symptom warrants more attention. We don't let patients navigate this alone.
You may be a good candidate for GLP-1 therapy if:
- Your weight hasn't responded well to diet and exercise, or returns despite your efforts
- You experience persistent “food noise,” like constant hunger, cravings, or feeling unsatisfied despite eating adequately
- You have problems with blood sugar, insulin resistance, or metabolic concerns
- You've tried other structured approaches and found them unsustainable
- You want physician-supported, evidence-based help to lose weight in the healthiest way possible.
GLP-1 therapy is likely NOT the right fit if:
- You're looking for a short-term fix with no intention of addressing underlying lifestyle patterns
- You have a personal or family history of medullary thyroid carcinoma or multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2 (MEN 2)
- You're pregnant or planning to become pregnant
At RegenCen, we evaluate every patient individually. Our recommendations are based on your health history, lab work, symptoms, and goals, not a general
protocol applied the same way to everyone.
Sermorelin therapy at RegenCen
Growth hormone doesn't stop mattering after adolescence. In adults, it governs fat metabolism, particularly the breakdown of deep abdominal fat. It drives muscle synthesis and recovery. It regulates the deep, restorative stages of sleep. It influences skin cell turnover, dermal thickness, and hydration. And it contributes to cellular energy production.
Beginning in our 30s, growth hormone output declines steadily. The effects are gradual, and they tend to look a lot like what we assume is just getting older.
- The belly that resists effort.
- Sleep that's lighter.
- Recovery that takes longer.
- Muscle that's harder to build.
- Skin that's thinner and less resilient.
Sermorelin works by restoring the signal your body is no longer sending as reliably, not by forcing growth hormone in from outside, but by prompting your own pituitary gland to produce more of it naturally, within the body's own regulatory framework.
This is a meaningful distinction. Sermorelin works with the body's existing feedback system. It restores a signal. It does not override the mechanism that keeps growth hormone in a safe, appropriate range.
More on how sermorelin works, who benefits most, and what patients typically experience:
The body produces growth hormone through a self-regulating loop. The hypothalamus releases a peptide called growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH), a signal that travels to the pituitary gland, which then releases growth hormone into the bloodstream. As growth hormone rises and its downstream marker (IGF-1) increases, the body's feedback system detects the change and releases a counterbalancing compound (somatostatin) that tells the pituitary to stop. The system cycles: release, detect, stop, release again.
As we age, the hypothalamus becomes less active in initiating this process. The signal weakens. The loop runs less often. Growth hormone output declines.
Sermorelin is structurally nearly identical to the first portion of natural GHRH, the precise signal your hypothalamus is no longer sending with the same frequency. When injected at bedtime (when growth hormone release naturally peaks), it initiates the loop. The pituitary responds. Growth hormone is released. And then — critically — the body's own feedback system does exactly what it's designed to do: it shuts it down.
This is what makes sermorelin fundamentally different from older approaches where growth hormone itself was injected directly. Direct injection bypasses the feedback loop entirely. Growth hormone accumulates. The body's regulatory system is overridden, and real risks follow, including metabolic disruption, abnormal tissue growth, and other consequences of sustained excess growth hormone.
Sermorelin doesn't create those conditions. The shut-off mechanism stays intact. Sermorelin works with the body instead of forcing something into it.
Sermorelin is not appropriate for everyone. Before recommending it, your RegenCen provider evaluates IGF-1 through lab work. IGF-1 is the primary downstream marker of growth hormone activity —it reflects how much growth hormone the body has been producing. Patients in the lower range for their age group tend to respond meaningfully. Patients in the upper range are unlikely to benefit, and we say so directly.
Sermorelin tends to be most effective for patients who:
- Are already on BHRT and have seen good progress, but have hit a plateau with one or more specific complaints such as body composition, sleep, energy, or skin.
- Are over 40 and experiencing changes in body composition (more abdominal fat, less muscle definition) despite consistent effort.
- Have lab work indicating lower-range IGF-1 for their age.
- Are actively working on nutrition and fitness. Sermorelin amplifies effort, it doesn't substitute for it.
- Are experiencing sleep that's improved with BHRT but still not fully restorative.
- Are interested in skin quality as part of a longevity approach.
Younger patients (30s) can also be good candidates if their IGF-1 is low and they have a specific complaint: body composition that won't respond despite genuine effort, or persistent difficulty with muscle and abdominal fat.
Sermorelin is not a first-line treatment. It's a refinement, best deployed when there's already a foundation in place and a specific, named problem to address.
Results with sermorelin build progressively. The timeline varies by what you're targeting:
Sleep (often within 1–2 weeks): Usually the first thing patients notice. Deeper, more restorative sleep, specifically the deep stages that become lighter with age. Many describe waking feeling more genuinely rested than they have in years.
Body composition (4–6 weeks, with active effort): Sermorelin preferentially stimulates fat metabolism from the abdomen, specifically visceral, intra-abdominal fat, which is metabolically the most harmful and often the most resistant to conventional effort. It also supports muscle protein synthesis, meaning patients who are exercising and eating enough protein typically see improved muscle response. Changes here require work alongside the therapy.
Energy (builds over weeks): Often described as “feeling more like myself” rather than a sudden lift. Tends to be noticed in the context of other changes: patients realize they're recovering faster, performing better, and feeling less depleted.
Skin (slower to appear, striking for many): Sermorelin stimulates skin cell turnover, promotes production of proteoglycans (compounds that bind and retain water within the skin), and increases dermal thickness and blood supply. Skin becomes more resilient, more hydrated, more luminous over several months. Sermorelin isn't a cosmetic treatment but rather a systemic effect that shows up on the surface.
Sermorelin is self-administered by subcutaneous injection five nights per week at bedtime. The process is essentially identical to a GLP-1 injection: a very small needle, just beneath the skin, takes seconds. Most patients find it straightforward after the first few nights.
Sermorelin requires refrigeration.
RegenCen typically recommends an initial cycle of 10 to 12 weeks, followed by a four-week break and reassessment. Your provider, under Dr. Lo's clinical guidance, evaluates IGF-1 alongside symptom improvements at the end of each cycle and determines whether a subsequent cycle is appropriate and what it should look like.
Some patients use sermorelin in defined cycles tied to a specific goal, like reaching a body composition milestone or addressing a sleep complaint, and then stop. Others incorporate it into an ongoing longevity protocol. A few use it indefinitely for anti-aging and skin quality. The decision is individualized, revisited at each cycle, and never assumed to be the same for everyone.
Who may benefit from peptide therapy at RegenCen
Peptide therapy is not for everyone, and the most important question is never “should I take peptides?” It's “which peptide, for what reason, based on what's actually going on in my body?”
That said, certain patterns of symptoms and life circumstances align well with what our current therapies address.
GLP-1 therapy might be right for you if:
- Weight hasn't responded proportionally to consistent diet and exercise
- Food noise (persistent cravings, hunger, or difficulty feeling satisfied) is a real daily challenge
- You have blood sugar irregularities or metabolic concerns
- You've tried structured approaches before and found them unsustainable
Sermorelin might be right for you if:
- You're on BHRT and progressing well, but certain things remain unresolved
- Body composition is shifting (more belly, less muscle) despite real effort
- Sleep has become lighter and less restorative
- Energy is lower than your lifestyle should produce
- You're interested in skin quality as part of aging well
When peptide therapy may not be the right next step
Peptide therapy is a targeted clinical tool, and that means it works best when there's a clear target. There are circumstances where we'd recommend addressing other things first:
- Foundational health habits aren't yet in place. Sermorelin amplifies what your body is already doing. GLP-1 medications work best when paired with real changes to nutrition and movement. If those foundations are missing, the results will be limited and potentially frustrating.
- Hormones haven't been evaluated or addressed. For most patients in midlife, hormone therapy is the first and most impactful intervention. Applying peptide therapy before optimizing hormones often means targeting a symptom rather than its root cause.
- The expectation is a shortcut, not a tool. These are real medicines with real mechanisms, not magic. Our providers are direct with every patient about what to expect and what the therapy requires of them.
We'd rather tell you it's not the right time than set you up to be disappointed. That's part of what honest, physician-supervised care looks like.
Safety, oversight, and why it matters who prescribes this
The word “peptide” has become a cultural shorthand for ”biohacking wonder,“ and that has created an enormous gray market of compounds sold online, marketed for ”research purposes,“ administered without medical oversight, and in some cases, explicitly prohibited from human use by regulatory authorities.
At RegenCen, we work exclusively with therapies that have been studied extensively, whose mechanisms are understood, and whose clinical use is legally sound. We don't prescribe compounds for which the science is speculative or the regulatory picture is murky.
The GLP-1 medications and sermorelin we offer are legally prescribed under physician supervision and manufactured to clinical standards.
A few things about our clinical experience and approach that we think are worth knowing:
Dr. Lo has been prescribing hormone and metabolic therapies for more than 17 years. He founded RegenCen on the premise that longevity medicine should be evidence-based, individualized, and honest, not protocol-driven, not trend-chasing, and not designed around telling patients what they want to hear.
He's prescribed GLP-1 medications to thousands of patients for more than a decade. He has direct, first-hand familiarity with how these medications behave across a wide range of individuals, including the edge cases, the complications, and the nuanced decisions that don't have a clean answer in the clinical literature.
His approach to medicine is, as he puts it, a craft practiced on evolving science, not a fixed set of rules applied the same way to everyone. The science is always a draft. Good clinical judgment means staying current with the evidence, acknowledging what isn't yet known, and making individualized decisions that account for both.
GLP-1 medications are among the most studied therapies in recent medical history. Their mechanisms are well understood. Their side effect profiles are known. Their efficacy has been demonstrated in large, rigorous clinical trials. This is not experimental territory.
Sermorelin has a longer clinical history than most people realize: it was first developed nearly three decades ago and has been prescribed in longevity and anti-aging medicine for years.
That said, both therapies continue to generate new research. The long-term effects of sustained GLP-1 use are still being studied. New clinical applications continue to emerge. What the right long-term approach looks like for any individual patient involves some degree of clinical judgment applied to incomplete data.
We don't pretend otherwise. We stay current with the evidence, communicate honestly about what's established versus what's still being figured out, and make decisions accordingly.
GLP-1 medications are now available through a wide range of channels, such as telehealth platforms, weight loss clinics, compounding pharmacies shipping directly to patients. That accessibility has real value for some people. But it has also created real risk.
The difference comes down to depth of clinical oversight. Knowing how to escalate a dose thoughtfully. Knowing when a side effect is something to manage versus something to investigate. Knowing what to watch for in patients with certain histories, certain medications, certain metabolic profiles.
Knowing what the evidence says about long-term use and having a real conversation about it.
That knowledge comes from clinical experience with a large volume of patients over many years, not from a protocol in a software platform. Our team has that experience. We think it matters, and we're direct about why.
In 2023, the FDA restricted compounding pharmacies from producing 17 peptide compounds, including some of the most researched and widely used options in functional medicine, such as BPC-157, ipamorelin, and GHK-Cu. The ruling cited potential safety concerns, though notably without documented adverse outcome data to support the specific compounds named.
That regulatory landscape may be shifting.
Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has publicly advocated for reversing at least part of the ban. One of the central arguments: the prohibition hasn't eliminated access to these peptides. Instead, it's simply pushed that access underground. Because the compounds remain widely available through unlicensed, unregulated sources, the ban may be increasing public risk rather than reducing it.
Returning these peptides to the regulated medical system would mean that licensed compounding pharmacies could once again produce them under supervision, with a valid prescription from a licensed provider for a specific patient. That's a meaningful distinction from the gray-market products circulating now; it means a regulated supply chain, pharmaceutical-grade quality standards, and clinical oversight.
These peptides are not yet available, and we won't offer them until the FDA formally authorizes licensed compounding pharmacies to resume production. But when that changes, RegenCen intends to evaluate and offer the appropriate compounds within our clinical framework — the same way we approach every therapy we provide.
FDA update: what’s changing with peptide access
Growth hormone doesn't stop mattering after adolescence. In adults, it governs fat metabolism, particularly the breakdown of deep abdominal fat. It drives muscle synthesis and recovery. It regulates the deep, restorative stages of sleep. It influences skin cell turnover, dermal thickness, and hydration. And it contributes to cellular energy production.
Beginning in our 30s, growth hormone output declines steadily. The effects are gradual, and they tend to look a lot like what we assume is just getting older.
- The belly that resists effort.
- Sleep that's lighter.
- Recovery that takes longer.
- Muscle that's harder to build.
- Skin that's thinner and less resilient.
Sermorelin works by restoring the signal your body is no longer sending as reliably, not by forcing growth hormone in from outside, but by prompting your own pituitary gland to produce more of it naturally, within the body's own regulatory framework.
This is a meaningful distinction. Sermorelin works with the body's existing feedback system. It restores a signal. It does not override the mechanism that keeps growth hormone in a safe, appropriate range.
More on how sermorelin works, who benefits most, and what patients typically experience:
The body produces growth hormone through a self-regulating loop. The hypothalamus releases a peptide called growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH), a signal that travels to the pituitary gland, which then releases growth hormone into the bloodstream. As growth hormone rises and its downstream marker (IGF-1) increases, the body's feedback system detects the change and releases a counterbalancing compound (somatostatin) that tells the pituitary to stop. The system cycles: release, detect, stop, release again.
As we age, the hypothalamus becomes less active in initiating this process. The signal weakens. The loop runs less often. Growth hormone output declines.
Sermorelin is structurally nearly identical to the first portion of natural GHRH, the precise signal your hypothalamus is no longer sending with the same frequency. When injected at bedtime (when growth hormone release naturally peaks), it initiates the loop. The pituitary responds. Growth hormone is released. And then — critically — the body's own feedback system does exactly what it's designed to do: it shuts it down.
This is what makes sermorelin fundamentally different from older approaches where growth hormone itself was injected directly. Direct injection bypasses the feedback loop entirely. Growth hormone accumulates. The body's regulatory system is overridden, and real risks follow, including metabolic disruption, abnormal tissue growth, and other consequences of sustained excess growth hormone.
Sermorelin doesn't create those conditions. The shut-off mechanism stays intact. Sermorelin works with the body instead of forcing something into it.
Sermorelin is not appropriate for everyone. Before recommending it, your RegenCen provider evaluates IGF-1 through lab work. IGF-1 is the primary downstream marker of growth hormone activity —it reflects how much growth hormone the body has been producing. Patients in the lower range for their age group tend to respond meaningfully. Patients in the upper range are unlikely to benefit, and we say so directly.
Sermorelin tends to be most effective for patients who:
- Are already on BHRT and have seen good progress, but have hit a plateau with one or more specific complaints such as body composition, sleep, energy, or skin.
- Are over 40 and experiencing changes in body composition (more abdominal fat, less muscle definition) despite consistent effort.
- Have lab work indicating lower-range IGF-1 for their age.
- Are actively working on nutrition and fitness. Sermorelin amplifies effort, it doesn't substitute for it.
- Are experiencing sleep that's improved with BHRT but still not fully restorative.
- Are interested in skin quality as part of a longevity approach.
Younger patients (30s) can also be good candidates if their IGF-1 is low and they have a specific complaint: body composition that won't respond despite genuine effort, or persistent difficulty with muscle and abdominal fat.
Sermorelin is not a first-line treatment. It's a refinement, best deployed when there's already a foundation in place and a specific, named problem to address.
Results with sermorelin build progressively. The timeline varies by what you're targeting:
Sleep (often within 1–2 weeks): Usually the first thing patients notice. Deeper, more restorative sleep, specifically the deep stages that become lighter with age. Many describe waking feeling more genuinely rested than they have in years.
Body composition (4–6 weeks, with active effort): Sermorelin preferentially stimulates fat metabolism from the abdomen, specifically visceral, intra-abdominal fat, which is metabolically the most harmful and often the most resistant to conventional effort. It also supports muscle protein synthesis, meaning patients who are exercising and eating enough protein typically see improved muscle response. Changes here require work alongside the therapy.
Energy (builds over weeks): Often described as “feeling more like myself” rather than a sudden lift. Tends to be noticed in the context of other changes: patients realize they're recovering faster, performing better, and feeling less depleted.
Skin (slower to appear, striking for many): Sermorelin stimulates skin cell turnover, promotes production of proteoglycans (compounds that bind and retain water within the skin), and increases dermal thickness and blood supply. Skin becomes more resilient, more hydrated, more luminous over several months. Sermorelin isn't a cosmetic treatment but rather a systemic effect that shows up on the surface.
Sermorelin is self-administered by subcutaneous injection five nights per week at bedtime. The process is essentially identical to a GLP-1 injection: a very small needle, just beneath the skin, takes seconds. Most patients find it straightforward after the first few nights.
Sermorelin requires refrigeration.
RegenCen typically recommends an initial cycle of 10 to 12 weeks, followed by a four-week break and reassessment. Your provider, under Dr. Lo's clinical guidance, evaluates IGF-1 alongside symptom improvements at the end of each cycle and determines whether a subsequent cycle is appropriate and what it should look like.
Some patients use sermorelin in defined cycles tied to a specific goal, like reaching a body composition milestone or addressing a sleep complaint, and then stop. Others incorporate it into an ongoing longevity protocol. A few use it indefinitely for anti-aging and skin quality. The decision is individualized, revisited at each cycle, and never assumed to be the same for everyone.
What to expect when you come to RegenCen for peptide therapy
STEP 1 — A REAL CONVERSATION
Before anything else, we want to understand what's actually going on. Your health history, your symptoms, your goals, your lifestyle. What you've tried. What's worked and what hasn't. This shapes everything that follows.
STEP 2 — LAB WORK
For most peptide candidates, we order relevant labs before prescribing anything. IGF-1 for sermorelin candidates. Metabolic markers for GLP-1 candidates. Labs inform the recommendation, and establish your baseline so real progress can be measured.
STEP 3 — A PERSONALIZED PLAN
Your protocol is built for you: specific therapy, specific dosing, specific goals, and honest expectations for what's realistic on what timeline.
STEP 4 — ONGOING MONITORING AND ADJUSTMENT
We follow you through treatment. Labs and symptoms are tracked. Doses are adjusted when they should be. If something isn't working, we say so and figure out why.
More on what the process looks like in practice — including how to prepare and what patients typically want to know before starting:
There's nothing you need to do before your first consultation. Come ready to have an honest conversation about your health history, your symptoms, and your goals, including things you may not have mentioned to a doctor before, like your relationship with food, your sleep patterns, or how your body has changed over the past few years.
If you have recent lab work, bring it or have it available, it may allow us to move more quickly. If you don't, we'll order what we need. We'll also ask about medications, supplements, and any prior experience with hormone therapy, weight loss medications, or other metabolic treatments.
The patients who tend to get the most from peptide therapy at RegenCen share a few characteristics:
- They're engaged and realistic. They come in understanding that these are tools — powerful ones — that work best within a broader commitment to their health.
- They have a specific, named complaint. ”I want to feel better“ is harder to target than ”my sleep hasn't been restorative since my 40s“ or ”I can't lose the belly no matter what I do.“
- They're willing to be monitored and have the treatment adjusted. Results evolve. What's right at 8 weeks may be different at 6 months.
- They ask questions. Good outcomes in medicine come from informed patients who participate in their own care.
None of this is a requirement. But it's a pattern we've observed over many years of treating patients with these therapies.
