Reconstituting a tesamorelin vial comes down to one number: how many units do you draw on the syringe? This calculator gives you that in one step. Enter how many milligrams are in your vial, how much bacteriostatic water you're adding, and your target dose, and it returns the exact insulin-syringe mark, the concentration you've made, and how many doses the vial holds.
Tesamorelin is unusual among research peptides because it's the one with a real FDA label. As the active ingredient in Egrifta, it's approved at a dose of 2 mg injected under the skin once daily for HIV-associated lipodystrophy. That gives us a rare fixed reference point: a calculator that can anchor the math to an actual approved dose rather than a community guess. If you run several compounds, the general peptide dosage calculator applies the same math to any peptide, and tesamorelin turns up alongside the best peptides for muscle growth in off-label recomposition routines. Below the tool we walk through the reconstitution math, the difference between the label preparation and a research-grade vial, and what real tesamorelin users mix.
Key Takeaways
- Two-step math: concentration = vial mg ÷ bac water mL, then units = (dose mg ÷ concentration) × 100 on a U-100 syringe.
- Anchor example: a 10 mg vial + 2 mL of bacteriostatic water = 5 mg/mL; the approved 2 mg dose = 0.4 mL = 40 units, and the vial yields 5 doses.
- The label dose is 2 mg/day. Tesamorelin is the only FDA-approved compound here — legacy Egrifta is 2 mg subcutaneously once daily; the reformulated Egrifta WR is 1.28 mg/day. Approved only for HIV lipodystrophy.
- Label vs research-grade: the official product is reconstituted with sterile water and used same-day; research-grade users mix with bacteriostatic water for a multi-day vial. The arithmetic is identical; the diluent differs.
- Moderate draws. Our usage data shows a median draw of about 40 units — comfortable, mid-barrel, with little overflow risk.
- Approved, but not for everything. Treat any dose outside the HIV-lipodystrophy label as off-label calculation context, not advice.
| You enter | Value | The calculator returns | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tesamorelin in vial | 10 mg | Concentration | 5 mg/mL |
| Bacteriostatic water | 2 mL | Volume to draw | 0.4 mL |
| Target dose | 2 mg | Draw to this mark | 40 units (U-100) |
| Syringe type | U-100 | Doses per vial | 5 |
How do you calculate a tesamorelin dose?
Tesamorelin reconstitution is two steps: work out the vial's concentration, then convert your milligram dose into a volume you can read on the syringe. The units you draw are simply that volume on the insulin scale.
In plain arithmetic:
- Concentration (mg/mL) = vial mg ÷ bac water mL. A 10 mg vial in 2 mL is 10 ÷ 2 = 5 mg/mL.
- Volume (mL) = dose mg ÷ concentration. A 2 mg dose at 5 mg/mL is 2 ÷ 5 = 0.4 mL.
- Units = volume × 100 on a U-100 syringe (100 units = 1 mL). So 0.4 mL = 40 units.
Collapsed into the single formula the calculator runs:
units = (dose mg ÷ (vial mg ÷ bac water mL)) × 100 = dose mg × bac water mL ÷ vial mg × 100
Sanity-check our example: 2 × 2 ÷ 10 × 100 = 40 units. For doses per vial, divide the vial's milligrams by your dose: 10 mg ÷ 2 mg = 5 doses.
Our take: Tesamorelin is the easy case for a reconstitution calculator. A 2 mg dose on the common 5 mg/mL mix lands at 40 units — mid-barrel, far from the overflow ceiling that trips up MOTS-c, and far from the unreadable floor that troubles sermorelin. The thing worth getting right isn't the syringe mark; it's knowing which 2 mg you mean. The approved label dose is fixed, so the calculator's job is to convert that into units for whatever vial and water you actually have.
The label dose versus a research-grade vial
Tesamorelin's approved dose is 2 mg subcutaneously once daily (the reformulated Egrifta WR is 1.28 mg/day), and the official product is reconstituted with sterile water for same-day use — research-grade vials use bacteriostatic water for a multi-day supply, but the dose-to-units math is identical. This is the one peptide where a real label sets the number you're aiming at.
Because tesamorelin is the active ingredient in Egrifta, there's an actual FDA-approved regimen to anchor to. Two facts are worth separating:
- The dose. The legacy Egrifta label is 2 mg once daily; the newer Egrifta WR formulation lowers the recommended dose to 1.28 mg once daily. Either way it's a fixed daily milligram amount, not a titrated range — which is why our default example uses the 2 mg figure.
- The diluent and storage. The official product is supplied as a powder reconstituted with sterile water and injected promptly. Research-grade tesamorelin is typically mixed with bacteriostatic water (sterile water plus 0.9% benzyl alcohol), whose preservative lets a multi-dose vial sit in the refrigerator for days. The calculator's arithmetic doesn't change with the diluent — concentration and units depend only on milligrams and millilitres — but the storage life does.
Everything below treats the 2 mg label dose as the worked anchor; if your routine uses 1.28 mg or another amount, just enter it and the units update.
How much bacteriostatic water should you add to tesamorelin?
With tesamorelin's moderate 1–2 mg doses, most water volumes land the draw on a comfortable mid-barrel mark, so pick the volume that gives a clean number — 2 mL on a 5–10 mg vial is the common choice. There's neither the overflow risk of a milligram peptide nor the unreadable-draw risk of a microgram one.
Concentration still sets the unit mark, so the water you add shifts where the dose lands. A 2 mg dose is 40 units at 5 mg/mL (10 mg in 2 mL), 80 units at 2.5 mg/mL (5 mg in 2 mL), or a tight 20 units at 10 mg/mL (10 mg in 1 mL). All three fit one syringe; the difference is just readability and how many doses the vial yields. Because ProtocolPlus tracks reconstitutions, we can show the vial-strength × water-volume combinations real tesamorelin users log.
The pattern: 2 mL is the dominant water choice on both the 5 mg and 10 mg vial. A 5 mg vial in 2 mL (2.5 mg/mL) puts a 2 mg dose at 80 units; a 10 mg vial in 2 mL (5 mg/mL) puts the same dose at a tidier 40 units with more doses per vial. Both are comfortable; the 10 mg vial just stretches further.
A worked walkthrough: matching the label dose
Say you're anchoring to the 2 mg label dose and have a 10 mg vial. Run the candidate water volumes:
- 1 mL → 10 mg/mL. 2 mg = 20 units. Small but readable; 5 doses.
- 2 mL → 5 mg/mL. 2 mg = 40 units. Comfortable mid-barrel; 5 doses.
- 3 mL → 3.33 mg/mL. 2 mg = 60 units. Still fits one syringe; 5 doses.
Doses per vial don't change with water — only milligrams set that — so the choice is purely about the mark you'd rather read. Most people land on 2 mL for the clean 40-unit draw.
How do you read tesamorelin units on an insulin syringe?
On a U-100 insulin syringe, 100 units = 1 mL, so a unit is a hundredth of a millilitre — the calculator converts your milligram dose into that mark. The "units" you read are a measure of volume, not of how much tesamorelin you're taking.
Three calibrations exist, and the calculator supports all three:
| Syringe | Full barrel | A 2 mg dose at 5 mg/mL reads as | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| U-100 (standard) | 100 units = 1.0 mL | 40 units | Most tesamorelin use |
| U-50 | 50 units = 0.5 mL | 40 units (4/5 of the barrel) | Smaller draws, finer marks |
| U-40 (older/vet) | 40 units = 1.0 mL | 40 units (full barrel) | Rare — double-check your barrel |
Because a typical tesamorelin draw sits around 40 units, a standard U-100 1 mL barrel reads it comfortably, and a U-50 0.5 mL barrel also works while giving finer spacing. Always confirm which syringe you're holding, since a unit means a different volume on each.
Where tesamorelin doses actually land
Because tesamorelin's 1–2 mg doses sit in the middle of the concentration range people mix, the draws cluster around 40 units — comfortably mid-barrel, with neither the overflow of a milligram peptide nor the tiny draws of a microgram one. That makes it one of the more forgiving peptides to measure.
Across our tracked tesamorelin reconstitutions the median draw is 40 units, with the middle half falling between about 30 and 60 units.
The distribution sits squarely in the readable middle of the barrel — the comfortable case between MOTS-c's overflow and sermorelin's slivers. Overflow only appears on unusually dilute vials (a 2 mg dose passes 100 units below about 2 mg/mL), which the calculator still flags, but in practice tesamorelin rarely gets there.
Tesamorelin reconstitution chart: units by vial and dose
This chart shows the concentration each vial makes at the common water volumes and the U-100 units to draw, so you can see where the 1–2 mg doses land. For any other setup, use the calculator.
| Setup | Concentration | 1 mg | 1.28 mg | 2 mg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 mg + 1 mL | 5 mg/mL | 20 u | 26 u | 40 u |
| 5 mg + 2 mL | 2.5 mg/mL | 40 u | 51 u | 80 u |
| 10 mg + 2 mL | 5 mg/mL | 20 u | 26 u | 40 u |
| 10 mg + 3 mL | 3.33 mg/mL | 30 u | 38 u | 60 u |
The cleanest setups for the 2 mg label dose are the 5 mg/mL mixes (5 mg + 1 mL or 10 mg + 2 mL), which land it at a tidy 40 units. The reformulated 1.28 mg dose reads as roughly 26 units on the same vials. The most-searched single conversions, for a quick sanity check:
- 2 mg tesamorelin on a 5 mg/mL vial = 0.4 mL = 40 units; on a 2.5 mg/mL vial = 80 units.
- 1.28 mg tesamorelin (Egrifta WR) on a 5 mg/mL vial = 0.256 mL ≈ 26 units.
- 1 mg tesamorelin on a 5 mg/mL vial = 0.2 mL = 20 units.
How many tesamorelin doses are in a vial, and what does each cost?
Doses per vial is vial milligrams ÷ your dose — and because tesamorelin is dosed once daily at 1–2 mg, a vial lasts only a handful of days. Dividing the vial price by that number gives a true cost per dose.
A 10 mg vial at a 2 mg dose yields 5 doses; a 5 mg vial yields 2. Daily dosing then runs through a vial in under a week. Across our tracked tesamorelin vials the median works out to roughly 5 doses per completed vial at about $17 per dose.
| Economics output | How it's computed | Example (10 mg vial, 2 mg dose, $85 vial) |
|---|---|---|
| Doses per vial | vial mg ÷ dose mg | 5 doses |
| Cost per dose | vial price ÷ doses per vial | $17.00 |
| Weekly cost | cost per dose × doses per week | $119.00 (7×/week) |
| Approx. monthly cost | weekly × 4.3 | ~$512 |
For a full schedule rather than a single calculation, see our tesamorelin dosing and protocol guide.
mg, mcg, units, and mL: keeping the four numbers straight
Milligrams measure the tesamorelin; millilitres and units measure the liquid you draw. Read the milligram dose as micrograms and you've made a 1,000× error. Keep the families separate and the math is easy.
Tesamorelin is dosed in milligrams (1–2 mg), unlike microgram-dosed GHRH peptides such as sermorelin, so if you switch between them, watch the unit. 1 mg = 1,000 mcg. Here is a 2 mg dose expressed four ways on a 5 mg/mL vial, one quantity wearing four labels:
| Label | Value | What it describes |
|---|---|---|
| Dose in milligrams | 2 mg | mass of tesamorelin |
| Dose in micrograms | 2,000 mcg | mass of tesamorelin |
| Volume to draw | 0.4 mL | liquid volume |
| Units to draw (U-100) | 40 units | liquid volume on the syringe |
Why concentration is the number that actually matters
Concentration (mg/mL) is the hinge of every tesamorelin calculation — it connects the milligrams in the vial to the units on the syringe. Change it and the same dose lands on a different mark.
Concentration is an exchange rate between milligrams of tesamorelin and millilitres of liquid. A 5 mg/mL vial trades every 1 mL for 5 mg; your dose occupies a volume set by that rate, and the syringe scale turns it into a unit mark. Make the vial stronger (less water) and the same dose occupies less volume and fewer units; make it weaker and it occupies more.
It's also why you can never compare unit numbers across reconstitutions. "Draw 40 units" means 2 mg on a 5 mg/mL vial but 1 mg on a 2.5 mg/mL vial — half. Every unit instruction online is valid only for that exact vial and water volume.
A note on daily dosing
The approved tesamorelin regimen is a single subcutaneous injection once a day, and each daily injection is what you run through the calculator — not a weekly total. The label places the injection into the abdomen and rotates the site. Whether you follow the 2 mg legacy dose, the 1.28 mg Egrifta WR dose, or another amount is a clinical decision; the tool simply converts whichever per-day dose you enter into an accurate unit mark. For the broader regimen, see our tesamorelin dosing and protocol guide.
How to reconstitute tesamorelin, step by step
Add the diluent slowly down the vial wall, swirl gently until clear, and never shake. The peptide is delicate, and rough mixing degrades it before your first dose.
- Calculate first. Use the tool above to set your water volume and target unit mark — for the 2 mg label dose, expect about 40 units on a 5 mg/mL vial.
- Room temperature, then swab both stoppers with a fresh alcohol swab.
- Draw your measured water into a reconstitution syringe (sterile water for the label preparation, bacteriostatic for a multi-day research-grade vial).
- Add slowly down the wall of the tesamorelin vial, onto the glass rather than the powder.
- Swirl, don't shake until the solution is completely clear.
- Inspect. Clear and particle-free, or don't use it.
- Label and refrigerate at 2–8 °C if using bacteriostatic water, then dose at the unit mark the calculator gave you.
Reconstitution troubleshooting
- The powder won't fully dissolve. Give it a few minutes and keep swirling gently; warmth helps. A vial that stays cloudy or shows particles shouldn't be used.
- Foam or a hard vacuum pull. Some vials are under vacuum; vent briefly with an empty needle or add the water slowly down the wall.
- A draw over 100 units. Rare for tesamorelin — it means the vial is very dilute for the dose. Re-mix with less water, or split the draw.
Common tesamorelin reconstitution mistakes
- Confusing the 2 mg and 1.28 mg figures. They're different formulations; enter the one your routine actually uses.
- Confusing mg with mcg. A 1,000× error; tesamorelin is milligrams.
- Reading "units" as milligrams. Units are a volume; always convert through the calculator.
- Copying someone else's unit count. Valid only for that person's exact concentration.
- Wrong syringe (U-40 vs U-100 mismatch), and not labeling the date on a vial that empties in days.
Tesamorelin vial sizes, supplies, and water
Research-grade tesamorelin usually comes in 5 mg or 10 mg vials (the official Egrifta vial is 2 mg), and the 10 mg vial gives you more doses per reconstitution. Pick the water volume that lands your dose on a readable mark.
- 2 mg — the FDA label vial; in the official product it's one day's dose reconstituted with sterile water.
- 5 mg — common research-grade size; in 2 mL it's 2.5 mg/mL, where a 2 mg dose is 80 units and the vial gives ~2 doses.
- 10 mg — in 2 mL it's 5 mg/mL, keeping a 2 mg dose at a comfortable 40 units with ~5 doses per vial.
A quick supplies checklist: the lyophilized tesamorelin vial, the diluent (sterile water for the label preparation, or bacteriostatic water for a multi-dose research-grade vial), a reconstitution syringe (1–3 mL), a U-100 1 mL insulin syringe, alcohol swabs, and a marker for the date.
How long does reconstituted tesamorelin last?
The official Egrifta preparation is reconstituted with sterile water and used the same day; a research-grade vial mixed with bacteriostatic water can sit refrigerated for a number of days, but there's no validated multi-day shelf life — the common ~14–28-day convention is a usage habit, not data. Judge by appearance, not just the calendar.
Peptides in solution degrade through hydrolysis, deamidation, oxidation, and aggregation, sped up by heat, light, and agitation, so a mixed vial belongs in the refrigerator at 2–8 °C, kept dark, and never frozen. The sterile-water label preparation has no preservative, which is why it's a same-day product; bacteriostatic water's benzyl alcohol is what allows a multi-dose vial at all. In our usage data the median reconstituted research-grade vial is finished in about 22 days. Discard any vial that turns cloudy, changes color, or shows particles. For the deeper science, see our peptide storage and stability guide.
What the evidence says about tesamorelin dosing
Tesamorelin is the rare peptide with real FDA-approved dosing — but that approval is narrow, covering only HIV-associated lipodystrophy, so any other use is off-label and the label dose shouldn't be read as a general recommendation. We give the figures so you know what to enter into the calculator.
Tesamorelin is a stabilized analog of growth-hormone-releasing hormone, marketed as Egrifta by Theratechnologies and first approved in the United States in 2010 to reduce excess abdominal fat in people with HIV-associated lipodystrophy (DailyMed / NIH, "EGRIFTA SV (tesamorelin) label," initial US approval 2010, retrieved 2026-06-16). The legacy label dose is 2 mg subcutaneously once daily; the reformulated Egrifta WR lowers the recommended dose to 1.28 mg once daily (DailyMed / NIH, "EGRIFTA WR (tesamorelin) label", retrieved 2026-06-16). The approval rested on trials showing reductions in visceral adipose tissue with an associated metabolic profile in this population (PubMed, 2012, Falutz et al., "Effects of tesamorelin on visceral fat and metabolic parameters", retrieved 2026-06-16), and the full prescribing information is in the FDA's drug database (FDA Drugs@FDA, "Egrifta," application 022505, retrieved 2026-06-16). The label is explicit that the drug is not indicated for weight loss, and long-term cardiovascular safety has not been established. Use outside HIV lipodystrophy is off-label; treat the 1–2 mg figures as the approved dose for one specific condition, not as evidence-based guidance for any other purpose.
How precise does your tesamorelin draw need to be?
Because tesamorelin draws are moderate (often 30–60 units), they're forgiving to measure — one unit of error is a small fraction of a 40-unit draw. On a 5 mg/mL vial, one U-100 unit is 0.05 mg, so rounding a 40-unit draw by a unit shifts a 2 mg dose by 0.05 mg, about 2.5 percent. The main thing to get right isn't the syringe mark; it's entering the dose you actually mean — the 2 mg legacy figure or the 1.28 mg Egrifta WR figure.
Frequently asked questions
Sources
Factual claims (approval, indication, label dose) are sourced below. Example dose values reflect the approved label for HIV lipodystrophy and are not a recommendation for other uses. ProtocolPlus usage figures are first-party app data.
- DailyMed / NIH — EGRIFTA SV (tesamorelin) prescribing information (initial US approval 2010; HIV-associated lipodystrophy). https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/lookup.cfm?setid=3d783378-b02d-4f19-99dd-0fc91a042224 — retrieved 2026-06-16.
- DailyMed / NIH — EGRIFTA WR (tesamorelin) prescribing information (recommended dose 1.28 mg SC once daily). https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/lookup.cfm?setid=839334d3-8c1d-4c26-9036-2ab524a6ea75 — retrieved 2026-06-16.
- FDA Drugs@FDA — Egrifta (tesamorelin), application 022505. https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cder/daf/index.cfm?event=overview.process&ApplNo=022505 — retrieved 2026-06-16.
- PubMed (2012) — Falutz J, et al., Effects of tesamorelin on visceral fat and metabolic parameters in HIV-associated lipodystrophy. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22495074/ — retrieved 2026-06-16.
About this guide. Written by Jordan Vance, peptide and biohacking researcher (placeholder, replace before publish), and medically reviewed by Dr. Maya Ellison, MD, biochemistry (placeholder, replace before publish), for the ProtocolPlus Research Team. This calculator and article are educational and not medical advice.