ResearchSafe

GHK-Cu added later in a BPC/TB run, was it worth the extra weeks for anyone?

Posted by runner_aaron in Healing & Recovery - 1 points, 6 comments.

Howzit. Patellar tendon has been the bane of my existence for about 6 months now. Started with BPC-157 injectable around the tendon plus TB-500 systemically, and tbh the first 4 weeks felt like nothing, then somewhere around week 5 it started turning a corner. Sleep got better, the morning stiffness dropped a bit, and I could finally load it on the leg press without that sharp catch.

I'm now thinking about adding GHK-Cu from around week 6 or 7, mostly because I've seen a few people say it helped when the soft tissue was still grumpy after the main healing work. My plan is just the copper peptide at the standard subq dose, evenings, while keeping BPC and TB on board.

For anyone who's stacked all three, did GHK-Cu actually move the needle once BPC/TB had already done most of the heavy lifting? Or is it more of a skin/cosmetic thing that people chase and the tendon benefit is just wishful thinking? Also curious if the injection site mattered for you, like closer to the joint vs somewhere neutral.

Not trying to overdo it, just want to know if it's genuinely additive or if I'm chasing another rabbit hole.

Comments

  • student_rational: Hey, appreciate the writeup, sounds familiar, my left patellar was a nightmare for like 8 months last year and BPC/TB was what finally got me back to loading it without that catch. On the GHK-Cu question, for me it didnt do much for the tendon itself. I tried it for about 6 weeks stacked on top and the soft tissue felt the same as it did at week 5 of just BPC/TB. I noticed it way more in skin and hair honestly, which i wasnt even trying to fix. The people i know who swear by it for joints were
  • weekendnate: Yeah the timing thing tracks for me too. Most of the people I have seen get real tendon benefits from GHK-Cu were running it in parallel with BPC, not waiting until the soft tissue plateaued. Skin and hair stuff is usually the first thing anyone actually notices, and the joint effects seem to need a longer runway, like 8 to 12 weeks minimum to judge anything. If you are going to add it at week 6 anyway, I would probably temper expectations on the tendon and treat it as a bonus for the cosmetic
  • frugalrobin: That timing point is interesting, I was sort of assuming you add GHK-Cu as a booster after BPC/TB does the heavy lifting but maybe it needs to be there during the actual repair phase to do anything for connective tissue. Did the skin and hair changes start pretty quick for you or was it gradual? Not gonna lie, if it does nothing for the tendon I might just skip it, the extra cost for nicer skin is not really what I am after right now.
  • runner_aaron: Honestly I haven't noticed much on the skin or hair front yet, only been a couple weeks in at that point. The tendon still feels like it's improving but tbh I can't tell if that's just the BPC/TB still working or if the copper is adding something. If it's purely a cosmetic thing for me I'd also rather skip it, the tendon is what I actually care about. Curious if anyone has actually noticed a real difference in soft tissue when they added it mid-run vs front loading it.
  • runner_aaron: Hey. Fair points. I guess I was half-hoping it would push things over the line on the tendon, but tbh you're right that I'm probably past the window where it does the heavy lifting there. I'll still add it for the skin/cosmetic side and just run it longer, maybe 10 to 12 weeks like you said, and not expect miracles on the knee. The BPC/TB combo already got me loading again so I'll take that as the win. Did you notice anything specific on the tendon side when you ran it, or was it honestly all c
  • runner_aaron: Tbh your experience kinda mirrors what I've heard from one or two others, that the joint/tendon effect is hit or miss and the skin stuff is where it actually shows up. The timing point is interesting though, because I assumed adding it after would still help mop up the grumpy tissue, but maybe it's more useful while BPC/TB are still doing their thing rather than as a follow-up. Did you run it every day or 5 on 2 off? And any bloodwork stuff you noticed, or was it purely how it felt?

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