Mk-677 water retention, is the puffiness actually just water, or something more?

Posted by cole_p in Research & News - 2 points, 4 comments.

So i keep seeing people in the forums swearing that mk-677 gave them a "moon face" look after a few weeks, and honestly, it happened to me too. Im curious about what the recent research is actually saying about the mechanism behind this, not just anecdotes.

The profile here describes it as "water retention/edema" which sounds benign, right? But ive read that mk-677 can bump up IGF-1 and also raise fasting glucose over time. So the puffiness might not only be fluid, it could also be tied to insulin resistance starting to creep in. That part worries me a bit, no?

For me personally, i ran mk-677 oral at around 25mg nightly for about 6 weeks last year. Sleep was noticeably deeper, no question, but my face and fingers felt puffy by week 3. Stopping it, the swelling went away in like a week. So for me it really did seem to be water, not fat. But i never got bloodwork done while on it, which i regret now.

Has anyone here seen newer research on the glucose side of mk-677, especially in longer use? Im trying to figure out if the water retention is just cosmetic or if its a warning sign of something deeper going on with insulin.

Comments

• owen196: The puffiness on mk-677 felt exactly like that for me too, hands and face, gone within a week of stopping. Seemed like straight water, not fat. But the glucose thing is worth paying attention to. I had fasting glucose creep up after a couple months on it and it bugged me enough to quit. Not a huge jump, but enough that I noticed on my tracker. The IGF-1 bump plus higher glucose over time is a known combo in the literature, and your pancreas having to push more insulin isn't a great long term se
• devin_reads: Yeah the glucose creep is what got me off it too honestly. Water i dont care about, puffy face for a few weeks whatever, but my fasting numbers started drifting up and that was enough for me to call it. The IGF-1 plus insulin resistance angle is the real thing to watch, not the aesthetics...
• cole_p: Yeah exactly, the fasting glucose drift is what bothers me the most too. Water i can deal with, its temporary and goes away, but the metabolic stuff is the part i dont want to mess with. Did you actually get bloodwork while you were on it, or just going off how you felt? I never pulled the trigger on labs during my run and honestly i regret that now.
• cole_p: Yeah same, the puffiness left fast and felt like fluid not tissue, you described it perfectly. But the glucose angle is what worries me more going forward. You said yours crept up on a tracker, was that a regular glucomometer at home or a cgm? Because im curious if the daily spikes tell a different story than fasting alone. Honestly i should have pulled bloodwork while i was on it, that was my mistake, and i wont skip it next time.

Community discussion - research and educational context only. Not medical advice.