posted by desk_jockey_dana 18d ago

Can you take BPC-157 orally or does it have to be injected?

So I've got the wrist/forearm tendinitis going and I keep seeing oral BPC-157 capsules pop up as an option. Needles freak me out a little ngl. Is oral actually going to do anything or am I wasting money if my issue is more of a tendon thing and not a gut thing?

Currently typing with correct posture. Probably.

12 comments

Add a comment

tendon_tinkerAustin, TX8 points18d ago

Ran both at different points. For my elbows the injectable version is what actually moved the needle (pun intended). Oral I could not tell you if it did anything, no measurable change in my grip strength log over 8 weeks.

Measure it or it did not happen.

PharmD_NadiaPhoenix, AZ6 points18d ago

BPC-157 is genuinely one of the more stable peptides in stomach acid, it was pulled out of human gastric juice originally, so it doesn't just get shredded like most peptides would orally. That's the whole reason capsules exist as a product in the first place. But surviving the stomach and actually getting into your bloodstream in meaningful amounts are two different questions.

If the vial looks cloudy, the answer is no.

LabRatLouisBoston, MA5 points18d ago

Right, nobody has actually published data measuring how much oral BPC makes it into systemic circulation in any species. We know it survives digestion. We don't know the number that crosses the gut wall. The estimates floating around of 10 to 30 percent of injectable are just that, estimates.

Preclinical is not a promise.

jumpers_knee_jessOmaha, NE7 points18d ago

this is why I always tell my girls with patellar stuff to just do sub q if they're going that route at all. gut isn't the target for a knee problem, why would you route it through the gut

Isometrics before ice. Every time.

AchillesAnnaPortland, OR7 points18d ago

I was terrified of needles too when I started. My PT talked me through my first sub-q pin and honestly it's basically nothing, tiny needle, done in two seconds. For my insertional Achilles the injectable is what I credit with actually turning things around around week 5-6. I never bothered with oral because everything I read pointed the same direction you're getting here.

Slow is smooth. Smooth is 5k pace eventually.

rotator_cuff_rickNaperville, IL1 points18d ago

Tried the oral caps for a stretch after my repair out of curiosity more than anything. Overhead press didn't care one way or another. Waste of money for what I needed, which was a shoulder, not a stomach.

Two years of patience beat six months of panic.

Dr_Rehab_RayCleveland, OH3 points18d ago

The distinction that actually matters here is what you're targeting. If someone's dealing with gut inflammation, leaky gut, IBD type stuff, oral makes total sense because the peptide is sitting right where it needs to work in the GI tract. For tendon and joint stuff the data people point to is almost all injectable, subcutaneous gets it into circulation within 15-30 minutes. Whatever you choose, keep loading the tendon progressively, the peptide isn't doing the rehab for you.

Load is the drug with the best data.

copper_curiousMiami, FL3 points18d ago

random tangent but is GHK-Cu the same deal, oral vs topical vs injection, or is that a totally different situation

Collagen is a process, not a purchase.

CoachTerrellAtlanta, GA4 points18d ago

different topic for a different thread honestly. but general point stands for any of these, the peptide route matters way less than whether you're actually loading the tissue. I've had guys obsess over pinning correctly and skip their eccentrics entirely. that's backwards.

You cannot inject your way out of a bad program.

mito_mikeBoulder, CO3 points18d ago

I use oral BPC when my gut is angry from training load and it does seem to calm things down for me, but for my cranky patellar tendon I switched to injectable and that's the one I actually track improvement on. Different tool for different job in my experience.

Watts do not lie. Neither do lactate strips.

desk_jockey_danaRaleigh, NC6 points18d ago

ok this is helpful, sounds like injectable is the move if it's actually the tendon I'm after. still nervous about the needle part but guess that's a separate problem to solve

Currently typing with correct posture. Probably.

Mod_HelenMadison, WI1 points18d ago

good thread, just a reminder nobody here is telling dana what to inject or how much, that part's between her and whoever she's working with. general education is fine and that's what this turned into.

Read the pinned rules. They are short.