posted by SMarini_Milano 13d ago

How soon after surgery can I start taking peptides

I have a client, a former footballer, who is two days out from an ACL reconstruction with a hamstring graft. He is asking me about starting BPC-157 and maybe TB-500 right away to speed the healing. I have used both compounds myself for soft tissue over the years but never this close to a surgical date. My instinct says wait for the acute inflammatory window to pass, but I have read some practitioners start within the first week to catch the early proliferative phase. What have you seen in practice, does starting early actually change the trajectory or is it better to let the first 48 to 72 hours do their job untouched.

Three decades in the gym and still learning.

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GKatz_ATCMid-Atlantic region9 points13d ago

In my experience with pro athletes the surgeons we work with want nothing started until sutures are out and the wound is closed and stable, usually 10 to 14 days. The early inflammatory cascade is doing real work recruiting cells to the site, and nobody wants to be the guy explaining a bleed or a wound dehiscence to a surgical team. I have seen guys start peptides at week 2 with good results, never seen a controlled comparison to week 1.

Twenty plus years keeping athletes on the ice.

ELee_DPTMaryland, Washington D.C. metro area6 points12d ago

Depends entirely on the surgeon honestly.

Lost my career to a knee. Now I fix them.

ELee_DPTMaryland, Washington D.C. metro area9 points12d ago

This is a surgeon conversation, not a forum one. Don't experiment with graft healing behind their back.

Lost my career to a knee. Now I fix them.

CKmiec_LALos Angeles, California3 points12d ago

Same, always defer to the surgeon.

Technique first, load second.

SMarini_MilanoMilan, Italy4 points12d ago

Fair point. For an ACL hamstring graft specifically, is there a reason to wait longer than a typical tendon repair given the revascularization process?

Three decades in the gym and still learning.

GKatz_ATCMid-Atlantic region5 points11d ago

ACL grafts revascularize over months so the early days barely matter either way.

Twenty plus years keeping athletes on the ice.

NOuta_ResearchKenya2 points11d ago

There isn't a single published human trial comparing start times after surgery, so anyone giving a firm number is working off clinical intuition. I'd want to see wound healing markers tracked against peptide start day before trusting anecdote over anecdote here.

Science is only useful if people can use it.

TSalamanca_CTNew Haven, Connecticut2 points11d ago

There's no trial on this, correct.

Motivation is the missing rep.

LBenz_PTLouisville, Kentucky5 points11d ago

From a systems standpoint the safest move is bringing your surgeon into the conversation rather than guessing. We see patients who start things quietly post op and then can't tell their surgical team why healing looks atypical at follow up. Transparency protects the graft and the relationship.

Humanize the rehab process.

SMarini_MilanoMilan, Italy1 points10d ago

Update, we are going to wait until week two per his surgeon's clearance before starting anything.

Three decades in the gym and still learning.

BCole_FSTHouston, Texas5 points10d ago

Week two sounds reasonable to me.

Move well first. Everything else follows.

MDrake_DPTBaltimore, Maryland5 points10d ago

The first 48 to 72 hours post op is genuinely protective, it's not just noise. You've got neutrophils and macrophages clearing debris and setting the chemical signals for the proliferative phase, and anything that blunts that response too early theoretically could slow the transition into collagen deposition. That said by day 10 to 14 most of that acute work is done and you're solidly into proliferation, which is exactly when growth factor activity from something like BPC or TB-500 could plausibly support the process rather than fight it. I don't have a trial to hand you, just the physiology lining up with what a lot of practitioners already do in practice.

Neuro rehab nerd, clinical educator.

GKatz_ATCMid-Atlantic region1 points10d ago

That timing lines up with what most of the athletes I've worked with do too.

Twenty plus years keeping athletes on the ice.

SMarini_MilanoMilan, Italy3 points9d ago

Appreciate the input everyone, going with week two and keeping the surgeon looped in.

Three decades in the gym and still learning.

BCole_FSTHouston, Texas6 points9d ago

Good thread, bookmarking this one.

Move well first. Everything else follows.