Hormones · part of Hormones and growth hormone
Does it help libido or sexual function?
Measured on validated questionnaires, which is the only way this gets measured in a trial.
49
people in trials
6
studies in people
1
compounds, animal or lab only
15
compounds people report on
2
trials found nothing
Measured in people
A trial that gave people the compound comes first. A study that only watched people, who happened to have more or less of something related, comes after. Both are studies in people and both are here. Only the first kind tested the thing you are asking about, and the watch-only ones are labelled. Within that, the most people come first. That is a fact about the studies, not a judgement about the compound. Counts are never added up across compounds, because the same person can be in more than one trial.
Peptides and blends
4 compounds · 49 people given one of themWhat this archive is for. Trials of the compound come first, ranked by how many people were actually given it. Studies that only observed people are below them and labelled.
- 01Melanotan IIPeptideStrong. At least two finished studies in people, and at least 1,000 people who took it. 5 completed trials, 1,310 people given it.9 reported30 people given it2 trials
This pools every man the Arizona group ever dosed, and it comes to twenty. Across two studies, seventeen of the twenty had an erection with no sexual stimulation at all, lasting about forty minutes at useful firmness. They also reported wanting sex more often on the drug than on the dummy injection. Severe nausea hit about one in eight at the dose used. Twenty men with erectile dysfunction is the entire human record of this peptide working.
The numbers The pooled Arizona experience in 20 men with psychogenic and organic erectile dysfunction: erection without sexual stimulation in 17 of 20, a mean of 41 minutes of tip rigidity above 80%, increased desire after 13 of 19 doses against 4 of 21 on placebo, and severe nausea in 12.9% of subjects at 0.025 mg/kg.
International Journal of Impotence Research, 2000· 20 people
Melanotan II produced erections in men with erectile dysfunction, and made several of them badly sick. Ten men took both the drug and a dummy injection on separate occasions, and nobody involved knew which was which on the day. They reported an erection after most of the drug injections and after one of the dummy ones. A firmness monitor backed that up. Severe nausea followed about one in five of the drug injections. Ten men is the whole study.
The numbers 10 men with organic erectile dysfunction, 0.025 mg/kg subcutaneously in a double-blind crossover: reported erections after 12 of 19 drug injections against 1 of 21 placebo doses, mean tip rigidity above 80% for 45.3 minutes against 1.9 minutes (p = 0.047), and severe nausea after 4 of 19 injections.
Urology, 2000· 10 people
What people using it report
- Sexual effects are reported by people who were not seeking them, including spontaneous and prolonged erections lasting many hours, alongside flushing, yawning and stretching. A specific safety warning circulates against combining it with erectile dysfunction medication on the same day because of priapism risk. Lower sex drive and lower appetite are also described, pointing the other way.
- 02SermorelinPeptideModerate. At least one finished study in people, and at least 100 people who took it. 3 completed trials, 139 people given it.8 reported19 people given it1 trial1 found nothing
found nothingThe hormone response faded while the injections carried on. Nineteen adults aged 55 to 71 injected salt water nightly for a month, then a sermorelin-like peptide for four more months. Growth hormone and its main blood marker rose within two weeks, stayed up for three months, then drifted back to where they started even though dosing never stopped. Muscle, insulin response, mood and libido improved in the men and not the women. Bone density and sleep did not change in anyone.
The numbers 19 adults aged 55 to 71 on 4 weeks of placebo then 16 weeks of the Nle27 analogue at 10 micrograms/kg nightly: IGF-1 and IGFBP-3 rose within 2 weeks and returned toward baseline by week 16 while dosing continued. Lean mass, insulin sensitivity, well-being and libido improved in men only; bone mineral density and sleep quality did not change.
Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, 1997· 19 people
- 03Melanotan II with PT-141BlendLimited. People have taken it in a published study, but fewer than 100 of them. 3 completed trials, 10 people given it.7 reported0 people given it1 trial
The same kind of peptide also worked in men whose erection trouble had a physical cause, which is the harder group to help. Men got the drug or a dummy by chance, and both erections and sexual desire got better. This was another small study. The usual problems of this drug family came with it: nausea, flushing and yawning.
The numbers A randomised study of the same class of alpha-MSH analogue in men with organic rather than psychogenic erectile dysfunction, extending the erection and sexual desire findings to a harder population. Small, and again with the melanocortin class side effects.
Urology, 2000· number of people not given
- 04PT-141 with oxytocinBlendLimited. People have taken it in a published study, but fewer than 100 of them. 3 completed trials, 10 people given it.6 reported0 people given it1 trial
Oxytocin was tested properly for sex problems in women, and it did not beat a dummy spray. Thirty women used an oxytocin nasal spray or a dummy spray before sex. Each tried both over 22 weeks, and nobody knew which was which. Sexual function scores rose 26% on oxytocin and 31% on the dummy. Distress about sex fell 36% and 45%. Both groups got better, and the dummy matched or beat the drug every time. Thirty women is small, but nothing here points the drug's way.
The numbers Thirty pre- and postmenopausal women with sexual dysfunction, randomised double-blind placebo-controlled crossover over 22 weeks, 32 IU of intranasal oxytocin or placebo before intercourse. Female Sexual Function Index rose 26% on oxytocin and 31% on placebo, Sexual Quality of Life 144% and 125%, and sexual distress fell 36% and 45%. There was no statistically significant treatment, sequence or interaction effect. Both improved; the drug did not beat placebo.
Fertility and Sterility, 2015· number of people not given
What people using it report
- More desire and arousal within a few hours.
Other compounds
1 compound · 0 people given one of themApproved drugs, biologics and hormones that have been measured for this. They are here because leaving them out would misrepresent the evidence, and they are below the peptides because that is not what most people come here to read.
- 01TestosteroneHormoneModerate. At least one finished study in people, and at least 100 people who took it. 1 completed trial, 5,246 people given it.10 reportednobody was given it1 watch-only study1 found nothing
found nothingTestosterone helped older men with sex and did much less for everything else. It raised their levels to what a man in his twenties or thirties would have. Sex drive, sexual activity and erections all clearly got better. Energy did not get better at all. Walking distance only improved when three studies were lumped together, which is a weaker way to find a result. Mood was slightly better. Side effects were no more common than on the dummy gel.
The numbers The T-Trials. Treatment raised testosterone into the mid-normal range for men aged 19 to 40. Sexual activity, sexual desire and erectile function all improved significantly. Vitality did not improve on the fatigue scale. The proportion improving 6-minute walking distance by at least 50 m did not differ in the Physical Function Trial but did when all three trials were pooled, 20.5% against 12.6%, p = 0.003. Mood and depressive symptoms were slightly better. Adverse event rates were similar.
New England Journal of Medicine, 2016· number of people not givenobserved only, nobody was given it
What people using it report
- Oestradiol, the main estrogen, is discussed in both directions and this is a point experienced posters correct newcomers on constantly: pushing it down is described as producing its own set of problems, including low libido and mental fog, so the target described is a range rather than a floor.
What people using these actually report
These are people describing their own use. They come from clinic write-ups, complaint records kept by regulators, and public forums, and they are shown as written. They are the best guide on this page to what people actually do, what they expect, and what goes wrong. They cannot show that anything works. Nobody was compared with people on a dummy pill, and people who saw no effect mostly stopped posting. Both things are true at once. The bad reports are kept in for the same reason.
- Sexual effects are reported by people who were not seeking them, including spontaneous and prolonged erections lasting many hours, alongside flushing, yawning and stretching. A specific safety warning circulates against combining it with erectile dysfunction medication on the same day because of priapism risk. Lower sex drive and lower appetite are also described, pointing the other way.
Sources: Melanotan experience and question threads on Bluelight, ExcelMale and VialTalk, found by site-restricted search and read directly, September 2026. Nothing above is attributed to any specific post and no post is reproduced.
- More desire and arousal within a few hours.
Sources: The nausea and flushing appear in the melanocortin controlled trials. The rest comes from forums including r/peptides and clinic write-ups, uncontrolled, in an area where people on a dummy treatment in one study improved as much as people on the drug.
- Oestradiol, the main estrogen, is discussed in both directions and this is a point experienced posters correct newcomers on constantly: pushing it down is described as producing its own set of problems, including low libido and mental fog, so the target described is a range rather than a floor.
Sources: Long-running testosterone protocol, side effect and monitoring threads on ExcelMale, found by site-restricted search and read in September 2026. This material is closer to accumulated board guidance than to individual experience reports, and is described as such above. Nothing is attributed to any specific post and no post is reproduced.
- Specific negatives described include a racing heart, and an account of erectile function being suppressed by it even while orgasm became easier. Product quality is a recurring complaint, with consumer marketplace sprays described as weaker between batches or after storage, and cold chain shipping raised as both a cost and a reason to doubt what arrives.
- The recurring practical outcome in these threads is people being pointed toward something else entirely for libido, which tells you how the group rates it.
Sources: Oxytocin and TRT libido threads on ExcelMale, found through the site's own tag index and read directly, September 2026. Nothing above is attributed to any specific post and no post is reproduced.
- Raised cortisol, a stress hormone, and raised prolactin, a hormone that can cause breast changes, are the negatives named most consistently, and they are described as occurring even at ordinary doses rather than only at high ones. Lowered libido and breast tissue changes are named as the downstream worries that follow from the prolactin side of that.
Sources: Threads and peptide comparison discussion on MESO-Rx at thinksteroids.com, ExcelMale, Steroidology and LongeCity, found by site-restricted search and read directly, September 2026. Nothing above is attributed to any specific post and no post is reproduced.
- What people report noticing is modest and hard for them to attribute. Libido and mood changes come up, and nocturnal erections are described by some as changing in a dose-related way, but the same posters usually note they were adjusting other hormones at the same time and say plainly that they cannot separate the two.
Sources: Multiple ExcelMale threads on kisspeptin, kisspeptin dosing and kisspeptin as an hCG substitute, found by site-restricted search and read directly, September 2026. Nothing above is attributed to any specific post and no post is reproduced.
- Effects on genital sensitivity and libido are described within days by some people, and mood or mental clarity over longer periods. Those are the least consistent reports in the set.
Sources: Long-running HCG threads on ExcelMale covering use on testosterone replacement and on its own, found by site-restricted search and read directly, September 2026. Nothing above is attributed to any specific post and no post is reproduced.
- The most consistent pattern in the whole discussion is a gap between blood work and symptoms. Testosterone and the two brain hormones that drive it, LH and FSH, are described as climbing quickly, sometimes within two to four weeks and in some accounts from very low figures to the top of the range over months, while libido and erectile symptoms are repeatedly described as not following. That disconnect is the single most cited reason people give for stopping, including some who ran it close to two years with good numbers throughout.
Sources: Enclomiphene dosing, restart and experience threads on ExcelMale, found by site-restricted search and read directly, September 2026. Nothing above is attributed to any specific post and no post is reproduced.
- The effects people do describe sit to one side of the marketing: better tolerance of stress and workload in one account, changes in libido and ejaculate volume in another.
Sources: Ecdysteroid threads on T-Nation and MESO-Rx, with ExcelMale mentions, found by site-restricted search, September 2026. Nothing above is attributed to any specific post and no post is reproduced.
- Used without testosterone, the body's own testosterone is described as shutting down fast and completely. Testosterone and estrogen both fall sharply in the logs, and symptoms people put down to low estrogen, such as joint cracking, are described after less than a week at the higher end of the doses above. Insomnia, loss of sexual function and elevated liver enzymes appear in the same accounts, and posters note the liver findings sit awkwardly with the claim that this compound is handled differently from other orals.
Sources: Oxandrolone threads on ExcelMale, including self-logs with bloodwork, found by site-restricted search and through the site's tag index, read directly, September 2026. Nothing above is attributed to any specific post and no post is reproduced.
- Sexual dysfunction and low libido have their own slang on these boards, which is itself a signal of how often it comes up. Depression, flat mood and loss of motivation are described appearing around eight to ten weeks, and a small forum poll on mood ran clearly negative, with most respondents saying it made their mood worse. Anxiety and a racing heart are described by some people at doses far below what anyone would call a cycle.
Sources: Nandrolone and TRT threads on ExcelMale, including a mood poll thread, found by site-restricted search and through the site's tag index, read directly, September 2026. Nothing above is attributed to any specific post and no post is reproduced.
- Raised blood sugar and a worsened HbA1c are given as reasons for stopping. Erectile function is raised as a concern too, though less consistently and usually as a question rather than a report.
Sources: Statin threads on ExcelMale, found by site-restricted search and read directly, September 2026. Nothing above is attributed to any specific post and no post is reproduced.
- Almost all the first-hand discussion reachable in these communities is about injection into cavernous tissue for erectile dysfunction, not about cosmetic or longevity use. The cosmetic threads carry detail on how the toxin acts and what can go wrong but contain no personal accounts at all, and the other clinical threads are study summaries with no experience attached.
Sources: Botulinum toxin threads on ExcelMale covering intracavernosal use, the underlying study literature and cosmetic injection, found by site-restricted search and read directly, September 2026. Nothing above is attributed to any specific post and no post is reproduced.
- What people describe wanting from it is libido and drive. The accounts that exist are subjective and short, and one report of a large rise in total testosterone over a month came from someone simultaneously using testosterone and two growth hormone peptides, which that person stated themselves, so nothing in it isolates this compound.
Sources: Kisspeptin dosing and practical guide threads on ExcelMale, found by site-restricted search and read directly, September 2026. Nothing above is attributed to any specific post and no post is reproduced.
- Adverse reports cluster at those high intakes and include headache, dizziness, mental cloudiness, sore eyes and trouble focusing them, irritability, low mood and reduced libido. The same people describe the problems easing when they dropped back toward a gram a day.
Sources: High dose fish oil, supplement and mental health threads on LongeCity, found by site-restricted search and read directly, September 2026. Nothing above is attributed to any specific post and no post is reproduced.
Measured in animals or in the lab, not yet in people
These are kept apart from the studies in people, not ranked against them. They answer a different question. A result in a rat is a real result, and a reason somebody ran the study. It is not a measure of what happens in you. When the work in people is missing, the reason is usually money, not failure. The bottom of this page explains why.
Peptides and blends
- 01GalaninPeptideLimited. People have taken it in a published study, but fewer than 100 of them. 4 completed trials, 21 people given it.1 animal or lab study
Measured in animals or in the lab
In rats, plus nerve cells in a dish. Galanin partly restored erections after a nerve injury and helped nerves regrow in a dish. It is here because this rat result gets passed around without anyone saying it was rats.
The numbers Rats, with an in vitro component. Galanin administration partially restored erectile function after cavernous nerve injury and mediated nitrergic nerve outgrowth in culture. Included because this rat result circulates in consumer settings without its species attached.
The Journal of Sexual Medicine, 2018· animal study
Why the trial record looks like this
A missing trial usually means nobody would pay for it. Nobody spends hundreds of millions of dollars on a molecule they cannot own. So the compounds with the thinnest record in people are often the oldest and easiest to get, not the weakest. Taking Galanin as the example, because it states the problem most clearly:
An earlier research review for this site said galanin had never been given to people in a study. That was wrong, and the fix is worth stating plainly. Galanin has been dripped into human volunteers in controlled studies since 1986, and there are dozens of these reports through the mid-1990s. Search only recent papers, or galanin plus a behaviour word, and you will miss them.
The fix changes less than it sounds. The human data are real, and they are all about hormones and the heart. In a person, galanin raises growth hormone, affects the automatic nervous system, and does nothing measurable to insulin or blood sugar. That is the whole picture the human record gives.
The reputation comes from somewhere else. Galanin's fame as a brain peptide comes from rodent work on addiction, eating, sleep and swelling, with the peptide put into the brain or right next to the target. The gap between that and anything a person could take is the whole problem. One human study names it. After finding that galanin did not affect insulin in people the way it does in dogs and rodents, the authors wrote that caution should be used before assuming animal results apply to people. That was published in 1989, and it is still the right summary.
The heart rate result deserves more attention than it gets. A resting rise from 70 to 99 beats a minute, in healthy young men, during a one-hour drip, is not a subtle signal.
A real test of thinking means a proper test of memory, attention, speed or planning. You take it before and after, and you are compared with a group who got a dummy and did not know it. None of the seven compounds in this group has ever been tested that way. Scores for tiredness, anxiety, hunger or a doctor's overall impression are not thinking tests. Neither is a hormone level. This matters because several of these compounds are sold for focus, clarity and mental energy, and the studies behind them measured none of those things.
A compound shows up here only when a study on its own page names this goal and reports a result for it. Just naming it is not enough. Work in people, in animals and in the lab is counted separately and never mixed. People counts come from the study lines, and when in doubt they count low. Nothing here is advice. Nothing here tells you to take or to avoid anything.