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How to track a peptide cycle
Last reviewed · Written by the PepCycle team
A cycle log is useful only if a future reader — you, or a clinician — can reconstruct exactly what happened. That requires eight fields per entry: compound, vial identity, concentration, amount, date and time, route, site, and observations. Everything else is optional; missing any of these makes the entry uninterpretable later.
Why most cycle logs become useless
Almost every abandoned peptide log fails the same way: it was accurate enough to be satisfying at the time, and ambiguous enough to be worthless six months later. Three specific failures account for most of it.
- Units without context. A note saying "10u" records a volume drawn, not an amount taken. Without the vial's concentration, that number cannot be converted back into micrograms by anyone, ever.
- Merged entries. A single line reading "CJC/Ipa" with one number cannot be split into its components. If either component later changes, the whole history becomes misleading rather than merely incomplete.
- Silent gaps. A missing day might mean skipped, might mean forgotten-to-log, might mean the app crashed. An explicit skip entry is worth more than three taken entries.
The eight fields
| Field | Why it matters | Common mistake |
|---|---|---|
| Compound | Identifies what, including form and variant | Using a nickname that covers two products |
| Vial identity | Ties the entry to a physical object with a lot and a date | Reusing one vial record across refills |
| Concentration | The only way volume converts to amount | Recorded once mentally, never written |
| Amount | The actual quantity, in a consistent unit | Recording syringe units instead |
| Date & time | Reveals real intervals and drift | Logging the planned time, not the actual one |
| Route | Subcutaneous, intramuscular, nasal, oral | Assumed, so nasal entries get mangled |
| Site | Enables genuine rotation | Free text, so it can never be summarised |
| Observations | The only outcome data that exists | Written occasionally, in prose |
Six of the eight are recorded once per vial, not once per entry. That is what makes a good log fast: set up the vial properly, and each subsequent entry is two taps.
Setting up a cycle
- Create each compound separately, with the variant in the name (see CJC-1295 for why "DAC" belongs in the name, not a note).
- Enter the vial exactly as labelled — mass in mg, lot, supplier, date received.
- Record the reconstitution — how much bacteriostatic water, on what date. The reconstitution calculator will show you what each syringe unit then contains.
- Set the schedule you were actually given, including every-N-day or titration patterns rather than forcing it into a daily reminder.
- Decide your units once — mcg or mg — and never mix them mid-cycle.
During the cycle
- Log at the moment, or backdate honestly the same day. See missed and late doses.
- Rotate sites on a deliberate pattern and record it — see injection site rotation.
- Record observations on a fixed structure, not free prose. "Sleep 4/5, nausea 1/5" is countable; a paragraph is not.
- Watch the vial countdown so a replacement is ordered before, not after, you run out. The vial duration calculator makes that visible.
- Record anything unusual immediately — you will not remember it accurately in a week.
Closing out a cycle
The end of a cycle is when a log pays out, provided you close it properly:
- Mark the end date explicitly rather than letting entries just stop.
- Write a short summary while it is fresh: what you actually ran, what you noticed, what you would record differently.
- Export a copy. See exporting and backing up your log — a log that exists in one app on one phone is one accident from gone.
- Archive the vial records rather than deleting them. Historic concentrations are what make old entries interpretable.
Frequently asked questions
What is the minimum I should record for each injection?
Compound, amount, date and time, and site. The vial's concentration and identity should already be recorded once at setup, so each entry stays fast. Anything less than this cannot be interpreted later.
Should I log in micrograms or milligrams?
Either, as long as you pick one and keep it for the whole cycle. Micrograms suit small research-peptide vials because entries stay whole numbers; milligrams suit large vials like GHK-Cu and NAD+. Mixing units mid-cycle is what makes a log unreadable.
How do I log a stack of several compounds?
As separate entries on the same date, one per compound, each with its own vial and amount. Only a vial that arrived pre-blended is logged as a single blend compound. See our blends and stacks reference.
Is it worth backdating an entry I forgot?
Yes, provided you backdate to the actual time and mark it as logged late. The alternative — leaving a gap or logging it as today — corrupts the interval data, which is usually the most useful thing in the log.
Related pages
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