CommunityInjection Technique

Mots-c confusions

49 replies25 peopleApr 29, 2026☆ Follow
Summary

How does MOTS-c affect people over 40 in terms of energy, endurance, side effects, and stacking with SS-31 or NAD+?

Users aged 40+ report mixed results with MOTS-c at doses from 1-7 mg, often every other day or on training days. Some notice sustained energy, better workout endurance, improved mood and focus, or gradual quality-of-life gains, while others feel nothing or only subtle differences that become clear when stopping. Injection-site reactions like lumps, swelling, itching, or pain are common but vary widely; some avoid them by changing sites or diluting more. Prior SS-31 use is debated, with some experiencing fatigue from it and others preferring to stack both compounds together.

What this discussion establishesWhere people disagree

Whether SS-31 should be run first to avoid exhaustion, whether effects are largely placebo or background only, and how high a dose is useful before returns diminish.

Still open

Optimal long-term protocol, whether IM injections reduce lumps compared with subQ, and how much prior cellular health determines noticeable benefits.

Nothing here is advice.

49 replies · 25 people
ClearQuill84archiveopening postApr 29

There are already several threads on MOTS-c but opinions split sharply. Some call it a great peptide that works wonders while others find it useless and painful with stinging, swelling, or lumps. From what I have read it seems aimed more at people who are no longer young. I am 49 and interested in trying it. I want feedback only from those 40 and older. Did it help you, did you use SS-31 or SLU-PP-332 first, do you combine it with other peptides, and how did the injections feel for you?

WarmSparrow60archiveApr 29

I am one of the people who likes it even though I get half-dollar sized lumps that last a week. I ran SS-31 for thirty days last November and felt pure exhaustion while others reported instant energy. I think that run helped me later with MOTS-c. I inject every other day at five to seven milligrams. I am fifty-three and my mitochondria were clearly in bad shape.

ClearQuill84archiveApr 29
↳ replying to @WarmSparrow60

Thanks for the reply. I am not sure what a half-dollar lump looks like. I am a little worried about what you said regarding SS-31. I was thinking of following the same approach but feeling exhausted for a whole month does not sound appealing.

WarmSparrow60archiveApr 29
↳ replying to @ClearQuill84

I just restarted SS-31 and moved the injection to mid-afternoon instead of early morning. That change has made a big difference so far.

SharpWillow20archiveApr 29

My A1c dropped from 6.5 to 5.6 while using Reta and MOTS-c together. It could be either one but I suspect the combination helped. I did not get the bad reactions some others report, only minor aches and itching at the injection site.

PlainTimber48archiveApr 29

I am on week three of 2.5 mg three times a week before key workouts. I am forty years old and have had no injection-site problems at all. I use a pen about thirty minutes before training and feel good on it. I was already running and cycling a lot beforehand and did not add anything else.

PatientTimber45archiveApr 29

I am forty-two. I began at one milligram daily and noticed nothing. Now I am trying five milligrams daily and get huge injection-site reactions with painful lumps that last weeks. I am going back to two milligrams daily to check if the pain continues.

WarmQuill73archiveApr 29

Hi, fifty-two-year-old male here. I am testing different schedules because some suggest three times weekly and others daily. I do two milligrams on Monday, Tuesday, and Friday plus three hundred micrograms on Wednesday and Thursday. I follow certain mitochondrial information that recommends three hundred micrograms daily for a month and also suggests SS-31 and SLP. Last week the two-milligram dose gave me a strong lift so I have been trying to repeat that. The higher dose gave clean energy during work that mixes physical and mental tasks. I had only minor site reactions and diluted the vial more to reduce burning. Blood work suggested I did not need the repair phase first, but I plan to add SS-31 on off days to limit oxidative stress.

SlowHarbour21archiveApr 29
↳ replying to @ClearQuill84 (opening post)

Hey, I am sixty-four. I ran SS-31 for ten weeks first, plus a short course of Fox04 and Epitalon. Then I did five weeks of MOTS-c and just finished. I would recommend trying it. As for pain, I am a former Marine so I do not focus on it. Do not get caught up in worrying about discomfort unless it is extreme. I have seen kids at the hospital who go through far worse and still smile, so I just pin.

ClearBeacon24archiveApr 29
↳ replying to @SlowHarbour21

Does it seem like everyone's being summoned just to act like total jerks?

PatientSignal25archiveApr 30

I am thirty-nine and work rotating shifts so training times change. I started SS-31 a few weeks before adding MOTS-c. Now I run two milligrams of SS-31 daily and five milligrams of MOTS-c on my four training days. So far I have not noticed much difference but I will continue because reviews say it works in the background.

QuietSignal91archiveApr 30

I felt an energy boost when I first started but it faded after two weeks. I am finishing a protocol with NAD and SS-31 and do not feel any different overall. SS-31 made me very tired so I probably will not use it again.

SteadyAlder49archiveApr 30

I am forty-two. Early last year I did a short four-week run at two milligrams every other day to support cardio endurance and ended up liking it. It did not fix my cardio because I was still out of shape, but I felt better overall with more energy, focus, better sleep, improved lifting, and less brain fog. Later I did a fourteen-week NAD, SS-31, MOTS-c protocol and the benefits were stronger. After years of heavy substance use, obesity, and inactivity my cellular health was worse than it looked. I have run it three times since with smaller returns each time, which I hope means my mitochondria improved. I plan to do one cycle a year for maintenance.

PatientSignal25archiveApr 30
↳ replying to @QuietSignal91

Do you think it is more placebo? I am willing to give it a few months since I already have the supply. Maybe poor mitochondrial function at the start and SS-31 helping rebuild it before MOTS-c can work better.

BrightMeadow28archiveApr 30
↳ replying to @ClearQuill84 (opening post)

I pin GHK and MOTS-c in the upper glute about an inch below the waistline and avoid the reactions I used to get in the abdomen. After a week and a half I realized it does not give a stimulant-style energy hit like a pre-workout. It works by optimizing cellular metabolism instead. Since starting I have lost two pounds without losing muscle and feel the difference in performance rather than a rush.

ClearKettle41archiveApr 30

MOTS-c feels pretty mild in my experience. I hardly notice anything while on it, though the difference stands out once I discontinue. Right now I'm using Reta too, and I've recently begun combining it with Tesamorelin in a new cycle. Time will tell how things develop. After a couple weeks I could try increasing the MOTS-c amount to check whether the impact becomes clearer.

BrightMeadow28archiveApr 30
↳ replying to @ClearKettle41

What dose did you start with and on which days? What are you planning to increase to?

SlowLedger21archiveApr 30

I am a forty-six-year-old female with long-term lethargy that got worse with age. Methylene blue gave me a noticeable energy lift for the first few months but the effect lessened. Last week I added MOTS-c at two hundred fifty micrograms and felt a similar thirty-to-fifty-percent energy increase. I have not tried SS-31 yet but will start when it arrives. So far the combination with methylene blue is helping.

ClearQuill84archiveApr 30

Some people get tired on SS-31. I wonder if it makes sense to skip the SS-31-first approach and start both compounds together instead.

SlowAnchor57archiveApr 30
↳ replying to @ClearQuill84

Forty-year-old female here. I just started NAD+ and noticed a clean energy increase without afternoon tiredness. SS-31 is on the way. I plan to run it for a week then add MOTS-c so I can try the stack and hopefully avoid fatigue.

WarmAlder51archiveApr 30

I began MOTS-c at five milligrams twice a week. The first dose ten minutes before a five-kilometer run made a clear difference in breathing and fatigue. I ended up doing six kilometers and felt I could continue. The effect has been about eighty percent as strong since then but still very noticeable on endurance. I now use it three times a week at five milligrams. I skipped SS-31 because an AI assessment suggested I probably did not need it given my activity level and because the cost is high.

ClearQuill84archiveApr 30
↳ replying to @WarmAlder51

Sounds good. Just one question, what is your age?

BrightMeadow28archiveApr 30
↳ replying to @WarmAlder51

I also skipped SS-31 first for the same reasons.

BrightMeadow28archiveApr 30
↳ replying to @SteadyAlder49

I wish I had read more here before ordering. I only bought MOTS-c on my last order and would have added NAD+ after seeing the discussions.

ClearQuill84archiveApr 30
↳ replying to @BrightMeadow28

Reading the forum gives a lot of information but also creates confusion. That is why I started this thread to see how it works for people in my situation. From what I have gathered it is very individual depending on age, sex, activity, and weight. I am still unsure but plan to order next week once the holiday passes.

LevelKettle34archiveApr 30

I have been stacking MOTS-c at two milligrams daily with five-amino one MQ at two point five milligrams daily for twelve weeks. I am a fifty-nine-year-old male. My weight dropped from two hundred seventeen to one hundred ninety pounds with no real loss in gym strength. Bench is still near three hundred and I went from two pull-ups a year ago to fifteen yesterday.

PatientCompass14archiveApr 30

I just finished a cycle of MOTS-c and liked it. I am a forty-one-year-old male construction worker and manager. On this I could keep energy for both physical tasks and people management all day instead of wanting to be left alone by mid-afternoon.

PatientTimber45archiveApr 30
↳ replying to @ClearQuill84

I feel and see absolutely nothing from it. My pre-workout feels stronger and cheaper.

ClearKettle41archiveMay 1
↳ replying to @BrightMeadow28

I am using two milligrams four to five days a week, which is on the higher side. I may move to three or four milligrams to test stronger effects, but I suspect one to two milligrams four to five days a week is the useful range. Because I am already on Reta, which supports mitochondria, I may not feel the same boost others report if their dysfunction was worse. I still have lagging energy but I skip naps more easily.

SteadyAlder49archiveMay 1
↳ replying to @PatientTimber45

I would be concerned if MOTS-c felt stronger than a pre-workout. It is not a stimulant.

BrightMeadow28archiveMay 1
↳ replying to @PatientTimber45

This lacks stimulating properties unlike pre workout formulas so the experience differs entirely. At the conclusion of training does fatigue feel identical or might there be capacity for extra effort.

PatientTimber45archiveMay 1
↳ replying to @BrightMeadow28

I feel exhausted at the end but I will try SS-31 and NAD+ first and then retry MOTS-c to compare.

PlainTimber48archiveMay 1
↳ replying to @BrightMeadow28

That matches what I noticed most. No burst of energy before or during, but I can keep going longer and the work feels easier or slightly faster at the same or lower effort than before.

GreenFenwick44archiveMay 4

I just started MOTS-c today and planned five milligrams on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday following one recommendation. After more reading I see people using one or two milligrams daily. Is there a reason for daily use? How long does it take to feel results?

GreyBeacon64archiveMay 4

Fifty-year-old male here. Two milligrams Monday, Wednesday, Friday mixed with half a milligram of KPV to reduce site reactions. It is not a stimulant boost but gives sustained all-day energy so I can go from six in the morning until evening without burning out. I did not start with SS-31 or NAD+. A friend also noticed it seems to reduce hangovers after weekend nights.

AmberAlder67archiveMay 5
↳ replying to @SlowLedger21

Is it okay to ask your methylene blue source? If not, please ignore the question.

SlowLedger21archiveMay 5
↳ replying to @AmberAlder67

I got mine from a large online retailer in the five-percent strength with a lab photo attached. I cannot confirm it is the highest quality but chose the stronger version after reading many reviews. It may not be perfect but it seems to work for me.

SteadySignal83archiveMay 5

I am on week six. I started at one milligram daily in the morning fasted for five days on and two off, then switched to training days only, usually four or five per week. I tried dosing an hour before evening workouts and felt good but eventually settled on morning dosing.

SteadyMarble42archiveMay 5

I have been using fifty milligrams every other day. Today I pinned in the thigh for the first time and got a hard raised lump, almost like it did not go deep enough, plus the worst stinging I have had. It is now ten at night and the lump is still there. Otherwise I have had good energy from it. After reading replies I wonder if I am overdoing the dose.

ClearQuill84archiveMay 6
↳ replying to @SteadyMarble42

Fifty milligrams? Is that a typo and you mean five milligrams?

QuietMarble18archiveMay 6

The person is going to end up huge.

SteadyMarble42archiveMay 6
↳ replying to @GreenFenwick44

No, my mistake. Monday, Wednesday, Friday and weekends off.

ClearQuill84archiveMay 6
↳ replying to @SteadyMarble42

Most protocols mention five to fifteen milligrams so fifty sounds very high to me.

SteadyMarble42archiveMay 6
↳ replying to @ClearQuill84

Sorry, I meant fifty units which equals five milligrams.

WarmSparrow96archiveMay 7
↳ replying to @SlowAnchor57

I also want to add my experience with NAD+. It is similar, nothing stimulative but a clear rise in baseline energy through the day. I alternate two-to-three milligrams of MOTS-c with fifty milligrams of NAD.

PatientTimber45archiveMay 7

I stopped MOTS-c more than eight days ago and can still feel all the lumps in my belly. Has anyone tried intramuscular instead of subQ? Do you still get lumps that way?

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