Retatrutide user experiences: what users themselves report
Users’ own accounts, not research. The accounts are self-selected and prove neither that it works nor that it is safe.
This page does not list users’ doses or sellers, and no figure on it is a recommendation. Doses used in studies, with sources: Retatrutide dosage in studies.
In short
Of 1182 people, 839 (71%) said retatrutide brought some benefit and 611 (52%) some harm.
We went through 1,730 public Reddit posts and a random sample of comments (1,500); the first-hand experiences of 1182 users among them are compiled here. Method: Where the accounts come from and how we read them. Use of AI: AI disclosure.
- An AI model read and classified 1,730 public Reddit posts and 1,500 randomly chosen comments one by one, following written instructions. Leaving out posts that looked like marketing, 1329 were first-hand accounts, from 1182 different people.
- Benefits mentioned most often: weight loss (535, 45%), less appetite and food noise (296, 25%) and more energy (46, 4%).
- Harms mentioned most often: fatigue (98, 8%), food aversion or eating too little (78, 7%) and nausea (74, 6%). In addition, 204 (17%) described some other, rarer harm. People tend to post when something goes wrong, so this share does not tell how common harms are.
- There was no clear difference between posts and comments (benefit only 42% vs. 46%, some harm 52% vs. 50%): Posts vs. comments.
- Retatrutide has no marketing authorisation, so the accounts are about products bought online whose contents are unknown. 796 of 1329 accounts came from the users' own forum r/Retatrutide, where positive accounts may be over-represented.
- The accounts cannot separate the substance from placebo or other causes. What the research shows: Retatrutide: what the research shows.
Where the accounts come from and how we read them
Sources: the Reddit forums r/Retatrutide (796 accounts), r/Peptides (480), r/Biohackers (18), r/cagrilintide (13), r/bpc_157 (10), r/Tesamorelin (4), r/CagriSema (2), r/Melanotan2 (2), r/BPC157 (1), r/Semax (1), r/SLUPP332 (1) and r/mk677 (1), 13 Oct 2024 to 12 Oct 2026. The posts were retrieved from a public Reddit archive. 6,157 posts matched the search, and 3,000 of them were taken at random. Of those, 1,730 were first-person posts about retatrutide, and every one was read. In addition, 28,378 comments met the same criteria in the same period (two years, 13 Oct 2024 to 13 Oct 2026), and a random 1,500 of them were read. The sample was drawn with a fixed seed, so it can be repeated.
Coding: for each account we recorded the route, reported benefits and harms, how strong a harm was, whether and why the person stopped, length of use and other substances used at the same time. We kept accounts that reported some effect, some harm, or no effect. Questions and plans were left out. A harm was recorded when the person reported it during use, even if the cause was uncertain. Several posts by one person count as one person. One person can mention several things, so the shares in the tables do not add up to 100.
Check: an AI model read and classified the posts following written instructions. A second, separate AI run classified a random tenth (173 posts) again without seeing the first classification. The main fields matched: 171/173 (99%). 150 of the comments were re-classified the same way, and the main fields matched: 143/150 (95%). 19 posts looked like marketing and are not in the figures.
Whose accounts these are: routes mentioned: injection 62; the others did not say. The figures describe the writers and are not a recommendation. The products were not verified, so we do not know what people actually took.
Did retatrutide help? The overall picture
Of 1182 people, 513 (43%) reported benefit only, 326 (28%) both benefit and harm, 285 (24%) harm only and 58 (5%) neither.
Stopping. 85 people (7%) said they stopped or paused: 53 because of harms and 32 because they noticed no effect or for another reason.
| Overall picture: benefit, harm or neither | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Benefit only | 513 | 43% |
| Both benefit and harm | 326 | 28% |
| Harm only | 285 | 24% |
| Neither benefit nor harm | 58 | 5% |
Posts vs. comments
The figures on this page combine two sets: all 706 people who described their own use in a post, and 476 people found only in comments. 28,378 comments met the criteria, and a random 1,500 of them were read, from the same period as the posts: two years, 13 Oct 2024 to 13 Oct 2026. Because only part of the comments was read, the combined shares are not an average of the whole discussion.
There was no clear difference between posts and comments. Benefit only: 42% in posts and 46% in comments (difference +4 percentage points, 95% confidence interval -2 to +10, so the interval includes zero). Some harm: 52% in posts and 50% in comments (difference -2 percentage points, 95% confidence interval -8 to +3, so the interval includes zero).
So the shares were of the same order whether the experience was written in a post or in a comment. The accounts still prove neither that it works nor that it is safe.
| Reported | Posts (n = 706) | Comments (n = 476) | Difference, points (95% CI) | Clear difference? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Benefit only | 42% (298) | 46% (219) | +4 (-2, +10) | No |
| Some harm | 52% (369) | 50% (237) | -2 (-8, +3) | No |
Most common reported benefits
Of 1182 people. 839 (71%) mentioned some benefit; the table lists every benefit reported.
| Reported | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Weight loss | 535 | 45% |
| Less appetite and food noise | 296 | 25% |
| More energy | 46 | 4% |
| Less urge to drink | 39 | 3% |
| Better mood | 23 | 2% |
| Better blood lipids | 14 | 1% |
| Lower blood pressure | 11 | 1% |
| Better sleep or sleep apnoea | 8 | 1% |
| Better blood sugar or HbA1c | 7 | 1% |
| Better liver values or liver fat | 6 | 1% |
| Less joint pain | 5 | 0% |
| Other benefit | 192 | 16% |
Share = people / 1182.
Most common reported harms
Of 1182 people. 611 (52%) mentioned some harm; 45 said explicitly they had none.
| Reported | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Fatigue | 98 | 8% |
| Food aversion or eating too little | 78 | 7% |
| Nausea | 74 | 6% |
| Raised heart rate or palpitations | 66 | 6% |
| Insomnia or sleep problems | 59 | 5% |
| Stomach pain or bloating | 52 | 4% |
| Skin pain, tingling or burning | 52 | 4% |
| Mood or anxiety | 50 | 4% |
| Muscle loss or weakness | 26 | 2% |
| Diarrhoea | 25 | 2% |
| Heartburn or reflux | 24 | 2% |
| Dizziness | 20 | 2% |
| Headache | 20 | 2% |
| Injection site reaction | 20 | 2% |
| Burping | 17 | 1% |
| Constipation | 17 | 1% |
| Vomiting | 16 | 1% |
| Rash or itch | 13 | 1% |
| Low blood pressure or faintness | 10 | 1% |
| Dehydration | 9 | 1% |
| Hair loss | 6 | 1% |
| Pancreatitis | 1 | 0% |
| Other, rarer harm | 204 | 17% |
| Harms mentioned but not named | 38 | 3% |
Share = people / 1182.
How severe were the harms?
Of the 607 people who described how strong a harm was, 383 (63%) described it as mild, 207 (34%) as clearly bothersome and 17 (3%) as severe. The strength is the writer's own description, not a doctor's assessment.
| Strength of the harm as the writer described it | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Mild: minor and manageable | 383 | 63% |
| Clearly bothersome: several days, sleep or work affected | 207 | 34% |
| Severe: emergency visit, hospital or unable to function | 17 | 3% |
Harms known from research and regulators: What side effects does retatrutide have?
How long did people use retatrutide?
712 of 1182 people (60%) said how long they had been using it at the time of writing. Where one person wrote several posts, the longest stated time counts.
| Stated length of use | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Under a week | 61 | 9% |
| 1-4 weeks | 168 | 24% |
| 1-3 months | 309 | 43% |
| Over 3 months | 174 | 24% |
Many people post partway through, often in the first days or as soon as harms start, so short times are over-represented. The numbers describe the writers; they do not say how long it should be used.
Other substances at the same time
363 of 1182 people (31%) used other substances at the same time. The most common: tirzepatide (70), testosterone therapy (57) and tesamorelin (49). Then the account cannot tell which substance had the effect.
Products bought online
Retatrutide has no marketing authorisation and is still being studied. The writers had bought their products online as research chemicals, and their contents are unknown. We did not record how much weight people lost.
On the risks of products bought online: What side effects does retatrutide have? Weight-loss drug side effects in general: weight-loss drug side effects. What buying without a prescription involves: weight-loss drugs without a prescription.
About dosing
We do not repeat the amounts or ways of use people mention, and we give no dosing or how-to instructions. A safe dose is not known. Doses used in studies, with sources: Retatrutide doses used in trials. Legal status: Is retatrutide legal in Finland?
What can be concluded?
Weight loss and less appetite fit the trial results. The harms reported most often were tiredness, food aversion or eating too little, nausea, and a raised heart rate or palpitations.
The accounts prove neither that it works nor that it is safe. The writers are self-selected, the product contents are unknown, many used several substances at once, and placebo effects can be large. The research and its evidence levels: Retatrutide: what the research shows.
Quotes
Short excerpts in the writers’ own words. Writers’ names and links are not shown. We picked quotes from every group: benefit, both benefit and harm, no effect, harms and people who stopped.
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"The weight loss at first was AMAZING. I lost at least 2lbs a week, some weeks even more, and the appetite suppressant worked absolute wonders."
r/Retatrutide, 2025-08, Retatrutide for about six weeks. Reports fast weight loss, strong appetite suppression and an end to binge eating, followed by a plateau.
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"Week 1 was actually great. A lot of appetite suppression, and felt light/tight in my gut area in a good way."
r/Retatrutide, 2026-01, Two weeks on retatrutide. Clear appetite suppression in week one, then near-constant nausea and mild heartburn in week two.
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"the appetite suppression is so strong that I can’t consume enough protein and calories to preserve muscle mass while training three times a week at the gym."
r/Retatrutide, 2025-01, Three months on retatrutide. Weight and waist dropped clearly every month, but now the writer cannot eat enough.
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"No weight loss as of yet but I’ve also not noticed any improvement in my overall inflammation (I have hashimotos and Lipedema)."
r/Retatrutide, 2025-05, Five weeks on retatrutide after a year of tirzepatide. No weight loss and no change in inflammation.
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"my sleep has been just garbage in the last month, since reta settled in. according to smart-watch i avg 70-80bpm, while i used to 50-60."
r/Retatrutide, 2025-02, About a month on retatrutide. Reports a raised night-time heart rate and waking in the night that ruin sleep, and is considering quitting.
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"about a month in started feeling some flutters had a Holter done and was diagnosed with sinus tachycardia with spontaneous ectopic beats.cardiologist told me to immediately stop taking everything."
r/Peptides, 2025-10, About a month on retatrutide. Lost weight and felt great until heart rhythm symptoms appeared; a doctor told them to stop.
Other summaries made with the same method: BPC-157 user experiences, Cagrilintide user experiences, Semaglutide user experiences, Tirzepatide user experiences, Liraglutide user experiences, NAD+ user experiences, MOTS-c user experiences and user experiences with collagen and skin peptides.
Content is general information about research, not medical advice. If you have symptoms, contact a healthcare professional.