Oxytocin
The bonding hormone: studied as a nasal spray for social connection, anxiety, libido and appetite.
FDA-approved IV/IM for labor; nasal forms are compounded.
Used for
- Social connection and mood
- Libido and orgasm
- Appetite (studied)
How it works
Acts on oxytocin receptors in the brain and body; how much of a nasal dose reaches the brain is debated.
Half-life: about 5.5 minutes, then a slower phase of about 1.2 hours (IV, postmenopausal women)
What the research shows
- Hundreds of small nasal-spray studies; many early social findings did not replicate.
- Nasal doses of 18–40 IU were well tolerated in a review of human research.
Dosing
Dosing isn’t listed on the public site. In the app, each published option is shown with its source (a drug label, a clinical guideline, a trial or community reports) and can be turned into a protocol you review.
Work out the units to draw for your vial →Side effects
- Nasal irritation, headache
- Rarely: low sodium with high doses and lots of water
Cautions
- Not during pregnancy (can cause contractions).
Storage
Unmixed powder: freezer or fridge, away from light.
Once mixed with bacteriostatic water: fridge; the common rule is to use it within 28 days.
There is no label or published stability data for this one, so treat these as habits, not limits.
Stability once mixed
Well known to be heat-sensitive: a heat-stable version (carbetocin) was developed because oxytocin has to stay cold. Keep it in the fridge in a hot climate.
Heat, shaking, freezing a mixed vial, light and many needle punctures all speed breakdown. Toss it if it turns cloudy, grows specks or changes color.
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Reference only, not medical advice. Written for this app from the cited research. Doses marked community-reported are not from trials.