Research information only, not medical advice. In clinical trials, tesamorelin's most commonly reported side effects were joint and muscle symptoms (arthralgia, myalgia), paraesthesia (tingling), and injection-site reactions such as redness. A 2025 meta-analysis reported no serious side effects and no disturbance of blood glucose.
Tesamorelin is an FDA-approved drug (Egrifta) for HIV-associated lipodystrophy; uses outside that indication are off-label and not approved. In a 2025 meta-analysis of five randomised controlled trials (Badran et al.), the adverse events associated with tesamorelin were arthralgia, myalgia, paraesthesia and injection-site reactions such as erythema, and the authors reported no serious side effects and no perturbation of glucose. This describes what was observed in supervised trials for an approved indication: research information, not medical advice.
For the full evidence base, clinical trials, and regulatory status, see the Tesamorelin research overview . Related: tesamorelin dosage , tesamorelin before and after .
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Frequently asked questions
- Does tesamorelin have serious side effects?
- A 2025 meta-analysis of five randomised trials reported no serious side effects and no disturbance of blood glucose; the common effects were joint and muscle symptoms, tingling, and injection-site reactions.
- Does tesamorelin affect blood sugar?
- In the pooled trial data, tesamorelin showed no significant disturbance of glucose. This is trial data for an approved indication, not medical advice.
Updated · sourced to primary documents