Oral hCG vs. Transdermal hCG vs. hCG Injections

November 23, 2008

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I am often asked what the difference is between the various ways you can take HCG for weight loss.  There is Oral hCG, Transdermal hCG and the oldie but goody hCG Injections.  But what are the pros and cons, both in terms of convenience as well as effectiveness?

In truth, Oral hCG is a misnomer. You cannot take hCG orally in the true sense of term, because as soon as hCG hits the stomach, the digestive enzymes and acids in the stomach destroy the hCG.  So what people are calling ‘Oral hCG’ is properly known as Sublingual hCG (which means ‘under the tongue’).

Anyone claiming that you can swallow an hCG solution like any other liquid is misinformed - it simply won’t work and will render the hCG completely ineffective.

OK, but does Sublingual hCG work?  Yes.  But the caveat is you need to take twice as much (2 doses daily versus 1 dose for injections or transdermal gel).

Also, hCG is very unstable once mixed into a solution, so the only way to take hCG sublingually is to either mix the solution at home from the hCG powder shipped to you (which is in a stable form) or to have the hCG solution shipped to you overnight in a refridgerated package.

As soon as hCG liquid is exposed to heat for any length of time, it is rendered ineffective. Therefore, you have to either get your supply of sublingual hCG from a vendor that knows how to ship it refridgerated, or mix up your own batch.

The Injection form of hCG is typically shipped in 2 vials: the hCG powder and a vial of bacteriostatic water.  Before injecting the hCG, one mixes the powder with the special water and stores the solution in the fridge for the remaining cycle of injections (it will keep refridgerated for several months).  This has to be done in a sterile environment so you need to know what you are doing.

Transdermal hCG (or hCG Transdermal Gel) is a gel you rub on your skin and the hCG transfers through your skin.  The advantages are obvious: no injections, no need to taste the solution, and no need to dose twice daily.

However, hCG gel has the same unstable properties as the oral (sublingual) hCG - it becomes useless if exposed to heat.  Therefore, this form of hCG also needs to be shipped in a refridgerated package.

Due to this need for refridgeration, the price of pre-mixed oral hCG or transdermal gel is more expensive.  This extra cost is because of the blending and compounding needed to create the product as well as the added packaging and shipping costs.

For this reason, a lot of people opt for the hCG Injections (as unpleasant as this can be to most people) OR they simply acquire their hCG in powder form and mix their own sublingual solution at home.  There are various recipes that can be found online for mixing your own oral hCG - the only standardized solution is Releana, but that can only be purchased from a Releana provider, since it is a patent-pending version of sublingual hCG.

So what’s the best way to take hCG?

If cost is the chief concern (and trumps the unpleasantness of injections), you can’t get any less expensive than either self-injecting or mixing your own sublingual hCG.  The added cost of dosing twice daily required when taking hCG orally is balanced with the cost of syringes and assorted paraphrenalia needed when injecting, so it’s a wash.

If you can afford it, the Transdermal hCG gel is the most convenient and least intensive way to go, but costs a little more.  It’s also harder to find, although hCG providers that have hCG Transdermal gel can be found at:  HCG Clinics

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