How to reconstitute NAD+

What you need

• • A lyophilized NAD+ vial, most commonly 500 mg or 1,000 mg
• • Bacteriostatic water. NAD+ is often dosed daily, so the preservative earns its place
• • A U-100 insulin syringe for subcutaneous dosing, plus a larger syringe for adding water to these bigger vials
• • Alcohol swabs, clean hands, a clean surface

The steps

Dose-to-units chart

NAD+ protocols commonly start at 25 mg to assess tolerance and settle somewhere between 50 and 100 mg. Here is what that looks like across the sensible mixes:

Red = over a single U-100 syringe. At 100 mg/mL the higher doses stop fitting, which is the argument for concentrating.

Concentrate it, for comfort rather than accuracy

With most peptides the reason to pick a concentration is measurement precision. With NAD+ the doses are large enough that precision is never in doubt, and the real variable is how much liquid ends up under your skin. Subcutaneous NAD+ has a reputation for stinging, and the two things that drive that are the volume injected and the speed of the push.

250 mg/mL is the sensible target. A 500 mg vial in 2 mL gets you there, and it keeps a 100 mg dose down to 0.4 mL, which is 40 units. The same dose at 100 mg/mL would be a full millilitre, two and a half times the fluid, for no benefit whatsoever.

Then inject it slowly. Most of the discomfort people attribute to NAD+ itself is rate-dependent, and pushing a small volume over fifteen or twenty seconds is a different experience from pushing it in three. Some people also find flushing and a brief head-rush at higher doses, which follows the same pattern: it tracks how fast the dose goes in more than the dose itself. Starting at 25 mg for a week or two before moving up exists for exactly this reason.

Vial life at these sizes

A 1,000 mg vial at 50 mg daily is twenty days, which sits inside a normal beyond-use window. At 100 mg daily it is ten days. A 500 mg vial at 50 mg daily is ten days. Unlike the GLP-1s, where a big vial is usually a liability because weekly dosing cannot consume it in time, NAD+ dosing is frequent enough that even the large vials get used.

What that means practically is that you will be entering the stopper twenty or more times, so bacteriostatic water rather than plain sterile water is not optional. The vial longevity calculator handles the days-remaining arithmetic if your schedule is not a simple daily one.

Storage & beyond-use dating

Reconstituted NAD+ is light-sensitive in a way most peptides on this site are not, and it will discolour toward yellow or pink as it degrades. Keep it refrigerated at 2-8 °C and keep it in the dark, either in its box or wrapped. The usual 28-day working figure applies, but with NAD+ you have an unusually good visual cue: a solution that has turned noticeably coloured has degraded, whatever the label date says, and should be discarded. Do not freeze it. More in the peptide storage guide.

Common mistakes

• • Mixing dilute out of habit. It does nothing for accuracy at these doses and makes every injection more uncomfortable.
• • Pushing the plunger fast. Most of the sting and flushing is rate-dependent. Fifteen to twenty seconds.
• • Starting at 100 mg. The 25 mg introductory period exists to find your tolerance for flushing before it is unpleasant.
• • Storing it in a clear vial on a lit shelf. NAD+ degrades with light exposure, and the colour change is your warning.
• • Ignoring discolouration because the beyond-use date has not passed. The colour is the better signal.

Skip the arithmetic

OptiPin's free reconstitution calculator takes your vial size, water volume and target dose and returns the exact units, flagging the draws that will not fit a syringe. The app then logs every injection, tracks what is left in the vial and warns you before it runs out or expires. iOS, on-device, no account.

Open the calculator

Frequently asked questions

How much bacteriostatic water for a 500 mg NAD+ vial?

Two millilitres, giving 250 mg/mL. That keeps a 50 mg dose at 20 units and a 100 mg dose at 40 units, both small volumes, which matters because subcutaneous NAD+ stings roughly in proportion to how much fluid you inject. Five millilitres also works and gives 100 mg/mL, but there is no accuracy benefit at these dose sizes and every injection is larger.

How many units is 50 mg of NAD+?

At 250 mg/mL, which is a 500 mg vial in 2 mL, it is 20 units on a U-100 syringe. At 100 mg/mL it is 50 units. The dose is set by your protocol; the units depend entirely on how you mixed it.

How do I reconstitute a 1000 mg NAD+ vial?

Four millilitres gives 250 mg/mL and matches the 500 mg + 2 mL setup, so the same units chart applies. Five millilitres gives 200 mg/mL, which is also comfortable. Ten millilitres gives 100 mg/mL, at which point a 150 mg dose no longer fits in a single syringe.

Why does NAD+ injection sting?

Mostly volume and speed rather than the compound itself. A larger injection volume pushed quickly stings considerably more than a small one pushed slowly, which is the practical argument for mixing concentrated and taking fifteen to twenty seconds on the plunger. Flushing and a brief head-rush at higher doses follow the same rate-dependent pattern.

How long does reconstituted NAD+ last?

About 28 days refrigerated is the working figure, but NAD+ gives you a better signal than the calendar: it is light-sensitive and discolours toward yellow or pink as it degrades. A noticeably coloured solution should be discarded regardless of the date. Keep it cold, dark and never frozen.

Sources & further reading

• Bacteriostatic Water for Injection, USP - DailyMed label (multi-dose diluent, preservative rationale).
• USP General Chapter <797> - Sterile Compounding (aseptic technique, beyond-use dating).
• PubMed - NAD precursor supplementation in humans (the current human evidence base, such as it is).

U-100 syringe: 100 units = 1 mL. Vial strengths and fill volumes vary between suppliers, so always verify the stated strength on your own vial before calculating. This page is educational and is not medical advice.

Related

Reconstitution calculator · NAD+ profile · Vial longevity calculator · Peptide storage · Injection technique · Peptide guide