GLP-1s and Anti-Inflammation Treatment for Autoimmune Disorders

A CrossFitting microbiologist finds relief for her connective tissue disorder with compounded semaglutide

This guest essay from freelance writer and microbiologist Rebecca Froning is not just a powerful story about possible applications of semaglutide for autoimmune disorders, but a cautionary tale for all of us in the peptide world.

Rebecca learned the hard way that when it comes to peptides, safe and rigorous oversight are everything, from diagnosis to prescription to compound synthesis. We’re so glad she shared her story with us at Peptide Partners Corner, and hope you’ll learn something from it as well!

— Peptide Reporter

A CrossFitting Microbiologist, an Autoimmune Disorder, and the Promise of Peptides

I’ll admit to once being a huge peptide skeptic. I’d heard horror stories of people taking GLP-1s and being in such pain they were laid out on the sofa for days. Tales of “Ozempic face” and muscle loss nightmares abound on YouTube.

Still, it was hard to escape the peptide news. Everyone at the CrossFit gym was talking about them. Many of my clients were telling me they were trying them. I watched the YouTube videos as they popped up on my feed and read the articles linked in my health-conscious emails. No, I thought, I would NEVER take that stuff! The miraculous healing of muscle and tendon injuries using BPC-157 and TB-500? That was the stuff of someone’s imagination. It sounded too good to be true.

After I adamantly dug my heels in, I heard an inner voice correcting me: Don’t be so sure! One lesson I’ve learned the hard way is to never claim certainty unless I want to be proven wrong. As a former research microbiologist, I decided to give both sides of the debate fair consideration, remembering the topic of bias detection from my education.

I read articles and listened to doctors and patients with various viewpoints on the matter, including the idea that peptides may have many benefits. I have always been intrigued by alternative healthcare and strongly believe in weighing all information available before dismissing it. What I ended up learning from this fair-minded exploration of the peptide literature ended up changing my mind about the compounds.

Peptide Research, Done Cleanly — Peptide Partners. Independent HPLC/MS, batch COAs, and endotoxin screening to USP <85> validate identity and purity of peptides for research. Browse inventory and view certificates at Peptide Partners.

I’d been CrossFitting since 2015, and tore my bicep tendon at the gym in 2023. The pain was impossible to ignore. By then, I’d already had surgery on my other arm for the same injury and didn’t want to re-live the six months of painful physical therapy, wearing a sling, confined to the stair machine wearing a weight vest, and watching my friends swapping stories of their personal records and heaviest weight lifts while feeling like an outcast.

I’d warmed to the idea of peptide therapy enough by then that I began listening to my gym pals singing the praises of BPC-157 and TB-500. Even the man installing my home radon remediation system told me he’d had success using them, as he happened to be an amateur body builder. Listening to Dr. Stacy Sims on YouTube strongly influenced me to take the plunge and give peptides a try.

I quickly went to the peptide website friends recommended, reasoning that if they got good results from this source then so should I. It wasn’t cheap, but definitely less expensive than surgery and physical therapy, so I shelled out my credit card and eagerly awaited the arrival of my miracle in a bottle.

I faithfully followed the most commonly suggested protocol I could find online, which just happened to match that recommended by the bodybuilding radon remediation system installer. I was hopeful and confident. It felt so freeing to take control of my own health. I have never liked other people telling me what I can and cannot do. (Just ask my mom!)

But my first experience with peptides ended up being a disappointment. I was still having the same pain. I had an MRI and found that the bicep tendon was still torn. I felt defeated. All the science made perfect sense: BPC-157 and TB-500 are supposed to reduce inflammation at the injury site and help the body’s repair mechanisms with the formation of new collagen. So many people, both online and in person, swore by it. So why didn’t it work for me?

Reading about the FDA’s removal of many peptides from the class 2 (moderate risk) pharmaceutical designation to class 1 (low risk), I understood why my results had been so dismal. My highly recommended online supplier happened to be one of the many peptide producers forced to shut down by the FDA due to shoddy manufacturing practices. Apparently, the supplier had been dogged by poor independent lab results and accusations of impurities.

Few people understand that peptides can degrade over time or under poor temperature control. The denatured molecules are less potent, which impacts the efficacy of the peptide. Also, labs that aren’t rigorous about their synthesis process can produce impure peptides. I felt foolish for allowing myself to be so naïve. Here I was with a master’s degree in microbiology and 10 years of lab research work under my belt, and I’d allowed myself to be fooled by promises of surgery-free healing.

I tried to lay my peptide curiosity to rest, but that lasted barely a year. In 2024, I was on the runner at the gym and kept feeling something similar to a stitch in my side. After I finished the workout I sat down on the floor with some friends. As I stood up to leave, a sharp pain shot through my side and took my breath away. One of my ribs had separated. How had that happened?

Later, I tested positive for anti-RNP antibodies — the kind that appear in conjunction with autoimmune diseases like lupus and other mixed connective tissue diseases. A second blood test confirmed my results. My mother had been diagnosed with dermatomyositis years ago, so autoimmune disease wasn’t foreign to my family. My physician explained that this test being positive twice was a strong indication of mixed connective tissue disease (MCTD). I’d been questioning why I kept tearing tendons and felt like I was falling apart. Now it all made sense.

Since I didn’t have severe symptoms, my doctor suggested a low-dose GLP-1 cycling on and off every few weeks. Apparently, recent research had shown that this GLP-1 — typically prescribed for obesity and diabetes — can also have an anti-inflammatory effect. Inflammation is the hallmark of many autoimmune disorders; because I did not need to lose weight, the dose could remain low. This time, I was able to obtain the peptide from a compounding pharmacy with my doctor’s prescription instead of going online and taking matters into my own hands.

I have found that I am less tired and have more energy while taking semaglutide. The eczema on my hands has disappeared along with the incessant itching. The characteristic butterfly rash of MCTD across my cheeks and nose has disappeared. I cannot produce lab results that demonstrate with certainty where and how the peptide has helped. This disease comes and goes with flare-ups and the peptide can act in a preventive way by minimizing inflammation. But I can say that I’ve gone back to heavy lifting and haven’t had any more injuries.

As a side benefit, I’ve also noticed that I’m less interested in foods I shouldn’t be eating anyway. As an avid exerciser — I love to mountain bike in addition to CrossFit — I’d become accustomed to eating pretty much whatever I wanted, and my affinity for sweets had thrown me into a cycle of cravings. I couldn’t walk by a plate of chocolate chip cookies without having a couple or three or four. Now, I notice my brain seeing the cookies and I think, “Cookies? Nah!” My cravings are completely gone.

My doctor cautioned that in order to avoid common negative side effects like muscle loss, I should focus on high protein intake and frequent muscle building exercises. This works well for me because I love lifting weight and am not a cardio junkie. I detest running.

As it stands, I have a 50/50 success rate with peptides. I also still have a torn bicep tendon in my left arm and have recently managed to tear my right rotator cuff, (a 70% tear according to my orthopedic doctor), in an untimely and unexpected mountain bike crash. These injuries are seriously getting in the way of my fitness and fun. Now, I have a decision to make:

1. Turn to surgery, one on each arm, with a minimum of six months recovery for each.

2. Give peptides another try, but under the aegis of a prescribing doctor and a legitimate compounding pharmacy.

Which do you recommend? I think the answer is obvious.

Rebecca Froning is a freelance writer living in Cookeville Tennessee. She obtained her B.S. (1995) and M.S. (1997) in biology from Tennessee Technological University. She worked in the Center for Water Resources at the university for ten years in Legionnaire’s Disease research and is published in many scientific journals under her maiden name, Rebecca Ashburn. She also contracted research work with a water biocide chemical company. She taught biology at local community colleges and homeschooled her two children.

She has always been keenly interested in health and wellness and is an avid reader of all things related, especially from the cellular level. She loves being outdoors, placing an emphasis on hiking and mountain biking with friends.