What is ARA 290?
ARA 290 (Cibinetide) is an 11-amino acid peptide derived from erythropoietin (EPO), a hormone that stimulates the production of red blood cells.
Importantly, it is a non-erythropoietic peptide that activates the innate repair receptor to:
• reduce inflammation
• relieve neuropathic pain
• promote nerve regeneration
without stimulating red blood cell production or causing side effects.
ARA 290 has therapeutic uses in a variety of neurologic and neuropathic conditions.
Research studies have shown ability to cross the blood-brain barrier and reach the central nervous system (CNS).
Benefits of ARA290
Studies show it helps with neuropathic pain by calming overactive immune responses in nerves and encouraging small nerve fiber regrowth (in the cornea as an example).
Key Points:
• Reduces neuropathic pain by calming inflammation and improving symptoms in conditions like small fiber neuropathy.
• Promotes regeneration of small nerve fibers, helping restore nerve density and function.
• Provides tissue protection and anti-inflammatory effects without the risks associated with full erythropoietin.
What to stack with ARA 290?
TB4 Frag peptide for repair is one I would always use alongside it. See my post here: https://diaryofrecovery.com/tb4info
Vitamin B12 for nerve health is also essential. See my post here: https://diaryofrecovery.com/b12
ARA 290 Dosing
Mine: Less than 500 mcg / day to begin. Even 100 – 200 mcg works for me. Daily.
Others have used: 1 mg per day, may increase up to 4 mg
Some use it a few days per week, some daily
• Use this Peptide Dosage Calculator to find how much to mix / dose. (See below for more detail)
• 500 mcg caused me slight wooziness and tiredness taken as an initial dose. Disappeared with future use (building up to that amount)
Why? ARA-290 calms irritated tiny nerves and blood vessels right away. That quick calm can make fluid move different at first (pressure shifting), which feels woozy or off-balance.
More about this is below
• Some have used it as a nasal spray, sublingual would likely work better due to ability to better control dosing.
Purchasing
It’s available from Limitless Life
I use Coupon Code: QUALITY for 20% off
To buy it, see this page: diaryofrecovery.com/buy (Limitless Heading)
It’s recommended that to mix properly you use Phosphate Buffered Solution (PBS) instead of Bacteriostaric water, and they send it to you with ARA 290 at no cost, see yellow sheet at bottom of this page.
To use sublingually or as a spray
PBS contains 1% alcohol which may not be the best as a nasal spray.
• I tried a very small amount sublingually (ARA + PBS) and it tasted ok.. salty, but not terrible. if someone doesn’t want to inject it, I would recommend sublingual over nasal use.
• To use sublingually: I simply put drops directly from the syringe under my tongue.
My amazing experience!
12/22/25 – I have shingles and severe nerve pain.
• I used only 500mcg (super tiny dose), injected subcutaneously, in my outer hip area (near the pain).
• I don’t recommend the timing I used: Empty stomach, before breakfast (the package arrived and I was so excited)
I immediately felt a bit woozy / tired and it lasted for about six hours. I didn’t like that at all.
But! About the same time as my tiredness & wooziness wore off, my deep pain was gone! I couldn’t believe it.
I went from 3 weeks of being unable to put on pants or get in the car without stabbing pain, to zero pain.
I can now walk, sit, bend all with no pain.
There’s no chance it’s a coincidence. I’m stunned.
• What I said to the digital mind:
12/22/25 bedtime: I tried 2 small drops sublingually, to determine the taste – it’s ok, just salty.
I also injected 150 mcg. Felt great, slept so much better than usual.
12/23/25: Planning to try tiny sublingual doses spread through the day. I’ll keep a prefilled syringe in the fridge and drop them out 2-3 miniature drops at a time.
12/26/25: I’ve experimented a lot. For me, two daytime doses of 150-200mcg each, injected, spaced 4-5 hours apart seems to work best.
I am doing extremely well and my pain is gone.
12/31/25: My mobility is nearly back to normal range. I’m using 1 dose per day (with lunch) approx 350 mcg.
I plan to continue at this low dose for a while because of it’s anti-inflammatory effects. I might keep it in my rotation ongoing. It’s a winner in my book!
Roundup of Reports / Studies
What ARA 290 can do:
• Reduces Neuropathic Pain and Inflammation:
Activates the innate repair receptor to calm overactive immune responses and lower pro-inflammatory cytokines like IL-6 and TNF-alpha, leading to about 40-50% pain relief in small fiber neuropathy (SFN) from conditions like sarcoidosis or diabetes.
In one trial, daily doses improved symptoms in 4 weeks, with users on Reddit reporting >50% pain drop in days for burning/tingling feet or legs.
Forum users with post-viral neuropathy (similar to shingles aftermath) say it eases sharp, shock-like pain without the blood-thickening risks of full EPO.
• Promotes Nerve Repair and Regeneration:
Boosts small nerve fiber density (e.g., in the cornea as a marker), helping regenerate damaged nerves in diabetic neuropathy or SFN—studies show up to 2.5-fold increase in regeneration in animal models, and human trials noted better quality of life after 28 days.
Users in peptide forums describe reduced numbness and improved mobility (e.g., walking barefoot without allodynia), with one saying it halved joint impingement pain when combined with other peptides.
For shingles-related nerve pain (post-herpetic neuralgia), users with similar viral-induced burning (e.g., VZV-linked) report relief, speculating it helps via anti-inflammatory paths.
• Improves Symptoms in Autoimmune or Chronic Conditions:
Targets tissue protection in sarcoidosis neuropathy, reducing dysesthesia and allodynia— one study showed significant biological response after every-other-day dosing for a month.
Reddit users with immune-mediated SFN or adhesive arachnoiditis (swollen nerves) note moderated “bound up” feelings in limbs and less sensitivity to triggers like blood sugar changes, with some cutting gabapentin doses way down after a month.
Potential for broader neuroprotective effects, like in MS or post-chemo pain, per animal studies.
• Supports Overall Tissue Healing:
Enhances wound repair and reduces ischemic damage (e.g., in heart models), with anti-inflammatory boosts that could indirectly help shingles recovery by curbing ongoing nerve irritation.
Forum experiences highlight synergy with peptides like KPV (for inflammation) or TB4 Frag (for repair), leading to pain-free periods lasting weeks to months, though benefits often fade if stopped.
Dosing Insights from Forums and Studies (Adjusted for Small Vials and Low Doses)
Many self-users start micro and build up, especially with smaller vials, to get 10-20+ doses instead of just a few. Protocols aren’t one-size-fits-all, but here’s what people are sharing:
• Common Starting Doses in forums: 1-2mg daily subQ (under skin) for nerve pain, often starting at 0.5-1mg to test.
Users at Reddit suggest microdosing at 1mg every other day or even 5mg/week, some use intranasally for maintenance.
An X user recommended it for SFN nerve rebuild, noting it works slowly over months at low doses.
Chart from one of the research studies:
On Possible Nausea / tiredness
AI told me:
As for whether ARA 290 itself (or its healing process) could have caused your symptoms:
From what I dug into—clinical overviews, patient info sheets, and forum threads—mild nausea, dizziness/lightheadedness, fatigue, or even subtle autonomic-like feelings (like wooziness) do pop up as occasional side effects for some people.
They’re usually described as transient (coming and going quickly), and not everyone gets them. They are pretty rare.
A few Reddit users specifically mentioned feeling dizzy, lightheaded, or tired around the time they started it, though most say it’s well-tolerated with minimal or no sides.
The mechanism might tie into how ARA 290 works: It activates the innate repair receptor, which ramps up anti-inflammatory pathways and nerve/tissue repair.
That shift—turning down inflammation and “reprogramming” damaged areas—could theoretically cause a temporary “adjustment” reaction in sensitive folks, kind of like a mild Herxheimer-type response where things feel a bit off before improving.
But it’s not the peptide directly being harsh; more like the body responding to the healing kickstart.
Since your symptoms hit soon after the dose and faded over the day (and ARA 290 clears the system fast), it fits that pattern.
When you try it again on another day, maybe start even lower if you’re worried (like 200-300 µg) to see how you feel, and take it easy that day.
Plenty of people report great nerve pain relief over time without ongoing sides, so fingers crossed it goes smoother next time!
Technical info re: dosing / reconstitution for injections 🧬
To reconstitute the dry peptide, you need to add a liquid.
We have a reconstitution page for making sprays. It’s here: diaryofrecovery.com/mix
For injections, you follow the same steps, just stop before transferring the solution into a spray bottle.
For the liquid, it’s recommended to use Phosphate Buffered Solutuin which they send with the ARA 290
I used only 2mL of the 10mL bottle of PBS to reconstitute a 16mg bottle of ARA 290.
This tiny amount keeps the volume to inject smaller.
Syringes I use: https://a.co/d/g2C2V4c
They don’t ship to many States. I send them to Wisconsin and pick them up there.
They are 0.3 mL
The needle is very fine gauge and it’s easy to use small doses because of the small quantity.
(This alternate choice appears to ship anywhere: https://a.co/d/45lr89q)
You can follow my amounts of liquid and syringe size or use this calculator: https://particlepeptides.com/en/content/48-peptide-calculator
It shows you what amount of PBS to use and what amount to inject to reach your desired dose.
My example:
Or:
To start I would try: 150 – 200 mcg with a meal, midday and increase gradually.
Here is a note that comes from Limitless with your order.
They include the phosphate buffered solution (PBS) at no cost.
Healing Process
Keep in mind – Feeling pins and needles, tingling, or prickling (paresthesia) is a common and often positive sign that nerves are healing.
These sensations typically indicate that nerve pathways are beginning to regenerate and “wake up” after being damaged or compressed.
Why We Feel These Sensations
- Reconnecting Axons: As nerve fibers (axons) regrow and reconnect with surrounding tissues, they may fire spontaneously or irregularly, causing tingling or electric shock-like feelings.
- Hypersensitivity: During the regeneration phase, nerves can become temporarily hypersensitive as they recover their ability to transmit signals.
- Return of Blood Flow: When pressure is removed from a compressed nerve, the sudden return of oxygen and glucose causes the nerve to become hyperactive, often resulting in an uncomfortable pins-and-needles sensation.
Other Common Signs of Nerve Healing
Beyond tingling, you may experience:
- Zings or Zaps: Brief, sharp “electric shock” sensations as nerves grow.
- Burning Feelings: Mild burning can occur as regenerating fibers fire while reconnecting.
- Increased Sensitivity: The affected area may become more sensitive to touch or temperature.
- Muscle Twitching: Small, involuntary movements often occur as motor nerves re-establish connections with muscles.
- Reduced Numbness: A gradual return of sensation in areas that were previously completely numb.
Timeline of Recovery
Nerve healing is a slow process. Peripheral nerves typically regenerate at a rate of about one inch per month.
ARA 290 can significantly quicken this process, which means you may feel the effects of healing even faster and more intensely. It’s a good sign! You could consider Gabapentin for healing pains if needed. 🤍
See our Peptides resources page for much more:
Diary of Recovery 