What Is NAD+? Dosage, Half-Life & How to Track It
Also known as: Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide · NAD · NAD+ Subcutaneous Injections
NAD+ (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide) is a coenzyme every cell uses for energy metabolism and DNA repair, and levels are known to decline with age. Subcutaneous protocols start low and titrate up — commonly 50 mg in week one, rising to 100 mg once daily by week three — because starting at a higher dose is a common cause of insomnia or anxious jitteriness. Clinical IV infusions use much higher single doses under supervision; this is the at-home subcutaneous maintenance route. Educational information only, not medical advice.
What NAD+ is and how it works
NAD+ sits at the center of how every cell makes usable energy: it’s the electron-shuttling coenzyme that mitochondria depend on to run the reactions that generate ATP. It’s also a required cofactor for sirtuins and PARP enzymes, two families of proteins involved in DNA repair and the cellular stress-response pathways most associated with the biology of aging.
NAD+ levels measurably fall with age, which is the basic premise behind supplementing it directly rather than only its precursors (like NR or NMN, which the body still has to convert). Clinical research on NAD+ has mostly used intravenous infusion at doses far higher than anyone injects subcutaneously at home; subcutaneous dosing is a lower, more practical maintenance approach that has less formal study behind it than the IV route.
Typical dosing & reconstitution
NAD+ ships as a lyophilized powder in a couple of common vial sizes, reconstituted with bacteriostatic water. Whichever vial you start from, the titration logic is the same: start low, and only increase once the previous dose is well tolerated.
| Vial | BAC water | Concentration | 100 mg dose ≈ |
|---|---|---|---|
| 500 mg | 3 mL | 166.7 mg/mL | 60 units (0.60 mL) |
| 1,000 mg | 3 mL | 333.3 mg/mL | 30 units (0.30 mL) |
A 1,000 mg vial in the same 3 mL of water packs twice the concentration, so the same 100 mg dose is half the syringe volume. Titration typically runs 50 mg in week one, 75 mg in week two, then 100 mg daily from week three onward. Run your own vial and water through the reconstitution calculator before drawing anything up.
Half-life & why it’s titrated slowly
There isn’t a widely published half-life for subcutaneously injected NAD+ — cells take it up and put it to work quickly, and the coenzyme itself doesn’t linger in circulation the way a hormone does. That fast uptake is actually the reason for gradual titration rather than a pharmacokinetic accumulation concern: pushing the dose up too fast is the most common cause of the insomnia, anxiety, or flushing some people report.
Because there’s no depot effect, daily dosing is what keeps levels elevated day to day — skip a day and you’re not drawing down a reservoir, you’re just back to baseline until the next shot.
What to track & side effects
The most commonly reported effects are injection-site reaction, mild flushing, and — especially if dosed too late in the day or ramped up too quickly — insomnia or a wired, anxious feeling. Titrating slowly and dosing earlier in the day is the standard way people manage both.
What’s worth tracking is simple: the daily dose during the ramp-up (so you know exactly which week/dose you’re on if a side effect shows up), and, longer-term, whatever energy or sleep marker motivated you to start it in the first place.
How to track NAD+ in Stackeddd
Log each NAD+ dose through the titration ramp so you always know which week and dose you’re on — useful if a side effect shows up and you need to trace it back. Get the vial-and-water math right up front so a “100 mg” dose is actually 100 mg, not an eyeballed guess.
Model it yourself · free, no account
Reconstitution Calculator
Model it yourself: enter your vial size and BAC water and the Peptides tab returns concentration and exact syringe units for any dose, at any vial size — the same math built into the Stackeddd app.
Related compounds
Related reading: Peptide reconstitution math: how much BAC water to add
Frequently asked questions
What is NAD+ used for?
NAD+ is a coenzyme central to cellular energy production and DNA repair, with levels known to decline with age. It’s used for general longevity/energy support; subcutaneous injection is a lower-dose, at-home alternative to clinical IV infusion, with less formal research behind it.
What is the half-life of NAD+?
No standard half-life is published for subcutaneous dosing — it’s taken up and used by cells quickly rather than persisting in the bloodstream, which is why it’s dosed once daily rather than infrequently.
Why do NAD+ protocols start with a low dose?
Starting too high is the most common cause of side effects like insomnia, anxiety, or flushing. Titrating from 50 mg up to a 100 mg maintenance dose over two to three weeks is the standard way to avoid that.
How do you reconstitute NAD+?
Add bacteriostatic water to the lyophilized vial — commonly 3 mL. A 500 mg vial in 3 mL gives 166.7 mg/mL; a 1,000 mg vial in the same water gives 333.3 mg/mL. The reconstitution calculator converts either to exact syringe units.
This is educational information, not medical advice. Doses and protocols above reflect published references and community practice — protocol decisions belong with your prescribing physician. Generic names used throughout. How this reference is built & how the AI is tested →
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