Separate the medicine from the menu.

Ask which kind of product is on the offer

• Get the full medicine name in writing.
• Is this an approved medicine? Or will a doctor or pharmacist make or change it for a patient, which is called compounding?
• If the label says “for research use only,” set the product aside. That label describes a product for laboratory work, not treatment for a person.

An approved product has a specific name

The federal medicine reviewer is the FDA, short for Food and Drug Administration. Approval belongs to the particular product and use being discussed.

Products containing tirzepatide have uses in diabetes care or weight care. Its FDA-approved products included Mounjaro and Zepbound in the check dated September 26, 2026. Semaglutide also has uses in weight care and diabetes care. The FDA-approved names in that check included Ozempic and Wegovy.

Compounding is a different route

To compound a drug is to prepare or alter it through a pharmacist, a physician or a registered facility.

As of September 26, 2026, a compounded drug did not have FDA approval, even if its ingredient also appeared in an approved drug.

Read what compounding changes

A research label leaves a different problem

In letters reviewed through September 26, 2026, FDA alleged that sellers were promoting peptides for people despite labels saying they were for research. FDA said these products lacked drug approval.

Those letters concern particular sellers. The useful question for your visit remains the same: what product would be prescribed, and on what basis?

Next sheet · Record the medicine details