The pause points
A claim to pause on.
A check to make.
Read the offer slowly. Copy the claim that seems unclear. Ask for an answer about the exact medicine and the person responsible for care.
Check the product claims
Medicine without a prescription
As of September 2026, supplying a prescription-only medicine with no valid prescription broke US federal law.
A health professional allowed to prescribe writes the medicine order called a prescription.
Ask who assesses you before any medicine is supplied.
An approval claim for a made-to-order product
Compounded drugs had no FDA approval in the September 2026 check. The Food and Drug Administration is also called FDA.
Compounded means made to order. As checked in September 2026, compounding itself can serve a medical need; the issue is claiming approval.
As of September 2026, putting a medicine maker on FDA’s registration list did not mean FDA had approved it or its medicines.
Registration means it is recorded with the agency. Ask what the claimed approval applies to.
Research wording next to human-use claims
FDA had warned about products labelled for research yet promoted for people’s use; their quality was unknown, as of September 2026.
FDA advises people to avoid those research-labelled products for personal treatment, in advice checked in September 2026.
Ask the person treating you about a medicine suitable for your health problem.
Check the label and follow-up
A label that cannot be traced
FDA reported that some labels for compounded tirzepatide and semaglutide carried false pharmacy names, as of September 2026.
Some labels named a pharmacy that did not exist. Other labels named a real pharmacy that had not prepared the product, as of September 2026.
Check the name through the state pharmacy record. A label is the starting point for that check.
Check the pharmacy recordNo clear way to get help
FDA warns about online services with no doctor available to answer questions after your medicine arrives, in guidance checked in September 2026.
Ask who can respond, how to reach them and how follow-up is arranged. Get those details before agreeing to a plan.
If you already have a concern
FDA had reports of measuring errors with compounded semaglutide, some requiring hospital care, as of September 2026.
Have the pharmacist or the professional who prescribed it explain any label directions that are unclear. Keep the label and packaging for that conversation.
Trouble with breathing, or swelling of the face or tongue, may be a sign of a severe allergic reaction.
Anaphylaxis is the term for a life-threatening allergic reaction.
For severe symptoms, the US National Institutes of Health’s MedlinePlus advises going to the closest emergency room.
MedWatch is FDA’s reporting service for patients who want to report a medicine problem.
Read about reporting a problem