A prescription and a clear product name matter.
Federal care and caution notes as of September 26, 2026.
Federal rules require a valid prescription from a licensed prescriber before a prescription drug is dispensed.
An offer to skip the prescription is a reason to stop.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the US agency for drugs, records drug-making sites through a registration system. A seller's claim that a site is 'FDA registered' does not mean FDA approved the site or its medicines.
The National Drug Code directory is a government list of drug products and their identifying numbers, called NDC numbers. An NDC number on a label or in an ad does not prove FDA approval.
A research label does not answer the harm question.
FDA has warned about weight-drug products bearing the label 'not for human consumption' or the words 'for research purposes'. Those words describe laboratory use, yet sellers sent the products to people with instructions for taking them.
FDA said their quality was unknown and they might harm health.
FDA: concerns about unapproved weight drugsLabel confusion can cause real trouble.
FDA received reports of measurement mistakes with compounded semaglutide, including some that may have led to hospital care.
GLP-1 is a body signal that affects hunger and blood sugar. Medicines that copy it include semaglutide and tirzepatide; their use for controlling weight or blood sugar varies with the product.
Arizona's Nursing Board shared an advisory on September 8, 2026 about label and measurement confusion in compounded GLP-1 medicines.
Nursing Board: the label advisoryStorage depends on the product.
Storage rules differ across peptide products: some need cooling and others do not.
The product's label and pharmacy instructions set the storage rules.
For GLP-1 medicines given as shots, FDA advises against using a shipment that arrives warm or without enough cooling.
Keep a route to reporting a concern.
MedWatch, FDA's programme for reporting medical product problems, accepts reports from patients about problems with medicines.
Receiving a report is not proof that a drug caused the problem.
FDA: MedWatch reporting informationArizona routes for care and billing concerns