No real prescription process
As of September 2026, a site that sends prescription medicine without a prescription is acting illegally.
A set questionnaire that nobody follows up on does not count as a proper assessment.
What to watch for
Know the signs that mean stop
Most checks take a minute. A trust badge is a seal or logo a website puts on its own page, and anyone can copy one. Stronger checks start with the prescriber’s and pharmacy’s names, looked up on your state’s official licence records.
Before checkout
Leave when the basics stay hidden
No clear source
Ask who prescribed the medicine and which pharmacy made or sent it.
If the pharmacy name on the label cannot be found, stop and check it with the state board.
False approval talk
As of September 2026, a claim that a compounded medicine is FDA-approved is false.
As of September 2026, the phrase “FDA registered” is a different thing from FDA approval for a product or a facility. Registered only means a company’s name and site are on an FDA list; it is not a check that the product works or was made well.
Research language beside injection tools
FDA letters in 2026 said “research use only” wording did not turn products sold for human injection into lawful medicines.
If the seller also offers mixing water, a dose calculator, or an injection guide, it expects people to inject the chemical themselves, whatever the label says.
Check the record
Badges are weak; licence records are strong
Clinician
Use the state board
Look for an active licence, and check whether the board has ever disciplined the prescriber, meaning an official penalty or restriction after a complaint.
Pharmacy
Use the pharmacy board
Search the full pharmacy name in the state where the medicine will arrive.
Claims
Use FDA records
Search warning letters and read what the product label actually says.
Body signals
Know what can wait and what cannot
Common does not mean pleasant
Nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, and constipation were common side effects in weight trials of semaglutide, tirzepatide, and liraglutide.
Bad vomiting or diarrhea can cause fluid loss and kidney injury, according to the product labels.
Get urgent help for a fast severe reaction
Trouble breathing, face or tongue swelling, faintness, or widespread hives can be signs of anaphylaxis, a life-threatening allergic reaction.
For severe anaphylaxis symptoms, phone 911 or whatever your local emergency number is.
Do not brush off lasting severe pain
The labels describe persistent or severe stomach pain, sometimes reaching the back, as a warning sign of pancreas inflammation.
Tell the surgical team
The labels warn that slowed stomach emptying can leave food behind during anesthesia and ask patients to tell the team before a planned procedure.
All three labels open with a boxed warning, the most serious warning the FDA uses, about thyroid tumors seen in animals; nobody knows whether the medicines cause those tumors in people. The labels rule these medicines out for anyone who has had, or has a close relative who had, medullary thyroid cancer, an uncommon form of the disease.
Next page See how the facts were checked