Understand / Orlando care guide
Which kind of medicine is on offer?
Ask for the exact drug name. Then ask how that product is made and whether the FDA, the US drug agency, has approved it for your problem.
What “peptide” means
A peptide has tiny parts linked in a short chain. The same parts also make up proteins.
Insulin belongs to this group.
The name describes what a medicine is made of. Ask what change that exact medicine is meant to make in your body.
Ask for the ingredient name and the product name. Keep both written down as you compare care.
- What problem is the medicine meant to address?
- Which product would I actually receive?
- What other choices address the same concern?
Drugs approved for a particular use
On September 26, 2026, US-approved peptide drugs included semaglutide, sold as Ozempic and Wegovy, and tirzepatide, sold as Mounjaro and Zepbound.
The US drug agency, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), grants approval for a specific product and its use.
- Semaglutide (Ozempic) has approval for helping adults with type 2 diabetes control their blood sugar, as of September 26, 2026.
- Semaglutide (Wegovy) is approved for weight loss and keeping weight off, as of September 26, 2026.
- Both uses include changes in eating and physical activity.
- Ask whether the FDA approved this product for the problem you want treated.
- Ask what evidence supports the proposed plan.
- Ask for plain words you can use to explain the answer yourself.
Medicines made to order
Compounding means a pharmacist or doctor prepares medicine for a particular patient’s need.
As of September 26, 2026, the FDA neither approves compounded drugs nor reviews their safety, quality, or benefit before they go on sale.
As of September 26, 2026, federal rules restrict routinely making near-copies of medicines already sold ready-made. An exception applies when the person writing your prescription decides a change makes an important difference for you.
- What change is being made for me, and why does it make an important difference to my care?
- Which pharmacy makes it?
- Can the reason and the other choices be written down?
Word help: active ingredient
A medicine’s active ingredient is what is meant to do its work.
Products labelled for studies
A “for research purposes” label means the product is for studies rather than for people to take. The FDA warned against selling these products for people to use because their quality was unknown, as of September 26, 2026.
The US had no approved BPC-157, ipamorelin, or retatrutide product as of September 26, 2026.
Under federal law, retatrutide cannot be compounded, according to the FDA as of September 26, 2026.
- Ask what the exact product is.
- Look up the record behind a claim of approval.
- Treat a “for research purposes” label as a warning. Ask about the FDA record for that exact product.
Keep going
Once the product has a name, check the people and pharmacy behind it.
Check the Florida records