Product checks / Caution notes
Which signs call for a pause?
Look for clear answers about the product, the prescription and the pharmacy. Leave room to stop and ask.
Which claims fail a basic check?
The Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, is the U.S. agency that reviews medicines for approval.
A prescription is a medicine order written by someone with permission to prescribe.
Federal law, as checked in September 2026, requires a valid prescription before a prescription medicine can be given or sold.
As of September 2026, a seller cannot truthfully call a custom-made, or compounded, medicine FDA-approved. Compounded medicines lack FDA approval.
A National Drug Code (NDC) is a code identifying a product, as of September 2026. It does not establish that the medicine has FDA approval.
What exact product is this, and where is its approval record?
Does a research label mean approval?
In letters checked in September 2026, the FDA said some sellers offered products for use in people despite “research use only” labels. Those labels did not make the products approved medicines.
In September 2026, the FDA says compounding with either retatrutide or cagrilintide is barred under federal law.
A research label is a reason to stop comparing it as if it were a prescribed medicine. Bring the exact name to the clinician instead.
Why does the pharmacy label matter?
A compounded medicine is made or mixed for a patient’s needs.
The FDA reports that poor compounding may leave germs in the medicine or an amount of the working ingredient that is too high or too low.
As of September 2026, the FDA had reports of people injecting the wrong amount of compounded semaglutide. Some of those reports included hospital stays.
Ask the pharmacist to explain the label and any unclear instructions.
Who can talk me through this label and answer a question before I use the medicine?
What if the delivery seems wrong?
Storage depends on the exact medicine; some products need cold storage and some are kept at room temperature.
As of September 2026, the FDA advises against using a weight-loss injection that needs cold storage when delivery leaves it warm or gives it too little cooling.
Ask the pharmacy how to handle a delivery that does not match the label’s storage instructions.
Where can I report a problem?
MedWatch is the FDA’s free service where patients can report a medicine problem they suspect.
As of October 3, 2026, Arizona’s boards offered ways to file a complaint about a medical doctor (MD) or an osteopathic doctor (DO).
Keep the label, receipt and written messages. For care questions about a medicine already prescribed, contact the treating clinician or pharmacist.