Plain-English explainers

The counselling you would get from a pharmacist who had time.

• What "compounded" actually means

  Not a knock-off, not an approved drug. A specific legal category with specific consequences — explained without the scare tactics or the sales pitch.

  Updated 2026-09-18

• 503A vs 503B pharmacies

  Two different licences, two different rulebooks, two very different answers to "who checked this?"

  Updated 2026-09-18

• Reading your label

  What each line on the vial and the paperwork means, and the four things to check the moment the box arrives.

  Updated 2026-10-15

• Who should not take these

  The contraindications and interactions an online questionnaire may not catch. Worth reading before you fill one in.

  Updated 2026-09-18

• How to spot a bad seller

  The FDA sent more than 55 warning letters to online GLP-1 sellers in one day. Here is how to tell a licensed programme from the rest.

  Updated 2026-09-18

• The twelve-month cost

  Month one is the cheapest month you will have. Here is the full-year arithmetic, including the costs nobody puts in the advert.

  Updated 2026-09-18

• Medicare, GLP-1s and the $50 month

  CMS is running a time-limited programme giving eligible Part D members certain GLP-1s for $50 a month. If you are on Medicare, read this before paying cash for anything.

  Updated 2026-09-18

• The approved pills changed the maths

  Two oral GLP-1s were approved either side of the new year, both starting at $149 a month. That undercuts a large part of the compounded market.

  Updated 2026-09-18

• What happens when you stop

  Most people regain a substantial share of the weight. Here is what the research actually found, and what that means for how you plan and budget.

  Updated 2026-09-18

• GLP-1s after 50

  These drugs work at any age. The risks are not identical at every age, and the muscle and bone question deserves more attention than it usually gets.

  Updated 2026-09-18

• Titration, properly explained

  When to step up, when to hold, when to go back down, and why restarting after a gap is the one genuinely dangerous mistake.

  Updated 2026-09-18

• How to read your prescription

  What the abbreviations mean, and the mg-versus-mL distinction that is the one genuine hazard in this category.

  Updated 2026-09-18