Understand the offer
What are you being offered?
You may have heard about weight, aches or getting older. Begin by asking what problem a proposed treatment is meant to address.
Peptide names describe a kind of substance.
Peptide is a name for a type of substance; it does not mean treatment for a particular health problem. That name by itself says nothing about what a medicine will do.
One familiar peptide medicine is insulin.
- Ask for the exact medicine name, rather than a broad treatment name.
- Ask for the form being offered, such as a tablet or injection.
- Ask what health problem the treatment is meant to address.
Approval belongs to a particular product.
FDA stands for Food and Drug Administration. This federal agency reviews medicines.
FDA approval concerns a specific product and a stated use.
At the September 26, 2026 check, approval for type 2 diabetes covered semaglutide (Ozempic) and tirzepatide (Mounjaro). These products help control blood sugar.
Semaglutide (Wegovy) and tirzepatide (Zepbound) had approval for weight loss and for keeping the lost weight off.
These are examples of approved uses. Ask about the exact product, form and use proposed for you.
- Ask whether the exact product has approval, is made to order, or is labelled for research.
- Ask for an explanation of the proposed use in everyday words.
Ask about evidence for your goal.
Try saying the goal aloud: what do you hope will change? Then ask how the proposed care relates to that goal.
- What benefit is expected for this particular problem?
- What evidence comes from people, rather than animals or work in a lab?
- What other choices can we discuss?
- How will we judge whether the plan is helping?