WARNING! Attention to anyone taking/or interested in weight loss medications: Stay away from med spas/medical providers who are recommending/selling *compounded* Semaglutide or Tirzepatide for weight loss! If your Semaglutide(GLP-1) does not come as brand name Wegovy or Ozempic, or if your Tirzepatide(GLP-1/GIP)does not come as Mounjaro-speak to a physician IMMEDIATELY(& not the prescriber who recommended this, they are unethical!) There are NO GENERICS available for these meds & compounded bootleg versions are NOT safe. These ground breaking weight loss meds are out on the market & in popular demand. I use them regularly in my practice. But now there has been an influx of scammy medspas & medical providers, who instead of doing a thorough metabolic work up for a patient, are skipping traditional science based care & instead prescribing sketchy compounded fake generic versions to make money. Compounded meds do NOT come from the pharmaceutical companies where they are FDA approved & can be mixed w/ extra ingredients that can be harmful. In 2012 there was an outbreak of fungal meningitis tied to methylprednisolone injections made by a compounding pharmacy that killed 64 patients in the U.S. & sickened nearly 800. How do you know if your semaglutide is compounded? 1. It’s “cheaper” than name brand 2. It is NOT the name brand version (Wegovy/Ozempic) which comes straight from the pharmaceutical company Run as far as you can from ANY healthcare provider that is prescribing compounded semaglutide. I use ALL 3 of these medications: ozempic, wegovy (semaglutide) & mounjaro (Tirzepatide) in my practice regularly for weight loss for patients struggling with weight, who can benefit from this life changing medical therapy. But medications are NOT without risks. It requires an evidence based, knowledgeable medical provider who is evaluating the patient thoroughly & using these meds in a safe & effective way. If someone is recommending a COMPOUNDED version of these medications-they are NOT a trustworthy medical provider! And shame on medical spas/scammy providers out there who are trying to unsafely & unethically monetize patients who are struggling with obesity.