The word describes how it is built
Peptides are short strings of the small parts used to make proteins.
Insulin is a medicine in this group.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), a US agency, handles medicine reviews.
That is the starting point. A familiar word does not tell you enough about a proposed treatment.
Sort out the product and prepare your questions
As of September 2026, semaglutide is sold in FDA-approved medicines under the names Ozempic and Wegovy.
For adults with type 2 diabetes, Ozempic injections have approval for blood sugar control together with diet and exercise.
Wegovy's approval covers losing weight and maintaining that loss, together with dietary changes and physical activity.
A patient's needs may call for a medicine prepared by a pharmacist or doctor; that preparation is called compounding.
FDA approval has not been granted to these medicines prepared for a patient, as of September 2026.
Before marketing, the agency does not check whether these medicines work, whether they are safe or how well they are made.
As of September 2026, FDA guidance warns against products offered for people to use with a research-only label.
The FDA describes their quality as unknown and warns that they could be harmful.
Turn a vague offer into a clear question
- Please tell me the medicine's complete name.
- What health problem are we trying to address?
- Does the product have approval, or would it be prepared for a patient's needs?
- What evidence supports this use for someone like me?
Bring the problem to the visit
You do not have to arrive with a treatment picked out. Describe what brought you here, what has changed and what help you hope to get.
If the answer is full of new words, ask for the same point in everyday language. Leave room to ask about other choices.
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