Finding Weight Loss Medications, Especially GLP-1 Receptor Agonists

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Richard Weil, M.Ed., CDE
Founder and Director
Transformation Weight control
www.transformationweightcontrol.com

Finding GLP-1 receptor agonists such as Ozempic, Mounjaro, Victoza, Trulicity (all FDA approved for diabetes), or Zepbound, Wegovy, or Saxenda (all FDA approved for weight loss), is a real problem. And even when you find the weight loss medication, the pharmacy may not have your dose. In my 44 years, I have never seen anything like it, nor have any of my health-care colleagues. If you’re having trouble locating your GLP-1 receptor agonist, I assure you, you are not alone. This problem affects the whole country.

In our weight loss medication support group, there have been sessions where we’ve spent 30 to 45 minutes with people sharing where they are getting their refills. Pharmacies may have the medication, but not always in the dose needed. As of this writing, in July 2024, Lilly has said by August they should have a large supply of Zepbound, Mounjaro, and Trulicity, but we’ll see if that really happens. Many people in our weight loss medication support group will sometimes make up to 8-10 phone calls a day, a few times a month, to pharmacies trying to find their medication, and in the right dose. There is no one pharmacy that anyone can count on. The supply at every pharmacy fluctuates all of the time. Some of the people in our medication support group are not taking the meds yet, which is fine, they are just considering it. They are there to educate themselves before they start.

There are a number of things to do to address these GLP-1 receptor agonist supply problems:

  1. Like everyone else, you have to be persistent and keep calling pharmacies. Luck is part of the equation, unfortunately.
  2. If you have pre-existing cardiovascular disease, for the first time ever, Medicare is covering an FDA approved weight loss drug. It is Wegovy, which is the same as Ozempic, but approved for weight loss. So, if you have heart disease, Medicare will cover it.
  3. Make sure you call your insurance company to find out what medications they will cover, how long they will cover it for, the co-pay, and if they require prior-authorization, which many insurance companies now do because doctors were writing prescriptions for diabetes medications off-label for weight loss. Off-label is not illegal, it’s just that the medication has not been approved for the purpose it’s being prescribed. This practice has contributed to the shortage, especially for people who have diabetes who really need the medication.
  4. You should call the Lilly and Novo companies and also visit their websites. You can often find savings coupons and rebates. In some cases, a drug can be just $25 dollars for the first year. Or a rebate of up to $500 per month. You have to be persistent and check their websites frequently.
  5. If for any reason you find a supplier of the medications that you don’t know anything about, and they say they are accredited and authentic, then you must check the serial number and the lot number, and then call or check the Lilly or Novo website to make sure the serial and lot number is legitimate. There are cases of fraudulent lot and serial numbers, and this can lead to serious health problems if the medication is counterfeit. 
  6. If you are not intent on finding only GLP-1 receptor agonists, then you can look into other weight loss medications such as Qsymia, Contrave, Xenical, alli (it is over the counter Xenical), or Plenity; you might have more success. Speak with your doctor about these medications. I will write a blog about these in the future.
  7. As a last resort for  finding a GLP-1 receptor agonist in your dose on a dependable, regular schedule, is to use a compounding pharmacy. Compounding pharmacies are legally allowed to make a generic version of the medication if the FDA announces there is a shortage of a medication. There are constantly shortages of weight loss medications, especially the GLP-1 receptor agonists, so compounding pharmacies are making the meds. But you need to be aware of a number of things about compounding pharmacies.
      1. Compounding pharmacies must be accredited. Check here: https://www.achc.org/ and here: https://www.pharmacist.com/Practice/Patient-Care-Services/Compounding/Compounding-FAQs and here: https://safe.pharmacy/not-recommended-sites/ The first one is most important, and a must, but they are all helpful.
      2. Be aware that high demand for weight loss medications and the shortages has spawned a very effective world-wide criminal enterprise. Counterfeit meds are being sold to pharmacies or middlemen that have made people sick, hospitalized, and some have died. They frequently sell insulin instead of the weight loss meds, or they use fake ingredients. Accredited and legitimate compounding pharmacies must use FDA approved ingredients. Novo and Lilly have dozens of lawsuits against disreputable doctors, pharmacies, spas, online sites, and others because they are selling counterfeit meds.
      3. Make sure to check the accreditation websites I mentioned. Also, ask your doctor if he or she uses a reputable compounding pharmacy, or if not, would they be willing to call one you find and speak with the pharmacist about if they are accredited, where they get the ingredients, etc. If your doctor won’t do it, ask a health professional or someone with experience with the meds who knows what to ask to make the call. You have to grill the pharmacist for authenticity. If the pharmacist won’t agree to talk, then hang up.
      4. Another potential problem with compounding pharmacies is that they may not use the pen delivery system. Instead, they provide a month’s worth of syringes (usually insulin syringes) and vials of the medication. You must draw up the medication yourself and inject with a needle without the pen. Of course, a health-care professional will need to teach you how to do this. Some compounding pharmacies do use the pen delivery systems like the ones sold by Lilly and Novo, but the origin of these pen delivery devices is not always clear, so be sure to ask about that too. Drawing up and injecting a weight loss medication is not the end of the world; people with diabetes for decades had to draw up their insulin and inject it until pens were available for insulin.
      5. Sometimes compounding pharmacies don’t make the medication, they have other pharmacies or labs do it, and those pharmacies ship it to you. You need to find out which compounding pharmacies they use if they do this, find out if they are accredited, and be sure they are using approved ingredients. Again, if the pharmacist or representative won’t talk to you and answer your questions, then hang up.  
  8. The advantages to legitimate compounding pharmacies are the following:
      1. You will never run short of the drug. They make it to order in any dose.
      2. In many cases your doctor can send in the Rx. In some cases, if you join a tele-health website that prescribes weight loss medications, they may have rules that you must see one of their doctors. And like I said, if they send out the prescription to labs or other compounding pharmacies for production, you just have to make sure 1) they use accredited compounding pharmacies, 2) the pharmacy or lab uses FDA approved ingredients, and 3) find out if they use pens or syringes and vials for administration of the drug.
      3. The drugs are much, much cheaper than the on-patent ones from Lilly and Novo, almost always under $200 per month, and sometimes even less.
      4. Be sure to find out what the turn-around time is so you can prepare in advance. It’s often 2- 5 days, but you have to make sure, and consider shipping time, otherwise it’s possible your medication may not arrive on time for your dosing schedule.

If it were me, and I really wanted a GLP-1 receptor agonist, and my insurance wouldn’t cover it, and I didn’t want to have go through the ordeal of having to find the medication every month, then I would try a compounding pharmacy, but I would do every single thing possible to guarantee its legitimacy and authenticity, and I definitely would speak with my doctor first.

ANYONE READING THIS SHOULD CONSULT WITH THEIR PHYSICIAN FIRST BEFORE TRYING TO ACQUIRE A WEIGHT LOSS MEDICATION FROM A COMPOUNDING PHARMACY.

This is a lot to go through for a medication. In my 44-year career I have never seen anything like it, nor have any of my colleagues in health-care. But the meds are effective and safe. The first GLP-1 receptor agonist was exenatide, FDA approved for diabetes in 2005, and to this day in July 2024 it is still safely prescribed for the past 19 years. I’ve always been lukewarm about weight loss medications. I would occasionally recommend one, but now, it’s different. These meds are game-changers.

Good luck. Leave a comment if you like.

Best,
Rich