我们是否与亲朋好友分享零售知识？

[jace2z]

I made a mistake. I told my brother after I lost 25 lbs in two months taking Reta. I told him about compounding pharmacies and U.S. grey vendors, trying to steer him in that direction. Then he saw my stash of peptides in my refrigerator and wanted to know where and how I got so many kits.

So I told him about Chinese grey vendors. This was a bad decision on my part.

My brother had not even taken anything, but after he did a little TikTok research, he wanted to order all these different kits from Chinese grey vendors. I was excited that someone had faith in me and waned to try peppers, this made me dumb enough to front the money for him because he doesn't do crypto. I ordered $800 worth of peptides between three different vendors.

We all know the stress of the grey market: transferring crypto, verifying COAs, finding the best prices, and avoiding scams or bunk products. Then there's the stress that comes with international shipping, not to mention the knowledge required to safely pin.

As much as I tried to warn and educate him, it wasn't working. All he saw were cheap kits, and he was happy he didn't have to do any of the legwork to get them. I mean, he hadn't even paid me for the order.

My last order, which was over $1,000, was delivered to my neighbors by mistake. My brother freaked out and kept calling me while I was at work since I had given him the tracking information. About $600 worth of the stuff was for him.

I was able to resolve it within three days and get the package from my neighbors, but it got me thinking. My brother was freaking out as if it were his $1,000 that had been lost, even though he hadn't paid me anything for the order.

Then guess what happened yesterday? Even though he still owes me $600, he sent me a list of five more peptides he wants me to order.

I wasn't doing this spoiled American brother of mine any favors. Being part of the grey market is not like shopping on Amazon or Walmart. I had to cut him off from my stash and stop ordering peptides for him.

 

[zkprv]

I started helping friends with all of these peps, now we have a growing group of about 12 of us and it keeps growing with them adding there other friends and families joining our circle.

I wanted to do the same, but then I thought of the chain reaction and the 'broken telephone' game. The last thing I would want is for a random DEA knock on the door 6 months later because the word of mouth distorted the reality.

 

[spanky2026]

Several folks know I began compounded Tirz, only my idiot FORMER doctor took issue with that. Moving into gray, I'm planning to just let them keep thinking it's compounded. Forever. No need I can see to open up that can if worms, my life is complicated enough.

 

[aepower2016]

I completed my body recomp without reta over a year ago. Now I'm taking it to further increase my progress. I make sure to let everyone I talk to about reta know this. I don't want them to think they can take it and not worry about regulating their diet.

In terms of sourcing for them, I steer them in the right direction. Offering them what I feel are reliable and informative sources. I havent had anyone request reta from me yet but I do have a few people who wanted to purchase other peptides. I've done it after they assured me they've done their research for potential side effects and dosage. Having people who trust I have their best interest at heart is great but that does not absolve them from doing their own research.

 

[aepower2016]

My local Costco in south Florida didn’t want to sell me syringes, same with Publix, Walgreens and Walmart. They telling me that I need a script from my doc.

Today I drove to Sarasota and while we shopping at Costco there, i stopped by the pharmacy, asked if i can buy syringes and they say sure.

No script no questions why I need them for!!

I know what you mean! It's a hassle to get syringes in NYC too. In order to get it without a prescription in NYC, the pharmacy must be a participant of ESAP(expanded syringe access program). Even than its still a hassle since most only offer a pack of 10 at a time

 

[randompersonrandom]

update: telling my aging-but-not-elderly mom led to procuring for my mom and supervising her recons/filtering. I'm not mad about that, because I know she's not an idiot who would order from some scammer or shitty vendor and then just blast with no good idea what she's taking, but I still am a lot more at ease with the fact that she's not taking anything I don't know about and haven't gotten a chance to weigh in on.

I also think it's not fully necessary or even helpful for me to supervise her recons anymore, the fact that she's still making mistakes on what happens next and what to do next is (I believe) a whole lot more due to the anxiety of being watched and the distraction of talking to me than actual ignorance of what comes next; when I say "Ma, hold up. What are you about to do there?" she's like "oh, fuck, I'm about to just put it in the cartridge without filtering or even switching the needle, wtf am I doing" and adjusts. But whatever, I'll keep doing it for as long as SHE wants me to.

 

[Beachnwaves98]

I'm genially curious to hear everyone's point of view. If a close friend or family member asks how you transformed your body (lost weight) what are you saying? If you are sharing, are you sharing all the sites, resources , vendor info etc. It's a lot to know if the goal is to share your experience and show them how to purchase reta at a FAIR price.

Not in my case, I’ll answer if asked, but I really don’t want to deal with any questions re: why I do it or remain on it, whether or not they think it’s justified, etc.

I’ll entertain anyone asking in good faith, but not down for judgie comments.

 

[HRH_IceQueen]

I'm genially curious to hear everyone's point of view. If a close friend or family member asks how you transformed your body (lost weight) what are you saying? If you are sharing, are you sharing all the sites, resources , vendor info etc. It's a lot to know if the goal is to share your experience and show them how to purchase reta at a FAIR price.

Right now I'm gatekeeping lol bc I don't want to "lead them astray" just bc they may have a different experience than mine if/when they follow my advice and then blame me for it. Plus not everyone wants to do their own research, so to each their own, I guess. I'm also doing keto & IF for awhile, so I'll always resort to that as my answer and they back off bc they think I'm nuts for fasting and doing keto.

 

[rsems]

I'm genially curious to hear everyone's point of view. If a close friend or family member asks how you transformed your body (lost weight) what are you saying? If you are sharing, are you sharing all the sites, resources , vendor info etc. It's a lot to know if the goal is to share your experience and show them how to purchase reta at a FAIR price.

I have no issue saying glps. I am in the gym 6x a week and running multiple days a week. I could not do my transformation on glps alone. (Say glps because i am just now transferring to reta)

 

[zkprv]

Several folks know I began compounded Tirz, only my idiot FORMER doctor took issue with that. Moving into gray, I'm planning to just let them keep thinking it's compounded. Forever. No need I can see to open up that can if worms, my life is complicated enough.

Dumb question -- what was the exact issue the doctor took with your compounded pharma approach? It is approved by the FDA. What was the 'argument' there? (I have my own experience, ergo the question)

I have an official prescription for Zepbound/Tirz. For a while I was getting paper scripts and using a compounding pharmacy while sorting out insurance. My doctor was fine with it.

Recently I went in for a refill and saw an Eli Lilly rep in the waiting room. After she left, I asked the doctor why she was there. Got no real answer. By the end of the day, instead of giving me a paper script like usual, they had already sent the prescription straight to Eli Lilly’s own pharmacy.

It was pretty obvious what happened. The rep shows up, and suddenly the doctor stops writing paper scripts and routes everything to Lilly’s pharmacy instead. I don’t think it’s a coincidence.

Eli Lilly has been working to shut down compounding of GLP-1 medications. The FDA proposed excluding semaglutide, tirzepatide, and liraglutide from the 503B bulks list on April 30th, finding no clinical need for outsourcing facilities to compound them. That proposal is now in the 60-day public comment period, which ends June 29, 2026. Once finalized, it will effectively block large-scale compounding of these drugs.

This isn’t subtle. They’re moving to close off the lower-cost compounded options that many people have been using.

I feel a rebellious streak in me

 

[spanky2026]

Dumb question -- what was the exact issue the doctor took with your compounded pharma approach? It is approved by the FDA. What was the 'argument' there? (I have my own experience, ergo the question)

Dumb question -- what was the exact issue the doctor took with your compounded pharma approach? It is approved by the FDA. What was the 'argument' there? (I have my own experience, ergo the question)

I have an official prescription for Zepbound/Tirz. For a while I was getting paper scripts and using a compounding pharmacy while sorting out insurance. My doctor was fine with it.

Recently I went in for a refill and saw an Eli Lilly rep in the waiting room. After she left, I asked the doctor why she was there. Got no real answer. By the end of the day, instead of giving me a paper script like usual, they had already sent the prescription straight to Eli Lilly’s own pharmacy.

It was pretty obvious what happened. The rep shows up, and suddenly the doctor stops writing paper scripts and routes everything to Lilly’s pharmacy instead. I don’t think it’s a coincidence.

Eli Lilly has been working to shut down compounding of GLP-1 medications. The FDA proposed excluding semaglutide, tirzepatide, and liraglutide from the 503B bulks list on April 30th, finding no clinical need for outsourcing facilities to compound them. That proposal is now in the 60-day public comment period, which ends June 29, 2026. Once finalized, it will effectively block large-scale compounding of these drugs.

This isn’t subtle. They’re moving to close off the lower-cost compounded options that many people have been using.

I feel a rebellious streak in me

My doc pissed me off because when I saw him for the first time after starting a glp and some significant loss, he studiously REFUSED to discuss it. Potentially concerned about liability (I told him I'd chosen a good 503b pharmacy), but he literally would NOT talk about it. Asked me at the beginning of the visit what was new, I said GLP! He changed the subject.

 

[zkprv]

Dumb question -- what was the exact issue the doctor took with your compounded pharma approach? It is approved by the FDA. What was the 'argument' there? (I have my own experience, ergo the question)

My doc pissed me off because when I saw him for the first time after starting a glp and some significant loss, he studiously REFUSED to discuss it. Potentially concerned about liability (I told him I'd chosen a good 503b pharmacy), but he literally would NOT talk about it. Asked me at the beginning of the visit what was new, I said GLP! He changed the subject.

I’ve seen that before.

As a general rule, if I feel a doctor is just checking boxes and prioritizing anything other than what’s actually best for the patient — I walk away.

When I go to a specialist, I expect real advice based on fiduciary duty, not just following a standard playbook. For example, I broke away from my cardiologist because they were pushing pills according to the usual protocol even though my medical profile clearly showed it wasn’t the right approach.

GLP-1 antagonists are in their own special category. Whatever their personal beliefs may be, a flat refusal to even have a conversation about it is a direct violation of their fiduciary responsibility.

 

[spanky2026]

I’ve seen that before.

As a general rule, if I feel a doctor is just checking boxes and prioritizing anything other than what’s actually best for the patient — I walk away.

When I go to a specialist, I expect real advice based on fiduciary duty, not just following a standard playbook. For example, I broke away from my cardiologist because they were pushing pills according to the usual protocol even though my medical profile clearly showed it wasn’t the right approach.

GLP-1 antagonists are in their own special category. Whatever their personal beliefs may be, a flat refusal to even have a conversation about it is a direct violation of their fiduciary responsibility.

Oh,I couldn't agree more. Firing him at my next/final appt.

 

[zkprv]

Oh,I couldn't agree more. Firing him at my next/final appt.

Why even bother going back at all unless you actually need something specific from that doctor? I wouldn’t waste the time or energy.

I’d quietly find a better fit, keep my options open for a while, and if the new one works out, just stop showing up to the old one. In my experience, they rarely even notice or follow up. And if someone from the office does call asking why, then you can tell them — but I wouldn’t hold my breath.

I used to think explaining that I disagreed with their approach would make a difference. Turns out they don’t care. Once you realize that, it becomes a lot easier to vote with your feet.

 

[Deonitis]

I’ve gotten most my friends and family all hooked on them. Once they seen my weight loss they all wanted in. Even the ones that were super skeptical of it all in the beginning. The crappy part is I’m all there providers at this point. Makes for a whole ass extra job. I’m at 14 people now

 

[BNLFL]

我几乎成功地让我的朋友和家人都迷上了减肥。他们看到我减肥成功后，都想加入。就连一开始非常怀疑的人也一样。糟糕的是，现在我成了他们的经济支柱。这让我多了一大份工作。我现在有14个人了。

希望你赚了点外快。

 

[Deonitis]

希望你赚了点外快。

我做得还行，虽然可以更好，但我没想着大赚一笔。这要看是谁，或者这笔钱是真的给他们还是给别人。