# Measured

> Measured (trymeasured.com) is a US telehealth platform for prescription weight loss. Licensed, obesity-trained providers prescribe GLP-1 medications (semaglutide, tirzepatide) when appropriate, paired with 1:1 registered dietitian support. Measured accepts insurance and offers cash-pay options, with memberships from $49/month. Measured also offers cash-pay compounded wellness therapies, including NAD+ injections.

## Medications

- [Weight loss medications overview](https://trymeasured.com/medications): All available GLP-1 medications, pricing, and how prescriptions work.
- [Zepbound](https://trymeasured.com/medications/zepbound): Tirzepatide injection — eligibility, pricing, and how to get it online.
- [Wegovy Pen](https://trymeasured.com/medications/wegovy-pen): Semaglutide injection — eligibility, pricing, and how to get it online.
- [Wegovy Pill](https://trymeasured.com/medications/wegovy-pill): Oral semaglutide — daily tablet alternative to injections.
- [Ozempic](https://trymeasured.com/medications/ozempic): Semaglutide injection — eligibility and access.
- [Mounjaro](https://trymeasured.com/medications/mounjaro): Tirzepatide injection — eligibility and access.

## How it works

- [How Measured works](https://trymeasured.com/how-it-works): Online visit, provider evaluation, prescription, and ongoing dietitian care.
- [Medication safety](https://trymeasured.com/safety): Per-medication safety information, boxed warnings, and FDA-approved vs compounded differences.
- [Help center](https://trymeasured.com/help): Common questions about pricing, insurance, shipping, and eligibility.

## Free tools

- [Free tools index](https://trymeasured.com/tools): Interactive weight-loss tools grounded in peer-reviewed clinical trials.
- [Tirzepatide vs Semaglutide Weight Loss Simulator](https://trymeasured.com/tools/tirzepatide-vs-semaglutide-simulator): Head-to-head SURMOUNT-5 trial results (20.2% vs 13.7% weight loss at 72 weeks) applied to your starting weight, with responder rates and side-effect comparison.
- [The NAD+ Clock](https://trymeasured.com/tools/nad-clock): Interactive estimate of NAD+ change by age, from a published tissue study; links to the full methodology and the evidence that blood studies show little decline.

## Guides (blog)

- [Blog index](https://trymeasured.com/blog): Medically reviewed guides on GLP-1 medications, insurance coverage, costs, and eligibility.
- [Does NAD+ injection actually work? What the evidence says](https://trymeasured.com/blog/does-nad-injection-actually-work-what-the-evidence-says): NAD+ injections are sold for energy, focus and healthy aging. What the trials show so far, how long to give it a fair try, and the one question to ask before you inject anything.
- [Can GLP-1 Medications Treat Addiction? What the Research on Ozempic Shows](https://trymeasured.com/blog/can-glp-1-medications-treat-addiction): Early trials suggest semaglutide reduces alcohol craving and heavy drinking, but no GLP-1 is approved to treat any addiction. What the evidence shows.
- [Does Insurance Cover Zepbound for Sleep Apnea?](https://trymeasured.com/blog/does-insurance-cover-zepbound-for-sleep-apnea): Zepbound is FDA-approved for moderate to severe sleep apnea in obesity. How commercial plans and Medicare handle OSA coverage, and what to do if denied.
- [Does Medicare Cover Zepbound? What the Medicare GLP-1 Bridge Changes](https://trymeasured.com/blog/does-medicare-cover-zepbound-and-what-is-the-medicare-glp-1-bridge): Part D excludes weight-loss drugs, but the Medicare GLP-1 Bridge (2026 to 2027) offers the Zepbound KwikPen for a $50 copay. Who qualifies and how to apply.
- [Is There an Ozempic Pill? How It Compares to Rybelsus and the Wegovy Pill](https://trymeasured.com/blog/is-there-an-ozempic-pill-and-how-does-it-compare-to-rybelsus-and-the-wegovy-pill): An Ozempic tablet exists on a shared label with Rybelsus; the weight-loss pill is Wegovy. How the three compare on dosing, labeled use, price, and insurance.
- [What Is a GLP-1 Medication, and How Does It Work for Weight Loss?](https://trymeasured.com/blog/what-is-a-glp-1-medication-and-how-does-it-work-for-weight-loss): What a GLP-1 medication is and how it works for weight loss: which products carry an FDA weight indication, in what form, and why coverage turns on indication.
- [What Is Oral Semaglutide and How Does It Compare to Injections?](https://trymeasured.com/blog/what-is-oral-semaglutide-and-how-does-it-compare-to-injections): Oral semaglutide is a daily tablet form of semaglutide. How the Wegovy tablet and injection compare on dose, schedule, indications, trials, and 2026 price.
- [What Is the Difference Between Mounjaro and Zepbound?](https://trymeasured.com/blog/what-is-the-difference-between-mounjaro-and-zepbound): Mounjaro and Zepbound are both tirzepatide. What differs is the FDA-approved indication — and that difference is what your insurance plan reads first.
- [What is the difference between Ozempic and Wegovy?](https://trymeasured.com/blog/what-is-the-difference-between-ozempic-and-wegovy): Ozempic and Wegovy are both semaglutide. What differs: the FDA-approved indication, maximum dose, titration schedule, pen — and how your plan treats each.
- [Does insurance cover GLP-1 weight loss medications?](https://trymeasured.com/blog/does-insurance-cover-glp-1-weight-loss-medications): Insurance coverage for GLP-1 weight loss medications is decided plan by plan: what drives the decision, what Medicare Part D excludes, and the cash-pay math.
- [How do I appeal an insurance denial for a GLP-1 medication?](https://trymeasured.com/blog/how-do-i-appeal-an-insurance-denial-for-a-glp-1-medication): How to appeal an insurance denial for a GLP-1: the deadlines on your letter, requesting the plan's own criteria, what to file, and how external review works.
- [How do I get a GLP-1 prescription online?](https://trymeasured.com/blog/how-do-i-get-a-glp-1-prescription-online): How to get a GLP-1 prescription online: the questionnaire, licensed provider review, insurance coverage check, prior authorization, and which GLP-1 you get.
- [How do I manage nausea on a GLP-1 medication?](https://trymeasured.com/blog/how-do-i-manage-nausea-on-a-glp-1-medication): How to manage nausea on a GLP-1 medication: what the FDA labels say about dose escalation, when nausea needs a clinician, and what our sources leave out.
- [How Long Does It Take to See Weight Loss on a GLP-1?](https://trymeasured.com/blog/how-long-does-it-take-to-see-weight-loss-on-a-glp-1): Labeled dose schedules are standardized, but trial results were mean changes measured at weeks 64-72. What the labels and trials say about GLP-1 timing.
- [Is nutrition counseling covered by insurance?](https://trymeasured.com/blog/is-nutrition-counseling-covered-by-insurance): Nutrition counseling coverage is set by your plan, not by how you pay for your medication. What to ask member services, and where a cash-pay GLP-1 fits.
- [What Are the Most Common GLP-1 Insurance Denial Reasons?](https://trymeasured.com/blog/what-are-the-most-common-glp-1-insurance-denial-reasons): GLP-1 insurance denial reasons explained: what each denial code means, which are appealable, the drug exceptions process, Medicare rules, and deadlines.
- [What are the most common GLP-1 side effects?](https://trymeasured.com/blog/what-are-the-most-common-glp-1-side-effects): The most common GLP-1 side effects are gastrointestinal. We quote the FDA labels for Ozempic, Wegovy, Zepbound and Mounjaro: rates by dose and serious warnings.
- [What Counts as Documented Prior Weight Loss Attempts?](https://trymeasured.com/blog/what-counts-as-documented-prior-weight-loss-attempts): What counts as documented prior weight loss attempts? No single national definition — each plan sets its own criteria, and you can get them in writing, free.
- [What Documentation Gets a GLP-1 Prior Authorization Approved?](https://trymeasured.com/blog/what-documentation-gets-a-glp-1-prior-authorization-approved): What a GLP-1 prior authorization packet has to document, why form and indication matter, what changes under Medicare Part D, and what to do after a denial.
- [What "not medically necessary" means on a denial letter](https://trymeasured.com/blog/what-does-not-medically-necessary-mean-on-a-denial-letter): "Not medically necessary" means the request missed your plan's own written criteria. How to decode the denial letter, and the appeal deadlines that apply.
- [What happens when you stop taking a GLP-1](https://trymeasured.com/blog/what-happens-when-you-stop-taking-a-glp-1): What happens when you stop taking a GLP-1: what trial evidence shows, why your reason for stopping matters, and what to do if cost or a denial forces it.
- [What Is an External Review and When Should I Request One?](https://trymeasured.com/blog/what-is-an-external-review-and-when-should-i-request-one): An external review sends your denied GLP-1 claim to an independent reviewer outside your insurer: who qualifies, the four-month deadline, and what it costs.
- [What Is Step Therapy for GLP-1 Medications?](https://trymeasured.com/blog/what-is-step-therapy-for-glp-1-medications): Step therapy is your plan's "fail first" rule for GLP-1 medications: what it is, how it differs from prior authorization and denial, and how exceptions work.
- [What Should I Expect From a Nutrition Counseling Appointment?](https://trymeasured.com/blog/what-should-i-expect-from-a-nutrition-counseling-appointment): What happens at a Measured nutrition counseling appointment: a 60-minute session with a Registered Dietitian, how to prepare, and what it costs.
- [Who Should Not Take a GLP-1 Medication](https://trymeasured.com/blog/who-should-not-take-a-glp-1-medication): Who should not take a GLP-1 medication: the FDA labels list three absolute contraindications; everything else is a warning to screen for, not a rule-out.

## Glossary

- [Medical glossary index](https://trymeasured.com/glossary): Plain-English definitions of GLP-1, peptide, weight-loss, insurance and telehealth terms, cited to FDA, PubMed or CMS, with a named clinical reviewer.
- [GLP-1 Medications glossary](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/category/glp-1-medications): 37 GLP-1 Medications terms.
- [Peptides & Longevity glossary](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/category/peptides-longevity): 80 Peptides & Longevity terms.
- [Weight & Metabolic Health glossary](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/category/weight-metabolic-health): 22 Weight & Metabolic Health terms.
- [Insurance & Cost glossary](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/category/insurance-cost): 30 Insurance & Cost terms.
- [Dosing & Treatment glossary](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/category/dosing-treatment): 17 Dosing & Treatment terms.
- [Telehealth & Process glossary](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/category/telehealth-process): 12 Telehealth & Process terms.
- [5-Amino-1MQ](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/5-amino-1mq): 5-Amino-1MQ is a small-molecule inhibitor of the enzyme nicotinamide N-methyltransferase (NNMT), not a peptide, sold online as a research chemical for weight loss. NNMT regulates how cells balance energy and methylation, and its abnormal activation is linked to diabetes, obesity, fibrosis, and cancer. 5-Amino-1MQ is not FDA-approved and does not appear on FDA's list of bulk substances nominated for compounding.
- [503A compounding pharmacy](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/503a-compounding-pharmacy): 503A compounding pharmacy is a state-licensed pharmacy where a pharmacist or physician prepares a drug for a specific, identified patient based on a valid prescription. It is exempt from FDA's manufacturing-quality rules, does not register with FDA as an outsourcing facility, and is overseen day to day by state boards of pharmacy.
- [503B outsourcing facility](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/503b-outsourcing-facility): 503B outsourcing facility is a drug compounder registered with FDA that operates under manufacturing-quality rules, without needing a prescription for each named patient before compounding. Unlike a 503A pharmacy, FDA inspects it on a risk-based schedule, requires it to report adverse events, and requires its labels to state the drug is compounded.
- [A1C](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/a1c): A1C is a blood test that measures your average blood glucose level over the past 3 months, based on glucose attaching to hemoglobin in red blood cells. Also called HbA1c, glycated hemoglobin, or glycohemoglobin, it is used to diagnose type 2 diabetes and prediabetes, and is the primary test for diabetes management. Results are reported as a percentage.
- [AHK-Cu](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/ahk-cu): AHK-Cu is a copper-binding tripeptide, L-alanyl-L-histidyl-L-lysine-Cu2+, studied for stimulating hair follicle growth in laboratory experiments. It is related to the better-studied copper peptide GHK-Cu but has far less published research behind it. AHK-Cu does not appear on FDA's compounding substance lists and is not an FDA-approved drug; it is sold in hair and skin products.
- [AICAR](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/aicar): AICAR is a small-molecule activator of an enzyme called AMPK, not a peptide, studied as a research compound for exercise metabolism. It is not FDA-approved. One small study measured its effect on muscle glucose uptake in healthy men, and a large surgical trial tested it under the name acadesine. It is prohibited at all times under the 2026 WADA list.
- [Anti-obesity medication](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/anti-obesity-medication): Anti-obesity medication refers to prescription drugs used, along with diet and physical activity, to treat obesity, or overweight together with a weight-related health condition. NIDDK calls them weight management medications. NIDDK lists them for adults with a BMI of 30 or greater, or 27 or greater plus a condition such as high blood pressure or type 2 diabetes.
- [AOD-9604](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/aod-9604): AOD-9604 is not FDA-approved, and its 503A compounding nomination was withdrawn after FDA raised safety concerns. It is a synthetic fragment of the C-terminal end of human growth hormone, described as hGH(177–191) with an added N-terminal tyrosine. It has been studied in obese mice, where it increased fat oxidation and lipolysis markers, and human evidence is limited.
- [Appeal](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/appeal): Appeal refers to a request to your health insurer or the Health Insurance Marketplace to review a decision that denied a benefit or payment. You can first ask the insurer to review its own decision through an internal appeal, then bring an unresolved denial to an independent third party through external review.
- [ARA-290](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/ara-290): ARA-290 is a nonhematopoietic peptide designed from the structure of erythropoietin that interacts with the innate repair receptor, rather than the receptor that makes red blood cells. Also called cibinetide, it has been tested in small, sponsor-involved trials for diabetic neuropathy, sarcoidosis-related nerve pain and diabetic macular edema. It is not FDA-approved.
- [Asynchronous visit](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/asynchronous-visit): Asynchronous visit refers to a telehealth visit in which medical information is transmitted and reviewed at a later time, outside a real-time or live interaction. The Center for Connected Health Policy calls this store-and-forward: information such as images, lab results or text goes to a practitioner, who evaluates the case without the patient present.
- [B12 + MIC](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/b12-mic): B12 + MIC is an injection that combines vitamin B12 with methionine, inositol and choline, marketed for weight loss and energy under names like the skinny shot. The only FDA-labeled use for injectable B12 is vitamin B12 deficiency; no B12 label lists weight loss or energy as an indication.
- [Bacteriostatic water](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/bacteriostatic-water): Bacteriostatic water is sterile water containing 0.9% or 1.1% benzyl alcohol as a preservative, used only as a diluent for other injectable drugs. It is not a medication and is supplied in multiple-dose vials for intramuscular, intravenous or subcutaneous use once mixed with a drug. Its label warns against use in neonates and against injecting it alone into a vein.
- [Basal metabolic rate](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/basal-metabolic-rate): Basal metabolic rate is the energy the body uses at complete rest to keep basic functions running, the largest component of daily energy demand in Western societies. It is shaped mainly by differences in fat-free mass, with smaller contributions from fat mass and age. 
- [Best GLP-1 for weight loss](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/best-glp-1-for-weight-loss): Best GLP-1 for weight loss is a question the trial data can only partly answer. In SURMOUNT-5, the first published randomized head-to-head obesity trial, tirzepatide (Zepbound) produced more weight loss than semaglutide (Wegovy) at 72 weeks. Which drug is right for you also depends on tolerance, other conditions, cost, coverage and whether you prefer a pill.
- [Bioidentical hormones](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/bioidentical-hormones): Bioidentical hormones are hormones chemically identical to those the body makes, sold either as FDA-approved drugs or as compounded products marketed under the bioidentical label. FDA has approved dozens of hormone products, including some identical to natural hormones, but many products marketed as bioidentical are compounded and not FDA-approved. They are steroid hormones, not peptides.
- [Biological age](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/biological-age): Biological age is an estimate of how old the body appears based on molecular or physiological markers, rather than years since birth. Researchers most often calculate it from DNA methylation patterns, called epigenetic clocks; a widely used version, developed from 8,000 samples across 51 tissue types, uses 353 methylation sites on the genome.
- [Black box warning](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/black-box-warning): Black box warning is a warning FDA can require to be set inside a box on a prescription drug's label, under an uppercase heading with the word WARNING. It is used particularly for risks that may lead to death or serious injury. The regulation calls it a boxed warning. Wegovy and Zepbound carry one for thyroid C-cell tumors.
- [BMI](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/bmi): BMI (body mass index) is a measurement that uses weight and height to estimate overweight and obesity, calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared. In adults, the World Health Organization defines overweight as a BMI of 25 or greater and obesity as a BMI of 30 or greater. BMI is a surrogate marker of fatness.
- [Board certification](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/board-certification): Board certification is a credential showing a physician or nurse practitioner has met a certifying board's standards, separate from a license to practice. Physicians earn it from ABMS Member Boards after medical school, an unrestricted license, and residency training, then pass a specialty exam. Nurse practitioners are certified through national certifying organizations such as NPCB.
- [Body composition](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/body-composition): Body composition refers to the proportions of fat, muscle, bone, and other tissue that make up a person's body weight. It goes beyond a single weight or BMI number, since two people can weigh the same but differ in how much of that weight is fat versus lean tissue. Methods range from a tape measure to imaging scans.
- [BPC-157](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/bpc-157): BPC-157 (Body Protection Compound-157) is a synthetic peptide of 15 amino acids derived from a fragment of a gastric protein. It is studied for tissue repair and gut healing, is not FDA-approved for any use, its 503A bulks-list nomination was withdrawn after FDA flagged safety risks, and an FDA advisory committee recommended it in July 2026.
- [Brand-name vs generic](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/brand-name-vs-generic): Brand-name vs generic refers to two ways the same active ingredient can reach the market: under a manufacturer's trademarked name, or, once patents and exclusivity expire, as an FDA-approved generic. FDA requires generics to match the brand drug's ingredient, strength, form and route.
- [CagriSema](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/cagrisema): CagriSema is an investigational once-weekly combination of the amylin analog cagrilintide and the GLP-1 medicine semaglutide, dosed together at 2.4 mg each. It is not FDA-approved, and Novo Nordisk filed a New Drug Application for it with the FDA on December 18, 2025.
- [Caloric deficit](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/caloric-deficit): Caloric deficit is a state in which the body uses more calories than it takes in from food and beverages. It is the reverse of the calorie surplus that NIDDK says leads to weight gain over time, when intake from food and drinks exceeds the calories used through daily activity.
- [Cash pay](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/cash-pay): Cash pay is paying the full price of a medication yourself, without using insurance to cover any part of the cost. Manufacturers market self-pay options directly to patients; NovoCare Pharmacy advertises its GLP-1 self-pay program as requiring no insurance, and Lilly offers Zepbound self-pay regardless of insurance status.
- [Cash price of GLP-1s](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/cash-price-of-glp-1s): Cash price of GLP-1s refers to what Zepbound and Wegovy cost when paid out of pocket through the manufacturer's own self-pay channel, rather than through insurance. Prices vary by drug, dose, and form, and are set directly by Eli Lilly's LillyDirect Pharmacy and Novo Nordisk's NovoCare Pharmacy.
- [Category 1 vs Category 2 peptides](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/category-1-vs-category-2-peptides): Category 1 vs Category 2 peptides refers to FDA's interim sorting of substances nominated for the 503A bulks list. Category 1 substances may be compounded while FDA evaluates them. Category 2 substances are those FDA says may present significant safety risks, so compounding them invites enforcement. Peptides such as BPC-157 and TB-500 were Category 2 until their nominations were withdrawn.
- [Certificate of analysis](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/certificate-of-analysis): Certificate of analysis is a supplier's test report stating a batch's identity, purity and other quality measures. FDA's rule for compounding under section 503A requires bulk drug substances to be accompanied by valid certificates of analysis from an FDA-registered establishment, but manufacturers must still verify identity themselves rather than relying on the supplier's report alone.
- [CJC-1295](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/cjc-1295): CJC-1295 is a long-acting analog of growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH) studied in two 2006 randomized trials for its ability to raise growth hormone and IGF-1 levels. It is not FDA-approved. Its 503A bulks-list nomination was withdrawn after FDA identified serious adverse events, and it is not eligible for compounding under section 503A.
- [Coinsurance](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/coinsurance): Coinsurance is the percentage of a covered service's cost you pay, such as 20%, after you've met your deductible. Unlike a copay's flat dollar amount, coinsurance rises and falls with the plan's allowed cost for the drug or service, so your share for a GLP-1 prescription depends on its price.
- [Cold chain shipping](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/cold-chain-shipping): Cold chain shipping is a chain of temperature-controlled storage and transport steps that keeps a temperature-sensitive product within its required range. The Wegovy and Zepbound labels call for refrigerator storage, with limited time allowed at room temperature. Federal licensing guidelines for wholesale drug distributors call for storage at the temperatures a drug's labeling requires.
- [Comorbidity](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/comorbidity): Comorbidity is the condition of having two or more diseases at the same time. On GLP-1 drug labels, the phrase weight-related comorbid condition sets eligibility: Wegovy and Zepbound are indicated for adults with obesity, or with overweight plus at least one such condition, such as high blood pressure.
- [Compounded peptide](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/compounded-peptide): compounded peptide is a peptide medication custom-mixed by a compounding pharmacy for an individual patient rather than manufactured by an FDA-approved drug maker. It is not FDA-approved, is not reviewed for safety, effectiveness or quality before marketing, and differs legally from FDA-approved peptide drugs.
- [Compounded semaglutide](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/compounded-semaglutide): Compounded semaglutide is a custom-mixed version of the GLP-1 drug semaglutide made by a licensed pharmacy rather than a drug manufacturer. It is not FDA-approved, is not reviewed for safety, effectiveness or quality before marketing, unlike the FDA-approved semaglutide brands Wegovy and Ozempic.
- [Compounded tirzepatide](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/compounded-tirzepatide): Compounded tirzepatide is a custom-mixed version of the GLP-1/GIP drug tirzepatide made by a compounding pharmacy rather than a drug manufacturer. It is not FDA-approved, is not reviewed for safety, effectiveness or quality before marketing, unlike the FDA-approved tirzepatide brands Mounjaro and Zepbound.
- [Compounding pharmacy](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/compounding-pharmacy): Compounding pharmacy is an umbrella term for a pharmacy or facility that combines, mixes, or alters ingredients into a drug tailored to a patient's needs. Rather than dispensing a mass-manufactured product, it operates under one of two federal pathways: a 503A pharmacy or a 503B outsourcing facility. Compounded drugs are not FDA-approved.
- [Continuity of care](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/continuity-of-care): Continuity of care is the process by which a patient and their physician-led care team work together over time toward safe, high-quality, cost-effective medical care. It supports trusting patient-physician relationships and lets a physician draw on what they already know of a patient's history, according to the American Academy of Family Physicians.
- [Contraindication](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/contraindication): Contraindication is a reason not to give a specific treatment because it could cause harm. The National Cancer Institute defines it as a symptom or medical condition that is a reason for a person not to receive a treatment or procedure. Drug labels list contraindications in their own section, separate from warnings that a drug is not recommended for someone.
- [Copay](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/copay): Copay is a fixed dollar amount, such as $20, that you pay for a covered service or prescription after you've met your deductible. It differs from coinsurance, which is a percentage rather than a set amount. Before the deductible is met, you pay the plan's full allowed amount instead.
- [Coverage exclusion](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/coverage-exclusion): Coverage exclusion is a service or drug your health plan's terms say it will not pay for or cover. Unlike a prior authorization denial, which is a decision about medical necessity under the plan's rules, an exclusion means the plan does not offer that benefit at all. Some employer plans exclude GLP-1 medications prescribed for weight loss.
- [Deductible](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/deductible): Deductible is the amount you pay for covered health care services before your insurance plan starts to pay. HealthCare.gov's example is a $2,000 deductible, meaning you cover the first $2,000 of covered services yourself; after that you typically pay only a copay or coinsurance while the plan covers the rest.
- [Dihexa](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/dihexa): Dihexa is a synthetic angiotensin IV-based compound studied in animals for memory and synaptic effects, developed as a blood-brain-barrier-permeable analog by a Washington State research group. Research so far is preclinical, and the 2014 paper describing its mechanism was retracted in 2025. FDA states it has not identified any human exposure data for dihexa acetate.
- [DSIP](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/dsip): DSIP is a nonapeptide first isolated from rabbit cerebral venous blood in 1977 and studied for insomnia, with the sequence Trp-Ala-Gly-Gly-Asp-Ala-Ser-Gly-Glu. FDA reviewed emideltide, its compounding name, for chronic insomnia, narcolepsy and opioid withdrawal, and concluded there was insufficient evidence to support effectiveness. A Pharmacy Compounding Advisory Committee panel voted against adding it to the compounding list.
- [Dual agonist](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/dual-agonist): Dual agonist refers to a medicine engineered to activate two separate hormone receptors, usually GIP and GLP-1, at once in a single molecule. Tirzepatide, sold under the brand names Mounjaro and Zepbound, is the first GIP/GLP-1 dual agonist available for clinical use.
- [Dulaglutide](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/dulaglutide): Dulaglutide is the active ingredient in Trulicity, a once-weekly GLP-1 receptor agonist injection. It's FDA-approved to improve glycemic control in adults and pediatric patients aged 10 and older with type 2 diabetes, and to reduce cardiovascular risk in adults with type 2 diabetes and heart disease or multiple risk factors.
- [Epitalon](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/epitalon): Epitalon is a synthetic tetrapeptide (Ala-Glu-Asp-Gly) developed from epithalamin, a pineal extract studied by Russian researcher Vladimir Khavinson. It has been studied for telomerase activity in cultured cells and, in one human trial, for a melatonin-related marker, not sleep. FDA found no clinical data to support its safety and a lack of evidence for its effectiveness for insomnia.
- [FDA bulk drug substances list](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/fda-bulk-drug-substances-list): FDA bulk drug substances list refers to FDA's lists of active ingredients nominated for use in compounding, sorted into review categories that determine eligibility. A separate list applies to 503A pharmacies and to 503B outsourcing facilities. Being under evaluation, Category 1, is not the same as being added to the 503A bulks list.
- [FDA drug shortage list](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/fda-drug-shortage-list): FDA drug shortage list is a public database of drugs FDA has determined are in shortage in the United States, updated daily with new and resolved shortages. It lists drug names, NDC numbers, applicant, shortage reason and estimated duration, and it is the reference FDA points to when it declares a shortage resolved.
- [Follistatin-344](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/follistatin-344): Follistatin-344 is an isoform of a myostatin-binding protein sold online as an unapproved bodybuilding injectable, prohibited in sport as a myostatin inhibitor. It is not FDA-approved and is not on FDA's 503A category lists. Testing of 17 black-market products found follistatin in only nine, all in a His-tagged form, while some of the others contained growth-promoting peptides instead.
- [Food noise](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/food-noise): Food noise is an informal term for a preoccupation with food that can feel persistent, intrusive, and unwanted, not a medical diagnosis. It became popular on social media alongside discussion of GLP-1 medications. Researchers say little is yet known about what causes it or how it works.
- [Formulary](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/formulary): Formulary is the list of prescription drugs a health plan covers, also called a drug list. Plans group drugs into cost tiers, and appearing on the list does not guarantee coverage, since a member's specific plan design may still leave certain drugs or categories out.
- [Foundayo](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/foundayo): Foundayo is the FDA-approved brand name for orforglipron, an oral GLP-1 receptor agonist tablet, approved April 1, 2026 to reduce excess body weight and keep it off. It's taken once daily, with or without food, and is available in six tablet strengths from 0.8 mg to 17.2 mg.
- [FSA](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/fsa): FSA is an arrangement through your employer that lets you pay for many out-of-pocket medical expenses with tax-free dollars. You decide how much to contribute, up to a limit set by your employer, and unused money may not carry over unless your plan allows a grace period or limited rollover.
- [Gastric emptying](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/gastric-emptying): Gastric emptying is the process by which the stomach releases its contents into the small intestine after a meal. It happens as stomach muscles mix food and liquid with digestive juices before slowly emptying them. GLP-1 medications such as semaglutide and tirzepatide delay this process.
- [Gastroparesis](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/gastroparesis): Gastroparesis is a disorder that slows or stops food from moving from the stomach to the small intestine, also called delayed gastric emptying. It happens when stomach muscles work poorly or not at all. It is not common. Semaglutide and tirzepatide labels say the drugs are not recommended in patients with severe gastroparesis, and both drugs delay gastric emptying.
- [GHK-Cu](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/ghk-cu): GHK-Cu is a copper-bound tripeptide, glycyl-L-histidyl-L-lysine, found naturally in the body. A 2018 review by its developers reports tissue-repair effects in skin, bone and other tissues. FDA currently lists non-injectable GHK-Cu in Category 1, under evaluation, but the injectable form's nomination was withdrawn over immunogenicity concerns, and a further review is scheduled by February 2027.
- [GHRP-2 / GHRP-6](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/ghrp-2-ghrp-6): GHRP-2 / GHRP-6 are synthetic growth hormone-releasing peptides with no structural homology to GHRH, developed to stimulate the body's own growth-hormone release. GHRP-6 was the first hexapeptide extensively studied in humans, and prolonged GHRP use raises IGF-1 levels. Neither is FDA-approved; both carry FDA safety warnings.
- [GIP](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/gip): GIP is a 42-amino-acid hormone released from intestinal K cells that stimulates insulin release after eating. It accounts for 60% to 80% of the after-meal insulin response and is one of the two incretin hormones, alongside GLP-1, targeted by dual-agonist drugs like tirzepatide.
- [GLP-1](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/glp-1): GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1) is a hormone your gut releases after you eat. It signals the pancreas to release insulin, lowers glucagon, slows stomach emptying, and reduces appetite and food intake. Medications that mimic it, called GLP-1 receptor agonists, include semaglutide (Wegovy, Ozempic) and are FDA-approved for type 2 diabetes and chronic weight management.
- [GLP-1 alternatives](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/glp-1-alternatives): GLP-1 alternatives are FDA-approved weight-management medications that do not act on the GLP-1 receptor, plus non-drug approaches. Two FDA-approved oral alternatives are Qsymia (phentermine and topiramate) and Contrave (naltrexone and bupropion). Neither is a GLP-1, and each carries its own warnings, so the choice belongs with a prescriber.
- [GLP-1 cost](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/glp-1-cost): GLP-1 cost refers to what a patient or payer spends on drugs like Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro, and Zepbound, which varies by list price, Medicare-negotiated price, self-pay offer, and insurance coverage. The same drug can carry very different prices depending on which of these applies to a given patient.
- [GLP-1 injections](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/glp-1-injections): GLP-1 injections are once-weekly subcutaneous shots, such as Zepbound and Mounjaro, that deliver a GLP-1 or dual GIP/GLP-1 medication under the skin. They are injected in the abdomen, thigh, or upper arm and can be given at any time of day, with or without meals.
- [GLP-1 medications list](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/glp-1-medications-list): GLP-1 medications list refers to the FDA-approved GLP-1 and dual GIP/GLP-1 brands covered here: Wegovy, Ozempic, Rybelsus, Zepbound, Mounjaro and Foundayo. Each brand carries its own FDA-approved indication, dosing schedule and dosage form, and coadministering more than one GLP-1 or GIP/GLP-1 product at the same time is not recommended.
- [GLP-1 receptor agonist](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/glp-1-receptor-agonist): GLP-1 receptor agonist is a medication that activates the GLP-1 receptor. Approved drugs in this class include semaglutide, marketed as Wegovy, and tirzepatide, marketed as Mounjaro and Zepbound, which activates the GIP receptor as well as the GLP-1 receptor. Using more than one GLP-1 receptor agonist at the same time is not recommended.
- [GLP-2](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/glp-2): GLP-2 is a gut hormone released from intestinal L cells that promotes intestinal growth, absorption and blood flow, distinct from GLP-1, the hormone targeted by weight-loss drugs. Researchers derived Gattex (teduglutide), an FDA-approved GLP-2 analog, from this biology to treat short bowel syndrome.
- [Glutathione](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/glutathione): Glutathione is a tripeptide of glutamate, cysteine and glycine made in the body. It is sold in oral and injectable forms and studied as an antioxidant. FDA lists it as a Category 1 bulk substance under evaluation for compounding; a 2022 advisory vote favored adding it to the 503A list, and 2026 warnings flag contamination risk in some injectable products.
- [Glutathione injection](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/glutathione-injection): Glutathione injection is a compounded IV or IM product containing the antioxidant tripeptide glutathione, prepared by a 503A pharmacy from bulk glutathione powder. Glutathione sits in FDA's Category 1 compounding list, meaning it is still under evaluation, and the controlled human trial cited on this page tested an oral form, not an injectable one.
- [Growth hormone peptides](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/growth-hormone-peptides): Growth hormone peptides is an umbrella term for GHRH analogs and GH-releasing peptides marketed to raise the body's own growth-hormone output, including tesamorelin, sermorelin, CJC-1295, ipamorelin and GHRP compounds. They are marketing shorthand: growth hormone itself is a separate approved product not covered by this term.
- [Growth hormone releasing hormone](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/growth-hormone-releasing-hormone): Growth hormone releasing hormone is a 44-amino-acid hypothalamic peptide, first isolated in 1982 from a human pancreatic tumor, that stimulates the pituitary to release growth hormone. Synthetic analogs include sermorelin, a shortened 29-amino-acid version, and tesamorelin, the full 44-amino-acid sequence with an added hexenoyl group. Longer-acting analogs like CJC-1295 are also studied.
- [Growth hormone secretagogue](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/growth-hormone-secretagogue): Growth hormone secretagogue refers to any compound that prompts the pituitary gland to release growth hormone, grouped under an umbrella that includes GHRH analogs and GH-releasing peptides. GHRH analogs such as sermorelin and CJC-1295 act upstream of GH-releasing peptides such as ipamorelin, and the oral small molecule ibutamoren is also classed as a secretagogue. Long-term safety data are limited.
- [Half-life](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/half-life): Half-life is the time it takes for the amount of a drug in the body to fall by half. Semaglutide, in Wegovy and Ozempic, has a half-life of approximately 1 week. Tirzepatide, in Zepbound, has an elimination half-life of approximately 5 to 6 days. Both are dosed once weekly.
- [Healthspan](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/healthspan): Healthspan is the portion of life spent free of significant disease or disability, as distinct from lifespan. A 2025 systematic review found no single agreed definition: out of 14,551 records screened, 207 met inclusion criteria and 187 gave a definition of healthspan, with 113 treated as primary definitions. Researchers are still working toward a consensus.
- [HPLC purity](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/hplc-purity): HPLC purity is the share of a chromatography signal attributed to the target peptide, measured against everything else the method detects, such as impurities, degradation products and aggregates. It is a manufacturing quality check, not a measure of sterility or endotoxin content, which require separate tests. A high percentage on a label does not guarantee either.
- [HSA](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/hsa): HSA is a savings account that lets you set aside money on a pre-tax basis to pay for qualified medical expenses. You can contribute only if you have an HSA-eligible plan, generally a high-deductible health plan, and the funds can pay deductibles, copayments, and coinsurance but generally not premiums.
- [Humanin](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/humanin): Humanin is a short mitochondrial-derived peptide first identified in 2001 that protects cells from stress-induced death in laboratory studies. Human research so far measures the body's own circulating humanin, for instance after exercise, rather than testing humanin given as a therapy. It is not FDA-approved and is not on FDA's 503A category lists.
- [IGF-1 LR3](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/igf-1-lr3): IGF-1 LR3 is a modified, longer-acting analog of insulin-like growth factor 1 sold online as a research peptide. The only FDA-approved form of IGF-1 is mecasermin (Increlex), approved for a narrow pediatric growth-failure indication with serious warnings; IGF-1 LR3 is not that product, is not FDA-approved, and does not appear on FDA's list of substances nominated for compounding.
- [Incretin](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/incretin): Incretin refers to a class of gut hormones, GIP and GLP-1, that boost insulin release after eating more than glucose alone would trigger. This "incretin effect" is markedly reduced in type 2 diabetes, and GLP-1 medications are built on incretin biology.
- [Informed consent](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/informed-consent): Informed consent is the process by which health care providers explain a patient's health condition and treatment choices, so the patient can decide whether to accept care. MedlinePlus says providers must give this explanation by law, and a patient who understands the condition, the options and their risks has the right to refuse treatment.
- [Injectable peptides](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/injectable-peptides): Injectable peptides are peptide drugs delivered by subcutaneous or intramuscular injection, the route used by many approved peptide medications. FDA defines a peptide as a chain of 40 or fewer amino acids, regulated as a drug. Some approved peptides are also available as tablets, while many unapproved compounded and research-use-only peptides are sold as injectables online.
- [Insulin resistance](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/insulin-resistance): Insulin resistance is a condition in which the body's cells do not respond to insulin the way they should. It can lead to higher blood glucose levels and weight gain. Risk factors include overweight, obesity, a large waist size, and conditions such as PCOS or sleep apnea.
- [Intake form](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/intake-form): Intake form refers to the document a patient fills out to record their medical history, including allergies, illnesses, surgeries, medicines, and health habits, before or at the start of care. A family medical history section may also ask about health conditions in close relatives, per the National Cancer Institute.
- [Ipamorelin](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/ipamorelin): Ipamorelin is a synthetic pentapeptide that stimulates the pituitary to release growth hormone, acting as a relatively selective agonist of the GHSR-1a receptor. It has a human pharmacokinetic study and a negative 2014 postoperative trial behind it, is not FDA-approved, and carries an active FDA Category 2 safety listing under the 503B pathway even though its 503A nomination was withdrawn.
- [Kisspeptin](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/kisspeptin): Kisspeptin is a naturally occurring hormone that triggers GnRH release through the GPR54 receptor and drives puberty and reproductive hormone signaling. Researchers have infused a kisspeptin-54 fragment in small studies of sexual desire and bone metabolism. FDA's Category 2 listing covers a different fragment, kisspeptin-10, sold as a compounding ingredient; neither fragment is FDA-approved as a drug.
- [KPV](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/kpv): KPV is a tripeptide of lysine, proline and valine derived from alpha-MSH(11-13) and studied for wound healing and inflammation in mice. None of the nine studies FDA reviewed for its compounding nomination involved KPV given to humans. A Pharmacy Compounding Advisory Committee panel voted in favor of adding it to the compounding list; rulemaking is still required.
- [Lean body mass](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/lean-body-mass): Lean body mass is the weight of everything in the body other than fat, including muscle, organs, bone, and fluid. It is not the same as muscle mass alone, since lean mass also includes the water held inside fat tissue. On GLP-1 medications, a drop in lean mass on a body scan does not mean an equal drop in muscle.
- [LegitScript certification](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/legitscript-certification): LegitScript certification is a compliance certification that pharmacies, telemedicine providers and other healthcare merchants can earn from LegitScript. LegitScript says it independently verifies practitioner credentials, medication sourcing and advertising accuracy. Google's U.S. ad policy allows telemedicine providers that hold it, and many credit cards and internet platforms require it.
- [Letter of medical necessity](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/letter-of-medical-necessity): Letter of medical necessity is a statement from your prescriber explaining why a specific drug is medically necessary for you. It supports a prior authorization, a drug exceptions request, or an internal appeal. HealthCare.gov lists a letter from your doctor among the documents you can submit with an internal appeal.
- [LillyDirect](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/lillydirect): LillyDirect is Eli Lilly's direct-to-consumer healthcare platform, offering home delivery and telehealth options for Lilly medications. Through LillyDirect Pharmacy, patients can self-pay for Zepbound with a valid, on-label prescription regardless of insurance status, choosing home delivery or retail pickup at a participating store instead of a traditional pharmacy benefit.
- [Lipid panel](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/lipid-panel): Lipid panel is a blood test, also called a lipoprotein panel or lipid profile, that measures LDL and HDL cholesterol and triglycerides. Higher than normal cholesterol and triglyceride levels may signal a higher risk of coronary heart disease. A provider may ask for fasting beforehand, and how often the test is repeated depends on age, risk factors and family history.
- [Lipotropic injection](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/lipotropic-injection): Lipotropic injection is a shot marketed as lipotropic, or fat-mobilizing, typically combining methionine, inositol and choline with a B vitamin, sold under names such as the lipo shot. Lipotropic describes a marketing claim, not an FDA-recognized medical indication, and the B12 component's own FDA label lists only vitamin B12 deficiency as an indication.
- [Liraglutide](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/liraglutide): Liraglutide is a glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist sold as two FDA-approved brand-name injections: Victoza, for type 2 diabetes, and Saxenda, for chronic weight management. Both are self-administered once daily, and both carry a boxed warning for thyroid C-cell tumor risk.
- [LL-37](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/ll-37): LL-37 is a 37-residue antimicrobial peptide made only by humans, released from the precursor protein hCAP-18 by neutrophils. It is studied mainly in the laboratory. Its compounding nomination was withdrawn by the nominator, and FDA's entry cites nonclinical findings on male reproduction and tumor-promoting effects. It is not FDA-approved.
- [Longevity peptides](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/longevity-peptides): Longevity peptides is an umbrella term for amino-acid chain compounds studied or marketed in connection with aging and lifespan. A 2026 gerontology review identifies nine peptides spanning categories from metabolic restoration to telomere biology and tissue repair. Most carry no FDA approval for any use; NAD+ and rapamycin are often marketed alongside them but are chemically not peptides.
- [Lyophilized peptide](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/lyophilized-peptide): Lyophilized peptide refers to a peptide that has been freeze-dried into a stable powder by removing water under vacuum after freezing. FDA describes lyophilization as letting ice change directly to vapor without passing through a liquid phase, improving shelf life without exposing the product to excessive heat. Peptides are often sold this way and reconstituted with a diluent before use.
- [Maintenance dose](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/maintenance-dose): Maintenance dose is the dose a patient stays on once dose escalation is complete, chosen from the range listed on the drug's label. For Wegovy injection, the labeled maintenance dosage is 1.7 mg or 2.4 mg weekly, with a maximum of 7.2 mg; for Zepbound, it is 5 mg, 10 mg, or 15 mg weekly. The prescriber selects the dose.
- [Manufacturer savings card](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/manufacturer-savings-card): Manufacturer savings card is a discount offered directly by a drug maker to lower the out-of-pocket cost for patients with commercial insurance or who pay without insurance. It is not available to patients whose coverage comes from Medicare, Medicaid, or another government-funded program.
- [MASLD](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/masld): MASLD is excess fat buildup in the liver, not caused by heavy alcohol use, in a person with at least one cardiometabolic risk factor. The name, short for metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease, replaced NAFLD in 2023. When inflammation and liver damage develop, it is called MASH, which can cause fibrosis and may lead to cirrhosis.
- [Medicaid coverage](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/medicaid-coverage): Medicaid coverage is the extent to which a state Medicaid program pays for GLP-1 medications, which varies because weight-loss drugs are optional while diabetes drugs are mandatory. As of January 2026, 13 state Medicaid programs covered GLP-1s for obesity under fee-for-service, and four states dropped that coverage after October 2025.
- [Medicare Part D](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/medicare-part-d): Medicare Part D is the Medicare prescription drug benefit that has historically excluded GLP-1 medications used only for weight loss. It still covers GLP-1s prescribed for other approved uses, such as type 2 diabetes, and since July 1, 2026 also funds selected weight-loss GLP-1s through the separate Medicare GLP-1 Bridge program at a $50 monthly copay.
- [Medullary thyroid carcinoma](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/medullary-thyroid-carcinoma): Medullary thyroid carcinoma is a cancer that develops in the thyroid's C cells, the cells that make the hormone calcitonin. It is also called MTC. A personal or family history of MTC, or of Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia syndrome type 2 (MEN 2), is a contraindication on semaglutide and tirzepatide labels.
- [Melanotan II](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/melanotan-ii): Melanotan II is a synthetic peptide analog of melanocyte-stimulating hormone marketed online as an injectable or nasal-spray tanning product. It is not FDA-approved, and FDA's compounding page cites published case reports of melanoma, posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome, sympathomimetic toxidrome and priapism.
- [Membership fee](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/membership-fee): Membership fee is the recurring charge a telehealth program bills for provider consultations, messaging, and platform access, separate from any medication cost. Measured states its membership is not covered by insurance and is paid separately, though eligible cash-pay medical expenses including membership can typically be reimbursed through an HSA or FSA.
- [Metabolic panel](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/metabolic-panel): Metabolic panel refers to a routine blood test, most often a comprehensive metabolic panel (CMP), that measures substances such as glucose, electrolytes, and kidney and liver markers. A CMP measures 14 different substances from a blood draw and shows information about metabolism and chemical balance. A related, shorter test, the basic metabolic panel, checks 8 of those substances.
- [Metabolic syndrome](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/metabolic-syndrome): Metabolic syndrome is a group of conditions that together raise the risk of coronary heart disease, diabetes, stroke, and other serious health problems. It is also called insulin resistance syndrome. A person may have metabolic syndrome with three or more of five conditions, including a large waistline, high blood pressure, and high blood sugar.
- [Metformin for longevity](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/metformin-for-longevity): Metformin for longevity refers to using metformin, a biguanide FDA-approved only for type 2 diabetes, off-label in hopes of slowing aging. The idea traces to observational studies showing diabetics on metformin sometimes outlived people without diabetes, prompting researchers to propose a dedicated aging trial. Whether that protective effect holds in people who do not have diabetes remains actively disputed.
- [mg vs mcg dosing](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/mg-vs-mcg-dosing): mg vs mcg dosing refers to the difference between milligrams and micrograms, a factor of 1,000, in how peptide product strengths are labeled. NIST defines milli as one-thousandth and micro as one-millionth, so one milligram equals 1,000 micrograms. Confusing the two has caused a documented 1,000-fold overdose of a compounded drug; unapproved peptide vials carry no FDA label.
- [Microdosing GLP-1](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/microdosing-glp-1): Microdosing GLP-1 refers to taking smaller-than-labeled doses of a GLP-1 medication, for example from multidose pens or compounded vials, outside the prescribed schedule. Reported drivers include reducing gastrointestinal side effects and reaching a lower "vanity weight." A PubMed search in September 2026 found no randomized trial of GLP-1 microdosing.
- [Mitochondrial health](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/mitochondrial-health): Mitochondrial health is a research and marketing phrase for how well mitochondria, the cell structures that convert nutrients into usable energy, are functioning, not a standardized clinical diagnosis. A 2023 aging framework lists mitochondrial dysfunction as one of twelve hallmarks of aging. One FDA-approved mitochondria-targeted drug exists, for a single rare disease.
- [Most-favored-nation pricing](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/most-favored-nation-pricing): Most-favored-nation pricing refers to a policy aiming to bring American drug prices in line with those paid by similar nations. On November 6, 2025, the White House announced agreements with Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk applying this approach to GLP-1 medications sold through TrumpRx and to Medicare.
- [MOTS-c](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/mots-c): MOTS-c is a 16-amino-acid peptide encoded by a short open reading frame within mitochondrial DNA. It has been nominated for compounding uses including insulin resistance, obesity, osteoporosis, vascular calcification, muscle and fat metabolism, and longevity. FDA found no human safety or effectiveness data and proposed against adding it to the 503A bulks list.
- [Mounjaro](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/mounjaro): Mounjaro is a brand-name tirzepatide injection FDA-approved to improve blood sugar control in adults and children 10 and older with type 2 diabetes. It is not approved for chronic weight management. Mounjaro is given as a once-weekly subcutaneous injection, starting at 2.5 mg and titrated up to a maximum of 15 mg.
- [NAD+](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/nad): NAD+ is a coenzyme found in every cell that helps transfer energy from food into a usable form, and is chemically a dinucleotide rather than a peptide. More than 400 enzymes require it for energy metabolism and DNA maintenance. NAD+ is reported to decline with age in animals and humans, though reviewers disagree on how consistent that decline is.
- [NAD+ and resveratrol](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/nad-and-resveratrol): NAD+ and resveratrol refers to pairing an NAD+-boosting supplement or injection with resveratrol, a plant compound studied as an activator of sirtuin enzymes that require NAD+ to function. Neither is a peptide. The one trial found in our search that tested the combination reported resveratrol added no benefit over an NAD+ precursor alone.
- [NAD+ injection](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/nad-injection): NAD+ injection is a compounded product delivering the coenzyme nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide by IV or subcutaneous injection, marketed for anti-aging and wellness uses. NAD+ is not a peptide. It sits in FDA's Category 1 compounding list, and the controlled human pilot data on IV NAD+ is small and does not measure energy, cognition or aging outcomes.
- [Natural GLP-1 boosters](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/natural-glp-1-boosters): Natural GLP-1 boosters are foods and supplements marketed to raise your own GLP-1 hormone. Meals do trigger GLP-1 release, and meal composition affects how much, but which foods stimulate it most is not established. No supplement is FDA-approved to raise GLP-1 or to treat obesity, and one that claims to is legally a drug.
- [Newest GLP-1 medications](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/newest-glp-1-medications): Newest GLP-1 medications refers to the most recently approved and the still-pending drugs in the GLP-1 class. As of September 2026, the newest FDA approval is Foundayo (orforglipron), a daily tablet approved April 1, 2026. CagriSema is under FDA review, and retatrutide is in late trials with a filing planned for 2027.
- [Nootropic peptides](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/nootropic-peptides): Nootropic peptides refers to peptides marketed for cognitive or mood effects, including Semax, Selank, dihexa and P21, none of which is FDA-approved. Human evidence comes mostly from small Russian studies of Selank; our September 2026 search found no human study of dihexa or P21, and FDA has found no or limited human safety data for Semax, Selank and dihexa.
- [NovoCare Pharmacy](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/novocare-pharmacy): NovoCare Pharmacy is the pharmacy service Novo Nordisk operates to deliver GLP-1 medications directly to patients, with self-pay pricing that does not require insurance. It offers Wegovy and Ozempic in pill and pen form, with home delivery or pickup at participating pharmacies.
- [Nurse practitioner](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/nurse-practitioner): Nurse practitioner (NP) is a nurse with a graduate degree in advanced practice nursing who can take a patient's history, diagnose and treat disease, and prescribe medicines. NPs may also be called an APRN or ARNP. Their scope of practice depends on the laws of the state where they work.
- [Obesity](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/obesity): Obesity is a common, chronic disease marked by an abnormally high, unhealthy amount of body fat, generally defined in adults as a BMI of 30 or higher. The World Health Organization classifies it as a chronic, relapsing disease arising from genetics, neurobiology, eating behaviors, and the broader environment. A 2025 Lancet Commission proposed splitting obesity into clinical and preclinical categories.
- [Obstructive sleep apnea](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/obstructive-sleep-apnea): Obstructive sleep apnea is a condition in which the upper airway becomes blocked many times during sleep, reducing or completely stopping airflow. Also called OSA, it is the most common type of sleep apnea. Factors such as obesity, large tonsils, or hormone changes can narrow the airway. A sleep study is used to diagnose it.
- [Off-label use](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/off-label-use): Off-label use is prescribing an FDA-approved drug in a way its label does not cover: for a different disease, in a different way, or at a different dose than approved. FDA has not determined that the drug is safe and effective for that unapproved use. A healthcare provider may still judge it medically appropriate for a patient.
- [Oral GLP-1 medications](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/oral-glp-1-medications): Oral GLP-1 medications are pill or tablet forms of GLP-1 receptor agonist drugs, taken by mouth instead of injected. FDA-approved options are Rybelsus, Ozempic tablets and the Wegovy tablet, all oral semaglutide, and Foundayo (orforglipron), a once-daily GLP-1 receptor agonist tablet approved in 2026 for weight management in adults.
- [Orforglipron](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/orforglipron): Orforglipron is a GLP-1 receptor agonist taken as a once-daily oral tablet, rather than an injection, that binds to and activates the human GLP-1 receptor. It's FDA-approved under the brand name Foundayo to reduce excess body weight in adults with obesity, or with overweight plus a weight-related condition.
- [Out-of-pocket maximum](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/out-of-pocket-maximum): Out-of-pocket maximum is the most you have to pay for covered services in a plan year before your health plan starts covering 100% of the costs of covered benefits. It includes deductibles, copayments and coinsurance for in-network care, but not everything you spend on health care during the year.
- [Oxytocin nasal spray](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/oxytocin-nasal-spray): Oxytocin nasal spray is a nasal form of the nonapeptide hormone oxytocin, which FDA has approved only as an injection (Pitocin) for labor-related use. A nasal oxytocin product, Syntocinon, held FDA approval but its listing now shows a discontinued marketing status. The largest randomized trial of intranasal oxytocin for another use found no benefit over placebo.
- [Ozempic](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/ozempic): Ozempic is an FDA-approved weekly semaglutide injection indicated for adults with type 2 diabetes, used alongside diet and exercise to improve blood sugar control. It also carries indications to reduce cardiovascular risk and to slow chronic kidney disease progression in adults with type 2 diabetes and existing heart or kidney disease.
- [Ozempic face](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/ozempic-face): Ozempic face is an informal term for the deflated, prematurely aged look some people notice in their face after rapid weight loss, not a medical diagnosis. It describes facial volume loss that follows quick weight loss, seen with semaglutide and other GLP-1 medications. Whether it is a distinct side effect, rather than ordinary facial fat loss, is an open question.
- [P21](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/p21): P21 is the common name for P021, a small neurotrophic peptide mimetic developed to overcome the drug-delivery problems of natural neurotrophic factor proteins. It is described as a ciliary neurotrophic factor peptide mimetic and has been studied only in mice, including models of Alzheimer's disease. P21 online is easily confused with the unrelated cell-cycle regulatory protein of the same name.
- [Pancreatitis](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/pancreatitis): Pancreatitis is inflammation of the pancreas, the organ that makes insulin and digestive enzymes. It happens when those enzymes damage the pancreas itself. It can be acute, a sudden, short-term condition, or chronic; either form is serious and can lead to complications. GLP-1 receptor agonist labels, including Wegovy's and Zepbound's, warn that acute pancreatitis has been observed in treated patients.
- [Patient assistance program](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/patient-assistance-program): Patient assistance program is a program, usually run by a drug's manufacturer, that provides medicine at no cost to patients who meet its eligibility rules, typically insurance status and income. Novo Nordisk's PAP, for example, covers patients who have Medicare or no insurance and fall under an income limit, but Wegovy is not on its 2026 product list.
- [PCAC](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/pcac): PCAC, the Pharmacy Compounding Advisory Committee, is the FDA committee that advises on drug compounding under sections 503A and 503B, with a core of 12 voting members. It reviews bulk drug substances nominated for compounding and recommends action to the FDA Commissioner. Its votes are non-binding; listing a substance still requires notice-and-comment rulemaking.
- [PCOS](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/pcos): PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome) is a set of symptoms related to a hormonal imbalance. Women with PCOS usually have at least two of three features: irregular or absent ovulation, high androgen levels, or ovarian growths. PCOS is the most common cause of anovulatory infertility, and between 5 percent and 10 percent of women ages 15 to 44 have it.
- [PEG-MGF](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/peg-mgf): PEG-MGF is the pegylated form of mechano growth factor, a splice variant of IGF-1 the body produces after resistance exercise. Unmodified MGF is studied in cell and animal research for tissue repair; PEG-MGF itself is sold online as a self-administered IGF-1 analogue. It is not FDA-approved, and our search as of September 2026 found no human study of it.
- [Pen injector](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/pen-injector): Pen injector is a prefilled device used to inject GLP-1 medications subcutaneously, either as a single-dose pen used once and discarded or a multi-dose pen reused for several doses. GLP-1 pens, such as those for Trulicity, Zepbound, Victoza, and Saxenda, are injected into the abdomen, thigh, or upper arm.
- [Peptide](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/peptide): Peptide is a short chain of amino acids, which FDA defines as 40 or fewer. Longer chains are proteins. Peptides sit between small-molecule drugs and large proteins, and many approved medications are peptides. Because a peptide is not a biological product, it is regulated as a drug and must be FDA-approved before it can be marketed.
- [Peptide cycling](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/peptide-cycling): Peptide cycling is forum vocabulary for stopping and restarting an unapproved peptide on a schedule. No clinical trial of such a schedule was found in our search as of September 2026. Forums discuss it alongside dosage and stacking. Approved peptide drugs are studied as continuous regimens, and most weight lost on semaglutide was regained within a year of stopping.
- [Peptide reconstitution](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/peptide-reconstitution): Peptide reconstitution is the process of adding a sterile liquid diluent to a freeze-dried peptide powder to prepare it for injection. FDA-approved peptide products like Egrifta WR specify their own diluent, discard timing and storage conditions on the label. Unapproved peptides carry no such label, and FDA has flagged aggregation and impurity risks in how they are handled.
- [Peptide side effects](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/peptide-side-effects): Peptide side effects are the adverse reactions reported for both FDA-approved peptide drugs and unapproved compounded peptides. Approved drugs list known reaction rates on their labels, while FDA says unapproved peptides carry immunogenicity risk from impurities and aggregation, with case reports of serious harm tied to specific products.
- [Peptide stack](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/peptide-stack): Peptide stack is informal slang for combining two or more peptides in one regimen, most often growth hormone secretagogues or tissue-repair peptides, without any FDA review of the combination. No clinical trial of any peptide stack was found in our search as of September 2026. Each component keeps its own FDA status regardless of how it is combined.
- [Peptide therapy](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/peptide-therapy): Peptide therapy is the use of amino-acid chain compounds for medical or performance purposes, spanning FDA-approved medications and unapproved compounded or research-grade peptides sold directly to patients. Approved peptide drugs undergo FDA review of safety and effectiveness; unapproved peptides operate in what one 2026 review calls a "gray market," largely outside regulatory oversight.
- [Peptides for healing](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/peptides-for-healing): Peptides for healing refers to peptides marketed for tissue repair and recovery, most often BPC-157, TB-500, GHK-Cu and KPV, none of which is FDA-approved for that use. A 2026 review calls BPC-157's human findings "largely unvalidated" and finds no human orthopaedic data for TB-500. An FDA advisory committee recommended several of these peptides in July 2026, a non-binding vote.
- [Peptides for muscle growth](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/peptides-for-muscle-growth): Peptides for muscle growth refers to growth-hormone secretagogues, IGF-1 LR3, follistatin and MGF, marketed online to increase lean mass. Only one member of this group, mecasermin (Increlex), is FDA-approved, and only for a narrow pediatric growth condition; the rest are unapproved or nominated compounding substances reviewed by FDA in different categories.
- [Peptides for sleep](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/peptides-for-sleep): Peptides for sleep refers to a small group of peptides marketed for insomnia, chiefly DSIP and epitalon, neither backed by strong human evidence. Melatonin is a hormone, not a peptide. FDA reviewed both DSIP and epitalon for compounding in 2026 and found the evidence for insomnia insufficient, while noting FDA-approved insomnia drugs already exist.
- [Peptides for testosterone](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/peptides-for-testosterone): Peptides for testosterone refers to peptide hormones and peptide-based medicines that can influence testosterone production through the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis. Examples include kisspeptin, gonadorelin (GnRH), and human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG). Testosterone is a steroid hormone, not a peptide. Only hCG has FDA-approved human products for specific hypogonadism uses; kisspeptin and gonadorelin are not FDA-approved testosterone therapies in the United States.
- [Peptides for weight loss](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/peptides-for-weight-loss): Peptides for weight loss refers to a mix of two FDA-approved peptide drugs and several unapproved peptides marketed online for fat loss. Semaglutide (Wegovy) and tirzepatide (Zepbound) are approved to reduce excess body weight; AOD-9604 and MOTS-c are not FDA-approved, and tesamorelin is approved for a different, narrower indication.
- [Pharmacy benefit manager](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/pharmacy-benefit-manager): Pharmacy benefit manager is a company that negotiates drug rebates with manufacturers, builds the formulary and its rules, and reimburses pharmacies for a health plan's prescription claims. The largest PBMs are affiliated with the largest insurers and pharmacies, and the FTC says they have enormous influence over which drugs are prescribed and what patients pay.
- [Pinealon](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/pinealon): Pinealon is a synthetic tripeptide, Glu-Asp-Arg, developed by Russian peptide researchers and studied mainly in rats. Small studies report effects on cognition, oxidative stress and blood-cell formation, including one uncontrolled study in 32 adults aged 41 to 83. It is not FDA-approved and does not appear on FDA's lists of nominated compounding substances.
- [Polypeptide](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/polypeptide): Polypeptide is the general chemistry term for a chain of amino acids joined by peptide bonds, with no fixed length limit. FDA draws a regulatory line at 40 amino acids, calling shorter chains peptides and longer ones proteins. Approved drugs such as insulin, hCG and teriparatide are polypeptides; hCG's label uses the word itself.
- [Prediabetes](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/prediabetes): Prediabetes is a condition in which blood glucose levels are higher than normal but not high enough to be diagnosed as type 2 diabetes. Most people with prediabetes have no symptoms, and diagnosis relies on blood tests such as A1C. People with prediabetes have a high chance of developing type 2 diabetes within 5 to 10 years.
- [Prior authorization](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/prior-authorization): Prior authorization is approval your health plan requires before it will cover a specific service or prescription, such as a GLP-1 medication. Your prescriber submits evidence that the drug is medically necessary, and the plan approves or denies it. Approval is not a payment guarantee, and it is often needed before a pharmacy can fill the prescription.
- [PT-141](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/pt-141): PT-141 is the development code for bremelanotide, a melanocortin receptor agonist sold as the FDA-approved drug Vyleesi. Vyleesi was approved on June 21, 2019 for premenopausal women with acquired, generalized hypoactive sexual desire disorder. Compounded products marketed as 'PT-141' are not the approved product, and Vyleesi is not approved for men.
- [Rapamycin](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/rapamycin): Rapamycin is the generic name for sirolimus, an mTOR-inhibitor drug FDA-approved in 1999 as Rapamune, for organ-rejection prevention after kidney transplant and for lymphangioleiomyomatosis. It is not a peptide. Its use for longevity, based on mouse lifespan studies, is off-label and unapproved.
- [Refill](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/refill): Refill refers to dispensing a prescription drug again under a prescription that already authorizes it, rather than under a brand-new prescription. Federal law allows a pharmacist to fill a written or oral prescription again only if the prescriber authorized refilling, either in the original prescription or by a later order reduced to writing.
- [Research use only](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/research-use-only): Research use only is a label vendors put on peptides to claim they are not drugs for human use. FDA does not accept the label at face value. If a seller's website, claims or bundled supplies show the product is meant for people, FDA calls it an unapproved new drug and has issued warning letters on that basis.
- [Retatrutide](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/retatrutide): Retatrutide is an investigational triple hormone receptor agonist that activates the GIP, GLP-1 and glucagon receptors at once, tested for obesity and type 2 diabetes. It is not FDA-approved, and Eli Lilly says it is available only to participants in the company's clinical trials.
- [Rybelsus](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/rybelsus): Rybelsus is an FDA-approved oral semaglutide tablet indicated for adults with type 2 diabetes, taken once daily on an empty stomach. It shares its FDA label with an Ozempic tablet version but is sold in different strengths, and like other semaglutide products, it's meant to be used alongside diet and exercise.
- [Sarcopenia](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/sarcopenia): Sarcopenia is a muscle disease marked by a loss of muscle strength, quantity, and quality that builds up over a lifetime. It is common in older adults but can also occur earlier in life. Poor physical performance is treated as a sign of a more severe form.
- [Satiety](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/satiety): Satiety is the inhibition of eating that follows the end of a meal. Appetite researchers assess it separately from satiation, and it is shaped by a food's composition and structure. In a 20-week trial, semaglutide increased fullness and satiety and reduced hunger compared with placebo.
- [Saxenda](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/saxenda): Saxenda is the brand name for liraglutide 3 mg, a once-daily GLP-1 injection approved for chronic weight management. It's indicated with a reduced-calorie diet and increased physical activity for adults and for pediatric patients aged 12 and older with obesity and body weight above 60 kg, or overweight with a comorbid condition.
- [Selank](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/selank): Selank is a synthetic peptide analog of tuftsin, studied in rats and in small Russian studies of anxiety patients, and sold online for anxiety. Its FDA compounding nomination, filed as "selank acetate," was withdrawn, and it is not FDA-approved. A related peptide, Semax, was discussed at FDA's July 2026 compounding advisory committee meeting.
- [Semaglutide](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/semaglutide): Semaglutide is a GLP-1 receptor agonist sold under three FDA-approved brand names, each with its own indication: Wegovy, Ozempic, and Rybelsus. Wegovy is indicated for chronic weight management, Ozempic for type 2 diabetes, and Rybelsus is an oral tablet also indicated for type 2 diabetes. Pharmacies also sell non-FDA-approved compounded semaglutide.
- [Semaglutide vs tirzepatide](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/semaglutide-vs-tirzepatide): Semaglutide vs tirzepatide is a comparison between semaglutide, a GLP-1 receptor agonist, and tirzepatide, a dual GIP and GLP-1 receptor agonist. Semaglutide is sold as Ozempic and Wegovy; tirzepatide is sold as Mounjaro and Zepbound. The two molecules are FDA-approved for different, only partly overlapping, indications.
- [Semax](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/semax): Semax is a synthetic heptapeptide analogue of ACTH 4-10, with the sequence Met-Glu-His-Phe-Pro-Gly-Pro, registered as a drug in Russia and sold there as nasal drops. In the United States it is not FDA-approved, and its 503A bulks-list nomination was withdrawn by its nominators after FDA cited no or limited safety information.
- [Senolytics](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/senolytics): Senolytics are a class of drugs that selectively clear senescent, or aged and dysfunctional, cells from the body. The first senolytics identified, dasatinib, quercetin, fisetin and navitoclax, were found using a hypothesis-driven approach, and researchers say they can be given intermittently because senescent cells take weeks to reaccumulate. They are not peptides.
- [Sermorelin](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/sermorelin): Sermorelin is a 29-amino-acid analog of growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH) that stimulates the pituitary to release growth hormone. An FDA-approved version, Geref, was approved from 1990 until FDA withdrew its approvals in 2009, not for safety or effectiveness. Sermorelin does not appear on FDA's current list of nominated compounding substances, leaving compounding status to pharmacy and counsel.
- [Sermorelin vs ipamorelin](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/sermorelin-vs-ipamorelin): Sermorelin vs ipamorelin is a choice between two peptides that both raise growth hormone but act on different receptors and carry different FDA histories. Sermorelin was once FDA-approved as Geref before its approvals were withdrawn in 2009; ipamorelin has never been FDA-approved and remains on FDA's active 503B Category 2 list. Neither is an FDA-approved drug today.
- [Set point theory](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/set-point-theory): Set point theory is the idea that body weight is defended within a stable range by the body's own feedback systems. It contrasts with a competing settling point model, in which feedback between body stores and expenditure is passive rather than actively targeted. Evidence for a strict set point in humans remains unsettled.
- [SS-31](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/ss-31): SS-31 is the development code for elamipretide, an FDA-approved mitochondria-targeted peptide drug sold under the brand Forzinity. Forzinity received accelerated approval in 2025 for improving muscle strength in patients with Barth syndrome. Peptides sold online as "SS-31" are not the approved product, and whether they meet FDA's compounding rules is a separate question.
- [Steady state](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/steady-state): Steady state is the point where the amount of a drug entering the body equals the amount being eliminated, so blood levels level off. Semaglutide, in Ozempic, reaches steady-state exposure after 4 to 5 weeks of once-weekly dosing per its label. Tirzepatide, in Mounjaro and Zepbound, reaches steady-state concentrations after 4 weeks.
- [Step therapy](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/step-therapy): Step therapy is a type of prior authorization that requires trying a lower-cost drug proven effective for most people with your condition before the plan covers a costlier one. Prescribers can request an exception if the required drug would be less effective or cause harm, or the other drug is medically necessary for you.
- [Subcutaneous injection](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/subcutaneous-injection): Subcutaneous injection is an injection given into the fatty tissue just under the skin. GLP-1 medications such as Wegovy are injected this way, in the abdomen, thigh, or upper arm, with the injection site rotated with each dose. Other subcutaneous drugs include insulin and some blood-thinners.
- [Sulfur burps](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/sulfur-burps): Sulfur burps is an informal name for belching that smells unpleasant. The medical term for belching is eructation, and belching itself is a normal process that releases air from the stomach. GLP-1 medication labels list eructation as a side effect, reported more often on the drug than on placebo in trials.
- [Tapering](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/tapering): Tapering refers to gradually reducing a medication's dose before stopping it altogether, rather than stopping all at once. Neither the Wegovy nor the Zepbound label uses the word "taper" or "tapering," and neither gives a step-down schedule for stopping. A 2026 review notes that tapering strategies for stopping GLP-1 treatment have not been validated.
- [TB-500](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/tb-500): TB-500 is a synthetic seven-amino-acid fragment of the natural protein thymosin beta-4, covering amino acids 17 to 23 with an acetyl group at one end. It is sold for wound healing and recovery, is not FDA-approved, has no human clinical studies FDA could identify, and its 503A nomination was withdrawn, leaving FDA to evaluate it on its own initiative.
- [Telehealth](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/telehealth): Telehealth is the use of communications technologies to provide health care from a distance, using tools such as computers, cameras, videoconferencing, and wireless communications. It covers services like live video visits, remote patient monitoring, and messages sent through your electronic health record, and it is a broader term than telemedicine.
- [Tesamorelin](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/tesamorelin): Tesamorelin is a human growth hormone-releasing factor analog approved by FDA, as Egrifta WR, for reducing excess abdominal fat in HIV-infected adults with lipodystrophy. It comprises the 44-amino-acid GRF sequence plus a hexenoyl group, and its label states it is not indicated for weight loss because it has a weight-neutral effect. Compounded tesamorelin is a separate, unapproved product.
- [Testosterone replacement therapy](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/testosterone-replacement-therapy): Testosterone replacement therapy is prescription testosterone, a steroid hormone rather than a peptide, given to men whose bodies produce too little of it. FDA approves it only for men who lack or have low testosterone alongside an associated medical condition, and label language limiting its use for age-related low testosterone remains in place.
- [Thymosin alpha-1](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/thymosin-alpha-1): Thymosin alpha-1 is a 28-amino-acid peptide naturally occurring in the thymus that supports T-cell maturation. Its synthetic form, thymalfasin, has been approved by various regulatory agencies for hepatitis B infection and as a vaccine-response enhancer in immune-compromised patients. FDA has approved no drug products containing it, and its US compounding nomination was withdrawn.
- [Tirzepatide](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/tirzepatide): Tirzepatide is a dual GIP and GLP-1 receptor agonist medication sold under two FDA-approved brand names, Zepbound and Mounjaro. Zepbound is approved for chronic weight management and obstructive sleep apnea, while Mounjaro is approved for type 2 diabetes. Both are given as once-weekly subcutaneous injections, and coadministering more than one tirzepatide-containing product is not recommended.
- [Titration](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/titration): Titration is the label-directed schedule of starting at a low dose and stepping up over several weeks, used to reduce gastrointestinal side effects before reaching a maintenance dose. Wegovy injection titrates from 0.25 mg up to 1.7 mg by week 13, and Zepbound starts at 2.5 mg before increasing in 2.5 mg increments. Labels call this dosage escalation.
- [TrumpRx](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/trumprx): TrumpRx is a federal website listing self-pay prices for certain brand-name medications, including Wegovy, Ozempic, and Zepbound, under agreements the White House announced with drugmakers. It markets itself as offering "the world's best prices" on the medications it lists, outside of traditional insurance coverage.
- [Type 2 diabetes](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/type-2-diabetes): Type 2 diabetes is a disease that occurs when blood glucose is too high because the body does not make enough insulin or does not use it well. It is the most common type of diabetes. Risk is higher after age 45, with a family history of diabetes, or with overweight or obesity.
- [Types of peptides](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/types-of-peptides): Types of peptides refers to the different classes of amino-acid chain compounds grouped by function, from FDA-approved GLP-1 drugs to GH secretagogues, copper peptides and antimicrobial peptides. FDA defines any peptide as 40 or fewer amino acids, longer chains being proteins. Individual peptides within these classes carry very different FDA statuses, from full approval to withdrawn compounding nominations.
- [Vial and syringe](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/vial-and-syringe): Vial and syringe refers to a GLP-1 dosage form supplied as a glass vial rather than a prefilled pen, drawn up and injected with a separate syringe. Zepbound and Mounjaro both come in single-dose vials alongside pens, and Zepbound also comes in a multi-dose vial holding four doses.
- [VIP peptide](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/vip-peptide): VIP peptide refers to vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP), a 28-amino-acid neuropeptide that acts as a neurotransmitter and helps regulate blood vessels, immune responses, and secretion of certain substances. FDA lists VIP as a Category 1 bulk drug substance under evaluation for the 503A compounding framework. Its synthetic form, aviptadil, has also been studied for COVID-19 respiratory failure.
- [Visceral fat](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/visceral-fat): Visceral fat is fat stored deep inside the abdomen, around the internal organs, rather than just under the skin. It is a hormonally active tissue, and in excess it is linked to metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular disease, and several cancers. CT or MRI measures it most accurately, while waist size is a rougher sign of abdominal fat.
- [Wegovy](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/wegovy): Wegovy is an FDA-approved semaglutide brand sold as both a weekly injection and a daily tablet under one label. Both forms are indicated, with diet and exercise, to reduce excess body weight in adults with obesity or overweight plus a weight-related condition, and to reduce cardiovascular risk in adults with established heart disease.
- [Wegovy at Costco / CVS](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/wegovy-at-costco-cvs): Wegovy at Costco / CVS refers to the retail pharmacy channels Novo Nordisk names as partners for its Wegovy self-pay pricing, not a separate discounted price at those stores. Novo Nordisk's self-pay offer is filled through NovoCare Pharmacy, with CVS offering pickup and Costco named among the self-pay partners.
- [Wegovy cost](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/wegovy-cost): Wegovy cost is the price a patient pays for Wegovy, which depends on insurance coverage and dosage form. With commercial insurance, a manufacturer savings offer can lower the monthly cost; without insurance, NovoCare Pharmacy lists self-pay prices that vary by whether the patient uses the pill or the pen.
- [Wegovy coupon](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/wegovy-coupon): Wegovy coupon is Novo Nordisk's manufacturer savings offer that lowers the monthly cost of Wegovy for patients with commercial insurance or who pay without insurance. It is not available to patients whose coverage comes from a government program, and its terms are scheduled to change after 2026.
- [Wegovy generic name](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/wegovy-generic-name): Wegovy generic name is semaglutide, the nonproprietary name of the active ingredient in Wegovy, which is sold as an injection and as a tablet under one FDA label. No FDA-approved generic semaglutide product is cited in these sources, and a compounded semaglutide product is not a generic.
- [Wegovy pill](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/wegovy-pill): Wegovy pill is the oral tablet form of Wegovy, taken once daily and sharing one FDA label with the Wegovy injection. It's indicated, with a reduced-calorie diet and exercise, to reduce excess body weight in adults with obesity or overweight plus a weight-related condition, and to lower cardiovascular risk in adults with heart disease.
- [Weight regain](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/weight-regain): Weight regain is the return of lost weight after a GLP-1 medication is stopped, a pattern seen across trials. In the STEP 1 extension, participants who stopped semaglutide regained two-thirds of their prior weight loss. In SURMOUNT-4, stopping tirzepatide led to substantial regain, while continued treatment maintained the loss. A meta-analysis found regain was proportional to the original amount lost.
- [Weight-loss plateau](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/weight-loss-plateau): Weight-loss plateau is a stretch where weight loss stalls despite continued treatment or effort. A 2026 narrative review describes it as typically emerging 6-8 months into weight-loss programs, driven partly by metabolic adaptation, where reduced calorie intake lowers total energy expenditure. A 2025 paper also links GLP-1 receptor agonist therapy to plateaus through reduced lean muscle and energy expenditure.
- [Wolverine stack](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/wolverine-stack): Wolverine stack is an informal, online-only name for combining the peptides BPC-157 and TB-500, sold for injury recovery. Neither peptide is FDA-approved; both were reviewed by an FDA advisory committee in July 2026 for possible listing, and the only identified data on the combination comes from a single 2026 rat study.
- [Zepbound](https://trymeasured.com/glossary/zepbound): Zepbound is a brand-name tirzepatide injection FDA-approved for chronic weight management and moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea in adults with obesity. It is given as a once-weekly subcutaneous injection, and its safety and effectiveness have not been established in children. Using Zepbound together with another tirzepatide-containing product or any other GLP-1 receptor agonist is not recommended.

## Company

- [About Measured](https://trymeasured.com/about): Mission, team, and clinical approach.