c/compounding wiki

What this community is for

Compounded GLP-1s as a supply route: the 503A/503B distinction, the shortage-list mechanics that made compounding legal and then didn't, state board rules, telehealth prescriber models, and what a compounding pharmacy will and will not tell you about its API source.

c/compounding was created on 9 Oct 2023 and currently has 52,700 members and 95 captured submissions. It sits in the second tier of the site, which mostly affects how fast a question gets answered rather than how well.

Rules, and why each exists

Community rules come first, then the six site-wide rules that apply everywhere on GLP Research Hub. Community rules are enforced by the moderators listed at the bottom of this page; site rules are enforced by everyone.

1. Regulatory claims need a citation to the actual rule, notice or docket.
2. No pharmacy referral codes. Naming a pharmacy is fine; recruiting for it is not.
3. API source questions are on-topic and pharmacies dodging them is newsworthy.

And the site rules, which are short on purpose:

1. Independent community. Nobody here sells anything, and anyone who tries is banned.
2. Not medical advice. Describe what you did; never prescribe to a stranger.
3. Claims need evidence. Batch numbers, dated screenshots, independent test reports, or a citation.
4. No referral links, discount codes or affiliate URLs. Permanent ban, no appeal.
5. No contact handles, wallet addresses or tracking numbers — they identify people.
6. Be recognisably decent. Disagree hard, insult nobody.

Terms you will see

Vocabulary that turns up constantly in c/compounding. Each links to the topic page, which collects every submission that touches it.

• compounding — discussed frequently in this community — see the topic page for every submission that touches it.
• 503A — discussed frequently in this community — see the topic page for every submission that touches it.
• 503B — discussed frequently in this community — see the topic page for every submission that touches it.
• shortage list — discussed frequently in this community — see the topic page for every submission that touches it.
• telehealth — discussed frequently in this community — see the topic page for every submission that touches it.
• API source — discussed frequently in this community — see the topic page for every submission that touches it.
• state board — discussed frequently in this community — see the topic page for every submission that touches it.

Start here

The twelve highest-scoring submissions in this community. Not necessarily the most correct — the most agreed-with, which is a different thing, and worth remembering when you read them.

1. the Netherlands: state board, and what it actually costs here — 5.3k points, 35 comments, 2 years ago
2. [PSA] telehealth is not what most of this community thinks it is — 4.8k points, 45 comments, 1 year ago
3. why does nobody talk about 503A — 4.4k points, 37 comments, 1 year ago
4. does telehealth actually matter or is it forum lore at this point — 4.4k points, 47 comments, 2 years ago
5. someone explain state board to me like I have not read a paper in years — 4.4k points, 38 comments, 1 year ago
6. why does nobody talk about state board — 4.3k points, 54 comments, 2 years ago
7. the compounding question that gets asked weekly, answered properly — 4.1k points, 33 comments, 1 year ago
8. three years of 503A threads, summarised so you do not have to read them — 4k points, 27 comments, 1 year ago
9. how much of what we believe about API source actually comes from telehealth threads — 3.8k points, 35 comments, 1 year ago
10. unpopular opinion: most of what gets said here about API source is guesswork — 3.6k points, 50 comments, 1 year ago
11. [Discussion] we are measuring 503B at the wrong time and calling it noise — 3k points, 70 comments, 12 months ago
12. [Meta] proposal — a flair for 503A posts — 3k points, 57 comments, 1 year ago

Asked constantly

• [Question] does anyone get a COA from their compounding pharmacy
• [Question] shortage list — what am I missing here
• [Question] France — has anyone got a straight answer on telehealth
• [Question] how do you actually verify telehealth
• [Question] API source — what am I missing here
• unpopular opinion: most of what gets said here about telehealth is guesswork
• genuine question about shortage list that I am slightly embarrassed to ask
• [Meta] the state board rule is doing its job and people should stop complaining
• [Question] Ireland — has anyone got a straight answer on 503B
• three years of telehealth threads, summarised so you do not have to read them

If your question is on that list, read the answers there first. If it is not, ask it — that is what the community is for, and "this has been asked" is only a helpful reply when it comes with a link.

Who runs this

Moderation here is done by volunteers who also post as normal members. They are not clinicians, not vendors, and not paid.

• u/formulary_fighter — Read the formulary exclusion list before you read the marketing.
• u/usp_appendix — I read monographs for fun. Yes, that is a personality.
• u/quiet_moderator — I remove the obvious stuff so you never see it. Message the modmail, not me.
• u/prior_auth_pain — Four denials, three appeals, one external review, eventually approved. Templates in my posts.