Facing high costs and drug shortages, they turned to compounded weight loss drugs online. An FDA ban might end that.

Is the era of sourcing cheaper weight loss drugs from the internet over?

High demand for GLP-1 agonists — prescription drugs used for weight loss or to treat diabetes and other chronic conditions — meant that these medications were in short supply for years. Those shortages, coupled with insurance roadblocks and high costs, drove many people to seek out compounded, and often less expensive, versions of semaglutide (the active ingredient in Ozempic and Wegovy) and tirzepatide (the active ingredient in Mounjaro) from online pharmacies and telehealth providers like Ro, Hims & Hers and more.

That may be changing. As Yahoo Life previously reported, the Food and Drug Administration is cracking down on compounded weight loss medications now that there's no longer a GLP-1 shortage. The agency, which also cited concerns about patient safety and potential overdosing, has already called on pharmacies to stop making compounded tirzepatide, and the makers of compounded semaglutide have until the end of May to stop.

But with, as CNBC reports, GLP-1 copycats still popping up online, the future of these weight loss drug alternatives is uncertain. What those who rely on compounded medications — and have struck out with the traditional route — know for sure is that they don't want to lose access. Here's what they say.

'I'm happy that something finally works'

Lauryn McBride has insulin resistance and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), both of which make it hard to lose weight. McBride tried to shed excess pounds by eating better and working out, but when she didn’t get the results she was hoping for, she went to her primary care doctor for help. Her doctor recommended that she try a GLP-1 drug and prescribed Wegovy. “Not only was it ineffective, it made me feel physically terrible,” McBride tells Yahoo Life.

After a few months on Wegovy, McBride started looking for an alternative. When she felt like her doctor wasn't taking her interest in other options seriously, she followed a friend's suggestion and turned to Mochi Health, an online health care provider. Although McBride hadn’t initially considered sourcing her medication online, she reached out to Mochi because she “was desperate to feel better.”

At Mochi, McBride met virtually with a provider who listened to her experience and prescribed compounded semaglutide. She didn’t feel better on the new drug but was relieved to find that her online provider helped her troubleshoot her side effects. After trying a new prescription through Mochi, this time for compounded tirzepatide, McBride finally found the right fit. “I’m so glad she believed me and did everything she could to help along the way," she says of her Mochi provider, "because the tirzepatide is so effective and makes me feel much better."

Since starting a GLP-1 medication, McBride has lost 45 pounds. She still meets with her online provider regularly and is considering switching to a maintenance dose. “I’m happy that something finally works and that I’m feeling like a better version of myself,” McBride says.

'I was desperate to try this medication'

Like McBride, Michelle Pierce has insulin resistance and PCOS. “I could not lose weight no matter what I tried," she tells Yahoo Life. "After no improvement, my doctor recommended trying a GLP-1."

However, Pierce ran into several roadblocks. Initially, her insurance company refused to cover the medication. The $1,200 per month out-of-pocket cost was more than she could afford. While she appealed the insurance company’s denial, Pierce went without the medication she and her doctor thought she needed. After two rounds of insurance appeals, which took months, Pierce finally got her insurance provider to cover part of the cost.

Even with that, Pierce would still have to pay $600 a month. She was willing to cover the cost but could not find a pharmacy that had the medication in stock. “I was desperate to try this medication, so I turned to a compounded formulation,” she says.

To get compounded semaglutide, Pierce uses Olympia Pharmaceuticals. By going through an online pharmacy, Pierce says, she is able to get the medication she needs for “less than half as much as it would [cost] with my insurance."

Since starting compounded semaglutide, Pierce has lost 25 pounds and says her glucose and insulin levels have dropped to normal levels. Moreover, “my quality of life has improved," she says. "My back pain is much better, I have more energy, and I feel more confident in my body."

'I couldn't get it'

When author Ken Foster went for a routine checkup, his doctor recommended that he try Wegovy or Ozempic. At the time, Foster was obese, prediabetic and had congenital heart issues and sleep apnea.

Although Foster was curious about weight loss drugs, he wasn’t planning to ask his doctor for a prescription. However, he decided to give it a try after he learned that semaglutide, the active ingredient in Wegovy and Ozempic, was not only effective for weight loss but also could help reduce the risk of cardiac incidents and control blood sugar.

Foster quickly learned that starting Wegovy or Ozempic wouldn’t be easy. Foster’s insurance company refused to cover either drug. Although the weight loss medications are expensive, he looked into paying for them out-of-pocket. However, he never got to the point of figuring out if he could afford the cost or not because he couldn’t find the GLP-1s anywhere, due to drug shortages. “I couldn’t get it,” he tells Yahoo Life.

Because Foster had spent time on the internet looking for weight loss drugs, ads for online options began to flood his social media feed. He started to research those direct-to-consumer providers but was initially wary. “A lot of them were pretty shady," he says. "I didn't want to pay for meds from some unknown foreign pharmacy or support a company that might send medication to just anyone."

Eventually, Foster decided to use Fella. He felt confident with the company, which connects male consumers to weight loss medications, because “they require blood work and a questionnaire before approving treatment and do check-ins via a monthly survey,” he says. Twice a month, Foster meets with one of Fella’s weight loss coaches.

Since starting treatment with a compounded GLP-1 medication through Fella, Foster has lost 25 pounds. “My energy levels, which had been very low, are now normal," he adds. "And my recent blood work shows everything in a normal range for the first time in years."

Foster hopes to continue taking compounded semaglutide through Fella and worries about what will happen if an FDA ban does take effect. And while he's happy with his results, he's frustrated that the process of getting weight loss medication is unnecessarily complicated. "[I'm] angry, like a lot of people, that it is so difficult and prohibitive to be treated with a medication that addresses multiple health issues.”