Dear Readers,
I am not sponsored nor receive any compensation in any way from Eli Lilly (that’s probably obvious), Henry Meds, Mochi Health, or Hallandale Pharmacy. These are 100% my own opinions. You must do your own research before investing money in any of these companies. And, as always, talk to your care provider before making any decisions about your health care.
Dear Eli Lilly,
Eli Lilly, this really is ridiculous. Do you realize how much money you are losing as we who have prescriptions are having to abandon your company and pay other practitioners for prescriptions? That you are dumping our money right into the laps of compounding pharmacists so they can create the medicine we NEED out of the molecular ether? While I’m sure insurance companies are dancing in the aisles about the shortages, not everyone has the luxury, and it is a painful luxury, to pay for compounded GLP-1s. And, of course, none of this even begins to cover trying to make sure our compounded medications are not tainted, improperly measured, or downright fake. If you had enough medication for those of us with insurance-bound prescriptions, we would all be safer. And you would be even richer. (We’ll talk about that another day.)
Yanked Around By Eli Lilly
Yes, even I, with ample brain strategizing skills, cannot find the momentarily prescribed Mounjaro 12.5mg. and am turning to compounded tirzepatide through Mochi Health and Hallandale Compounding Pharmacy. I’m supposed to be on 15mg. of the Mounjaro and today, injected myself with 15mg. tirzepatide, Mounjaro and Zepbound‘s “generic” concoction.
With my Endocrinologist’s blessing.
These shortages have yanked on my medication and dosages almost monthly for the last seven months. It started with the Trulicity shortage in 2023 and has continued with Mounjaro. I have gone from a prescribed 10mg. to the available 7.5 to the available 12.5 to Ozempic 2.4 (a placebo as far as I’m concerned) the then prescribed Mounjaro 12.5 to the supposed to be prescribed 15, then to the available 12.5, and now compounded 15mg of tirzepatide.
Blessedly, I have been able to keep my blood glucoses under control and don’t deal with many side effects, but I have a lot of compassion for others who are struggling with both of those issues. Changing dosages can throw many people’s bodies into a tailspin of headaches, terribly nausea, alternating diarrhea and constipation, and more.
Henry Meds
Early on, before I was absolutely sure I would need to go this route, I checked out Henry Meds. They are not the pharmacy, but the company that screens, gives you a provider, writes the prescription and gives it to a 503A pharmacy to fill and send to you. Henry’s has a great reputation and I would have been comfortable with them had it worked out.
I filled out the very simple questionnaire and was given an appointment within a few hours. Talking to the nurse practitioner, he asked if I was diabetic, which I answered on the questionnaire so he knew the answer. I said that yes, I was diabetic, but my HbA1c is 5.3 at the moment. He said, “Henry’s can’t take diabetics, sorry.” That was the end of the call.
Later, I moved onto Mochi (below), but one thing different between the two is that at Henry’s, you pay the $449 fee for tirzepatide or $297 for semaglutide (“generic” for Ozempic and Wegovy) up front. Mochi does things a bit differently. Because I paid Henry’s up front, they needed to refund me and did within a day. I have had several correspondences with Henry’s about various things and their customer service is fantastic.
Just remember, they do not take diabetics. Had I left that detail off the application, I would be with Henry’s. I did find that a tad… odd. I am new to telehealth and I guess it is kind of like being in an OG chatroom where you could say anything and there was no way to prove otherwise.
As a former care provider (I was a Licensed & Certified Professional Midwife for five years and a birth worker for 32 years total), I am medically careful with my body. I wanted a provider that was going to see me as a person, not a credit card. I do understand many, if not most, don’t care about that aspect, but for those of us who do, this is for you.
Mochi had different parameters. Much tighter.
Mochi Health & Hallandale Compounding Pharmacy
I looked into Mochi on a recommendation from Laraine Durham of the YouTube channel The Downsized. After her recommendation, I began researching them and several other virtual health businesses that sold compounded tirzepatide. I wanted to be sure before I started somewhere.
What I found was a lot of crap and a few okay places. I ended up where I started, at Mochi, and am thrilled about it, for two main reasons.
- I was able to see MDs, not just NRPs, whom I adore, but for this? I felt more comfortable with doctors.
- They use Hallandale Compounding Pharmacy and Hallandale is a 503A pharmacy. This was crucial for me to feel safe with the medication I was going to inject into my body.
What is a 503A compounding pharmacy?
A 503A compounding pharmacy is one that supplies sterile medications according to prescriptions that are specific to certain patients. This particular pharmacy is required by the state board of pharmacy to comply with the guidelines set forth by the USP and are designated by the FDA only for home use.
Since the medications are customized, they are not produced in large quantities. This makes the medication more costly which is ultimately passed on to the patient making some of these medications cost-prohibitive.
503A pharmacies are required to register with their state boards of pharmacy and the Drug Enforcement Administration, however, they are not required to register with the FDA. They must comply with USP requirements 795 and 797, perform environmental inspections on a 6 month basis, and execute Beyond Use Dating.
Mochi Health Intake Process
As I began to research compounding in earnest, I did several different companies’ intake questionnaires. Some were easy like Henry’s and very, very few were as thorough as Mochi. The difference between most companies and Mochi was stark.
Mochi’s questionnaire was so in-depth I had to check my records to make sure I had the right information. This attention to detail was comforting to me, but would probably scare others away to far simpler companies. They are out there and not hard to find.
Mochi wanted the front and back of my Driver’s License, which wasn’t an issue for me at all, but I am betting fakers would have clicked off right there. I kept going.
It took about 15 minutes to fill out the entire questionnaire. I was computer-approved and told how to make an appointment with a doctor.
I needed to pay the monthly $79 fee and then could make my appointment. The fee is not just some random gimme-your-$$ thing. We get a doctor’s visit, three nutritionist appointments, and access to Mochi 24/7. And yes, they do answer their phones at 4am. And 8am. And 10pm. I tested it. More than once. I thought, “Awesome!”
I kept looking around to see where I pay in advance, but they do not do it that way. There, you pay for your medication as the doctor is putting in the prescription. For semaglutide, it is $175 a month for all dosages. Tirzepatide is $325 for all doses for a month.
I paid the $79 and was shown available options for visits with doctors. Can I just tell you how I almost fell over seeing appointments from 5am until 11pm? Even though they seemed to be working almost around the clock, I still had to wait two weeks for my appointment. They are that busy, so plan ahead, my dear readers! Because the appointment was so far ahead, they gave me a $40 discount on my next month’s $79 fee, something they did not have to do.
Whereas with Henry’s, the initial appointment was 15 minutes long, Mochi’s first doctor visit was 30 minutes. Follow-up appointments are 15 minutes unless you need longer. In that case, you ask and they work easily with you.
During my wait to see the MD, I was in email and phone contact with the Mochi staff for various reasons, asking questions and making the final decisions about moving forward with them or not. As the Mounjaro shortage started biting at my heels, I decided that yes, I was taking the compounding leap.
2 Weeks Later…
I finally had my appointment! The first doctor I spoke with was an OB/GYN. In two seconds we bonded over my being a retired midwife. Then she asked why my chart said I was in Orlando, the District of Columbia. I explained the form would not stay corrected no matter how many times I fixed it to say Florida. She said she was not licensed to prescribe in Florida and I would need to see someone else who was. I started to cry thinking I would have to wait two more weeks and she was so kind, saying she was already finding me a doctor for that evening. Within five minutes, I had a new doctor appointment for 45 minutes later.
When I met the new doctor, we bonded over GLP-1s and cardiology. He was a Cardiac Specialist (keeping his identity private because I do not have permission to share) and he had obviously read my chart between patients and before my soon-to-be new appointment. He asked about medications, past surgeries, labs, and weight loss experiences. I told him my GLP-1 history and pulled my pen bouquet (the basket of used pens) over to the camera to show him I have, indeed, been on Mounjaro and, the majority of time, on 15mg. and 12.5 because of the shortage.
He asked if 12.5 was good enough and I said I would rather have 15mg. He agreed that 15mg. was good as long as I wasn’t having horrible side effects. I said that I haven’t had anything except constipation that I control with fiber. He was very kind, thorough (which made me quite happy) and clear about medication instructions even though he knew I had been a midwife and knew how to measure and draw up meds.
After the visit, which was about 20 minutes long, we hung up and within a few minutes, I got the notice the prescription was at Hallandale Compounding Pharmacy. I paid the $325 right away and was relieved that, if I could not find my Mounjaro, I would be taken care of by Mochi and Hallandale.
