06 — Straight Answers
The questions you're actually asking.
Is this compounded or brand-name medication?
Compounded — and we'll tell you exactly what that means rather than bury it. Your semaglutide or tirzepatide is prepared by our licensed U.S. compounding pharmacy partners — Optimal Balance Pharmacy, Vios, and Integrity —, under an individual prescription written by your physician, and shipped cold-chain to your door. Compounded medications are not the brand-name products and are not FDA-approved; the pharmacy's licensing and [batch potency and sterility testing — confirm details] are how quality is maintained, and we'll share those details with any patient who asks. If you'd prefer the brand-name product, that's a conversation to have with your physician — we'd rather you make an informed choice than a convenient one.
What happens when I stop taking it?
An honest answer: appetite signaling returns toward baseline when the medication stops, and without a plan, regain is common — that's documented, and any clinic that dodges this question is selling you a subscription, not a treatment. That's why your Revana protocol includes a maintenance conversation from the start: building habits and muscle during treatment, then a physician-planned taper, hold, or transition when you reach your goal. The medication opens a window. What you build inside it is what lasts.
Will I lose muscle?
Rapid weight loss from any method — surgery, diet, or medication — includes some lean mass loss. This is manageable, and managing it is built into your protocol: protein targets, resistance-training guidance, and a titration pace your physician controls. The goal is fat loss, not just scale loss, and we treat those as different things.
What about nausea and side effects?
GI side effects — nausea, constipation, reflux — are the most common, especially during dose increases. Most are manageable with pacing, food strategy, and dose adjustments, which is exactly why your titration schedule is physician-managed rather than automatic. You message your care team, we adjust. Your physician will also review the less common risks with you before you start, and screen your history for contraindications.
Why not just use Hims or Ro? They're cheaper.
They might be — and for some people they're fine. The difference is what surrounds the medication: a named physician who manages your titration instead of an automated ramp, a real review of your health history, muscle-preservation built into the protocol, and a maintenance plan for the day you reach your goal. If all you want is the pen, cheaper exists. If you want the outcome to last, the medication is the smallest part of that.
Do I qualify?
GLP-1 therapy is generally appropriate for adults meeting specific BMI and health criteria, and inappropriate with certain conditions and medications. A board-certified physician makes that determination from your comprehensive health assessment — a real review of your history and medications, not an automated score. In most cases your history is enough to decide safely; where it isn't, your physician orders bloodwork before prescribing, and a full metabolic panel is available to any patient who wants one. If you don't qualify, you'll know why, and it costs you nothing to find out.
What does it cost?
Two numbers, and finding out is free. Your health assessment and physician review cost nothing — if you don't qualify or choose not to proceed, you pay nothing. If you begin treatment, supplies are one-time purchases, not subscriptions: semaglutide is $199 for one month or $497 for three; tirzepatide is $249 for one month or $647 for three — medication, cold-chain shipping, physician-managed titration, unlimited messaging, side-effect management, and follow-up care all included. If your physician doesn’t approve treatment after checkout, you’re refunded in full. Which medication fits you is a clinical decision your physician makes with you, not a pricing tier we push you toward. No subscriptions, no contracts, no dose-increase surcharges.
