GLP-1 receptor agonists like semaglutide and tirzepatide are making headlines for their weight loss benefits — but what happens when people start using them without medical oversight? In this episode, we dive into the real risks and unintended consequences of using GLP-1 injections without a doctor’s guidance. Ray Solano, Compounding Pharmacist, PDLabs
Good morning everybody. I am Dr. Maryann
Kingston and this is the better life
with Dr. Kingston. And as you know at
the end of the month, every month I have
my powerhouse compounding pharmacist Ray
Solano who is in Austin, Texas or most
uh most definitely Cedar Park but I
think everybody knows Austin. We’re, you
know, we’re broadcasting live from
Austin, Texas, where it’s probably going
to be another 105 today. What? It’s May.
What? And it’s May, so you know, that’s
that’s fine. We have lots of heat and no
water.
So, don’t move to
Austin, right? Enough.
Oh, you guys. Well, it’s not much better
in San Antonio, that’s for sure. Welcome
in, Ray. I know today we’ve got kind of
a we something we’ve discussed often but
there’s a reason why we hammer this this
topic because the GLP medications you
know the injections of trespatide of
well tepatide is mandaro zeppbound
tzepatide right then you’ve got the
simaglutide so you’ve got wovi uh the
oimpic and simaglutide those are all the
same things uh widely used over the last
three years or so since they kind of hit
the market not only with the
pharmaceutical version but the
compounding version and everybody wants
it. So you can go on your you know
online and just choose anybody you want
to get a prescription start losing
weight and the magic is there right? Not
really. And so we want people to be very
very careful. There is a there there can
be it can be a very safe and effective
way of losing weight but also you know
micro doing boosting longevity. There’s
some great data but people can use it in
correctly. So we want to make sure that
we cover some of those things that
people know why they need to have a
physician or coach or somebody who knows
what they’re doing with these
medications. And uh so I I leave it to
you to kind of queue us in on what the
what the story is here. You know, it’s a
it’s a favorite topic of everybody. And
you know, we we were looking at today to
come up with something new and we said,
you know, this is still the hottest
topic. I you know one of myiesy’s
uh friends that runs a very successful
uh sterile
facility had to hire a security guard
because people were getting so angry and
panicking because they weren’t going to
get their semiglutide injections. Yeah.
Now it that’s kind of extreme but it
changes people’s lives and many times
their addictions to food is changed and
they don’t want to go back. I had one of
our staff members that their husband has
lost 100 pounds. Absolutely. Okay. And
so a whole new wardrobe, whole new life.
Uh and you know this is you know it’s
almost transformational for for for
everybody. It can work with the proper
guidance and we’ve had very good success
in our clinic working with you and Laval
Performance Health Center to be able to
get to those big numbers and get people
to stay that way. And that’s the
important thing is is is to do it
properly. And but unfortunately it it
is I I guess the freedom of access to
medicine maybe it’s curse. Yeah. And so
maybe I just start out here to get
people say how did we get here? Well,
first of all, when a medication goes on
shortage, okay, pharmacies step in and
help out, specialty compounding
pharmacies like ourselves and and
others step in and provide that gap. And
thank goodness it was us during COVID or
else people would never have gotten any
alcohol. You know, we are the uh we are
the sometimes the Marines when it comes
to uh pharmaceuticals. When drugs are
out, they can just turn turn the lights
on, put make a couple phone calls, and
it’s amazing. In 48 hours, you’d have
something to be able to fill a gap. They
were even making Tylenol because it was
so out of So, anyway, we have that
ability. However, sometimes it goes
in
overdrive and sometimes causes overlap
with pharmaceutical manufacturers
that have spec specific patents on
molecules and drugs and also it may be
also in in I say violation outside its
license of anticipatory compounding. you
know, we’re not manufacturers. We we are
uh pharmacies that uh uh produce beer to
prescription and there are certain
classifications manufacturers that are
licensed by the FDA as totally
different.
there’s lots of
regulatory groups to go
through but at the same time got a new
classification of medications tella
health tea medicine this was not around
10 years ago it was not around 10 five
years ago because with the I guess after
co when everybody could do tea health it
went back with a quick zoom call you can
get a diagnosis over the over the uh
over the camera, you can get a
prescription called into your pharmacy
and everybody said, “Wow, I don’t have
to go anywhere.” And so that has not
gone away. And as as whenever we have a
pandemic, you always have a revolution
of something. And we’ve had a technology
revolution since then in healthcare. And
that’s h and that’s good. And it’s also
can be uh somewhat bad because sometimes
people should not have medication. It’s
it’s driven on profit as opposed to
medicine. And so your profession knows
that very
carefully. Uh they dance that line all
the time. All the time. But so on on so
on the case of going coming back here to
this medication, yeah, it is still it is
the shortage is over. Okay. So that
means legally then pharmacies are not
able to make it and whatever they have
in inventory is going to be gone. Uh so
semiglu tide it’s last day of
manufacturing is the 22nd of May and
after that all everybody is not legally
able to make it in its exact same form
that may be construed as a copy of a of
pre-manufactured drugs that you
mentioned.
for the but there’s a wrinkle. Okay. And
maybe some people are a little bit um
adventurous and a little bit creative.
Well, if you add glycine or B12 because
or B6 that causes some of the nausea and
you can make a custom formula that you
recommend. Well, is that maybe a
loophole to be able to manufacture it?
So there’s a and so this loophole is
being challenged in court right now. So
uh Eli Lily
is sued a number of pharmacies saying
now wait a minute this is a patent
infringement uh we own the molecule. So
that’s going to be settled in in court.
I we don’t know where that’s going to
end up.
However, somearmacies are still being
able to do it because they, you know,
they cannot be stopped if the lawsuit is
still pending. Uh so you’ll see pockets
that this is this is still available.
However, the big picture
is these
medications, okay, are transformational,
lifesaving, and they can
uh I would say extend people’s lives if
it’s but with a capital B. It must be
done
supervised. This is not something
people, you’d be surprised. People ask
me all the time, do I need a
prescription for it? because people
don’t understand
that there is a thing called
prescriptions. Um they it’s not a club
membership or this is just unfortunately
some tremendous amount of regulatory uh
uh loopholes but it is a prescription.
Okay. Second thing, we feel that these
medications done properly, people should
have
a minimal or a complete blood test prior
because you need to be able to rule out
underlying comorbidity conditions that
cause the tremendous weight gain in the
first place. It could be a very serious
condition. So, it is so important to get
a baseline blood test. So that’s number
two. The the the number three is you
have to work with a licensed uh
practitioner that’s knowledgeable in
this area. We prefer a face-toface or a
a a zoom uh chat is probably the best.
We don’t feel a questionnaire is
adequate because it’s not I you know
there’s so many things in our world
today that we have to have a uh face to
face and that is significant. So why
wouldn’t you? Uh they say well
it’s it really put cost off to the side
because we’re we’re talking about your
life here. How much is it worth? How
much is it worth? How much is it worth
to be uh free from chronic conditions 10
years from now? Uh so just please people
to look at that. So so that’s you get a
blood test, you get a consultation. The
second thing is a diet intervention. You
b consultation with a registered
dietician because I’m sorry 80% of the
people have no clue how to eat.
Absolutely. They don’t know the
temptations to eating, the temptations
for buying is unbelievable. So, you have
to learn how to eat and what
to super simple. It doesn’t have to be
expensive, but you must go through that.
Absolutely. The other leg of the stool
is you have to have the proper activity
or you get a trainer to work on building
muscle. You will lose muscle if you do
this not because the drug, because of a
different caloric conditions. Your body
will chew up muscle for that for that
protein source because people don’t eat
enough. So, you must must must have
that. And if you do that and you have
follow-up consultations and you get a
follow-up blood test, you will be very
handsomely rewarded with a new person.
Absolutely. And so is that a six-month
journey? Probably. We we’re looking at
an offramp here for people that don’t
have to do the injections. So that’s
what we’re we’re working on. We’ve
launched it uh for a uh a special
chewable form that works on the same
receptors
that ALP receptors work on. So this is a
this is a lifestyle change. Is it a
fountain of youth? Maybe it’s a
longevity uh reset because we see
people’s uh uh fat lipids change. We see
their liver change. We see their high
blood pressure change. We see the risk
of dementia tremendously reduced. That’s
huge.
One out of three people are going to
have some sort of uh uh diminished
cognitive function. Correct. And Warren
Buffett today just announc uh he was
listed he just he retired because he
felt old. Okay. Well, he’s 90 when he
felt old. Okay. And all of a sudden he
found out the ink on the paper uh was
too late and all of a sudden uh the uh
uh uh you know that people were were
were talking too fast and he couldn’t
keep up. So he felt old. But I I’d like
to challenge how many people in their
60s feel old. Okay. So I let’s I’m I’m
gonna kind of uh I’m gonna call my dad
and ask him. I said, uh, he’s 92. I
says, “Do you feel old?” You know,
sometimes that’s a that’s an insult to
somebody who is in their 80s or 90s
because you’ll see what the response is.
But anyway, the point is, you don’t want
to feel old when you’re 50. You don’t
want to feel old when you’re 60 because
of these conditions. So, you want to get
your life back, uh, your heart risk, uh,
your cancer risk, all these things
occur. Now there’s another side you know
nothing is without risks. One of the
things that’s in the literature now is
retinal uh damage to these these
medications or degragation. We don’t
really know exactly but there is some
degragation of retinol uh that we think
is with high doses that are too high
that there’s probably some
consequential reductions in some key
nutrients. But there is some uh uh uh
some eye dysfunctionality. So this is
the reason why one we got to meter the
dose. Two, we got to be able to work
with a licensed practitioner that can
really understand what to do because
there are side effects. So that’s
important. Yes, absolutely. Just you
just put it all into a little compact
box right there. It’s all together
perfectly. So yes, and I do agree. I you
know the things that I have seen when
when patients come there three things
that kind of hit my my brain with all of
this the healthy eating for one because
you know patients have a a reduc well
not the healthy eating but the the loss
of muscle so patients do have the
reduction in amount of calories what
they do is they reduce their protein
everybody knows now I think they’re
beginning to learn that protein is key
but most patients will say well I eat a
lot of chicken and fish and beef and you
know Greek yogurt and I’m like you are
getting about 80 to 100 grams of protein
a day and that’s not enough. So we need
to bump that. I it I put my minimum at
120 and patients still look at me like I
have a third eye but you know they
should be getting probably 150 but it’s
hard when your appetite is whacked so
much from these you know injections.
When patients tell me that they are
getting hungry again, they’re on the
the, you know, routine dose that’s
effective for everybody and they tell
me, “Well, my hunger is coming back and
I’m not losing.” I’m like, “You are not
eating enough protein. Get your protein
in. Bump it up. The weight loss will
start again and you won’t lose muscle.”
So, that very important, very important.
Absolutely. The trainer aspect. So,
everybody knows now that I’ve had a
trainer for, I don’t know, eight almost
10 years now. To try to maintain muscle
and get the muscle, it works. You cannot
just get a couple of little bands and
sit at home. It’s a good way to start,
but you have to have somebody guide you
to correctly eat enough protein and
correctly do form and the right
exercises to build muscle. Extremely
important. That also builds on bone. So
you can lose bone, you can lose muscle,
you know, are the things that we have to
have uh monitored. And the last thing is
patients always tell me, well, I eat
healthy. You know, I have my oatmeal
with my bananas and or blueberries on
top and that’s a healthy meal or my
Cheerios with my fruit on top. And
people need to understand what they’ve
learned from the food industry is not
healthy eating. They have to go back and
learn how to mix protein, fat, and carbs
together. And so all of these things you
get with a a a doctor, a you know a
nutritionist, a licensed nutritionist,
all of these are the thing and trainer
too certified. So all these things it’s
a team and we have to have a team built
in in order to get patients to like you
say the transformational spot the where
you’ve made the big difference and you
you’ve killed an old person and birthed
this new person that comes to life and
that’s something that is very difficult
to do. Oh, no. I did it. So, you did it.
It is. It is. Well, it can be done. It
can be done. It can be done. It goes It
goes slow. But we have never seen
anything that changes people’s lives
like this classification of drugs. And I
think you know if sooner or later it’s
going to go from injections to uh uh
tablets and in this so uh but it maybe
people will be more aware of their
health. Maybe people will be more aware
that being a 100 pounds overweight isn’t
just normal or I’m just big boned or I
have uh uh I just I have a thyroid, you
know, all kinds of excuses. And you
know, it’s so funny. You can really
identify what people do by what’s in
their shopping cart. Absolutely. Right.
Go to Walmart and look at the bottom of
somebody’s cart and think, “Oh my lord.”
Yeah. They don’t know. I’m a peeping tom
in the in the shopping in the grocery
store because I try to profile what they
have in their grocery cart and then they
look at the person. I go, “Uhhuh.
Uhhuh.” Yeah,
that’s bad.
Shopping cart war voyer shopping cart
voyerism. That’s the that’s that’s it.
You can tell if you can all let me give
you give you a little update of how to
get in touch with us.
Um prescription dispensing labs. We’re
researchbased compounding pharmacy in
partnership with Lava Performance uh
health to be able to put together these
key things on longevity medicine to
really uncouple the root cause of many
of these chronic conditions. Combination
of two is really the future of health
care. Check out our website
pdlabsrx.com and also
lavalerformance.com if you’d like to be
a a patient. That’s uh
pdlabsrx.com. And you can always call us
and we’ll get a live person answer the
phone. It’s
5122190724 option two. And you can
always check out our website. That’s
pdlabsrx.com.
Absolutely. And of course you can go to
my website
drpetlife.com. You can find on every
page the information on PD Labs and
Laval Performance Health and get in
touch with them. And so make it easy.
You can also find all of our previous
shows. Ray, we’ve done this for three
years now. Just sign the contract for
another year. Here we go. So it uh it’s
been wonderful. Three years of great
information. So thank you for all of
that. And check out our podcast doctor
talks on the podcast doctor talks uh
under healthy choices. Uh you’ll find
all of our uh tremendous uh uh uh
interviews that we’ve had uh especially
some new products uh that are improving
muscle growth. Uh so Dr. Talks uh it’s
all healthy choices. Absolutely. That’s
wonderful. Love it. So all right. Well,
I appreciate you being on today and and
covering this very very important
topic. It’s uh it is very important. So
appreciate that very much. And so
pdlabsrx.com, drpetlife.com.
Yeah. And you are you are our favorite
licensed weight loss
practitioner that really makes a
difference. So we really endorse what
you’re doing and appreciate your your
patients all get better and stay better.
That’s important. Absolutely. Well, it’s
different when you’ve had somebody who’s
been through it. That’s it. Yeah, I
didn’t learn all this in medical school.
I learned this from the hard knocks of
life and uh and I love it. So, yeah.
Thank you. All right, everybody. Hope
you guys have a good week. Ray, thank
you. We’ll see you in a couple weeks.
All right, take care. Bye.
