hans_munich said:

Compounded has been just as effective for me.

Agreed, with a caveat about community reputation: it is a lagging indicator. Reports arrive weeks after orders, so a supplier can look excellent for a month after quality has already changed.

mark_tokyo said:

Agreed, with a caveat about community reputation: it is a lagging indicator.

I have been on both brand and compounded, and in the context of compounded supply, my experience has been equivalent with both. The key is finding a reliable 503B pharmacy with independent testing.

mark_tokyo said:

Agreed, with a caveat about community reputation: it is a lagging indicator.

Compounding pharmacy red flag checklist for compounded supply — if ANY of these apply, find a different source:

1. No verifiable physical address
2. No pharmacist available for consultation
3. COA not available or clearly template/fake
4. Prices dramatically below market ($30-40/month = suspicious)
5. No prescription required
6. Ships without cold pack or temperature control
7. No batch/lot numbers on product labeling
8. Pushes "research use only" products for human injection

Your health depends on product quality. Don't cut corners on source verification.

mark_tokyo said:

Agreed, with a caveat about community reputation: it is a lagging indicator.

Bookmarking. The distinction being drawn above is the one nobody else makes. Sending this to two other people who asked me the same thing last week.

Moderator note: the sourcing question belongs in the vendor section and has been split out. No action needed from anybody.