Peptide Therapy

Peptides are short chains of amino acids — the same building blocks that make up proteins. Your body already makes thousands of them, and they act as signalling molecules: telling tissues to repair, regulating metabolism, releasing hormones, and modulating inflammation.

Peptide therapy means prescribing a specific peptide to support a specific process. It is not one treatment. It is a category, in the same way "antibiotics" is a category, and the peptide that helps one patient may be completely inappropriate for another.

Some peptides you already know. Insulin is a peptide. So are semaglutide and tirzepatide, the GLP-1 medications used for diabetes and weight management — those are FDA-approved drugs with large clinical trials behind them, and we prescribe them through our medical weight loss program.

Other peptides are compounded, meaning a licensed pharmacy prepares them to prescription. These have far less clinical trial evidence, and their regulatory status in the United States has been actively changing. We are direct with patients about that distinction rather than blurring it.

Most peptide programs in the Triangle are run by med spas and cash-pay wellness clinics. The model is usually the same: a short intake form, a membership or package price, and a vial in the post.

Good Health NC is a primary care and walk-in urgent care practice. That changes what peptide therapy looks like here:

• You get screened first. Labs, vitals, a full medication list, and a real history. Fatigue, poor sleep, and stubborn weight are often thyroid disease, sleep apnoea, depression, anaemia, or a medication side effect. Those get found and treated — not papered over with an injection.
• Your prescriber sees your whole chart. Peptides are considered alongside everything else you take, so interactions and contraindications surface before you start.
• We will tell you no. If there is no clinical reason to prescribe, we say so. A practice that sells memberships has a hard time saying that.
• Follow-up is built in. You are a patient of the practice, not a subscriber. If something is not working, we adjust or stop.

Peptide marketing tends to promise reversal of ageing, dramatic fat loss, and total recovery. The honest position is narrower.

Where the evidence is strongest: the GLP-1 peptides. Semaglutide and tirzepatide have large randomised trials supporting meaningful, sustained weight loss and improved metabolic markers. These are FDA-approved medications.

Where the evidence is thinner: growth-hormone-releasing peptides and repair peptides. Some have promising early data and long clinical use; most have never been through large human trials. Patients report benefit, and that is worth something — but it is not the same standard of proof, and we will not present it as though it were.

What peptides do not do: they do not replace sleep, protein intake, resistance training, or treatment of an underlying condition. Patients who do best are the ones who have those in place first.

Peptide therapy may be worth discussing if you have:

• Persistent fatigue or poor recovery that has been worked up and has no clear cause
• Weight that has not responded to genuine diet and activity changes
• Age-related decline in energy, body composition, or sleep quality
• A soft-tissue injury with slow healing, alongside proper rehab

We would not start peptide therapy if you:

• Have an active or recent cancer diagnosis
• Are pregnant, breastfeeding, or trying to conceive
• Have an untreated condition that better explains your symptoms
• Are looking for performance enhancement for competitive sport — many peptides are banned by WADA and by most sporting bodies

The first visit is an evaluation, not a sales appointment. Some patients leave with a peptide prescription. Others leave with a thyroid panel, a sleep study referral, or a change to a medication that was causing the problem.

1. Evaluation. A full history, physical, and review of everything you take. We ask what you are actually trying to fix — energy, weight, recovery, sleep — because that determines whether a peptide is even the right tool.

2. Labs. Typically a metabolic panel, CBC, thyroid studies, and hormone levels where relevant. Drawn on-site.

3. A plan, or a different plan. If a peptide is appropriate, we go through what it does, what the evidence supports, what it costs, how it is administered, and what we will monitor. If something else explains your symptoms, we treat that instead.

4. Follow-up. Recheck at four to eight weeks with repeat labs where indicated. We continue what is working and stop what is not.

Which peptide, specifically? That is decided at your consultation, not before it. The right option depends on your goal, your labs, what else you take, and what is currently available to prescribe — peptide availability in the United States has changed more than once in recent years. We will walk you through the options that genuinely apply to you, including the evidence behind each and what it will cost.

Common side effects across injectable peptides include injection-site redness or itching, water retention, flushing, headache, and fatigue in the first weeks. GLP-1 medications more commonly cause nausea, reflux, and constipation, which usually settle as the dose is titrated.

Tell us immediately about numbness or tingling in the hands, joint swelling, significant blood sugar changes, or any new lump — these need assessment before you continue.

On regulation: peptides fall into different legal categories, and this has been a moving target. Some, like the GLP-1s, are FDA-approved medications. Others are compounded preparations whose availability under Section 503A has changed more than once — the FDA restricted a group of them in 2023, and federal health officials signalled further changes during 2026.

A compounded peptide being legally available to prescribe is not the same as it being FDA-approved. We will tell you which category anything we prescribe falls into, and we will not source from anywhere other than a licensed compounding pharmacy. If you are buying peptides online marked "research use only," please talk to us — those products are not manufactured to any standard that makes them safe to inject.

Your visit is a standard office visit and is billed to your insurance like any other appointment. We accept Aetna, Ambetter, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna, Coventry, Humana, Medicare, Medicaid, and Tricare. Labs are billed through your plan in the usual way.

The medication varies. FDA-approved options such as semaglutide and tirzepatide may be covered depending on your plan and diagnosis, and we handle prior authorisations. Compounded peptides are generally not covered and are paid out of pocket at the pharmacy.

We will give you the actual expected cost before you commit to anything. No memberships, no packages, no pressure to prepay for a course of treatment.