Leave room to talk about unwanted effects.

Ask how stomach problems will be handled

The Zepbound label lists nausea, diarrhea, vomiting and constipation among common unwanted effects.

It also reports severe stomach effects and kidney injury associated with fluid loss.

The label describes severe or lasting belly pain as a possible sign of pancreas inflammation.

Read the label’s strongest caution

The boxed notice is the strongest kind from the FDA, the US medicine regulator; tirzepatide’s notice concerns thyroid tumors found in rats.

Those animal findings do not settle whether humans develop these tumors from tirzepatide.

For medullary thyroid cancer, a rare thyroid cancer, either your own history or a relative’s history rules out use under the labels.

They also rule out use with MEN 2, a rare inherited condition, or a known serious allergy to any ingredient.

Discuss the rest of your care

The labels make other diabetes medicines, diabetic eye disease and surgery under anesthesia relevant to the assessment.

Anesthesia means the medicines used to keep someone unaware or comfortable during a procedure.

Pregnancy plans and birth control pills also need discussion under the Zepbound label.

Ask the prescriber to explain how those details affect the plan.

What would make us stop? Who would I call? Ask for a plan you can read back.

Notice when an offer avoids the hard questions

Does a peptide offer say “for research purposes” while encouraging people to use it? Another phrase to notice is “not for human consumption,” meaning not for people to take. On September 26, 2026, the FDA warned against such products because it does not know their quality and they may harm people.

Another FDA concern is advertising that presents a compounded medicine as equivalent to an approved product.