Dec. 4, 2025 – TV host Andy Cohen spent the summer doing it. Actor Rebel Wilson's making ads about it. Sports Illustrated swimsuit model Brooks Nader says she's "addicted" to it. The "it" in all three instances: "microdosing" a GLP-1 weight loss medication.
This concept – using very small amounts of the popular and pricey drugs, less than the FDA-approved minimums – seems to be everywhere, suddenly. Countless telehealth platforms have begun to offer it, with varying angles. One such company, Found, ran a full-page ad in The New York Times that said, "Microdosing GLP-1s isn't cosmetic. It's clinical." Their website promises help with food cravings as well as improved mental clarity, sleep, heart and blood sugar health, and hormonal balance.
"Our program is clinically defined for patients with early metabolic dysfunction where lower doses may be most effective for prevention of progression to overt disease," Found Senior Medical Advisor Rekha Kumar, MD, said in a statement. "This is medical intervention for documented metabolic risk – not cosmetic weight loss for otherwise healthy individuals."
Seeing microdosing everywhere might make you think that a lot of research proves this method works. But it's just the opposite. As promising as it appears, especially for certain health conditions, nearly all the evidence is anecdotal at this point – based more on personal experience than science.
The Gray Area of Microdosing
Kumar's statement went on to acknowledge the unofficial nature of the approach: "Clinicians routinely apply established research through clinical judgment. That's what we're doing here, with appropriate evaluation and monitoring."
Doctors can legally prescribe medications for off-label use – treatments that appear to work but haven't received FDA approval. But it's illegal for drug companies to advertise those options. Which means telehealth companies are mining a gray area.
"They're advertising some of the real benefits of GLPs, but claiming that sub-therapeutic dosing is going to still offer those same benefits," said Jennifer Manne-Goehler, MD, a researcher at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston who's done research on the effects of GLP-1 medications. "And I don't necessarily think there's any evidence for that."
One of the scientists who first experimented with GLP-1 medications in the 1980s, Daniel Drucker, MD, explained it even more bluntly.
"Simply put, there is no clinical trial data supporting microdosing. We have anecdotes and testable hypotheses but no meaningful data," he wrote in an email.
The Mass Appeal of Microdosing
It's easy to see why people might want to try these plans: They're much less expensive than brand-name GLP-1s, which cost about$500 each month without insurance, direct from the drugmakers. Telehealth options for microdosing hover around $200 a month. Plus, with very low doses, side effects may be less pronounced.
Telehealth companies play up the accessibility of their GLP-1s – while the brand-name drugs usually require a body mass index (BMI) of 30, the threshold for obesity, some online options make the drugs available for people who have overweight status. And then there's the anonymity that comes with going online. If you're not being weighed at the doctor's office and you really want to try microdosing a GLP-1 to lose 10 pounds, on some websites you can simply say you weigh more than you do in the online screening process. Many programs ask for proof, but others don't.
"There's a lot of anecdotal data about people doing it because it takes away your appetite. They're trying to maintain thinness beyond what their bodies tolerate," Manne-Goehler said. "No question, these are being abused by people who have eating disorders to some extent."
There's another reason to reconsider microdosing GLP-1s via telehealth: It may not do anything for you.
"If you have higher muscle mass, low percentage body fat, no high visceral fat, you're already getting all the benefits you think you're going to get by using a GLP-1," said Rocio Salas-Whalen, MD, a New York endocrinologist and author of the forthcoming book Weightless: A Doctor's Guide to GLP-1 Medications, Sustainable Weight Loss, and the Health You Deserve. "Why would you put yourself on something that potentially could have side effects?"
Promising: Microdosing for Health Issues
Despite the hype – and the lack of solid research – microdosing isn't entirely a fringe idea. Some doctors say that tiny doses may hold promise for specific medical conditions unrelated to weight loss, adding nuance to what can otherwise feel like a black-and-white conversation.
David L. Kaufman, MD, is the co-founder of the Center for Complex Diseases in Mountain View, California, where he treats people with chronic complex illnesses, including encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS), and long COVID.
"These are incredibly difficult patients to help get better, to move the needle. There are no drugs with FDA indications for any of their illnesses," he said. "So everything we do is off-label. Everything I do is trial and error."
He is part of a group of more than 800 doctors working with MCAS. In 2022, one doctor mentioned that a patient had gone on Ozempic and their symptoms vanished. This prompted others to try it – but because most of their patients don't want to lose weight, they prescribe microdoses.
"I can't say strongly enough how surprising the improvements can be," he said.
Is Microdosing GLP-1s for Wellness Dangerous?
Kaufman's results highlight why some doctors are curious about microdosing. But they're still exceptions, not evidence – and that's why experts say it's important to look closely at the safety landscape before trying microdosing yourself.
Another concern is how these telehealth platforms operate: They're not using FDA-approved, brand-name GLP-1s – because they've never been tested for this use, the drugmakers don't allow it. Instead, you'd be receiving a compounded version, which has far less FDA oversight.
That doesn't mean they're inherently dangerous, but the drug's strength and quality can vary, along with the behind-the-scenes ethics of more than 100 telehealth companies that prescribe GLP-1s.
"The reality is, no board-certified obesity doctor or endocrinologist is going to prescribe microdosing" via one of these platforms, Salas-Whalen said. "That's more like med spas, dermatologists, people that probably should not be prescribing it as medication."
A big part of the problem is the lack of published research on microdosing. The technique may indeed work in the way these companies promote, but it hasn't been proven yet.
Manne-Goehler is in favor of more research on microdosing but says she's not in favor of "advertising they have benefits we're not sure they really have. But I think testing them for all of those things makes a lot of sense."
Safety Tips for Microdosing GLP-1s
So: There's lots of anecdotal evidence but no published research showing tiny doses work, and it's ill-advised to sign up with a random telehealth company. Even so, you may still want to try microdosing. Here's how to protect yourself:
- Start with your doctor. They might already work with a trustworthy compounding pharmacy and can prescribe a microdose they think would be right for you.
"I have no problem with compounding, but I do vet the companies I use," Kaufman said. "We talk about it online in my group, decide these three seem to be good, their products work, we feel confident in their safety and quality, et cetera." - Go brand-name but adjust the dose yourself. Some brand-name GLP-1s are dispensed in ways you can manipulate – by using fewer clicks of the multidose pen or by getting the medication in a vial instead.
"Tirzepatide comes in a vial, so we can use it like a compounded medication," Salas-Whalen said. "We can manipulate the dose of an FDA-approved drug." - Research the telehealth platform. Don't be swayed by advertising. With a little diligence, you can make sure you're using a reputable compounding pharmacy. Ask if they're licensed to ship to your state, what quality standards they use, and if they have accreditation from the Pharmacy Compounding Accreditation Board before moving on to the specifics of their GLP-1 drugs.
"I call and speak to their pharmacist, and I ask where they get the raw material, how they prepare it," Kaufman said.
Above all, cautioned Salas-Whalen, take microdosing seriously. Celebrities may tout it, but this is about your health.
"They're the best thing that's happened in medicine in our lifetime, but they're still medications. They still have side effects," she said. "It's a prescription drug, not a supplement, and we should not treat it as such."
