This page explains our editorial standards and our medical review process: how every word on The Shot Guide gets made, checked, and kept honest. We wrote it for the same person we write everything else for: someone a few days or a few months into a GLP-1 medication, sitting up at night, trying to tell ordinary from worrying. You deserve to know where these answers come from before you trust them with your body. So here it is, plainly. Our promise is simple. We research from primary sources first. We write in plain language and lead with the answer. We hold health pages to medical review before they publish. We date everything, because this field moves fast. We fix what we get wrong and say so. And we sell nothing at all.
How we research
Every page starts at the source, not at another blog. Before we write a single sentence about a symptom or a risk, we go to the primary evidence: FDA drug labels, named clinical trials like STEP, SUSTAIN, SURMOUNT, and SURPASS, the NIH and PubMed Central, and trusted academic medical centers like Cleveland Clinic and Mayo Clinic. We read those first, take the numbers straight from them, and link them so you can check our work yourself. If the good evidence does not exist yet, we do not paper over the gap with a confident-sounding guess. We tell you the evidence is thin and we say what is actually known. You can read the full method, including how we choose and weigh sources, in our sourcing standards.
How we write
We lead with the answer. Each symptom page opens with a short, self-contained paragraph that tells you the most important things up front: what is happening, why, how long it usually lasts, what tends to help, and when to get help. That way the part that matters most is readable on the first screen, at 11pm, on a phone, without scrolling through our life story to get to it.
We write in kitchen-table English. We use the real names for the medicines, leading with the class and generic terms (GLP-1 receptor agonist, semaglutide, tirzepatide) and using brand names like Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro, and Zepbound only to help you find the page, never to suggest we are tied to a maker. We name the feeling before the fact, because being told you are normal matters as much as the data. We never pad to hit a word count, never use scare headlines, and never promise a miracle. And we publish no dosing instructions. Titration is described as background only, the typical, prescriber-directed way these medicines are usually started, never as steps for you to follow on your own. Anything you might try at home comes paired with the same reminder: talk to your prescriber before you change anything.
Our medical review process
Health content is meant to be reviewed by a credentialed clinician (an MD, DO, or PharmD, or a registered dietitian for nutrition pages) against the underlying sources before it carries a "medically reviewed by" line. The reviewer reads the page, checks the claims against the primary evidence, and confirms nothing overstates what the science supports. Once that review is complete, the reviewer's name, credential, and review date appear on the page, so you can see exactly who checked it and when.
We will be straight with you about where this stands. We are actively adding named medical reviewers, and when one is assigned to a page, they are credited on it by name and credential. We will never invent a reviewer, borrow a credential, or print a name that did not actually read the work, because a fake byline on a health page is exactly the kind of thing this site exists to be the opposite of. You can see who reviews and writes for us, as that roster fills in, on our reviewers page.
How we date and update
GLP-1 medicine changes month to month, so a page that was right last year can be wrong today. On January 13, 2026, for example, the FDA requested removal of the suicidal-behavior-and-ideation warning from GLP-1 labeling after a review found no evidence of increased risk. That is the kind of shift we have to catch. So we date every page when it is published, keep last-reviewed dates current as we recheck them against the sources, and revisit the safety pages whenever the labels or major evidence move. A date on the page is a quiet promise that someone looked recently.
How we correct mistakes
If we get something wrong or out of date, we fix it and we note what changed. Accuracy is not negotiable on a site about your health, and a clearly documented correction is a feature, not an embarrassment. If you spot something that looks off, tell us, and we will check it against the primary source and update the page if it needs it. We would rather be corrected than be quietly wrong.
Our conflict-of-interest stance
The Shot Guide sells nothing. No products, no pills, no programs, no affiliate links, and no manufacturer funding. We are not a pharmacy, a manufacturer, or a law firm, and we are not affiliated with Novo Nordisk, Eli Lilly, or any maker of these medicines. There is no vendor we are quietly steering you toward, because there is no vendor at all. That means nothing commercial gets to bend what we write. The full picture is on our independence page.
One last thing, said plainly. Everything here is careful, sourced, educational information, and it is not medical advice and not a substitute for your own clinician. We can tell you what the evidence says and where the warning lines are. We cannot know your history, your other medicines, or your body. For that, please talk to a licensed prescriber, and see our medical disclaimer for the full terms.
Every medical claim above is cited to a primary source such as an FDA label, the NIH, or a named clinical trial. See how we review and our sourcing & fact-check standards.