Most people who come to Retro Health for weight management have already tried a few things. The diet. The exercise program. Maybe a prior GLP-1 prescription from a telehealth app that shipped them a vial and sent them a monthly reminder. Some lost weight. Some didn’t. Most found that the medication did part of the job — but they still didn’t feel the way they expected to feel.
That gap between what the scale shows and how you actually feel is something I think about a lot as a clinician. And it’s part of why we prescribe what we prescribe.
At Retro Health, we use a compounded formulation that combines a GLP-1 receptor agonist with NAD+ — nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide — in a single compound. Not two separate prescriptions. One formulation, two mechanisms, working together.
Here’s what that actually means, and why I think it matters.
GLP-1 stands for glucagon-like peptide-1 — a hormone your gut naturally produces in response to food. It signals your brain that you’ve eaten, slows gastric emptying, reduces appetite, and improves the way your body regulates blood sugar.
GLP-1 receptor agonists — the active class in medications like Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro, and Zepbound — mimic and amplify this effect. They don’t force your body to do something unnatural. They enhance a system that’s already there, turning up the signal that tells you you’re full, reducing cravings, and making it significantly easier to eat less without feeling like you’re fighting yourself every meal.
The clinical outcomes are real. Across multiple large trials, patients on GLP-1 receptor agonists lost meaningful amounts of weight — not 5 to 10 pounds over a year, but 15 to 20 percent of body weight or more in the best-studied populations.
At Retro Health, we prescribe compounded semaglutide/NAD or compounded tirzepatide/NAD depending on what’s right for each patient. These are prepared by SBH Medical — a PCAB- and ACHC-accredited compounding pharmacy right here in Columbus, Ohio. The active ingredient is the same class found in brand-name GLP-1 medications. The formulation is ours.
This is the part most weight loss programs don’t talk about — and it’s the part I think matters most for patients who want to feel good during the process, not just lose weight on paper.
NAD+ is a coenzyme found in every cell in your body. It plays a central role in how your cells produce energy — specifically in the mitochondrial processes that convert the food you eat into ATP, the fuel your body actually runs on. It’s also involved in DNA repair, cellular signaling, and the regulation of metabolic pathways that affect how efficiently your body burns fuel.
Here’s the clinical reality: when you’re in a caloric deficit, your NAD+ levels drop. Weight loss — even the medically supervised kind — is a metabolic stress on the body. Cells are working harder. Energy demands shift. And for many patients, this shows up as fatigue, brain fog, mood changes, and a general sense of feeling “off” that undercuts the motivation they came in with.
Adding NAD+ to the formulation isn’t a marketing add-on. It’s a clinical decision — one designed to support the metabolic machinery that weight loss depends on, right when it’s under the most pressure.
Patients on our GLP-1/NAD compound frequently report something that surprises them: they feel better than they expected to feel during active weight loss. More energy. Clearer thinking. Less of that flat, depleted sensation that derails so many people who are otherwise doing everything right.
I want to be clear about what you’re getting when we prescribe this — because transparency matters.
This is a compounded medication. It’s not Ozempic. It’s not Wegovy. It’s not Mounjaro or Zepbound.
Our compounded GLP-1/NAD formulations are prepared by SBH Medical — a licensed 503A compounding pharmacy located at 7654 Crosswoods Drive in Columbus. They hold PCAB (Pharmacy Compounding Accreditation Board) and ACHC (Accreditation Commission for Health Care) accreditation. That’s the gold standard for compounding pharmacy quality. We have their Letter of Compliance on file, and patients can request a copy at any time.
The NAD+ addition is what makes this a distinct formulation — not an essentially-similar copy of any FDA-approved drug product. It’s compounded specifically for our patients, under a valid patient-specific prescription, through an accredited pharmacy.
That distinction has clinical and regulatory significance. We take it seriously, and we explain it clearly at every consultation.
We prescribe our GLP-1/NAD compound for patients who have a BMI of 27 or above with a weight-related health condition, or a BMI of 30 or above; have tried lifestyle modifications without achieving adequate results; want a medically supervised program — not a telehealth vending machine; and are looking for more than just appetite suppression — they want to feel good and have energy during the process.
We do a full intake before we prescribe anything. We review your health history, your prior weight loss attempts, your medications, and your goals. We order relevant labs. We talk through what to expect — including the side effects that are real and the timeline that’s realistic.
This is medicine. We practice it like medicine.
A weight management consultation at Retro Health runs about 45 to 60 minutes. We’re not rushing you through a protocol. We’re getting to know your situation well enough to actually help.
If our compounded GLP-1/NAD program is the right fit, we’ll walk you through the starting dose, the titration schedule, what the first few weeks typically feel like, and how we monitor progress. We’re reachable between visits — not just at your next appointment.
Most patients are not looking for a miracle. They’re looking for a clinical partner who will take their weight seriously as a medical issue and give them the tools to actually address it.
That’s what we’re here for.
If you’re in Columbus, Worthington, Dublin, Powell, or the surrounding area and you’re ready to have a real conversation about weight management — not a quiz and a vial in the mail, but actual medicine — we’d be glad to meet you.
Book a weight management consultation at Retro Health & Aesthetics in Worthington, Ohio.
Retro Health & Aesthetics | 720 Worthington Woods Blvd, Worthington, Ohio | 614-318-4001
