Here's what you should know going in: Commonly reported effects include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and constipation, particularly during initial dose escalation Warnings and precautions in the prescribing information for applicable semaglutide and tirzepatide products cover pancreatitis, gallbladder disease, and kidney injury associated with volume depletion If you're on insulin or sulfonylureas, discuss hypoglycemia risk with your prescriber - GLP-1 medications can affect blood sugar control when combined with those drugs These medications slow gastric emptying, which can affect how orally taken medications are absorbed - worth flagging if you take other oral drugs regularly Certain FDA-approved semaglutide and tirzepatide products carry a boxed warning concerning thyroid C-cell tumors observed in rodents
Tillner J, Posch MG, Wagner F, Teichert L, Hijazi Y, Einig C, et al
Psychologist Jane Hobart, PsyD at Aspire Psychology shares more about what to expect, as well as what to look out for while on a GLP-1
A provider may combine a low-dose GLP-1 for appetite regulation with a non-GLP-1 peptide for targeted fat metabolism and muscle preservation
Rao currently treats patients in NYC applying the most up-to-date research in clinical care