How it works
How medical weight loss works
Weight management care begins with a review of your health, your medicines, what you have tried before and your goals. Your provider looks at the whole picture, including conditions that can affect weight and conditions that extra weight can affect.
A plan usually combines changes to eating and activity with regular follow-up. Medication may be part of the plan for some people, alongside those changes, not instead of them.
Treatment decisions are individual. A consultation does not mean you will be prescribed a medicine or lose a particular amount of weight.
Medication options
Weight-loss medicines: semaglutide and tirzepatide
Medication options include semaglutide and tirzepatide, prescribed only after a medical evaluation shows one may be appropriate for you. Both are weekly injections. Semaglutide acts like a gut hormone called GLP-1. Tirzepatide acts on GLP-1 and a second hormone, GIP. Both can lower appetite and help you feel full sooner.
Your provider reviews the possible side effects and how a medication fits your health history and weight-management goals.
Brand names
Brand-name and compounded medicines
The same medicines are sold under different brand names for different FDA-approved uses:
- Wegovy (semaglutide) and Zepbound (tirzepatide) are FDA-approved for chronic weight management.
- Ozempic (semaglutide) and Mounjaro (tirzepatide) are FDA-approved for type 2 diabetes, not for weight management.
After your evaluation, your provider may discuss a brand-name medicine or a compounded version. Compounded medicines are not FDA-approved and are not the same as the brand-name products: the FDA does not review them for safety, effectiveness or quality before they are sold. The FDA says compounded drugs should be used only when a patient’s medical needs cannot be met by an FDA-approved drug. Your provider explains exactly which product is prescribed, where it comes from and why.
Who it’s for
Who medical weight loss may suit, and who it does not
Weight-loss medicine is approved for adults with a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or more, or 27 or more with a weight-related health problem such as high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol or sleep apnea. Your provider checks whether you fit and whether medicine makes sense for you.
These medicines are not the right choice if you:
- Are pregnant, planning a pregnancy or breastfeeding
- Have had medullary thyroid cancer, or a family history of it, or a condition called multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2 (MEN 2)
- Have had pancreatitis, unless your provider decides otherwise after a review
- Are looking for a quick result for an event, or want to lose a small amount of weight for appearance only
Your provider also reviews your other medicines, especially insulin or other diabetes medicines, before anything is started.
What to expect
What to expect at your first visit
Before your visit
Call 214-618-9600 to arrange a consultation, which is separate from a pain management visit, and ask about costs and coverage. Bring a list of your medicines and supplements and any recent lab results.
At your consultation
You talk through your health history, your weight over time, what you have tried and your goals. Your provider checks your weight, height and blood pressure, and may order blood tests.
Your plan and follow-up
If a plan is right for you, your provider explains it, including any medicine, how it is started and how often you are seen. Follow-up visits are used to check how you are doing, watch for side effects and adjust the plan over time.
Do not start, stop or change a weight-loss or diabetes medicine based on this page. Talk with the clinician who prescribes it first.
Side effects and safety
Side effects and safety
The most common side effects of semaglutide and tirzepatide are nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation and stomach upset, which are often worst when the dose goes up. Less common but serious problems can include inflammation of the pancreas, gallbladder problems, low blood sugar in people who also take some diabetes medicines, and kidney problems from losing fluids.
These medicines carry a warning about thyroid tumors seen in animal studies, which is why your provider asks about your thyroid and family history. Tell the team about every medicine and supplement you take.
Benefits and limitations
Possible benefits and limitations
The aim is a steady loss of weight that you can keep up, and better control of health problems linked to weight. How much weight people lose varies from person to person, and some people lose less than they hoped. Weight often comes back if a medicine is stopped, so your provider talks with you about the longer-term plan.
Extra weight puts more load on the knees, hips and lower back. If joint or back pain is part of why you are here, your provider can also talk with you about pain care at our office.
When to seek urgent care
Get medical care right away for severe stomach pain that does not go away, with or without vomiting, which can spread to your back. Call 911 for swelling of the face or throat, trouble breathing or fainting.
Common questions
Questions about medical weight loss
Your provider can talk through your own plan at your visit.
Where can I get medical weight loss with semaglutide or tirzepatide in Frisco, TX?
Lewis Pain & Physical Medicine offers medical weight loss at our Frisco office, 11500 State Highway 121, Suite 810, Frisco, TX 75035. Semaglutide or tirzepatide is prescribed only after a medical evaluation shows one may be appropriate for you. Call 214-618-9600 to arrange a consultation.
Do you prescribe semaglutide and tirzepatide?
Medication options include semaglutide and tirzepatide, prescribed only after a medical evaluation shows one may be appropriate for you. Your provider reviews the possible side effects and how a medication fits your health history and goals.
Do I need lab work?
Your provider tells you what tests, if any, are needed based on your health history. Blood tests may be used to check things such as blood sugar, cholesterol, kidney function and thyroid function before or during treatment.
Do you prescribe Wegovy or Zepbound?
After a medical evaluation shows a medicine may be appropriate, your provider may discuss Wegovy (semaglutide) or Zepbound (tirzepatide), which are FDA-approved for chronic weight management, or a compounded version. Compounded versions are not FDA-approved. Your provider explains which product is prescribed and why.
What if I’m not a candidate for a GLP-1 medicine?
Medicine is one tool, not the only one. Your provider can still help you build a supervised plan around eating, activity, sleep and follow-up, and talk with you about other options that fit your health history.
How often are follow-up visits?
Your provider sets the schedule with you. Follow-up visits are used to check your progress, watch for side effects and adjust your plan or medicine dose over time.
Is medical weight loss covered by insurance?
Coverage depends on your plan and the service. Call 214-618-9600 to ask about the consultation and costs before you schedule, and see Insurance & Billing.
Related care
Clinical references
Individual results are not guaranteed and may vary from person to person. This page shares general information. It is not medical advice and does not replace a visit with a qualified clinician.