Weight loss is often on our minds. Whether it’s the beginning of the year and we’re looking to keep our New Year’s resolution to join a gym or the summer is starting, and we want to look our best in a bikini, we may be thinking about how best to shed a few pounds.
But weight loss shouldn’t be an aesthetic issue, and so much of the time, it can be hard to separate the noise from the need. Do you really need to lose weight? And if so, are you a candidate for the new weight loss drug, semaglutide?
Schaumburg Immediate Care offers immediate treatment for a number of conditions as well as family medical care. Our office also provides medically supervised weight-loss treatment that can help you focus on health over aesthetics and determine whether you have a medical need for this new treatment.
Losing weight can be very difficult, as anyone who’s ever tried to lose a significant amount can tell you. Semaglutide is an injectable medication that has been proven to make the experience of losing weight easier. The medication is also being formulated as a pill, though many patients don’t have access to this yet.
It works in a number of ways, one of which is by silencing the food noise. The medication suppresses the user's appetite, so they don’t feel the urge to eat when they’re not actually hungry. Semaglutide also slows digestion, reducing hunger after meals.
The medication does many of these things by mimicking or affecting hormones in your body. It doesn’t actually make you shed pounds, but changes your brain and body’s relationship to food so that you eat less, feel hungry less often, and have more energy. But while this may sound like a wonder drug, it’s important you determine first if it’s right for you.
Someone who’s a good candidate for semaglutide is generally in good health except for weight-related issues. For example, if you’re dealing with type 2 diabetes or a heart condition linked to your weight, you may be a good candidate for this medication.
Semaglutide is usually only prescribed to those with a BMI of 30 or higher. Exceptions are made for patients with weight-related co-morbidities, for which you may need a BMI of 27 or higher. But it’s important to consider your whole situation and to discuss it with your doctor.
There are also certain complications that could compromise your ability to be treated with semaglutide. Those with thyroid carcinoma, gastroparesis, a history of pancreatitis, and other specific conditions should not be treated with semaglutide. Patients who are pregnant also shouldn’t take this medication.
Finally, some people only want to lose weight for aesthetic reasons. These individuals may not have serious, weight-related conditions and refuse to see that their weight is unhealthy. It’s necessary for our providers to ensure that these patients aren’t treated with semaglutide, which could just exacerbate their problem.
So, what happens if you’re not a good candidate for semaglutide? Does that mean you can’t lose weight? Not necessarily. It’s first important to discuss with your provider why you want to lose weight. You might qualify for other options, as our weight loss program offers much more than just semaglutide.
In fact, we offer a range of effective tools, including nutritional counseling, exercise consultations, meal planning, and more, to help you achieve your weight-loss goals. And trust us, having a team of providers on your side makes the journey much easier.
If you are, however, fixated on weight loss but not needing it for any health-related reason, it might be time to consider counseling of another kind. We’ll be able to provide you with information on who can help you get to the root of your fixation on losing weight and how you can start to see yourself as whole, healthy, and capable of focusing on other goals, too.
That all depends. Many people have been helped with this medication, but it still has certain side effects that must be considered. And it’s important to remember there are a number of ways you can connect with your body and even lose weight without semaglutide. The need depends solely on your personalized treatment plan.
To learn about semaglutide and whether you’re a good candidate for the treatment, call 847-250-1700 or make an appointment online. We look forward to meeting you at our office in Schaumburg, Illinois.
