So now you know what you’re up against. It’s not weakness – it’s your primitive body doing what it’s supposed to do to keep you alive when there’s not enough food coming into your stomach. It’s going to take superhuman will power to continue to lose weight and to keep it off. That’s why this is such a challenge. And don’t go around comparing yourself to others who are successful. No two bodies are alike. Genes and personal history differ.
Getting help for these problems involves using medications that decrease appetite and interest in food. For some people, getting the metabolism back to normal is also part of the process.
While most people accept the idea that we should treat type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and cholesterol problems with medications, some people continue to think that we should not use medications to help with weight loss and maintenance. Weight loss often improves problems such as high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, prediabetes, pain on weight-bearing arthritic joints, sleep apnea, and some liver diseases. Weight loss also can decrease the risk of developing many types of cancers. So if we use medications to help with all of those, shouldn’t we use medications to help treat one of the causes of many of these diseases?
A variety of prescription medications can be used alone or in combinations to help you lose weight and keep it off. Some of these medications are approved by the FDA for weight loss, others are approved for other problems but have decreased appetite as a side effect. Using two or more medications sounds scary to some people. By using two medications that work in different ways, we get more than additive effects. And we can use lower doses of each, decreasing the likelihood of side effects. If you want medications, we’ll present the pros and cons of each, and you decide which you want to take.
We’ll work with you, recognizing that your lifestyle and life challenges mean that some changes are hard for you. We can help you strategize to decide what changes are reasonable for you to implement and give you ideas to help.
If you are looking for a great program for weight loss in the San Luis Obispo or Stanislaus Country areas or anywhere else in California, know that we’re just a tele-visit away.
New Patient Visit: $200, 1-hour appointment
A deposit of $100 is required to hold the appointment time. The deposit will be applied to your first visit.
Follow-up Visit: $110, 30-min appointment.
Follow-up visits for weight management are every 6-8 weeks.
Once you reach your goal, maintenance visits are approximately 3-4 months.
For thyroid-only patients, follow-up visits vary from 3- 6 months.
Restart Visit: $185: 45-60-min appointment.
If your health insurance is a PPO, we will provide a receipt/superbill so that you can submit a claim to your insurance company. It’s easy to do. In many cases, they will provide some level of reimbursement directly to you. You may want a superbill for tax purposes or a health savings account.
If you are looking for a great program for weight loss in the San Luis Obispo or Stanislaus Country areas or anywhere else in California, know that we’re just a tele-visit away.