Semaglutide is an injectable prescription medication originally approved for treating type 2 diabetes. More recently, it has shown remarkable efficacy as a weight loss drug when prescribed in higher doses.
Semaglutide works by mimicking the hormone GLP-1, which regulates blood sugar and appetite. It helps patients feel more full and satisfied after eating, leading them to eat less without feeling deprived or hungry.
In several large clinical trials, semaglutide has been shown to result in significant weight loss for most patients. Many achieve losses of 15-25% of their body weight over 1-2 years when combined with counseling on lifestyle and diet.
There are many benefits that make semaglutide shots an appealing weight loss option:
Most patients prescribing semaglutide begin to lose weight very quickly - often 5-10 pounds in the first month. This rapid feedback is extremely motivating and helps patients stick to lifestyle changes.
Semaglutide promotes the loss of body fat while helping patients maintain lean muscle mass. Preserving muscle has major health benefits and enables patients to remain active.
In addition to weight loss, semaglutide has been shown to provide marked improvements in blood pressure, cholesterol levels, inflammation and blood sugar regulation. These cardiometabolic benefits translate to dramatically reduced risks for heart disease, stroke and diabetes.
Unlike daily pills, semaglutide is injected just once or twice per week. This less frequent dosing leads to better patient adherence and consistency, which optimizes weight loss results over the long term.
After stopping semaglutide injections, most patients experience slower regain compared to other weight loss methods. Better long-term maintenance enables improved healthspan and quality of life.
Semaglutide treatment requires meeting with specialized providers to determine appropriate candidacy and monitoring during therapy.
In general, adult patients with:
Having a BMI over 30 classifies a patient as obese and eligible for pharmacological treatments like semaglutide. Patients with lower BMIs may also qualify if they have obesity-related health issues.
Patients who have tried yet struggled to lose weight via traditional lifestyle changes in diet and exercise alone are prime candidates.
Here at Renew Hormone Institute, we specialize in prescribing semaglutide and other cutting-edge medicines for sustainable weight loss and metabolic health.
Our expert providers personalize care for each patient's unique health status, weight history and goals. We help patients integrate semaglutide into comprehensive plans also addressing nutrition, activity and lifestyle behaviors.
Our welcoming Suffern office provides compassionate, convenient local care so patients need not travel far to achieve life-changing weight loss.
Patients receive regular follow-ups to monitor progress, provide accountability and rapidly respond to any questions or issues that arise. We make achieving success with semaglutide smooth and straightforward.
Semaglutide was originally developed as a treatment for type 2 diabetes, but researchers unexpectedly found it also caused significant weight loss as a side effect. Further studies confirmed its effectiveness for weight loss in obese patients without diabetes, leading to FDA approval of a high dose semaglutide injection specifically for chronic weight management.
If you decide to pursue semaglutide therapy, here is an overview of what you can expect:
You will meet with an Renew Hormone Institute provider to establish candidacy, review health history, perform an exam, discuss therapeutic lifestyle changes, provide semaglutide education, and order pre-treatment lab tests.
As semaglutide can lower B12 levels, baseline testing helps us monitor and supplement levels during treatment if needed.
If qualified, you will receive a prescription for semaglutide alongside instructions on proper injecting technique and medication storage.
Semaglutide dosing starts low and gradually ramps up over 5-8 weeks to improve gastrointestinal tolerance. We closely monitor patient response during this phase.
Plan for return visits roughly every 3 months for repeat weights, lab tests, prescription refills, side effect management, progress reviews and support.
Semaglutide comes in a pre-filled pen device designed for easy self-injection just under skin.
Treatment starts with low 0.25 or 0.5 mg weekly doses, then slowly increases to reach a typical maintenance dose of 2.4 mg per week.
Patients are taught to inject semaglutide themselves 1-2 times per week, just under the skin of the abdomen, thigh or arm.
Patients should adhere to their prescribed dosing schedule and time injections consistently with the day's first meal to reduce gastrointestinal side effects.
Semaglutide use is overall very safe, with most patients tolerating it well. However, some temporary GI issues can occur when first starting that resolve for most patients over a few weeks.
Diarrhea, nausea, vomiting or constipation may occur due to the way semaglutide acts on digestion. Staying hydrated and taking with food mitigates these risks.
Dizziness, fatigue, headaches, indigestion or changes in appetite can also sometimes appear initially before dissipating.
Unlike some older weight loss drugs, semaglutide does not increase cardiovascular risks. Its cardioprotective effects actually lower these risks long-term.
Rapid weight loss can cause gallstones, so patients get baseline and follow-up gallbladder ultrasounds, with treatment if stones develop.
Overall, semaglutide's safety profile combined with its unmatched efficacy for weight loss makes its temporary side effects worthwhile for most patients. Still, our providers closely oversee treatment to maximize benefits and minimize risks.
While semaglutide profoundly impacts weight and metabolism largely on its own, patients can amplify overall health gains by also adopting healthy lifestyle changes, including:
Eating more lean proteins, fresh fruits/vegetables, whole grains and healthy fats facilitates energy, nutrition and further weight loss. Our dietitian helps craft optimized meal plans.
Adding more physical movement every day - even just walking - burns additional calories, builds muscle and boosts cardiovascular fitness. We suggest simple regimens tailored to your abilities.
Getting enough high quality sleep supports metabolic regulation. Turning off screens and establishing consistent bed/wake times helps regularize sleep cycles.
Unmanaged stress elevates inflammatory hormones that promote weight gain. We discuss various localized relaxation techniques to activate the body's restorative nervous system.
With individualized guidance on enhancing fitness, nutrition, sleep and stress resilience, patients receive tremendous value on top of semaglutide's direct pharmacological efficacy.
Successfully losing weight and keeping it off long-term with semaglutide requires adopting sustainable healthy lifestyle habits. To make this transition easier for Suffern residents, Renew Hormone Institute has partnered with various local health, wellness and recreation establishments, including:
Enjoy over 3 miles of scenic wooded trails perfect for walking, jogging or quiet contemplation just minutes from downtown.
Join Suffern's premier full-body group workout studio offering heart-rate based high intensity interval classes to burn calories and build aerobic endurance.
Let Lifesmile's expert dietitians provide personalized meal planning and healthy eating counseling tailored to your needs, preferences and goals.
Unwind from life's stresses with massage, facials, sauna sessions and other indulgent treatments at Suffern's highly rated luxury wellness retreat.
By taking advantage of these exceptional local outlets for activity, nutrition and relaxation, patients can more easily form and solidify habits that augment semaglutide's weight lowering effects for better, longer-lasting success.
Managing weight through nutrition and activity alone often provides insufficient, temporary results for those living with obesity. And leaving excess weight and metabolic dysfunction untreated for too long significantly raises risks of developing numerous other chronic illnesses over time, including:
Excess body fat, especially around the abdomen, aggressively accelerates dangerous plaque accumulation in arteries that can trigger clots, heart attacks and brain injury.
Obesity stresses insulin productioncapacity, eventually exhausting the pancreas' ability to regulate blood sugar, resulting in diabetes risk escalating with weight severity and duration.
Higher amounts of fat tissue and its secreted proteins induce localized inflammation and hormones that encourage cancer cell mutations, growth and spread.
Excess weight strains joints, erodes cartilage, and worsens pain and disability from degenerative arthritis, especially in knees and hips.
Breathing disorders, liver disease, chronic pain, mood disorders and dementia rates also rise with prolonged weight elevation as metabolic dysfunction spreads to affect bodily systems widely.
In contrast, promptly treating obesity-related metabolic dysfunction with medications like semaglutide that safely and sustainably lower weight can help prevent - or even reverse progression of- many associated diseases to dramatically reduce morbidity and prolong productive longevity.
That's why seeking out qualified medical weight management care should become a priority for Suffern locals struggling with elevated weight or metabolic health. The compassionate professionals at Renew Hormone Institute provide cutting edge solutions - including innovative medicines like semaglutide - to go beyond quick fixes and deliver lasting wellness transformation.
In summary, semaglutide represents an exciting new class of highly effective medications for enabling substantial weight reduction and improving cardiometabolic health in those living with obesity.
With expert prescription and oversight from our caring medical team, customized lifestyle guidance, and support from outstanding local health partners, Renew Hormone Institute offers Suffern residents struggling with excess weight or metabolic conditions an unparalleled opportunity to regain health, confidence and quality of life.
We warmly invite you to schedule a consultation to explore how our integrative treatments centered around semaglutide could provide you the life-changing results so many of our patients now joyfully experience.
