Wegovy, Ozempic, Zepbound, and Mounjaro are injectable drugs also known as GLP-1 agonists. Originally developed as diabetes drugs, they are now popularly repurposed as weight loss drugs.

In part 2 of this 2-part discussion, I focus on the possible side effects of these powerful pharmaceuticals, which can include
* muscle loss
* nausea and food aversion
* gastroparesis
* depression
* weight loss plateau

Patients should also be aware that most insurance won't cover these drugs for weight loss and they can be around $1000/month out of pocket. Additionally, there is no exit strategy. Once a patients starts using one of these drugs, the advice is to stay on the drug for life. This is because if a patient goes off the drug, regaining the weight is almost inevitable.

In this talk, I also cover the best natural alternatives, including fasting and supplements.

To be totally clear, I am not opposed to using these drugs for patients where the benefits outweigh the considerable risks. These are usually patients who are experiencing critical medical problems due to obesity and/or uncontrolled diabetes. Often, these are patients for whom other interventions have not succeeded.

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I am a full time practicing doctor. I see patients in my office in Irvine, CA and worldwide via telemedicine. If you need more healthcare assistance than I can provide in a video series, please contact my office:
https://integrativemgi.com/​​

---- Contents of this video --------------------------

00:00 - typical weight loss on GLP-1 agonists
01:29 - real world weight loss
03:13 - fat vs muscle lost
06:22 - nausea and food aversion
07:45 - gastroparesis
09:15 - malnutrition
11:29 - depression
13:44 - a lifelong prescription
14:54 - price
15:40 - Alt 1: overnight fasting
21:54 - Alt 2: fasting mimicking diet
23:39 - Alt 3: balance hormones
24:32 - Alt 4: avoid environmental chemicals
25:08 - Alt 5: supplements