Everyone is talking about GLP-1 medications like *semaglutide and *tirzepatide. How could they not? These weight loss methods continue to help millions of people worldwide lose weight.
But with a lot of attention comes a lot of misinformation, misunderstandings, and concerns.
By making education a central aspect of our practice at Regain Functional Medicine + Aesthetics, we empower patients with knowledge regarding the treatments available to help them achieve optimal health.
So we are addressing the concerns, questions, and misinformation we hear regarding medical weight loss treatments like GLP-1 in Kansas City.
Note: Compounded Semaglutide and Tirzepatide are only provided pursuant to a valid prescription for each individual patient after evaluation by a trained medical professional. This medication is a compounded product; the FDA does not evaluate compounded medications for safety or efficacy. This medication is provided under the supervision of a licensed prescriber.
Table of Contents
This article delves into the reasons behind your potential weight loss struggles, answers your questions concerning GLP-1 medications, and describes our process here at Regain.
Our table of contents allows you to go straight to what interests you:
Weight Loss Struggles | FAQs
To know how GLP-1 medications work, it helps to understand why you can’t lose weight in the first place.
Why can’t I lose weight?
From crash diets to exhaustive workouts and beyond, it seems you’ve tried everything you could to lose weight. The problem with these methods is that they aren’t tailored to your unique biology. While your lifestyle choices influence your weight, they don’t actually offer you the full picture of your health.
What are the biological factors that contribute to weight gain?
Let’s start with your genetics, which influence your appetite, metabolism, and even your body fat distribution. If you look at your family members, you may have a similar body composition to theirs.
Your hormones are also responsible for your appetite, metabolism, and body fat distribution. In fact, for a lot of patients, we start their weight loss journey with bio-identical hormone replacement therapy (BHRT) before medications like GLP-1 in Kansas City. When your levels of estrogen, testosterone, and progesterone are out of balance, it can affect a range of bodily processes, including your mental health and sleep quality.
How does mental health and sleep affect weight gain?
Something that we emphasize at Regain is that the body is an interconnected system, so your mental health affects your physical health and vice versa.
Think about when you’re stressed: You may reach for “comfort foods,” which are typically higher in fat content and calories. Stress triggers a spike in cortisol, sparking a chain reaction that heightens fight-or-flight mode. This increases then decreases your blood pressure, making you crave sugary or fatty foods.
Sleep gives your body the opportunity to recover and rebalance at a cellular level. Without getting enough sleep, hunger hormones like ghrelin (hunger-signaling hormone) and leptin (hunger-regulating hormone) are disrupted. This causes ghrelin to rise and leptin to fall.
Struggling to lose weight contributes to poor sleep and more stress, especially when you don’t see any results from all of your hard work and dedication. That’s why we focus on all aspects of your health at our weight loss clinic, because it’s not just about the number on the scale. We understand the complex interplay between mind and body, so we address both the physical and emotional challenges that accompany your journey.
GLP-1 | FAQs
Offering GLP-1 in Kansas City, Leawood, Lawrence, and beyond, helps members of our community improve their health with weight loss injectables like semaglutide and tirzepatide.
How do GLP-1 medications work?
To know how GLP-1 medications work, it helps to understand how the glucagon-like polypeptide-1 (GLP-1) hormone functions.
Your body releases this hormone when you eat, telling your brain that you are full. Semaglutide and tirzepatide mimic this function, essentially “tricking” your brain into thinking that you’re satisfied with smaller meal portions. This helps you maintain a calorie deficit, which means you burn more calories than you consume. It also slows the digestion process, so food stays in your stomach longer—making you less compelled to snack in between meals.
And lastly, GLP-1 medications regulate blood sugar by spiking insulin production—which triggers your body to use the food you eat for energy, rather than storing it as fat for later.
We offer 2 medications that mimic the GLP-1 in Kansas City: semaglutide and tirzepatide.
What’s the Difference Between Semaglutide and Tirzepatide?
Semaglutide and tirzepatide both work similarly to help reduce your appetite and regulate your blood sugar.
The difference lies in tirzepatide’s ability to mimic the gastric-inhibitory polypeptide (GIP) hormone as well as the GLP-1 hormone. This allows tirzepatide to further stabilize your blood sugar and hunger levels. During your consultation, we will determine the best medication for you.
What Are The Side Effects of GLP-1 Medications?
Side effects for GLP-1 medications include:
- Acid reflux
- Bloating
- Stomach cramps
- Diarrhea
- Constipation
Fortunately, these side effects are often mild and lessen as you continue your weight loss program. To reduce the risk of experiencing abdominal pain associated with semaglutide or tirzepatide, we monitor your health throughout your journey with GLP-1 in Kansas City.
Our trained medical staff have treated hundreds of weight loss patients and therefore, not only know how to treat side effects when they occur, but can also counsel you on how to prevent them from happening.
If you report that your dosage makes you feel uncomfortable, we can provide you with a treatment plan to help manage the symptoms. We can also decrease your dosage so your body can adjust to the medication.
When will I see results from GLP-1 medications?
Results vary from person to person. Not only because each body responds to the medications differently, but also because everyone has a different starting point and treatment plan.
You will feel the effects of semaglutide and tirzepatide before you see them. After starting your treatment, you’ll notice a reduced appetite and curbed cravings. This could increase your confidence in this program while you wait to see physical changes.
To combat this, you should get a healthy amount of protein in your diet. Foods like chicken, yogurt, eggs, tofu, legumes, and fish not only help you stay full longer, they also help grow and repair your muscles. We recommend exercising regularly as well to help you burn more calories and develop lean muscle. For additional help, our team supplies you with L-Glycine injections every month to preserve muscle mass.
Regain | FAQs
Who you trust with prescribing you with GLP-1 in Kansas City matters just as much as understanding how this medication works. While semaglutide and tirzepatide are safe and effective medications, they still require medical oversight.
Fortunately, at Regain, our medical weight loss treatments don’t end after the consultation. We are with you every step of the way.
Do you offer telehealth appointments?
Yes! Although we love to see you in person, we understand that some patients may live farther away and can’t always make the drive to Lawrence or Leawood to see us. Feel free to start the process for weight loss from the comfort of your own home—or wherever you would prefer.
We always take our time with the consultation, whether it’s in the office or through telehealth. For that reason, please set aside enough time for a 1-hour long conversation regarding your health history, previous weight loss attempts, and lab or blood work reviews. If you don’t have recent lab work, we coordinate with a lab near you that can perform the blood work and send the results to us.
Are treatments affordable at Regain?
We understand that our care is only as accessible as it is affordable. Therefore, we offer financing and flexible payments through CareCredit and Cherry Financing. These options allow you to pay in monthly installments instead of all at once for care from our weight loss clinic.
Do you offer other weight loss treatments besides GLP-1 injections?
Yes! We offer daily oral tablets of semaglutide and tirzepatide if you’re adverse to needles.
For patients who are looking to lose 15 pounds or less, we also offer phentermine. Phentermine targets the chemicals in your brain, acting as a stimulant to block neurotransmitters like norepinephrine, serotonin, and dopamine to reduce hunger and increase your metabolic rate.
In addition to phentermine and GLP-1 in Kansas City, our team at Regain provides nutritional guidance and exercise recommendations to support your weight loss efforts.
As we mentioned before, we often start with hormone replacement therapy to balance your hormones and support whole-body health. This service works best for patients in their 40s and beyond experiencing a decline in their hormone levels.
We also offer IV therapy and vitamin injections to support your weight loss efforts. These options delivers select vitamins and minerals directly into your bloodstream for your body to use immediately and at full absorption.
→ Read More Here: IV Nutrition | Vitamin Drips.
Have More Questions? Ask Our Team.
While we answered the most common questions we hear about GLP-1 in Kansas City, we are sure you have more. The best way for you to get answers is to schedule a free consultation to meet with a member of our team.
You can also streamline the process with our treatment planning tool.
