Your Whole Story, Not Just Your BMI
By Dr. Donald L. Gates, MD A thorough weight loss evaluation asks about far more than your weight. It asks what you have already tried, what else you take, what runs in your family, how you sleep, and what has been happening in your life. Those questions are not preliminaries. They frequently change the treatment […]
Stopping Your GLP-1: Why the Exit Needs a Plan
By Dr. Don Gates, MD Most conversations about GLP-1 therapy focus on starting. Stopping GLP-1 medication gets far less attention, and it deserves more, because the published evidence on what happens afterward is fairly consistent. Weight regain following discontinuation is common. A 2025 meta-analysis of anti-obesity pharmacotherapy found regain to be common and drug-dependent across […]
The Muscle Loss Nobody Talks About
By Dr. Donald L. Gates, MD GLP-1 muscle loss is the complication patients are least prepared for, because the scale reports it as success. The number goes down. Some of what left was fat. Some of it was skeletal muscle. The scale does not distinguish between them, and neither does a monthly shipment. Skeletal muscle […]
The Bloodwork Behind the Weight Loss
By Dr. Donald L. Gates, MD GLP-1 lab monitoring is the part of treatment that patients never see advertised, because it is not a selling point. It is a cost. Several online platforms state directly that laboratory work is not required to start or continue GLP-1 medication for weight management. That is a defensible policy […]
What Lab Testing Reveals About Compounded Semaglutide
By Dr. Donald L. Gates, MD Compounded semaglutide purity has been measured, published, and peer-reviewed. The findings are worth reading before your next refill — particularly if you are unsure which pharmacy prepared your vial. One clarification before the data. This research examined semaglutide obtained from unregulated online sellers. It is not a study of […]
GLP-1 Side Effects: Which Symptoms Need a Phone Call
By Dr. Donald L. Gates, MD Read this first. This article is general education. It does not replace your prescriber’s instructions or emergency care. If a symptom is severe, worsening quickly, or feels like an emergency, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency department. GLP-1 side effects are common, and common is not the […]
Local GLP-1 Care vs. Online Programs: Compare More Than Price
By Dr. Don Gates, MD Choosing between local GLP-1 care and an online program usually comes down to a price comparison. That is the wrong comparison, and not because online costs less. It is the wrong comparison because the monthly figure describes enrollment. It does not describe week twelve. Week twelve is when a dose […]
Compounded GLP-1 Quality: 10 Questions Worth Asking
By Dr. Donald L. Gates, MD Compounded GLP-1 quality is a fair thing to ask about. You are injecting a medication into your body every week. You are entitled to know where it came from, who made it, and how anyone verified it. Compounded medications serve real clinical purposes. A patient with a documented allergy […]
What Good GLP-1 Follow-Up Actually Looks Like
By Dr. Don Gates, MD GLP-1 follow-up care is the part of treatment that patients hear least about and need most. The first prescription gets the attention. What happens over the following twelve months determines whether the treatment works, whether it stays tolerable, and whether the results hold. Here is what a well-built plan covers […]
A GLP-1 Prescription Is the Beginning, Not the Treatment Plan
By Dr. Donald L. Gates, MD Physician-led GLP-1 care starts where a prescription ends. Getting the medication has never been simpler. You fill out a form, a clinician reviews it, and a vial arrives at your door. That part of the process works. The harder part comes three weeks later, when the nausea starts, or […]