How to talk to your doctor about GLP-1 medications

[Text on screen: The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center
How to talk to your doctor about GLP-1 medications]

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[Text on screen: Allison L. Rhodes, MD
Obesity Medicine Specialist
Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center]

Allison L. Rhodes, MD: One of the most exciting things that I think has happened in the last few years is with the popularity of GLP-1 receptor agonists in the news media, as well as in both online media and on TV, it's really an incredible opportunity for patients to begin a conversation with their physician about if a medication for weight loss would be helpful for them in terms of their overall health goals. And I think that when a patient is coming in, and especially if they're talking to me about what medication might be the most helpful, a lot of times, patients do come in and they say, "I've read about this, or I know about this, would this be a good fit for me?" Or sometimes people just go ahead and say, "I want this." And I love having those conversations with patients because I think part of a physician's role is to educate your patients about all the options that are out there. It's not just what's being advertised heavily on TV. 

I think a lot of patients don't necessarily know all the options, and then, again, all the risks and benefits and possible improvements in other medical conditions that they can have from medications that are not just semaglutide or tirzepatide. I think the most important thing is having a shared medical decision-making conversation where a patient understands not only the mechanism of how a medication should be working to help them with weight loss, but also side effects that they might experience when starting the medication, or even long-term risks associated with being on a medication long-term. 

We know that obesity is a chronic disease. And so when you are taking a medication, it's really not just to help with weight loss, it's a medication that's treating a chronic condition. So patients need to have conversations with their physicians where they're discussing how long they're going to be taking these medications. Some medications can be utilized short-term to help patients with weight loss. However, all of them can be used safely long-term for chronic management of this condition.

[Text on screen: The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center
For more information, visit: wexnermedical.osu.edu/weight-management]

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