GLP-1 part 2
updated thoughts on weight loss injectables from a primary care provider
About a year ago, I wrote a post about GLP-1 injectable medications for weight loss as a Health at Every Size provider. As you can imagine, it was filled with nuance and oxymoron. And it was comprehensive. If you haven’t read that one yet - start there. It’s long and juicy, though worth it in my ever so humble opinion (why does it always feel so gross to support your own work).
Sometimes I expect the writing journey to help me arrive at conclusions or at least a more solid opinion. And it was helpful to meander through my many different thought processes to see where I land and stand as a Health at Every Size provider who often sees patients requesting GLP-1 or other weight loss medication.
And yet despite that writing and another year of patient care experience under my belt, I feel just as wobbly about them now as I did in the beginning.
This post will be a synopsis of thoughts a year out. It’ll include what I’ve seen from patient experiences - a full pros/cons, benefits and side effects. I’ll also break down some recent research that’s come out over the last year, especially as it relates to what others on social media are talking about.
I’m including research and opinion pieces that are both pro and against GLP-1 medications. I’ll include my take and still malleable and forming opinion at the bottom as well.
If you are currently struggling with body image or disordered eating thoughts and behaviors, this is a post to skip.
Buckle up, baby! Here we go…again..
***edit: there was a misprint in the original post that there is a black box warning for mental health with this class of medication. There is not (and thank you Katherine for catching this!!). The black box warning is with risk of thyroid cancers, not with mental health.
(And as always, this is NOT medical advice. If you have any questions about this type of medication for you as an individual, this absolutely needs a conversation with your own healthcare team.)
Referenced in this post / adjacent posts: