Book Now
Sometimes it feels like weight loss drugs are everywhere you look! At NYBG, we are proud to offer our patients access to these medications alongside medical supervision and support to enhance the experience and the outcomes. While these medications work really well for some people, others are saying goodbye to injectable weight-loss medications. Here’s the part that you don’t see in the headlines: a lot of people ditch their injectables after about a year.
While oral and injectable weight-loss medications can be an effective short-term strategy, the long-term success and safety are still being researched and are unknown.
How Long Do People Stick With Weight-Loss Injectables?
Weight-loss medications, like Wegovy, Mounjaro, and Saxenda, often require users to stay on them for life in order to maintain their weight loss. However, on average, people stop using injectable weight-loss medications within 6 to 12 months after starting. This might sound surprising, but the reality of sticking, literally and figuratively, with these treatments can be more complicated than it seems.
Why Do People Stop Taking Them?
1. Side Effects:
One of the biggest reasons people give up on these medications is the side effects. Common issues include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation, headaches, and fatigue, are sometimes too much to handle. Plus, those pesky injection site reactions – redness, swelling, and pain – can be quite a turn-o
2. Hitting a Weight-Loss Plateau:
At first, the pounds may seem to melt away, but many hit a point where the weight loss slows down or stops altogether. This plateau can be incredibly frustrating. When progress stalls, some people feel the medication isn't working anymore and decide to stop completely.
3. Cost and Accessibility:
Medical weight-loss injectables can be pricey. Not everyone has insurance that covers the cost, and paying out of pocket for a lifetime medication can be incredibly expensive. Supply and demand is still an issue with injectable weight-loss medications. Right now, for instance, Wegovy, Ozempic and Zepbound remain in short supply, meaning prices are not going down in the short-term.
4. Lifestyle and Behavioral Challenges:
Weight loss isn’t just about taking a shot once a week. It involves changing eating habits, getting more exercise, and dealing with emotional eating. Without proper support, relying solely on medication might not be enough, leading some to abandon the injectable route.
Sticking With Your Weight Loss
Being supervised by a medical weight-loss team like NYBG can help you continue on your weight-loss journey with or without weight-loss medications. They offer:
1. Prescriptions by Board-Certified Professionals:
One of the primary advantages of opting for NYBG's Medical Weight Loss Program is the assurance that a board-certified medical professional is overseeing a patient's treatment. This expertise ensures that the medications prescribed are not only effective, but also safe for each patient’s unique health profile.
2. Personalized Weight Loss Plans:
The team at NYBG uses the most recent scientific research to create a personalized weight-loss plan for each patient. They take into account the patient’s medical history, previous weight-loss attempts, eating patterns, and current lifestyle.
3. Comprehensive Support Programs:
NYBG offers a full support program that includes dietary advice, exercise plans, psychological counseling, and support groups that can make a huge difference in a person’s weight-loss journey.
4. Regular Check-Ins:
The team at NYBG offers consistent monitoring and guidance to help manage side effects, track progress, and tweak treatment plans as needed. This kind of ongoing support and supervision keeps patients motivated and on track.
While weight-loss injectables can be a powerful tool, they're not magic. Understanding the average duration of use and the reasons behind discontinuation can help create better support systems for patients. This way, those who choose this path can have a more successful and sustained weight-loss journey.
New York Bariatric Group: The Weight-Loss Leader
NYBG is the leader in comprehensive weight-loss solutions. We are a one-stop shop, offering long-term weight-loss surgery as well as medically-supervised weight loss with oral and injectable medications. There is no one-size-fits-all solution to losing weight. At NYBG, we work with you to customize a weight-loss program that will work best for you.
Oral and injectable weight-loss medications have been shown to be an effective short-term strategy, but the long-term effects and safety is still unknown. With our Medical Weight Loss Program the ongoing supervision allows doctors to make necessary adjustments to a patient’s treatment plan based on their progress and changes to their health.
Weight-loss surgery is the only proven long-term weight-loss solution. With decades of research, patients have seen sustainable weight loss. We offer multiple weight-loss surgery procedures and our doctors will work with you to find the right option.
Our practice is the best around:
- Over 30 surgeons who are leaders in bariatrics, plastic surgery, and medical weight loss.
- 42,000 successful procedures performed with more being performed every day
- The #1 gastric balloon practice by volume – most balloons placed in the United States
- Access to online seminars, support groups, cooking demos, and Q-and-A sessions
- 100s of videos for patients explaining procedures, answering common questions, and showcasing previous patients
- Multiple offices located in three states; NY, NJ, CT
- Offering in-person and virtual consultations
- Since 2000, we boast over 23 years of success!
All of our hospitals are Metabolic Bariatric Surgery Accreditation and Quality Improvement Program (MBSAQIP) accredited facilities, which is a prestigious designation bestowed upon only the top-quality bariatric programs.
Stop waiting; start achieving better health today. Together, we’ve got this!
