GLP-1s (glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists) help you lose weight by suppressing appetite, enhancing how full you feel, and slowing down the speed at which your stomach empties. They also regulate metabolic processes such as insulin secretion from the pancreas, which helps stabilize blood glucose levels — bridging the gap between glucose control and weight loss.
Your doctor may recommend a GLP-1 if you haven’t reached your A1C target after three months of taking the standard type 2 diabetes medication metformin, and you have additional conditions like heart failure or chronic kidney disease.
But this type of medication may be prescribed even if you don’t fit this criteria.
“Patients do not need to fail older medications first before asking about therapies that target both glucose and weight,” Chalisa says.
The sooner you get your diabetes under control, the lower your chances of complications like cardiovascular disease, kidney disease, vision problems, and nerve damage.
“If we can address this very early, even in the prediabetic phase, we are significantly increasing the quality and duration of life,” says Pouya Shafipour, MD, a board-certified family and obesity medicine physician at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, California.
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