What's Covered on This Page
- Who Is a Good Candidate for Prescription Weight Loss Medicine?
- Do I qualify for prescription weight loss medication in Murrells Inlet?
- What happens during my first appointment at your Murrells Inlet clinic?
- How fast will I see results from prescription weight loss medication?
- Can I stop in for an appointment near Inlet Square on my lunch break?
- Who should not take prescription weight loss medication?
- Do I have to be very overweight before you'll take me seriously?
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Who Is a Good Candidate for Prescription Weight Loss Medicine?
If there is one question we get more than any other here in Murrells Inlet, it is, "Do I even qualify?" The answer: Yes, likely, most definitely so!
If you are an adult with a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 30 or above, you most likely qualify for this weight loss medicine. If you have a BMI of 27 or greater in addition to a weight-related illness, such as high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, or high cholesterol, you are also a candidate. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 40 percent or more of American adults meet the criteria for the prescriptions we offer. But there is more to the process than simply stepping on a scale and receiving a prescription.
We look at several factors in our evaluation to determine if prescription weight loss medicine will help you.
What to Expect at Your First Visit
It takes several steps to complete a prescription weight loss medicine visit. A typical appointment includes much more than just a scale reading and a prescription pad. During your first visit, we will:
- Determine your medical history and all the medicines you are taking.
- Complete a body composition analysis, to calculate your fat to muscle ratio.
- Order a lab panel to evaluate your metabolic function and hormone levels. (These may include your thyroid hormones).
- Identify the methods you used when you tried to lose weight previously and why the plans did not work.
- Gather data about you and your life to get a well-rounded view. This includes your lifestyle, how you manage stress, what you eat, and other details.
In many cases, the person coming in for their first visit has tried everything. It is very common that patients will list tracking their calories and calorie output, joining a gym, and every fad diet to hit the market over the past century. Many people assume these folks are lazy, and while they might be in a few cases, often it is their body that is working against them. These are precisely the people for whom prescription weight loss medicine was designed.
Sometimes clients in the Inlet Square area think they must be a certain weight before they can begin weight loss therapy. They can't be further from the truth. We have worked with patients needing to lose as little as 20 pounds and others who need to lose up to 120.
While most individuals can use prescription weight loss medicine in Murrells Inlet, some cannot. Pregnant and breastfeeding women may not be suitable candidates. People with heart disease and those with a history of medullary thyroid cancer may not be able to use certain prescription weight loss medicines. If you are younger than 18, we are unable to prescribe this treatment.
That said, most adults who visit our office are ideal candidates for safe, effective prescription weight-loss medication. If you're unsure, rest assured we're here to help you decide. You won't be going through your weight-loss consultation by yourself.
What to Expect During Your Initial Visit
You walk in; we chat. Basically, that's it.
Here's what usually happens at that first appointment in Murrells Inlet. First-timers are often nervous or skeptical, but they come away informed about what their body is doing and what our practice can do to help. During the initial appointment, we will:
- Have you complete a health history intake form that asks about past weight loss attempts, including medications and diet plans, and whether you have a history of diabetes or thyroid issues;
- Meet in person to review your health goals, personal history, and prior attempts at weight management;
- Perform a body composition assessment using this as our starting point for your care;
- Discuss blood work, including ordering labs same-day if you are not current;
- Talk over whether or not weight-loss medications are right for you, and if there are other ways we may be able to treat your condition.
Many patients say to us, "I've never been asked my complete history before and I've never had someone actually listen." That is part of our mission. We believe that weight gain rarely happens overnight, but occurs after years of accumulated habits, hormones, and stress. Five minutes is not enough. The initial visit typically lasts about 45 minutes.
There is no rush, and no prescriptions written right then and there. If your labs show something like low testosterone or insulin resistance, we address that as well. Obesity affects more than 40 percent of American adults, so you are not alone in your struggles. We will not judge you for them.
Inlet Square-area patients can even come during their lunch break, and we promise, the time is worth it. We will also tell you if you do not need prescription weight-loss medications. If your weight-loss goals can be met with a change in diet or with nutrition counseling, we will tell you this. Our practice has years of experience administering weight-loss medications, and we will assist you in finding the treatment right for you.
It will be time well spent for everyone.
What to Expect Over the Long Term with Prescription Weight-Loss Medication
Our Murrells Inlet clinic receives patients expecting overnight results. This is unfortunately not the case. It takes some time for the medication to start working. The first few weeks you take this medicine are a period of adjustment, where the medicine is getting your body to adapt to it.
So, expect to feel much more full and satisfied, but do not expect to lose a lot of weight in these first few weeks. You won't see changes on the scale right away, even though you're likely going to start feeling different.
What to Expect Month by Month
This is a general timeline of how we have seen our patients in Murrells Inlet and beyond lose weight:
- Weeks 1 to 4: People tend to start seeing a reduction in cravings, especially sugar and processed foods. They can expect to lose three to five pounds by the end of month one. They also begin to change their eating habits on their own.
- Weeks 5 to 12: Patients start to see more drastic weight loss. The prescribing doctor will increase your dose in order to see how your body responds to it. A weight loss of one to two pounds a week during this time is ideal.
- Months 3 to 6: A large portion of this time is when body composition changes happen and are noted, even if your weight loss is not dramatic at first. Your clothes will fit differently, and you may just have more energy. Blood work results also usually start to improve at this point.
- Month Six to 12: By this point, our focus is on helping our patients learn ways to maintain their weight loss and develop habits that will be sustainable for them after they stop taking their medicine.
That's what we see each week. Patients come in in month one frustrated, then come back in month three and can't believe that they look and feel completely different.
The important thing to remember is that although medication can help you reduce cravings and decrease appetite, you still have to do the work. You need to show up. You need to eat healthier foods, exercise, and show up to your appointments. That's how we can keep track of your progress, monitor you for adverse reactions, and assess your body composition.
Every individual is different, so you may lose weight at different rates. For instance, if you have some hormonal issues or metabolic problems, it is possible that it could take you more time to adjust to your medication. In that case, we would take blood work to help the provider make the appropriate changes for your needs. But it is important to remember that any amount of weight loss is beneficial.
According to the CDC, losing between five and ten percent of body weight will have significant positive effects, such as improving blood pressure and blood sugar levels.
This is not a race; it is a process with check-ins and milestones. And you can count on your provider being right beside you every step of the way.
Why We See Better Results with In-Person Monitoring
A telehealth company will prescribe your medicine and mail it to you, and then they will assume that all is well. We don't assume anything, which is why we see better results. Here is what we see: People come into our office in Murrells Inlet after months on a telehealth weight loss program, frustrated that they don't understand why their medicine dosage is not working anymore. They ask: "Why didn't anyone catch that the dosage needs to increase?" Or at the six-week mark, no one bothered to check their blood work.
Or they experienced a side effect we could have addressed in a ten-minute office visit. Unfortunately, nine out of ten of these scenarios follow the same narrative. They felt like a number on a screen, and that was it. Weight loss meds are best with someone watching you, someone reviewing your body's response to it.
Not someone reading the boxes checked on a website. Watching. Reviewing your blood pressure. Reviewing your fresh blood work.
Reviewing your body composition analysis as compared to the previous month. That level of monitoring can catch things in their infancy and help you keep moving forward. This is what you are going to experience if you meet in-person with an actual health care provider: We do your baseline blood work for weight loss before you start taking any medication. Your provider checks-in with you, in-person with you, not over the chat box or over an email, to see how you are feeling.
We alter your weight-loss medication dose if your data (blood work, body fat analysis results, as well as your feedback) indicate that it is time to do so. If anything ever feels off to you in one of our office visits, you get the chance to call in and be seen, instead of waiting a few days to receive a response on the form that you put in through the website. This is all part of a necessary cycle. The Obesity Medicine Association reports that "regular provider monitoring of the patients taking obesity medications improved both short-term weight loss as well as long-term maintenance." You are far more likely to continue on a weight-loss medication plan when someone actually caring about what happens next to you, someone who knows both your name and your number, is part of the treatment.
I have seen people in the Burgess community and along the Inlet have tried the app-only route. It wasn't that they failed to succeed. They were simply missing that part, that piece of in-person support that helps you to really affect real change. We are here to provide just that, and I believe that is why we have built the practice in the way we have.
To intervene on an approach that isn't working while it is small, to tweak a technique while your motivation still exists, and to be held accountable without it feeling like an extra homework assignment. Telemedicine cannot do this. Telemedicine cannot fill this gap because this gap is one of closeness. It is one of real conversation.
It is about someone who can catch you when you are just a little bit tired before you are too tired to say anything.
The best part of your journey is finding the weight that works for you. The part that usually trips the vast majority of people up is keeping it off. This is a very common occurrence at our Murrells Inlet practice. Someone will reach their goal number, and they will feel amazing.
Then, six months later, they are back in our offices, frustrated. But this isn't due to a lack of willpower. Your body fights to regain the weight lost; your hormones shift to push up your appetite, your metabolism slows down, and you will gain weight back unless you have a specific plan to halt the process. The National Institutes of Health reports most adults who have lost weight will regain a large proportion of their lost weight within two to five years without continued support.
This is why we don't just cut and run when someone reaches their goal. Our weight loss maintenance program works to keep you connected with our medical practice, including regular weight loss maintenance check-ins. We continue to track your body composition in our analyses so we can catch tiny weight changes before they turn into a full relapse. This often involves a dose reduction, enabling you to move to a lower-level medication rather than completely discontinue use.
Or, perhaps it is shifting more emphasis toward nutrition education and lifestyle modification so your body becomes accustomed to these routines, but without weight loss medication.
So, what does a weight maintenance plan look like? For our patients living near the Inlet Square and surrounding South Carolina areas, the following methods are effective:
- Regular appointments every 4–6 weeks to identify tiny shifts before they snowball into a complete relapse;
- Consistent blood panels to assess key markers of weight loss, such as thyroid activity and metabolic panels;
- B12 injections when energy begins to fade;
- Tactics to curb sugar cravings that can integrate seamlessly with your typical daily routine.
Maintenance isn't just an afterthought; it is not an afterthought or a minor consideration. It is the most critical aspect of the program. Attempting to lose weight without a plan to keep the weight off is like building a house without a foundation. We have watched dozens of patients keep their weight within five pounds of their original goal for several years simply by showing up at scheduled appointments.
Plus, the maintenance appointments will require less of your time as your goals have been met. The check-ins will be short because your focus is now about maintaining sound habits. It is not like starting over with every appointment; it is really just minor tuning. Several of our long-term maintenance patients tell us they like the maintenance sessions the most because it is the simplest piece of the journey.
The self-assurance that accompanies the achievement of your goal won't disappear.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about prescription weight loss medication services in Murrells Inlet
Do I qualify for prescription weight loss medication in Murrells Inlet?
You likely qualify if your BMI is 30 or higher, or 27 or above with a health condition like high blood pressure or type 2 diabetes. More people meet these criteria than you'd think. The CDC says over 40 percent of American adults do. We look at your full health picture, not just a number on a scale. The best way to know for sure is to come in for a consultation. No guessing required.
What happens during my first appointment at your Murrells Inlet clinic?
Your first visit runs about 45 minutes and covers your full health history, goals, and past attempts at losing weight. We do a body composition analysis and review blood work. If you don't have recent labs, we order them right there. You'll leave knowing exactly what's going on with your body and what options make sense for you. We don't rush you out the door with a prescription after five minutes.
How fast will I see results from prescription weight loss medication?
Most people feel a drop in appetite within the first two weeks, but the scale may not move much right away. That's normal. Weeks five through twelve are usually where real momentum builds, with steady loss of one to two pounds per week. By months three to six, many patients notice their clothes fitting differently and their energy improving. Results vary, but we track your progress every step of the way.
Can I stop in for an appointment near Inlet Square on my lunch break?
Yes, patients near the Inlet Square area stop in during lunch all the time. We keep things moving without cutting corners. Your first visit takes about 45 minutes, so plan for that. Follow-up check-ins are shorter. Just call ahead so we can hold a spot for you. We want this to fit into your real life, not add stress to it.
Who should not take prescription weight loss medication?
Pregnant or nursing women should not use these medications. Certain heart conditions and a history of medullary thyroid cancer can also rule out specific options. Patients under 18 would need to explore other paths. If you have concerns about your health history, bring them up during your consultation. We'll be straightforward with you about whether this is the right fit or if another approach makes more sense.
Do I have to be very overweight before you'll take me seriously?
Not at all. We work with patients who need to lose 20 pounds and patients who need to lose 120. The starting point matters less than your commitment and your health picture. Some people near Murrells Inlet come in thinking they're not "heavy enough" to qualify. That's rarely true. If a weight-related health condition is affecting your life, that's reason enough to have the conversation.