What is Tirzepatide?
Tirzepatide is a medication that belongs to the glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) families of drugs. Most common weight loss medications, like tirzepatide injections, belong to the GLP-1 family of medications.
GLP-1 medications were actually designed as a treatment for people that have type 2 diabetes!
During studies and trials involving GLP-1 receptor agonist medications, experts began noticing a trend of weight loss amongst people using the medications. That insight evolved into the new weight loss treatments that we see on the market today.
How Does Tirzepatide Work?
Tirzepatide for weight loss can be really useful; especially if you’re one of those people that get a lot of ‘food noise’, or if you find it difficult to control food cravings or meal portions.
Specifically, tirzepatide works in two different ways:
- As a treatment for diabetes, it lowers your blood sugar levels. Tirzepatide also helps your body release more insulin, when your blood sugar gets too high.
- It decreases your appetite, as well as your cravings for food. By doing this, it helps reduce things like ‘food noise’ that can encourage unhealthy eating habits. Tirzepatide also makes you feel full sooner (so you don’t overeat), and helps you feel full longer.
Tirzepatide is able to do this, because it mimics the hormones that your body naturally secretes after eating a meal, which in turn, causes your brain to release insulin.
Tirzepatide was FDA-approved for use across the U.S. in May of 2022 in the treatment of type 2 diabetes. It wasn’t until November 2023 that it became FDA-approved as a weight loss treatment.
Benefits of Tirzepatide
For people using tirzepatide to treat their type 2 diabetes, tirzepatide can be a great way to manage your blood sugar, as well as control your insulin levels.
If you’re using tirzepatide for weight loss, the biggest benefit of tirzepatide injections is that they can give you the extra boost in your weight loss journey, through reducing how quickly you get hungry, how often you crave food, how much you eat at each meal, and how long you stay full for after you’ve finished eating.
From a scientific standpoint, tirzepatide can help people with insulin secretion and sensitivity, suppressing glucagon from being released, as well as improving your meal tolerance.
What this means is that even the most passionate food lovers can benefit from easier portion control, less unhealthy food cravings, and support all the other weight loss efforts you’re making, like keeping active and having healthier meals.
How to Take Tirzepatide Injections
The type of tirzepatide injections that you’ll get will depend on whether you’re ordering tirzepatide online or Mounjaro. Mounjaro injections come preloaded for use, but compounded tirzepatide that you get from a pharmacy will not. These injections will need to be prepared by you, at home.
When you’re getting a compounded tirzepatide injection ready to use, there are 6 steps that you can follow for safety:
- Wash your hands with soap and water. Make sure they are thoroughly dried after.
- Assemble your syringe or injector, based on the packaging provided to you.
- Use an alcohol wipe to disinfect the injection area.
- Pinch the area around the injection and insert the needle at a 90-degree angle.
- Inject the dose (slowly).
- Take out the needle and dispose of it (safely).
There are 3 areas that we’d recommended for tirzepatide injections:
- The front of your thighs
- The upper part of your arms
- The front of your abdomen (stomach)
These are called ‘subcutaneous injections’, which means they need to be injected beneath the skin. Not directly into muscle tissue or veins. If you’re still not feeling totally comfortable managing your tirzepatide injections, watch this video on how to safely take your tirzepatide shots.
You should change up the area where you’re injecting your medications regularly, so you avoid irritating the injection sites with too much frequent usage.
How Long Do Tirzepatide Injections Take to Work?
When you’re taking doses of tirzepatide for weight loss, it starts to work within hours of the first time that you use a tirzepatide injection.
Are you going to see major weight loss from using tirzepatide injections for a couple of weeks? Not likely. In fact, if you start losing weight too fast, it could be unhealthy for your organs, which isn’t good for you either.
With GLP-1 Treatments, Patience is Essential
All good things take time, and although tirzepatide starts working almost immediately after being injected, the weight loss process can take months or even years to achieve the goals you’re aiming for.
When you’re starting tirzepatide injections for weight loss, you need to plan for this to be a long-term treatment. If you want to really scrap the extra flab, it’s best to combine your tirzepatide prescription with a healthy diet and regular exercise.
Tirzepatide should be clear colorless or slightly yellowish in color. Don’t use tirzepatide injections if the liquid is cloudy, discolored, or has particles floating in it!
What are the Possible Side Effects of Tirzepatide?
There’s always going to be the possibility of side effects with any medication, so it’s not something that should push you away from trying tirzepatide injections; unless your prescriber thinks that tirzepatide for weight loss may not be a safe option for you.
The possible side effects of using tirzepatide include:
- Indigestion
- Bloating or gas
- Constipation
- Decreased appetite
- Diarrhea
- Increased heart rate
- General fatigue
- Upset stomach
- Heartburn or acid reflux
- Stomach pain
- Vomiting
There can also be some reactions at the injection side, like pain, bruising, irritation, itching, or rashes. This is all totally normal; unless the tirzepatide side effects start to get severe. If that happens, be sure to talk to your doctor right away.
Tirzepatide injections should be kept in the refrigerator, but NEVER frozen.
How Much Does Tirzepatide Cost?
There’s no way we can give you a general price for tirzepatide, because every provider is going to charge a bit differently for these medications. The cost of tirzepatide can also be affected by the dosage that you require, which will vary person-to-person.
Tirzepatide can range anywhere from as low as $300/month (alongside a bunch of hidden fees) to as much as $500-$600/month, depending on which pharmacy where you purchase it. These prices will also vary when you start ordering larger quantities or different tirzepatide dosages. If you want to learn more about how dosages and dosing works, click here.
If you want to explore Elite’s pricing, check out our Tirzepatide Program in NYC.
Other People Asked Us:
Is tirzepatide the same as Ozempic?
No, they aren’t the same thing.
Tirzepatide is the generic name for the medication that’s also sold under the brand name Mounjaro.
Ozempic, on the other hand, is the brand name for another generic medication called semaglutide.
Both drugs belong to the GLP-1 receptor agonists family of medications, and they’re both used as treatments for weight loss, but they aren’t the same medication.
Can I get tirzepatide for weight loss?
Yes, you can, as long as it’s a safe treatment option for you. That’s part of the reason that you’ll need to get assessed by an expert, before you’ll be given a prescription for tirzepatide.
With Elite Health Center NYC, you can complete a small intake form, and then an expert will evaluate your situation to see if they think dosing tirzepatide for weight loss is a good choice for you. If so, they can write you a prescription.
After you’ve been medically cleared, Elite Health can deliver your tirzepatide injections to your home anywhere in the US via FedEx’s overnight service.
What are the drawbacks of tirzepatide?
The same drawbacks as every other weight loss medications: it’s not a magical cure for obesity! Losing weight in a healthy way takes time. It doesn’t happen overnight, and for some patients, the time it requires can be demotivating.
That’s why we work with all our patients to create a plan of action that involves more than just prescription treatments like tirzepatide injections. It involves an ongoing healthy diet, as well as regular exercise.
Together, these elements can speed up the weight loss process, making it easier to start seeing results faster.
The other drawback that some people note is that tirzepatide is a long-term treatment, which means paying for prescriptions for an extended period of time. Unfortunately, since there is no safe, instantaneous way to lose weight, this is just the nature of being on a weight loss journey.
Just remember: every epic journey starts with the first step. Take your first step today and complete your intake form to get started with Elite Health Center NYC.
