Here at Chicago Stem Cell Therapy and Exosomes, we provide multiple treatment options for weight loss, one of them is Semaglutide. The Gharbi Doctors ( Dr. Shazel Gharbi and Dr, Nael Gharbi ) use Semaglutide by itself or in combination with other medications to help our patients lose weight.
- Semaglutide is the first once-weekly medication in its class to help with chronic weight management. It works best when used in combination with a healthy diet and exercise.
Long-term changes in diet and activity are an important part of maintaining weight loss after stopping Semaglutide.
What is Semaglutide?
Semaglutide is an injectable glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) agonist that’s administered once weekly.
Semaglutide should be used in combination with lifestyle changes, including a healthy diet and exercise.
How does semaglutide work for weight loss?
GLP-1 is an incretin hormone that plays a role in your appetite and digestion. Incretins — hormones released by your digestive tract — are sent out by your body after you’ve eaten a meal. They help lower your blood sugar by triggering insulin release and blocking sugar production. They also slow down how quickly food leaves your stomach (called gastric emptying).
The result of these actions causes you to feel full — lowering your appetite and causing you to lose weight. Medications like GLP-1 agonists are referred to as incretin mimetics since they “mimic” these effects.
How Is Semaglutide dosed?
Semaglutide is given as once a week injection. It can be given at any time of day, and you can take it with or without food.
Semaglutide is typically injected just under the skin (subcutaneously) in your abdomen, upper arm, or thigh.
Since semaglutide slows down how quickly food leaves your stomach, you may experience side effects like nausea and vomiting.
Once you get started on the medication, our doctors will modify your dose weekly depending on the weight loss and the side effects to help you get the best results.
What do we know about semaglutide side effects?
Gastrointestinal (GI) side effects tend to happen most frequently when taking this medication. The most common are nausea, diarrhea, and vomiting. You may experience these effects more strongly with the higher doses.
Additional common side effects can include:
- Constipation
- Stomach pain
- Headache
- Fatigue
- Indigestion
- Dizziness
- Bloating
- Burping
You shouldn’t take semaglutide if you have a personal or family history of certain thyroid tumors.
If you’ve been trying to lose weight for months without seeing success, Semaglutide may be right for you. Semaglutide can jump-start your weight loss journey and help you lose stubborn fat.
Chicago Stem Cell Therapy and Exosomes does not take insurance for any Rapid Weight Loss programs, including Semaglutide.
The cost of Semaglutide varies depending on the length of the program. At Chicago Stem Cell Therapy and Exosomes, we offer individual injections, as well as packages of 4, 8, 10 and 12. The larger the package, the better price each injection will be.
Results may vary between patients, and some patients may lose more weight than others depending on multiple variables, including genetics and environmental factors, the length of the program, the dosage, diet and exercise.
Some patients report nausea on the day of their injection or the following day. Unless you eat a carb-heavy meal, most patients feel comfortable on the program.
For all of our patients, we recommend a low-carb and high-protein diet. Those on Semaglutide
may experience nausea if they eat meals that are high in processed carbohydrates and sugar. Instead, we recommend protein-dense and high-fiber foods, such as chicken, eggs, Greek yogurt, fish, nuts, vegetables and berries.
Once hitting your goal weight, it’s important to maintain a healthy diet of high-protein foods.
Additionally, we offer Weight Loss maintenance programs of one monthly injection to help
patients manage their appetite and stay at their goal weight.
Our Semaglutide is a compounded drug by FDA-registered compounding pharmacies, have not been approved by the FDA; have not been reviewed by the FDA for safety, effectiveness, or quality; and have not been demonstrated to the FDA to be safe or effective for their intended use; the processes by which the compounded drugs are manufactured have not been reviewed by the FDA; and FDA-approved products containing semaglutide are available.