ThedaCare Urges Caution When Stopping Use of Weight Loss Drugs

ThedaCare is encouraging those who are ending their use of weight loss drugs to do so carefully.

There has been an uptick in the number of people using GLP-1 drugs, such as Ozempic or Wegovy, which were designed to help manage blood sugar and glucose levels in people with type 2 diabetes.

Later, they were also discovered to slow digestion and suppress appetite.

This may help people eat less, which helps treat obesity.

Dr. Benjamin Duffy, an obesity medicine specialist and director of the ThedaCare Weight Wellness Solutions program, notes that the average Wisconsinite who uses these drugs does so for seven months, then they often discontinue the drug or switch to a lower, maintenance dose.

As patients begin to wean themselves, doing so the proper way is the key to not immediately gain the weight back.

Dr. Duffy and his team try to “help people taper off their treatment dose over about two months so that as their appetite slowly increases, so does their metabolism.”

Those looking to start a healthy weight loss journey can learn more at ThedaCare.org.