Informed Decision

[DragonOfTheSea]

If you had a family member, or someone important and close to you, who you sincerely thought would have their life and health significantly improved by opening their mind to GLP-1 medication, what resources or information would you breadcrumb to them to see if they will come around to the idea?

My father-in-law is a couple hundred lbs overweight, has building arthritis in ankles and knees, and labors to breathe even just shifting his weight while sitting down and certainly while walking the few steps he can before he needs to rest. He has been trying for years to listen to his wife on what and how to eat, and essentially doesn’t drink anything but Gatorade zero, and is not improving his circumstances. My wife and her family are growing ever concerned with his mortality, and know that being on a GLP-1 would most certainly change the trajectory of his life.

I think with a little “self” education and some support, he may be willing to try.

Last night I broached the topic with him by speaking about myself and my GLP-1 journey. How at the beginning of the year I was diagnosed with fatty liver disease, told by the doctor I need to lose weight, my daily life struggles, and how much the medication has improved my health markers, weight, and quality of life. This was an effort to, without pressure, show him the benefits without the central idea that the only use was for vanity.

I know as it stands now, his viewpoint is “but when you stop you gain the weight back” and “well you can’t stay on that stuff forever”. I spoke to those points in an educated manner, and then out of our control the conversation shifted as others entered the room.

I want to offer him a resource or two, to try and open his eyes to the myriad of benefits and life changes these peptides can offer him- but I feel like we only have one shot at this before he shuts the door and says no thanks…

If you had one shot, what resources would you send your loved one?

 

[Beardboost]

I would approach it in a similar way to how I did. Focus on sharing how well you are doing, and over time he will begin to notice the changes and the impact it is having on you. My mental health has improved significantly since losing weight, and having my father’s support has made a real difference. He visits me every week, asks how much weight I have lost each Friday, and now even joins me on my walks. After a few weeks, he became curious and wanted to try Reta himself, so I gave him a vial and some syringes, and he has been really pleased with it. Now my mother in law has joined as well, and even their friends are asking me to place orders for them. When people see real results, it naturally builds confidence in the decisions behind them.

 

[Turbo-Farmer]

I’m committed to being on Tirzepitide for the rest of my life. When people ask about my weight loss I can’t hide the fact that I had lost a significant amount of weight. People say they won’t do the shot, and I counter with I would rather take a shot a week than be on blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar medicine every day.

You’re not on the Glp-1 for ever just the rest of your life and that’s sooner without it.

I not one to let even my doctor tell me what to do, I made up my mind on my own and my health is better than it’s been in years. So I can only act as a positive example. Even though I knew about the grey, I felt more comfortable buying my tirzepitide from a tele-health provider at first.

 

[Devilseye]

If you had a family member, or someone important and close to you, who you sincerely thought would have their life and health significantly improved by opening their mind to GLP-1 medication, what resources or information would you breadcrumb to them to see if they will come around to the idea?

My father-in-law is a couple hundred lbs overweight, has building arthritis in ankles and knees, and labors to breathe even just shifting his weight while sitting down and certainly while walking the few steps he can before he needs to rest. He has been trying for years to listen to his wife on what and how to eat, and essentially doesn’t drink anything but Gatorade zero, and is not improving his circumstances. My wife and her family are growing ever concerned with his mortality, and know that being on a GLP-1 would most certainly change the trajectory of his life.

I think with a little “self” education and some support, he may be willing to try.

Last night I broached the topic with him by speaking about myself and my GLP-1 journey. How at the beginning of the year I was diagnosed with fatty liver disease, told by the doctor I need to lose weight, my daily life struggles, and how much the medication has improved my health markers, weight, and quality of life. This was an effort to, without pressure, show him the benefits without the central idea that the only use was for vanity.

I know as it stands now, his viewpoint is “but when you stop you gain the weight back” and “well you can’t stay on that stuff forever”. I spoke to those points in an educated manner, and then out of our control the conversation shifted as others entered the room.

I want to offer him a resource or two, to try and open his eyes to the myriad of benefits and life changes these peptides can offer him- but I feel like we only have one shot at this before he shuts the door and says no thanks…

If you had one shot, what resources would you send your loved one?

I would definitely approach the subject with care. I would point out that while its true that you may have to take it forever, from a mortality standpoint, the benefits of permanent weight loss far outweight the risks of heavy weight surplus. From cardiovascular to neuro benefits, this is a no brainer. On the plus side, his quality of life would drastically improve too. He could spend more time with his loved ones and partake in activities that may be out of reach for him now. There is no comparison. There is no reason NOT to take it.

I would also provide my experience with the various GLP-1s and only suggest the ones that have a high chance of loosing the most amount of weight. Going on sema for instance is unlikely to be very effective. He wont get to his target weight on that. Tirz would be my first choice. Less side effects to reta and comparable weight loss. Id titrate him very slowly to the max dose. The more rapidly he sees the initial effects, the more hell be encouraged to continue. If you start very small and stay there too long he might say ahh not loosing much it aint worth it. With hundreds of pounds overweight he should get 20+ lbs a month loss initially. That would be my target and adjust dosage accordingly. He should see drastic weight loss from the start.

TLDR: benefits outweight the risks from mortality and quality of life standpoint. Be firm in your suggestion, start with tirz and titrate up to max dose.

Good luck and wishing him a good life decision.

 

[deluge]

I helped 3 people close to me start down this road. A 4th did it the legit way, following what I did initially, before I gave up on Wegovy on month 2 due to availability when out of the country.

They already knew the basics of Wegovy/Tirzepatide, what it was and how it works; I simply explained the alternate routes to obtaining the product.

I didn't try to win them over in a single conversation; I spent a few weeks occasionally bringing up the benefits, sharing studies, even the downsides; Staph, endotoxins, wrong products, no product; lots of open discussions. Not a hard sell, I wanted to be sure they made an informed decision, both good and bad.

When they decided, on their own, that they wanted to move forward, I provided the necessary supplies, tracked dosages, monitored weight loss, dietary suggestions.

 

[Loscar]

Definitely a delicate conversation. I've used myself and how my experience has been. Presenting actual facts, but also I've shown my lipid panel to show how much better I've gotten. Baby steps, to be able to live a better life.

 

[DragonOfTheSea]

Thank you to those who gave their input, I appreciate it.

I’m definitely taking it slow with him, and I’ve already so far framed the discussion around my personal experiences and the facts I’ve learned about peptides. I shared my positive bloodwork changes, I shared some simple improvements in daily tasks like tying my shoes eased joint inflammation, and easier exercises- things that I know he will resonate with.

I will continue to have casual conversations with him on this same level, but I guess I’m looking for specific resources that maybe made you guys or a family member/close one go “oh wow that was a really good read or video” that helped frame peptides in a positive manner with educational context on how the benefit the body- but without being hardcore that I can occasionally, or perhaps as a follow up to a conversation, text him with or something.

 

[lessthanhalf]

I actually think it is a bit sad that he has not already had it recommended to him by his Doctor. Given the severe obesity, breathlessness and painful arthritis, it could improve his quality of life far more than any other medical therapy possibly could. I did notice a post about GLPs being available for $50 in the US for seniors so cost does not have to be impossible if that is a reason his doctor did not consider it, but I have not read the details on the scheme, but if is applicable getting him to talk to his doctor might be worth trying. I think at this point a lot of doctors just do not think about GLPs in the elderly.

In general trying to change anyone else's mind or health related behaviors is a pretty thankless task. And it might just not be possible for his worldview to accept injecting cheap chinese weight loss drugs, no matter how well you explain it . Getting his doctor to say it is a good idea even if the price is a problem might help a lot to convince him it is a reasonable idea. Usually being older does not make people more mentally flexible or accepting of new ideas. Finding out why he thinks it is a bad idea might help. And maybe focus on the possible quality of life benefits like less arthritis pain and improved mobility and reduced breathlessness.

The only person I convinced to start GLP's was my ex, who was obese, had prediabetes, high blood pressure , high cholesterol so was a pretty good candidate mainly to prevent the prediabetes from turning into diabetes. But I did have an ulterior motive as the real aim was to reduce her drinking , as even though the kids are no longer young it is bad for them.

 

[Galapagosfit]

What you explain is the same situations with my parents. One of the biggest reason I always think about my shape and health is because i grown up living with my mother who is on a Diet since 30 years. My father is close to 60years old now and weight 350 with high blood pressure , prediabetes and horrible knee pain. He sleep around 4 hours a hight because he is not comfortable in any position and have bad sleep apnea. He is like a drug addict to coka cola at the point that it is causing dispute in the family.

my siblings and I are worried for them a lot. It's difficult to look at someone we love detroying there live in this way.

Since i found out about peptides, i always think about the effect it could have on there health and quality of life. it would be life changing. I shown the peptide expert in the DOAC podcast to my mother last week. I try to find a way to make them interested in peptides but it's pretty hard to find the way to do it.

They think they can just change by themself... obesity is an addiction to food. You can't just stop when you want. Someone who fight obesity for 30-40 years need help. And now we have tools for that. I will never let go to try to convince them.

 

[byefatlicia]

My kids talked with me and told me they were afraid I wouldn't be around much longer. That hit me hard. Then my Sister told me she was taking the shot from a telehealth thingy. Then the next few days I met a guy who told me about his 100# loss and said he could hook me up "with Grey" for a lot less than telehealth. All those things convinced me to try something completely against my phobia of new meds.

You’re not on the Glp-1 for ever just the rest of your life and that’s sooner without it.

This is my new favorite

 

[randompersonrandom]

I've never tried to get anyone to get on tirz, or go down the grey rabbit hole.

I HAVE enthusiastically celebrated the results of both, in private and in public. (I HAVE toned down the noisy celebration since I hit the midpoint of normal weight, though, because there comes a point where you're thin enough that it's kind of tone deaf to celebrate being thin when you live in the ninth fattest state in the US. But at this point, my body kind of does the "hooray" for me.)

A startling number of people I know in real life, some of whom are friends and some of whom are just acquaintances who just got tired of looking at what was happening to me and NOT happening to them, have started either on the former or on both, and explicitly saying "Ok, I want in on this." And I'm so damn happy for all of them.

 

[RetCurious]

But at this point, my body kind of does the "hooray" for me.

Living well is it's own reward and others do take note.

 

[Grogu]

I personally would separate the discussion of glp meditations from grey, which its sounds like you’ve done. These meditations are available by prescription from his primary physician or from telemedicine, with the later being affordable for most people. He might be more willing to accept this friendly advice from a physician than his family.

I would also focus on the underlying health issues caused by the obesity and that you are all worried about him. You’ve opened the door to glp medications, I think it would be good to give him a chance to walk through the door. Sometimes people need time to make it their own decision. Us humans are complex creatures, both physically and mentally and emotionally.

 

[Turbo-Farmer]

I personally would separate the discussion of glp meditations from grey, which its sounds like you’ve done. These meditations are available by prescription from his primary physician or from telemedicine, with the later being affordable for most people. He might be more willing to accept this friendly advice from a physician than his family.

Agree, with so many health issues it’s probably best for them to get a recommendation from their physician.

Sometimes it is the cost of Glp1, there’s still a stigma about the expense.

My doctor actually recommended tele health tirzepitide to her other patients. I was eligible for the monjourno tirzepatide and my copay would 3x the tele health cost. My only regret is not starting sooner.

 

[Grogu]

Agree, with so many health issues it’s probably best for them to get a recommendation from their physician.

Sometimes it is the cost of Glp1, there’s still a stigma about the expense.

My doctor actually recommended tele health tirzepitide to her other patients. I was eligible for the monjourno tirzepatide and my copay would 3x the tele health cost. My only regret is not starting sooner.

Really great point about the health issues, especially with older folk. I know some of the telehealths peddling glp-1s will ask about labwork and will provide the first Rx for compounded glp-1s without any labs, but will require labs for future prescriptions, but that's few and far between. Not that I think that there should be "gatekeepers"of these medications, but some consult for the elderly would probably be a good idea.