To All My Great Patients,

I have had quite a few patients ask me to explain, in simple terms, what is the difference between Ozempic/Semaglutide and Zepbound/Mounjaro/Tirzepatide and to explain the “GLP-1” and “GIP” meanings.

First of all, Ozempic/Semaglutide/Wegovy affect the GLP-1 levels, and are referred to as “GLP’s”. So, what does the medication do when it activates GLP-1 receptors? For example, say you have a city, and it can’t handle the incoming traffic so they tell everyone to just park wherever they can. The next thing you know there are cars and trucks strewn all over in fields, on sidewalks and just tucked away to deal with later. Then someone comes over and says, all the traffic is coming through the tunnel. If you want to fix your traffic problems, just close the tunnel. So that is what happens, and the traffic problem is solved. However, after a few days the occupants of the city noticed there weren’t any supplies coming in because the tunnel is closed. So, to survive, the occupants rob and steal from the other occupants to survive.

This is what Semaglutide does to the body. It affects the GLP-1 so much that it has the capacity to slow the movement of food to such a significant degree through the stomach it is almost like closing the tunnel. Of course, if food is “stuck” or the movement of food is dramatically slowed in the stomach there is a feeling of food being stuck and nausea that sets in. Without an accurate level of nutrients, the body becomes fatigued, the brain is foggy as the body downshifts to survive. Sure, people “lose weight”, but they are more likely to get robbed from the inside, so they lose muscle, bone, and organ tissue, too. Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure there have been a few success stories, with careful monitoring, but the greater percentage had poor experiences. These were also negatively enhanced by the counterfeit Ozempic that have been dispensed by your local pharmacy on top of the impure compounded versions that were dispensed to patients. As a physician, we all must decide how to help and do no harm, and I couldn’t recommend Semaglutide to my patient base as a whole.

Now, back to the example of the city. Instead of closing the tunnel for the traffic issue, let’s just reduce it to one lane and do so in an orderly, single file fashion. To ensure that there are no issues at the tunnel, let’s put a sign on the road leading to the tunnel, about 5 miles out, and say “one lane ahead” so alternate traffic can leave and only the necessary traffic comes in an orderly and single file pace. This is the effect of Tirzepatide with its influence on GLP-1. Just a slight amount (roughly 80% less than Semaglutide), because a tickle to the receptor is all that is needed. It will help to regulate appetite, give a better sense of fullness with less, but still keep the nutritional lane open. The body feels safe as it obtains its nutrients and the patient doesn’t have the feeling of food being stuck nor the nausea, fatigue, etc., as the body isn’t being robbed.

That isn’t even the best part of Tirzepatide, the game-changer, the difference maker! So, back to the city, with Tirzepatide, it is like having its own power grid. The influence on GIP increases blood flow, increases fat cell breakdown which increases energy. In simple terms, the body extracts fat from stores in the body, converts it to glucose and makes energy by putting it into our energy cells to burn. Do you know when the last time my body did that on its own? When I was 18.

As I studied Tirzepatide, and what scientists claimed it will be able to do, I thought it was pure fantasy. As much fantasy as if someone told me, just after I opened my Walkman for Christmas in 1980 (for those not as old as me, a Walkman was a portable cassette player with headphones, a major advancement for my time), that one day there would be a phone, with a screen to see who I was talking to, had all the songs I could think of that I could play with just a touch of the screen, and a camera better than any camera known at that time. I would have told that person to stop eating the mushrooms from the wrong side of the mountain because they are pure hallucinating. Well, we have that phone; and we have Tirzepatide.

So, is Tirzepatide “related” to Semaglutide? Yes, but not as close as it the population thinks. They loosely share one common trait, and that is about it. We all know people from the same family who we would never believe are related because they look and act so DIFFERENT. There you have Tirzepatide!

Just an update on my progress and Amy’s progress:

DR. KNIGHTON – 7 Weeks after adding Tirzepatide.

Inches: Down 3 inches around my waist

Fat pounds: Down 11.6 pounds of just fat

Percent Body Fat: Down 2.5% body fat

Muscle: No change, I have NOT lost any muscle

Weight: Down 14 pounds

AMY L – 7 weeks after adding Tirzepatide.

Inches: Down primarily in abdomen – her target area.

Fat Pounds: Down 9.7 pounds

Percent Body Fat: Down 4.5% body fat

Muscle: No Change, has not lost any muscle

Weight: Down 14.2 pounds

As a side note, my energy is as good as it was 20 years ago, clothes are much looser, and I just plain feel better. With warm weather coming soon, I’m not sure I will achieve “summer sexy” at my age, but I am going to look and feel as good as I have in a very long time! I am thrilled to see so many patients having the same success I am having. One of the perks of doing what I do, I get a front row seat to see my patients look and feel good, too. I’ve said it before, the greatest drug in the world is when I feel good (energy, percent body fat, healthy) and feel good about myself (positive self-image, when I view myself I see more of what I like than dislike, self-confident). If I can walk into my closet and pull whatever I want from any hanger and know that it is going to fit the way I want, then my day is filled with confident euphoria.

It is very difficult to obtain the purest Tirzepatide base, but the pharmacy we have dispense the Tirzepatide uses exactly the same Tirzepatide that is in the name brand, and we have obtained discounted pharmacy pricing for our patients. I’ve said this many times, but I am a stickler on purity and will only have my patients put in their body what I would put in my own. Be wary of on-line deals, pop-up telemedicine for weight loss, and every other scam out there. For those already on Tirzepatide, enjoy the journey. For those wanting to start, let’s get going. It is amazing!