Dr. Michelle Pearlman | Source | Florida Physician Nutrition Specialist, Board-Certified in Internal Medicine ...

“Our brain has incredible impact on our gut and our gut includes our stomach and our intestines so when people have abdominal pain or gastrointestinal symptoms they say ‘what’s going on with my stomach?’ But many times it’s what’s going on with our emotions,” Pearlman said.

According to physician-nutrition specialist Dr. Michelle Pearlman, these medications are increasingly becoming part of the conversations she has with patients about losing weight. “Today, people come to my clinic, and they say, ‘I want the injections, or I want Ozempic.’ They come asking for the medication as opposed to maybe starting out with a conversation of, ‘I’m struggling with my weight, I would like to discuss all the options.’ Pearlman said that Barkley’s weight loss was significant, but not necessarily unhealthy.

“I think it really just depends on where’s the person starting from. So, if we have a patient who is 150 pounds and they lose a third of their body weight in a short period of time then that’s very drastic,” Pearlman said. “But if someone has a lot of weight to lose then the absolute number may sound like a lot, but really for their particular body, may not be as much as we think it is.” Pearlman pointed out that every person is different and they may react differently to weight loss drugs. “So, 60 pounds in six months is definitely fairly rapid. But really, what we tell people is the goal is to lose one to two pounds per week, fairly consistently, but everyone’s body is different,” Pearlman said.

CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The high cost and limited insurance coverage for popular weight loss drugs is driving some to seek potentially unsafe alternatives. Dr. Michelle Pearlman, a gastroenterologist and obesity specialist with Prime Institute, said many people are turning to compounding pharmacies which can customize medications that are not commercially available, often at a much lower cost than a prescription drug. “Well that sounds like a reasonable option, but what are some reasons it may not be ideal. One is that although they have to follow certain regulatory agency guidelines, you don’t have the same scrutiny as medications that have been tested and approved by the FDA have. So you don’t know quite what you’re getting,” she said.