Tirzepatide Weight Loss
Tirzepatide is a once weekly injection that targets two gut hormones instead of one. In SURMOUNT-1, adults on the 15 mg dose lost an average of 20.9 percent of their body weight over 72 weeks. In the head to head trial against semaglutide, tirzepatide produced 20.2 percent loss compared with 13.7 percent.
At Team Care LLC, tirzepatide is prescribed and monitored by a licensed provider here in Oklahoma City. Full medical evaluation before your first dose, a titration plan set by how you respond, and scheduled reviews that actually look at your numbers.
At Team Care LLC, semaglutide is prescribed and monitored by a licensed provider in Oklahoma City. You get a full medical evaluation before your first dose, a titration plan matched to how you respond, and scheduled reviews. Not an online form and a package in the post.
Tirzepatide is a dual GIP and GLP-1 receptor agonist. It is sold as Zepbound for chronic weight management and Mounjaro for type 2 diabetes. Same molecule, different label and dosing indication.
GLP-1 is the hormone most people have heard of. GIP is the other major incretin your gut releases after eating, and until tirzepatide no weight loss medication acted on it. Combining both is what separates this drug from semaglutide.
Injection is subcutaneous into the abdomen, thigh or upper arm, once a week, using a 4 mm to 8 mm needle. It comes as a single dose pen.
GLP-1 side. Reduces appetite through receptors in the hypothalamus, slows stomach emptying, improves insulin response.
GIP side. Acts on fat tissue and on separate brain pathways involved in appetite regulation. Evidence suggests GIP activity also blunts the nausea driven by GLP-1, which is part of why patients tolerate relatively high total doses.
Together the two produce larger average weight loss than GLP-1 alone. That is the mechanism behind the trial results, not marketing.
What tirzepatide does not do is choose where the weight comes from. Without adequate protein and resistance training, a meaningful share of loss is lean muscle rather than fat. Your reviews at Team Care LLC exist to catch that early.
Maintenance doses are 5 mg, 10 mg or 15 mg. Plenty of patients stop climbing at 5 mg or 10 mg because they are losing steadily and feel well. In SURMOUNT-1 the 5 mg group still averaged 15 percent loss. Higher is not automatically better for you.
Pick one day a week and hold it. Miss a dose, take it within 4 days. Past that, skip it and resume on schedule. Never double up.
SURMOUNT-1 (New England Journal of Medicine, 2022. 2,539 adults without diabetes, 72 weeks):
SURMOUNT-5 (2025, direct comparison, 751 adults, 72 weeks): tirzepatide 20.2 percent versus semaglutide 13.7 percent.
SURMOUNT-OSA (2024): in adults with obesity and moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnoea, tirzepatide cut apnoea-hypopnoea events by roughly two thirds. The FDA approved it for OSA in December 2024. If you have diagnosed sleep apnoea, mention it at your consultation, because it can change both the clinical case and your insurance position.
Weeks 1 to 4. Appetite drops on the starter dose. Scale movement is limited.
Months 2 to 4. Loss becomes consistent as you titrate. One to two pounds a week is typical.
Months 4 to 9. The steadiest stretch. Blood pressure, A1C and triglycerides generally improve alongside weight.
Month 9 onward. Loss slows as metabolic rate adapts. Expected, not failure.
Side effects are mostly gastrointestinal, cluster around dose increases, and settle within one to two weeks.
Most common in SURMOUNT-1:
Most were mild to moderate. Around 4 to 7 percent of participants stopped treatment because of side effects, depending on dose.
How we handle it: hold your dose rather than advancing when nausea persists, cut fried and high fat food during titration, raise water and fibre intake, and treat constipation before it becomes the reason you quit. Staying at 7.5 mg for an extra six weeks is a better outcome than stopping at week 14.
Serious but uncommon risks include pancreatitis and gallbladder disease. Tirzepatide is contraindicated with a personal or family history of medullary thyroid carcinoma or MEN type 2, and in pregnancy. Screened at intake.
One item women on oral contraception need to know: tirzepatide can reduce absorption of the pill, particularly around dose increases. A barrier method for four weeks after starting and after each increase, or a non-oral contraceptive, is the standard advice. Raise it at your consultation.
Muscle loss is the risk that gets least attention. We track protein and training at every review.
Tirzepatide wins on average weight loss and has the sleep apnoea indication. Semaglutide has the placebo controlled cardiovascular outcome evidence and a longer record in real world use. Insurance coverage often decides it before either of those does.
Compare semaglutide options
Cost depends on your maintenance dose, the medication dispensed and your insurance.
GLP-1 and dual agonist coverage for weight management varies sharply by plan, and Oklahoma employer plans often exclude it outright. A documented sleep apnoea or type 2 diabetes diagnosis sometimes changes that. Team Care LLC verifies your benefits before you commit, so you have your real out of pocket figure rather than an estimate off a comparison site.
See current pricing and what we can check on your insurance.
The initial consultation costs nothing.
Tirzepatide is indicated for adults with a BMI of 30 or above, or 27 or above with a weight related condition such as type 2 diabetes, hypertension, sleep apnoea or dyslipidaemia. It is separately approved for moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnoea with obesity.
Likely a good fit if you:
Not appropriate during pregnancy or breastfeeding, with a personal or family history of medullary thyroid carcinoma or MEN2, or with active pancreatitis.
Worth knowing before you start. In SURMOUNT-4, patients who stopped tirzepatide after 36 weeks regained around 14 percent of body weight over the following year, while those who continued lost a further 5.5 percent. Obesity behaves as a chronic condition. Plan maintenance from day one.
