{"id":525025,"date":"2026-01-18T11:34:14","date_gmt":"2026-01-18T11:34:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/525025\/"},"modified":"2026-01-18T11:34:14","modified_gmt":"2026-01-18T11:34:14","slug":"glp-1-drugs-transforming-obesity-and-diabetes-care-in-san-antonio","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/525025\/","title":{"rendered":"GLP-1 drugs transforming obesity and diabetes care in San Antonio"},"content":{"rendered":"

GLP-1 medications have transformed obesity<\/a> and weight management care in the U.S. and in San Antonio. And with new GLP-1 weight loss drugs now hitting the market in pill form, local doctors expect that trend only to accelerate.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThese drugs triple, even quadruple, what we could do with prior medications in the past,\u201d said Dr. Aaron King, a family medicine doctor with Baptist Health System. \u201cI would classify them as revolutionary.\u201d<\/p>\n

Consumers know these medications under brand names Ozempic, Wegovy, Rybelsus, Mounjaro, Zepbound and Trulicity, among others.<\/p>\n

GLP-1 drugs formulated specifically for weight loss have up until this point been administered via daily or weekly injections. In late December, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved<\/a> the first GLP-1 pill for weight loss.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk announced on Dec. 22 that their once-daily weight loss pill known under brand name Wegovy had been greenlit in the U.S. A similar pill by American pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly is also expected to be approved this year.<\/p>\n

Dr. Alberto Chavez-Velazquez, an endocrinologist at the Texas Diabetes Institute who was involved in early primate research on GLP-1 drugs, said that although this class of medications has been on the market for decades to treat diabetes, their widespread use really took off in the last five years amid celebrity endorsements and marketing campaigns around the drugs\u2019 weight loss benefits.<\/p>\n

And although they\u2019re more popularly known as weight loss drugs, researchers and doctors are uncovering a trove of health benefits that extend beyond weight management.<\/p>\n

Some challenges, however, do persist around the drugs. The medications are expensive and often aren\u2019t covered by insurance for weight loss, so access barriers to access persist for many in San Antonio.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Health care providers are also still grappling with misconceptions that the drugs can be used in isolation without additional lifestyle changes for brief periods to lose weight. Researchers are finding that most people who stop taking the medications regain the weight they lost, in many cases rapidly, and see other health markers return to where they were before.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Rybelsus was the first GLP-1 in tablet form approved for diabetes and weight management in 2019. Credit: Amber Esparza \/ San Antonio Report<\/p>\n

\u201cI will probably fall short from calling them \u2018miracle drugs,\u2019\u201d Chavez-Velazquez said. \u201cThey\u2019re fantastic drugs, but at the end of the day, I don\u2019t see them as curative.\u201d<\/p>\n

GLP-1s in San Antonio<\/p>\n

GLP-1s, short for glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists, have been around since 2005, when the FDA approved Exenatide to treat type 2 diabetes<\/a>. By reducing appetite, stimulating the production of insulin and slowing digestion, the drugs effectively manage blood sugar levels.<\/p>\n

Weight loss was moderate and mostly a side effect of slower digestion and lessened appetite with the older GLP-1 drugs. They were also more niche before better formulations, research and marketing campaigns thrust them into the spotlight over the last several years.\u00a0<\/p>\n

People used to be weary about the drugs, Chavez-Velazquez said, and they often had to see an endocrinology specialist to get a prescription.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018I\u2019ve been trying to put you on Ozempic for four years, but it took Elon Musk and Kim Kardashian to convince you,\u2019\u201d Chavez-Velazquez said with a laugh, mimicking conversations he\u2019s had with patients over the last few years.<\/p>\n

The Texas Diabetes Institute, owned and operated by University Health with UT Health San Antonio as its academic partner, drove early adoption of GLP-1 medications in San Antonio, mostly to treat type 2 diabetes, Chavez-Velazquez said.<\/p>\n

Either by reducing weight or through other pathways, the drugs also benefit cardiovascular disease \u2014 reducing incidence of heart attacks and strokes \u2014 obstructive sleep apnea, fatty liver disease and slowing the progression of chronic kidney disease.<\/p>\n

Of course, they\u2019re most well known in the public as potent weight loss drugs. Patients can lose anywhere from 5% to 20% and more of total body weight on GLP-1 medications, but it largely depends on the drug, adherence and lifestyle changes alongside the treatment.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not rare that you see 20, 25, 30 pounds of weight loss,\u201d Chavez-Velazquez said. \u201cI have people that have lost 100 pounds on this medication. But it\u2019s not the norm.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Dr. Alberto Chavez Velazquez, an endocrinologist at University Health\u2019s Texas Diabetes Institute, speaks about the marketing history and prescription trends he\u2019s seen over the years for GLP-1s. Credit: Amber Esparza \/ San Antonio Report<\/p>\n

The medications can come with side effects, mostly affecting the digestive system, like nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation \u2014 among others. But local doctors say that more often than not they\u2019re able to find a medication and dose that has minimal side effects for patients.<\/p>\n

Providers also often encourage patients to eat enough protein and consider weight training to limit the amount of muscle mass loss, which is metabolically protective, while losing weight on GLP-1 drugs.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Another challenge for researchers and primary care providers is that the benefits from the drugs, in many cases, only seem to provide benefits for however long they\u2019re taken.<\/p>\n

\u00a0A paper published in the BMJ<\/a> in November found that most people who stopped taking weight loss management drugs like GLP-1s will regain all of the weight they lost, oftentimes rapidly, leading to researchers to caution about their short-term use.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the key is for people to think about this as a long-term treatment,\u201d said Dr. David Thomas, a bariatric surgeon with Methodist Healthcare. \u201cA lot of patients come in the office and think, \u2018I need to lose 30 or 40 pounds, and then I can get to a place where I can exercise without pain, and I can be more mindful about my diet. Those things are definitely important, but it\u2019s all part of a long-term strategy, and shouldn\u2019t be viewed as a \u2018six-month get back on track.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018Who\u2019s going to pay for them?\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

Although most major health insurers will cover the price of GLP-1 medications for diabetes, which can cost over $1,000 a month, coverage for weight loss is poor and in many cases requires other conditions to be present.<\/p>\n

Neither Medicare nor Medicaid covers the drugs for weight loss, though they do in most cases for type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and obstructive sleep apnea.<\/p>\n

In November, the Trump Administration announced a deal <\/a>with Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk that could lower the costs of the popular drugs.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s an overall expensive medicine, but maybe you\u2019re preventing a patient from going on dialysis in five years,\u201d said Dr. Maria Escobar-Vasco, an endocrinologist and program director of UT Health San Antonio\u2019s Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism Training program. \u201cThese medications improve your metabolic profile, we\u2019re decreasing the incidence of diabetes in these patients, we\u2019re decreasing cardiovascular disease, we\u2019re decreasing kidney failure in these patients.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to polling by KFF<\/a>, 1 in 5 adults reported having ever taken a GLP-1 agonist, including 12% who are\u00a0currently taking the medication.<\/p>\n

Most GLP-1 users reported that their insurance covered at least some of the cost; but 56% said that the drugs were difficult to afford. About a quarter of respondents reported having insurance but paying the whole cost of the medication out of pocket.<\/p>\n

The Wegovy pill is expected to be cheaper than others, starting at $149 per month for a standard dose, according to Novo Nordisk. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe do believe fully that these medications will essentially prevent the development of diabetes in the population,\u201d King said. \u201cThe question really is more, who\u2019s going to pay for them?\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"GLP-1 medications have transformed obesity and weight management care in the U.S. and in San Antonio. And with…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":525026,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5133],"tags":[5229,40452,156815,225433,233271,233272,225434,25996,151,2401,95854,210,9412,10943,427,7202,7203,358,156816,7453,3187,24040,7593,67,586,132,5230,68,2969,7594,2402],"class_list":["post-525025","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-antonio","tag-america","tag-cardiovascular-disease","tag-diabetes-in-san-antonio","tag-dr-aaron-king","tag-dr-alberto-chavez-velazquez","tag-dr-david-thomas","tag-dr-maria-escobar-vasco","tag-eli-lilly","tag-fda","tag-glp-1-drugs","tag-glp-1-medications","tag-health","tag-novo-nordisk","tag-obesity","tag-ozempic","tag-san-antonio","tag-sanantonio","tag-texas","tag-texas-diabetes-institute","tag-top-story","tag-tx","tag-type-2-diabetes","tag-typefeature","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa","tag-wc-1000-1500","tag-wegovy"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/525025","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=525025"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/525025\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/525026"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=525025"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=525025"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=525025"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}