You're part way through weight loss injection treatment
If you started your treatment with a high BMI and now have a healthy BMI, your doctor will recommend continuing the treatment to help you maintain the lost weight.
This is because research has shown that stopping treatment can cause weight gain. One study found patients regained around 11.6% of their lost weight, and the health improvements reversed after gaining back the weight.
Only once you and your doctor are both confident that you can maintain the lost weight without injections, they will gradually decrease your dose until you've completely stopped.
You have a health condition
Sometimes, a doctor may prescribe WLIs even if you don't meet the BMI requirements. But this is considered off-label, meaning it’s against the recommended guidelines.
For example, consider a person of South Asian descent who has a BMI of 26 and high cholesterol. Despite trying dieting and exercising, they haven’t seen any improvements. In this situation, a doctor might recommend weight loss medication as it could be beneficial for them.
Other conditions that may qualify you for WLIs include:
- High blood pressure
- Type 2 diabetes or prediabetes
- Dyslipidemia (high cholesterol or triglycerides)
- Obstructive sleep apnoea
- Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease
- Insulin resistance
- Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)
- Mobility difficulties
Your doctor will evaluate your case in detail before coming to a decision.
You used them previously and are struggling to maintain your weight
A clinician might let you start WLIs again if you’re struggling to maintain your weight loss.
For example, if you went from a BMI of 35 to 24 with treatment, but after a few months of stopping, you notice you're gaining back the weight quickly. In this case, you won’t have to wait until your BMI increases to start treatment again. Typically, you can restart treatment within three months of stopping.
By restarting earlier, it can help you prevent you gaining more weight and re-entering the overweight or obese BMI categories.
But you won’t be able to continue to your previous dose if it’s been more than six weeks since you stopped treatment. You’ll restart on the starting dose to reduce the risk of side effects and allow your body to adjust to the treatment.
