Compounded Tirzepatide Therapy for Weight Loss: A Health Economics & Outcomes Research (HEOR) Analysis.

The compounded tirzepatide tested in this 4-week study produced less weight loss than was intended and side effects that would be intolerable in a work environment with nearby colleagues. Compounded tirzepatide was a useful tool to enable this study of the dual glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP), also known as gastric inhibitory polypeptide, and GLP-1 RA class of drugs in chronic weight management. However, a 7.5 mg weekly dose of compounded API tirzepatide over four weeks is unlikely to produce a lasting 10% reduction in body weight even for those patients practicing intermittent fasting, choosing a vegan diet, and performing weight-bearing exercise and cardiovascular exercise daily. After cessation of therapy, the investigator's lost weight was regained, representing the weight gain relapse observed in some real-world settings associated with injectable weight loss drugs. Arguably, the dual GIP RA and GLP-1 RA drugs take patients on a proverbial roller coaster ride of weight loss and regain and intense yo-yo dieting. Patients on tirzepatide or semaglutide might benefit most not from realizing some short-term weight loss goal, but from lasting neuroplasticity-like changes in memory, rewards, and elimination of one or more particular food cravings based on the brain's ability to create, organize, and reorganize connections between neurons.