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Episode 87. This is a conversation I’ve been anticipating for a while now, but likely wouldn’t have had even as recently as a few years ago.
To be honest, I was scared to do it. As a professional who believes that no one should feel pressure to lose weight, I don’t want to have anyone see that I have a podcast about this topic and believe I think they should take these meds or be trying to shrink their body.
But you know why I was most nervous to have the episode?
Because I didn’t want my professional colleagues to judge or think less of me.
I’m putting this episode out into the world because I believe individuals should not feel shame if they decide to make weight loss medications part of their journey.
I also strongly believe that our professional world is split into many different “us versus them” camps, and it’s incredibly counterproductive.
We all have the same goals, to make our clients or patients feel good and well.
What to Expect in this Interview
In this interview, we cover:
- Some of the history of weight loss medication options (and why I likely wouldn’t have had an episode like this a few years ago)
- A brief overview of weight loss medication options available (including a brief overview of non-GLP-1 agonist medications such as Contrave and Orlistat)
- An overview of the mechanism of action for GLP-1 agonist medications (I get questions about these medications almost weekly lately)
- Brief review of the risks and benefits from medical and psychological standpoints
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Medications We Covered
Dr. Egan gave a brief overview of some of the pros and cons of non-GLP-1 agonist options:
- Contrave (combination of bupropion and naltrexone)
- Qsymia (phentermine and Topiramate)
- Orlistat
- Plenity (newer medication, only very short-term studies)
GLP-1 Agonist Medications
- Saxenda (liraglutide)
- Wegovy (semaglutide)
- Mounjaro (tirzepatide) – currently only approved for people with a diagnosis of diabetes. This medication is a GLP-1 and GIP receptor agonist.
Who is Dr. Celia Egan?
Dr. Egan joined True Women’s Health® over a year ago after practicing Obesity Medicine and Internal Medicine at Spectrum Health Medical Group. At True, she focuses on what she loves including extensive patient care in medical weight management and providing evidence-based wellness expertise to women in a primary care setting.
Born and raised in West Michigan, Dr. Egan completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Michigan. After earning her MD from New York Medical College, she completed her internship and residency in Internal Medicine at Weill Cornell Medical Center- New York-Presbyterian Hospital in New York, NY. During her residency, she focused on outpatient weight management and Obesity Medicine with one of the field’s leading experts, Dr. Louis Aronne.
After residency, she worked at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center where she gained extensive knowledge in advanced inpatient oncologic care and survivorship care. After completing academic hospitalist work at Loyola University Medical Center in Chicago, IL she joined WellessenceMD, focusing on medical weight management, obesity medicine, and wellness in primary care.
When not engrossed in medicine, Dr. Egan loves spending her free time being active and traveling with her husband, a local physician, and three sons. They love exploring all of West Michigan including new restaurants, learning to ski, and hanging out on the beach.
You can find her on Instagram @celiaeganmd and on Facebook at True Womens Health.
“I think for every patient, information is always powerful and so we hope to just provide woman with information about what drugs are available.”
– Celia Egan, MD
Support Local Bookstores Near You!
Did you know that that if nothing slows their momentum, Amazon will have almost 80% of the book market by the end of 2025?
Look, I love the convenience of Amazon, but I’ve got a super cool way that you can support local bookstores and my blog and podcast simply by buying books like you already do! You can choose any bookstore on the list in the US (they plan to expand to other counties in the future) OR you can just let the donation get split between all stores. They have raised over 15 million dollars for local bookstores. On my bookshop, you will see my absolute favorite books related to health and wellness, courage and vulnerability, and even my favorite fiction and kids books!
My recent favorite related to achieving a deeper level of healing is No Bad Parts: Healing Trauma and Restoring Wholeness with the Internal Family Systems Model. This model of healing has been incredibly helpful to me personally. I’m also using it with clients and seeing great results. This book isn’t specific to eating or weight concerns, but is really one of the best ways I’ve found to help work with that deeper root cause of any behavior you are struggling with and I think you’ll find it super interesting and valuable.
So if you believe in supporting local businesses and want to support my blog and podcast, please consider buying your books through Bookshop from now on!
The Psychology of Wellness Bookshop Link.
Disclaimer: This blog and podcast is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not a substitute for individual professional advice or treatment, including medical or mental health advice. It does not constitute a provider patient relationship.
Disclosure: Using the Bookshop.org links in this post means that I would get an affiliate fee if you purchase from the online bookshop (this supports my business, and local bookstores too!).