Reviewed by Dr Sarah Mitchell, PhD · Editorial Board
Questions to ask your doctor about GLP-1 medicines
GP and specialist appointments are short. Arriving with structured questions changes the conversation. These are starter questions for each stage of the GLP-1 journey — adapt to your situation.
Before starting
Eligibility and product choice
These are starter questions you can adapt for a GP, specialist, pharmacist, or anti-doping advisor. The aim is to help you have a better-informed conversation — not to replace one.
- Am I clinically eligible for a GLP-1 medicine, and on what grounds?
- Which medicine are you proposing (Wegovy / Ozempic / Mounjaro / Saxenda), and why that one rather than the alternatives?
- Is NHS access realistic for my situation, or is private the right route?
- What contraindications do I have that change the risk profile (personal or family history of medullary thyroid cancer, MEN2, pancreatitis, severe gastrointestinal disease, pregnancy, etc.)?
- What other medicines am I on that might interact?
- If I have mental-health considerations, how does that factor in?
- What outcomes would constitute success for me — weight, metabolic markers, symptoms — and over what timescale?
Setting up dose escalation
Titration plan
These are starter questions you can adapt for a GP, specialist, pharmacist, or anti-doping advisor. The aim is to help you have a better-informed conversation — not to replace one.
- What dose are we starting at and how will it step up?
- What is the typical gap between dose increases?
- What if I can't tolerate the next step — do we hold, drop back, or stop?
- How will gastrointestinal side effects be managed?
- Are there practical tips for the first weeks (timing, food choices, hydration)?
- When and how should I contact you between scheduled reviews?
While on the medicine
Review and monitoring
These are starter questions you can adapt for a GP, specialist, pharmacist, or anti-doping advisor. The aim is to help you have a better-informed conversation — not to replace one.
- What review intervals are we using?
- What labs or measurements will we track?
- What are the signs that something has gone wrong and I should seek urgent advice?
- Am I still on track to meet the success criteria we set initially?
- Are there resistance-training or dietary patterns you specifically recommend to limit lean-mass loss?
- If I want to stay at this dose rather than escalate further, is that reasonable?
If considering stopping
Stopping plan
These are starter questions you can adapt for a GP, specialist, pharmacist, or anti-doping advisor. The aim is to help you have a better-informed conversation — not to replace one.
- What's the recommended tapering schedule, if any?
- What is realistic to expect on weight regain after stopping?
- What lifestyle interventions help most at the stopping stage?
- If I regain significantly, what is the threshold for restarting?
- Are there licensed alternatives we should consider rather than restarting the same medicine?
- How will we monitor after stopping — what reviews and labs?
If you suspect a side effect
Adverse events
These are starter questions you can adapt for a GP, specialist, pharmacist, or anti-doping advisor. The aim is to help you have a better-informed conversation — not to replace one.
- Is what I'm experiencing within the expected side-effect profile?
- Should we adjust the dose, hold, or stop?
- Do you report this via the MHRA Yellow Card scheme, or should I?
- Are there warning signs I should be alert for at home?
- When does this become an NHS 111 / 999 issue rather than a routine review?