After a holiday season filled with mask-wearing and social distancing and with a pandemic still ravaging our country, many of your patients may be motivated to improve their health – after all, you can only control what you can control, right? Taking stock of the changes that COVID-19 has forced on us, it is notable that many have suffered weight gain as a direct result of lockdowns or as an indirect result of stress and grief. All aspects of health, and particularly weight, weight loss, and management, are very vulnerable to the changes in our day-to-day lives.
For many women, the pandemic caused major shakeups to their work lives. Multitudes of office workers are, for the foreseeable future, working from home and dealing with the many challenges that may bring. While you may have considered the complications of sharing a workspace with a spouse or juggling the virtual learning schedules of kids with Zoom meetings, you may not have considered the implication of being near the fridge and pantry all day long!
For some, remote working may have helped to break bad food habits and give them an opportunity to enjoy healthy, wholesome, homemade food throughout the workday. For others, the proximity to their own kitchen may have broken good food habits that were established by purchasing healthy lunches and staying away from junk food while at the office. There are many positives and negatives to remote working, and which category your patients fall into very much depends upon individual circumstances.
The Zoom Boom
If you have been part of this remote revolution, then you have, no doubt, experienced virtual meets. There are many silver linings to this new way of working. For example, it is often far easier to get people together for a virtual meet than in-person. A possible downside, though, is that we are forced to face ourselves in a new way.
Tools such as Zoom and Google Meets include everyone’s faces on the screen by default in video mode. This has forced many of us to observe our own Zoom-chin in horror. For the uninitiated, Zoom-chin is the double, triple, or multi-chin that is magnified by the screen’s low position and our looking down into it. The increased use of virtual meets has caused a post-lockdown boom in patients seeking facial improvements, referred to as the Zoom Boom.
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Whether your patients are interested in addressing that chin or in reducing weight this year to improve their health trajectory, read on for a review of the weight loss options available from VLS Pharmacy to enable you to support their weight-loss journey.
Injectables
The Zoom Boom has contributed to the growing popularity of injectables. Sure, lockdowns have forced people to face their own faces in new ways, but they have also provided the time to both consider, and recover from, treatments.
Metabolic Injectable Solution
Metabolic injectable solution is offered as an addition to IV therapy and is available in 10mL vials.
The ingredients of this solution, per 10mL, include:
- Biotin 5mg
- Dexpanthenol 250mg
- Niacinamide 50mg
- Pyridoxine HCL 150mg
- Thiamine HCL 100mg
- Riboflavin-5-Phosphate Sodium
- USP 1mg
- Methylcobalamin 1mg
If you are administering IV Therapy as part of a weight-loss or management treatment plan, you can include this custom combination to support your patients’ unique needs. Some practices use specific blends to support body fat reduction [lipotropics], boost the metabolism, curb cravings and suppress the appetite.
IV Therapy solutions are becoming more and more popular for a few reasons. Unlike tablets, topical creams, or liquid formulas, IV nutrients bypass the digestive system, delivering formulations directly to the bloodstream and tissues. This unlocks the potential for faster and more efficient treatments for patients in need, particularly those who may not be able to respond to oral administration.
Additionally, more and more patients are seeking holistic and preventative solutions to help maintain their overall wellness and longevity. Many providers view IV vitamin nutrient therapy as an opportunity to help our body systems counteract the chronic burden of inflammation and oxidative stress in our environment.
And, finally, in consideration of long-term wellness. When nutrient IV therapy is administered on a regular basis as part of a comprehensive wellness plan, it can be an effective, complementary wellness service that supports sustained health, hydration, energy, and essential nutrient levels. For more information, please contact us here.
MIC Injectables
MIC injections containing methionine, inositol, choline, and vitamin B12 or B-complex, have been used successfully in combination with weight loss programs for decades. MIC formulations provide a combination of essential B vitamins and amino acids, allowing your patients to maintain their energy levels while they reduce calorie intake.
The nutrients in MIC assist the body by decreasing fat deposits and speeding up fat metabolism. Methionine is a sulfur-containing amino acid that removes heavy metals from the body while breaking down fat deposits. Inositol is a nutrient belonging to the B vitamin family and is closely associated with choline. It supports cell membranes, converts fat into energy, and facilitates good nerve impulses. Inositol also helps reduce blood cholesterol and participates in the action of serotonin production. Choline controls cholesterol levels in the blood and supports cell membranes. Choline’s activity is associated with the nervous system, linked with memory, and is critical for the normal function of the endocrine, cardiovascular, and hepatic system.
Our MIC injections also provide B vitamins. Vitamins B1, 2, 3, and 6 are all essential for metabolism and energy production. Vitamin B3 can help reduce cholesterol levels for patients, while vitamins B6 and 12 are essential for hemoglobin production and are linked to the healthy function of the nervous system. Levocarnitine may also be included, as it plays a crucial role in energy production by transporting fatty acids to be converted to energy.
Our super lipotropic multi-ingredient injectable provides the following dose per mL:
- Methionine 15mg
- Inositol 50mg
- Choline Chloride USP 100mg
- B3 – Niacin 12.5mg
- B1 – Thiamine HCL 12.5mg
- Cal. Pantothenate USP 2.5mg
- B6 – Pyridoxine HCL 2.5mg
- B2 – Riboflavin- 5-phosphate USP 500mcg
- Levocarnitine 10mg
- B12 – Methylcobalamin 1000mcg
Given obesity’s link to malnutrition, it is vital to support overweight patients while they reduce their calorie intake. Nutrient-dense food is essential in any diet regime, whether it is a person’s daily diet or a weight-loss program. With users reporting higher energy levels and experiencing better cognitive function, MIC injectables offer a fantastic way to reintroduce important nutrients and assist patients as they lose weight safely.
Highly-Customizable Compounding
Patients seeking assistance with fat loss need to be confident that you can treat their individual requirements. One of the major benefits of working with a compounding pharmacy is that we work closely with our clients to customize their therapies. While most other deoxycholic acid formulations burn at the injection site or require pre-numbing for patient comfort, our compound formula does not burn or irritate patients. Whether you are working with targeted fat loss (as with deoxycholic acid injections) or with systemic fat-treatment therapies (such as lipotropic injections), VLS Pharmacy is able to customize your offering.
MIC variations can include:
- Vitamin B12 (cyanocobalamin, hydroxocobalamin, or methylcobalamin form).
- Vitamin C (ascorbic acid)
Patients often need a personalized treatment plan that tackles their unique needs and body fat challenges.
Obesity and Insulin Resistance
As your overweight patients go into the new year, they are probably more aware of the potential dangers of obesity than ever before. Obesity is linked with the leading causes of death in the United States and worldwide, including diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and some types of cancer. It is also linked to worse outcomes with COVID-19.
An Evolving Therapy Base
Considering these risks, it is understandable that obese patients search for efficacious therapies. The reality of pharmaceutical intervention, however, is that great care must be taken not to introduce additional risk from the treatment itself.
It can be tough for patients when therapies they have adapted to and learned to trust are removed from the market. Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (HCG), for example, was once a popular choice for weight control. While HCG is an FDA-approved medication for treating certain fertility-related conditions in both women and men, regulatory shake-ups have resulted in it being classified as a biologic, which changes how the therapy is licensed under the Public Health Service Act. Specifically, this categorization means that the drug may no longer be compounded. This change has led to shortages of the drug, and the existing supply is reserved for fertility treatment.
As with HCG, the once-popular dexfenfluramine, marketed under the name Redux, is also no longer available. Redux reduces appetite by increasing circulating serotonin in the brain. The state of “satisfaction” created by Redux equated to “satiation” and was found to be an effective appetite suppressant, protecting against weight gain. However, the FDA revoked approval for the drug due to multiple concerns about its cardiovascular side-effects. Similarly, the closely-related fenfluramine was revoked after being linked to heart valve problems.
Because of these changes to medication availability, many patients who suffer from hyperinsulinism and insulin insensitivity require a safe, effective alternative. Metformin is one such alternative.
Metformin
One of the damaging consequences of obesity is insulin resistance. Due to long-term, high-carb exposure, the body produces more insulin to clear the circulating sugar. Over time, the cells become desensitized to insulin, and as a result, the body produces more insulin. The ultimate outcome of this cycle can be type 2 diabetes. Metformin therapy helps regulate blood sugar and improves the body’s response to insulin. Metformin is also associated with effective weight loss.
One of our most popular compounds among patients and providers, Metformin 250mg/Lipoic Acid 100mg/Chromium 80mcg capsules, provides a low-dose alternative to the commercial drug offered at 500mg. Overwhelming feedback supports that, when taken with food, this compound is more tolerated by the GI tract. Plus, patients are getting the added benefit of lipoic acid for body weight and fat reduction and chromium for increased lean body mass.
It is vital, however, to support patients who are new to this therapy, as its side effects include abdominal discomfort, nausea, and diarrhea. Consider beginning patients at a low dose and increasing the dose gradually. Slow or extended-release preparations may relieve or mitigate these side effects. However, be aware that 5 percent of people may ultimately be unable to tolerate metformin.
When supporting patients who are prediabetic, it is vital to encourage them to commit to diet and exercise changes. Fortunately, a healthy diet and adequate exercise can reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by 58 percent.
Conclusion
Obesity is a high-risk disease, even more so during the current pandemic. It also massively impacts the self-image and confidence of patients. Our weight loss support formulas kick-start the metabolism, boost energy, and help eliminate fat – in addition to supporting overall wellness. When nutrition and exercise have not provided the results patients are looking for, or if a patient needs an encouraging boost, the options presented here may assist. We are ready to support you to develop custom plans for your patients.
Contact our team to learn about best practices and to partner with our experts on custom medications for your patients.
All medications from VLS Pharmacy and New Drug Loft are prepared in a lab that follows safety and quality standards per our status as a 503A pharmacy.
