1. Start with the change you want in daily life
Write down why you are considering medical weight management now. Be specific about the difficulties you want help with: appetite, a weight-related health concern, an activity that has become harder, or uncertainty after a previous treatment. Include the approaches you have tried and what made them useful or difficult. These details give your clinician a better starting point than a request for whichever medicine is most visible online.
2. Put your records in one place
Bring your current prescriptions, over-the-counter products, supplements, allergies, relevant diagnoses, and recent laboratory results. If you have used weight-loss medication, include the exact product, dates, side effects, and reason for stopping. Tell the clinician about pregnancy plans, prior surgery, diabetes treatment, or digestive concerns. Ask whether any records should be sent ahead of time. Do not send sensitive medical records through a general website inquiry form.
3. Ask for the exact product and purpose
Semaglutide and tirzepatide are ingredients used in different branded medicines. Ask which brand and formulation are proposed, what condition it would treat, and whether that use is approved. If a compounded medicine is suggested, ask why an approved product would not meet your needs. Compounded drugs are not FDA approved. A pharmacy’s registration or a product’s ingredient list does not establish that the finished medicine has FDA approval.
4. Discuss safety in practical terms
Ask which side effects are common, which symptoms need prompt medical attention, and how to reach the office with a concern. Review potential interactions and the situations in which the medicine should not be used. If treatment involves an injection or another unfamiliar format, find out who will show you the correct use. Never assume instructions for one product apply to another, and do not change doses based on someone else’s experience.
5. Connect treatment with meals and movement
Ask how to maintain adequate nourishment and hydration if appetite changes. Discuss activity that fits your abilities, including any pain or mobility limitations. Your clinician may suggest another professional’s input for nutrition or exercise planning. Choose a few changes you can sustain and decide what to track. A plan should support your health rather than reward the fastest possible loss or the smallest possible food intake.
6. Understand costs, refills, and interruptions
Request an explanation of the initial visit, medication, testing, and follow-up costs separately. Ask what happens if insurance declines coverage, supply changes, or you need to pause treatment. Find out how refills are requested and how much notice is needed. Having these answers before you begin reduces the chance that an avoidable interruption leaves you improvising with a different product or stretching a prescription without guidance.
7. Define what will be reviewed
Agree on a follow-up plan that considers tolerability, daily functioning, relevant health measures, and your goals. Ask how the approach will change if the medicine does not help or becomes difficult to use. Individual results vary. At Atlanta Medical Institute, the initial consultation is $125, prepaid to reserve your time. Call 404-264-9553 to plan a visit at the Sandy Springs office and discuss what to bring.
Your questions, answered.
Should I arrive knowing which medicine I want?+
You can bring preferences and questions, but you do not need to choose a medicine before an assessment.
What is the most important cost question?+
Ask for the full expected care costs, separated into consultation, medication, testing, and follow-up, rather than relying on a starting price.
What should I leave the visit knowing?+
The next step, any information still needed, how to get help, and when the plan will be reviewed.