What to bring to your first GLP-1 appointment

The first GLP-1 appointment runs 15-20 minutes in most clinics. Some of that is intake paperwork, some is vitals, some is the prescriber's questions, some is your questions. The actual decision-making window is closer to 8 minutes.

Patients who use those 8 minutes well leave with the right prescription, the right ramp, and a clinic that knows what they actually want from the relationship. Patients who don't get whatever the clinic defaults to, which is often fine but not always.

Here's what to bring.

A printed list of your current medications

Including supplements. The clinic intake form will ask, but writing it ahead of time lets you reference it accurately rather than trying to remember in the moment. Important interactions to flag:

• Birth control (timing of dose interaction, see tirzepatide and birth control)
• Thyroid medication (absorption may shift with slowed gastric emptying)
• Blood thinners (no direct interaction but worth confirming)
• Any psychiatric medications (worth a flagging conversation, see GLP-1 and mental health)
• Diabetes medications if applicable (dose adjustments often needed)

Your most recent labs

If you've had bloodwork in the last 6-12 months, bring the results. The most useful values:

• HbA1c (diabetes screen / metabolic state)
• Fasting glucose
• Lipid panel
• Basic metabolic panel (kidney function)
• TSH (thyroid)
• Vitamin D and B12 (often low in patients about to start a calorie deficit)

You don't need fresh labs at the first visit unless the prescriber specifies. Recent ones are fine. If you don't have any, ask whether the clinic wants baseline labs before starting; some do, most don't.

A short list of your health context

Two or three sentences, not a memoir:

• Why you're considering GLP-1 (weight loss, T2D management, both)
• What you've tried before (diets, other medications, surgical options)
• What didn't work and why (helps the prescriber calibrate expectations)
• Any specific concerns (family history of thyroid cancer, MEN-2 if relevant, history of pancreatitis, IBD, gastroparesis)

The contraindications matter. Personal or family history of medullary thyroid carcinoma or MEN-2 syndrome is an absolute contraindication. History of pancreatitis is a relative contraindication. Active IBD or gastroparesis is a relative contraindication. Disclose these proactively; don't wait to be asked.

Your insurance situation, in writing

If you're in the US and using insurance, knowing your formulary status before the appointment saves a lot of friction:

• Is Wegovy on your formulary? Mounjaro? Zepbound?
• Do you have prior authorization requirements?
• What's your specialty drug copay tier?

Your insurance app or member portal will tell you. If you can't find it, the clinic's pharmacy team can usually look it up but it adds time. Coming prepared lets the prescriber pick the brand most likely to actually fill rather than the one they prefer abstractly.

Three specific questions

The prescriber will lead the medical conversation. The questions you should bring:

1. What's your starting dose plan and how do you ramp? Most clinics start at 2.5mg tirzepatide and step up at week 5. Some hold at 2.5mg for 8 weeks. Some go straight to 5mg after the first month. There's no single right answer; the question reveals their philosophy.

2. Who do I call between visits? Side-effect questions, supply questions, dose-adjustment questions. Knowing which channel handles each saves you from inbox-routing failures later. Most telehealth clinics route through the patient portal; knowing the response time expectation matters.

3. What does the maintenance phase look like? Most patients reach the maintenance dose in 4-6 months. Asking what the long-term plan looks like at month one signals you're thinking past the initial weight loss, which most clinics appreciate. The honest prescriber will say "we'll figure it out together at month 6"; the less helpful one will dodge the question.

What not to bring

A printed list of dose preferences. You don't get to specify the protocol. The prescriber does. If you have strong preferences (you want to skip the 2.5mg starter dose, you want compounded specifically), raise them as questions rather than demands.

A request for a specific brand by name without context. Asking for Mounjaro because you read it's better than Wegovy without knowing why is the kind of conversation that goes nowhere. The brand difference is real but it's about indication, not quality. Let the prescriber explain which fits your situation.

Crowdsourced internet protocols. "I read on Reddit that I should start at 5mg" is a conversation starter the prescriber will not enjoy. The conversation that does work: "I've been reading about the dose ramp and I have some questions about how it would work for me specifically."

After the appointment

Before you leave, confirm three things in writing:

1. Which prescription was sent to which pharmacy 2. The date you should pick up 3. What to do if it's not ready or out of stock

Pharmacy stock issues are real and the clinic often doesn't know which pharmacies have inventory. Asking for a backup plan is reasonable; expecting the first call to work is sometimes optimistic.

Schedule the follow-up at the door. Most clinics see new GLP-1 patients at week 5-6, then at week 12-13, then quarterly. If you don't book the next one, the gap can stretch and the dose decisions get rushed.

The hidden goal of the first appointment

Beyond getting the prescription, the first appointment is your chance to evaluate whether this clinic is the one you want managing this part of your health for the next 6-24 months. Pay attention to:

• Did they ask about your mental health history? (Good clinic.)
• Did they explain why they're picking a specific dose ramp? (Good clinic.)
• Did they discuss what success looks like and how to measure it? (Good clinic.)
• Did they rush through the side-effect conversation? (Yellow flag.)
• Did they decline to give you the prescriber's name? (Red flag.)

The first 15 minutes tell you what the next 15 months will feel like. Use them.