GLP-1 for weight loss

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Fatpigflying

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It’s been a minute since this was talked about.

Looks simple enough right? Say a guy with a First class medical wants to lose some weight and get on one of the GLP-1s like Mounjaro/Zepbound or Ozempic/Wegovy. They just have to have an A1c < 6.4, and not fly for 2 weeks right? And then nothing special to send off to FAA when it comes time for renewal right?

I want to do this but in don’t if it means sending a bunch of docs off to Oklahoma for review. Been there, done that, already got the tshirt and don’t want another.
 
Seems pretty clear. If you do not have diabetes (never had an A1C > 6.4), then you go to the weight loss disposition table linked in the pdf. If you have just the GLP-1 drug, then there’s nothing to report right now. At your next medical, you will need something for your ame to evaluate you (statement from your dr, ask the ame about wording) and it is CACI. Consult with your ame if you have a question, don’t take the advice of Some Guy On The Internet.

other branches - follow the table.

personal anecdote, it works, but you do have to make changes. The glp-1 helps by slowing down digestion and making you feel full longer. Drink water, learn to eat reasonable meals. The behavior modification is how you make it stick long term.
 
Here is a follow-up question to this. So I find myself somewhere in the middle. My fasting glucose is 137 but my A1C is 5.9. I know that 5.9 is pre diabetic but the doctor says because the fasting glucose is 137 that it's Type 2 Diabetes but how does the FAA determine what is diabetes from a regulatory standpoint vs what the doctor says from a treatment perspective and how would that apply to a 3rd class medical certificate that is currently valid and was issued well before this diagnosis.
 
Looks like there was an update to the attached form. Tirzepatide has moved from unacceptable to conditionaly acceptable. Anyone care to take a stab at how the FAA is treating semaglutide vs tirzepatide being used for weight loss?

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anonymous79 said:
Here is a follow-up question to this. So I find myself somewhere in the middle. My fasting glucose is 137 but my A1C is 5.9. I know that 5.9 is pre diabetic but the doctor says because the fasting glucose is 137 that it's Type 2 Diabetes but how does the FAA determine what is diabetes from a regulatory standpoint vs what the doctor says from a treatment perspective and how would that apply to a 3rd class medical certificate that is currently valid and was issued well before this diagnosis.
Click to expand...
It's not a question of what the FAA thinks is diabetes from a regulatory perspective, but what is acceptable for issuance of an SI. Since you were diagnosed with diabetes, you'll be deferred by your AME and need a special issuance. Consult with your AME prior to the live exam, and get everything in order to send to the FAA.

If you're eligible consider basic med.
 
...or you could just start eating an animal-based diet and cut out all the carbs.

I have no 1st hand experience with the GLP-1's (except that my wife just started one recently)...but I have quite a bit of experience with a different weight loss prescription (contrave), over three or four attempts...as well as trying to lose weight in most of the other traditional senses for years (calorie counting, following the so called "balanced" low-fat high fiber garbage diet the docs all seem to recommend, moving more, VERY HARD work and pushing will power to my limits for a very long time....etc...) I had some successes, and the prescription was probably the best for weight loss...but it always came back.

From what I can tell the prescriptions will work, but the weight will most certainly come back. And maybe worst thing is the muscle wasting that comes from the calorie restriction. (google ozempic face) I got it some from taking the Contrave.

I'm almost 16 months in on a carnivore/keto diet now... the weight fell off for me much easier than anything I ever tried through the years...and I wasn't really even trying to lose weight, I was trying it for other reasons.... then, again without trying my weight seemed to level off right around my so-called ideal BMI number based on my height and it has held there without much effort at all, for just over a year now so far....
 
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