What are the usual adult weight-management criteria?
NIDDK describes common adult criteria as a BMI of at least 30, or at least 27 with a weight-related condition such as high blood pressure or type 2 diabetes. Meeting that threshold does not make medication appropriate for everyone. Treatment also involves eating and activity changes; assessment considers health history, medicines, risks, preferences and costs.
Bring the measurements and diagnosis records you already have, and ask which information the clinician needs to confirm. Treat a website questionnaire as a way to start that conversation. A result on a screen is not a reason to edit your history to fit the answers it appears to want.
Separate four decisions before you pay
Use four headings on your appointment notes: product label, clinical decision, provider scope and payment. Keeping separate answers under each heading makes it easier to see what a service has actually confirmed. An invitation to book an appointment, for example, leaves several questions open.
For the label, ask for the exact medicine, formulation and intended use. For the clinical decision, ask what information remains outstanding and who will discuss the conclusion with you. For provider scope, ask whether the service accepts your age group, location and circumstances, and where it would refer you if it cannot help.
For payment, ask which charges begin before that assessment is complete. Consider a hypothetical patient who receives an appointment offer but is still waiting for a prescribing decision and an insurer response. Calling that person approved would hide two unresolved decisions. Use precise milestones when speaking with the service.
Which medicine and formulation does the label cover?
For weight management, Wegovy injection covers adults with obesity or overweight with a weight-related condition, and ages 12 and older with obesity; Wegovy tablets cover adults. See the Wegovy label.
Zepbound injection covers adult weight management for obesity or overweight with a weight-related condition, and moderate-to-severe obstructive sleep apnea in adults with obesity. Pediatric safety and effectiveness are not established. See the Zepbound label.
These examples are not a complete approval list. Do not turn a statement about a particular product into a claim about every medicine advertised as a GLP-1. Ask the prescriber to identify the relevant indication in the current label. For a young person, request an assessment appropriate to their age rather than applying the adult BMI figures yourself.
Label revisions: Wegovy, June 2026; Zepbound, August 2026. Retrieval and article-update dates are not approval dates.
What would rule a medicine out?
Both labels contraindicate use with personal or family medullary thyroid carcinoma, MEN2 in the patient, or serious allergy to the respective drug or ingredients.
The distinction between your own history and family history matters here. If a relative’s diagnosis is unclear, ask what record or clarification would help rather than guessing which checkbox fits. An unfamiliar thyroid diagnosis should not be renamed to match a phrase in this guide.
Ask the clinician to explain whether a concern is a formal contraindication, a precaution, or something that needs more information. Those answers should not be collapsed into one long list of reasons a person can never receive treatment. Nor does the absence of a listed contraindication amount to clearance.
Keep precautions separate from contraindications
Both labels advise against use with severe gastroparesis. They also address pancreatitis, gallbladder problems, dehydration and kidney risk, retinopathy, hypoglycemia, medicine interactions and anesthesia.
Prepare a short chronology of concerns you want to raise: what happened, when it happened, what care you received, and what remains unresolved. Bring your medicine list and ask which records would make the discussion more useful. Leave the interpretation of those records to the treating professional.
Ask how to contact the clinical team with a concern after the appointment and who will arrange follow-up. A polished intake form or a fast reply is not evidence that every issue has been resolved. Likewise, this guide does not grade a service from the number of boxes on its form.
Discuss pregnancy and contraception for the exact product
Both labels direct discontinuation when pregnancy is recognized during weight-management treatment. Zepbound can reduce oral hormonal contraceptive effectiveness.
Ask the clinician how pregnancy, conception, breastfeeding or contraception plans affect the exact product. Request written instructions, a contact for questions, and a plan for discussing any change in circumstances. Do not transfer another person’s prescription instructions to your own situation.
Pregnancy guidance is separate from formal contraindications; this does not make weight-loss treatment during pregnancy safe.
What about mental-health concerns?
In January 2026, FDA requested removal of suicidal-behavior and ideation warnings from Wegovy, Zepbound and Saxenda after finding no increased risk. FDA still advises discussing new or worsening depression, suicidal thoughts, or unusual mood or behavior changes with a healthcare professional.
An older warning should not be presented as a current blanket exclusion. At the same time, do not leave a concern out of the consultation because a warning changed. Ask how to share sensitive information privately and who will respond. The aim is an accurate conversation about your circumstances, not a questionnaire answer chosen to secure a prescription.
Does a prescription mean insurance will pay?
Coverage varies by plan; ask your insurer about the exact medicine. The NIDDK overview discusses this separately from clinical assessment.
Use a written list for the service and insurer, and record who answered each question. A useful response identifies the particular plan and proposed treatment rather than repeating that a service accepts insurance.
- Is this exact product and intended use covered under my plan, and what documents or prior authorization are required?
- Who submits the paperwork, how do I track its status, and what happens if the request is denied?
- Are the consultation, medication, membership and laboratory charges separate? Which remain payable without a prescription?
- If I choose a cash payment option while a decision is pending, what amount am I agreeing to and what cancellation terms apply?
Leave the consultation with a clear next step
Before ending the appointment, ask the clinician to summarize the decision in ordinary language. Is a prescription being offered, is more information needed, or is another approach being discussed? Request the reason and the next action so you can distinguish a clinical answer from an administrative delay.
If the answer is no, ask what question should be addressed next. Do not treat a rejection from one intake as an instruction to keep submitting forms until one accepts you. Instead, take the explanation to the professional helping you make a plan.
If treatment is proposed, write down who handles clinical questions and who handles billing. Keep a copy of the proposed product name and the payment terms you were shown. Our provider comparison page can help organize questions about those terms; a provider’s position there does not establish your eligibility.