Wellness
Medical Weight Loss
Physician-assistant-led weight loss with compounded semaglutide and tirzepatide — prescribed from your health history and monitored throughout.
Physician-assistant-led weight loss with compounded semaglutide and tirzepatide — prescribed from your health history and monitored throughout.
GLP-1 medications changed what medical weight loss can do. They also created an industry of programs that mail you a vial and call it care. Vue's approach is different in a way that matters: Laura Eccles, PA-C prescribes for you specifically, monitors how you respond, and adjusts. At Vue Medical Spa in Salt Lake City, medical weight loss is a supervised medical treatment, not a subscription.
GLP-1 receptor agonists mimic a hormone your gut releases after eating. They slow how quickly your stomach empties and act on the parts of the brain that regulate appetite, which is why most patients describe feeling full sooner and thinking about food less. Tirzepatide works on a second receptor as well, GIP, in addition to GLP-1. Both are prescribed alongside a reduced-calorie diet and increased physical activity — that is how they were studied, and it is how they work best.
Semaglutide and tirzepatide are the two GLP-1 medications Vue prescribes. Which one suits you depends on your history, your tolerance, and how you respond — it is a clinical decision, not a preference.
This is the part most weight-loss programs skip, so we'll be direct about it. Vue prescribes compounded semaglutide and tirzepatide, which are not FDA-approved. The FDA-approved brand versions — Wegovy and Zepbound — are approved for chronic weight management in adults with a BMI of 30 or greater, or 27 or greater with at least one weight-related condition, as an adjunct to a reduced-calorie diet and increased physical activity. A compounded formulation is not the same product and does not carry that approval. Compounded drugs are not reviewed by the FDA for quality, safety, or effectiveness, and the FDA has raised specific concerns about compounded GLP-1 products, including dosing errors and the use of unapproved salt forms such as semaglutide sodium and semaglutide acetate. Laura will review all of this with you before you start — including what we prescribe, where it is compounded, and what the alternatives are. If you'd rather be on the brand product, say so and we'll talk about it.
Medical weight loss is prescribed for patients who meet the clinical criteria and who have found that diet and exercise alone haven't produced or held a result. It is not a cosmetic treatment and it is not appropriate for everyone — there are personal and family histories that rule it out, including certain thyroid cancers and pancreatitis. Your consultation exists to establish whether you're a candidate, and we will tell you if you aren't.
Laura's background is in critical care and internal medicine, and her particular interest is the relationship between sleep, weight, metabolic health, and how well you age. That shapes how this program runs. Weight lost on a GLP-1 includes lean muscle if you don't actively defend it — and muscle is what carries strength, metabolic health and independence into your sixties and beyond. So the plan is built to reduce body fat while protecting and building lean mass, which means protein intake and resistance training are part of the conversation from the first visit, not an afterthought. The goal is a result that holds up, not a lower number for a few months.
You start with a consultation and a review of your health history and current medications, plus lab work where it's indicated. If you're a candidate, Laura starts you at a low dose and titrates up gradually — this is the single biggest factor in how tolerable the medication is. You're seen regularly so she can track your response, manage side effects, and adjust.
The most common side effects are gastrointestinal: nausea, constipation, diarrhea, and reflux, usually worst in the first weeks after a dose increase and usually manageable by slowing the titration. Less common but serious risks — including pancreatitis and gallbladder disease, and a boxed warning on the brand products regarding thyroid C-cell tumors — will be reviewed with you individually before you start. Anyone who tells you these medications are side-effect free is selling something.
Medical weight loss is priced at consultation, because the cost depends on the medication, your dose, and how long you stay on it. Vue is a cash-pay practice and does not bill insurance for weight-loss medication.
It's weight loss managed by a medical provider — prescription medication where it's appropriate, prescribed from your health history and monitored with regular follow-up. At Vue that most often means a GLP-1 medication like semaglutide or tirzepatide, prescribed by Laura Eccles, PA-C.
Semaglutide acts on the GLP-1 receptor. Tirzepatide acts on GLP-1 and GIP receptors. Which suits you is a clinical decision Laura makes with you, based on your history and how you respond.
No. Vue prescribes compounded semaglutide and tirzepatide, which are not FDA-approved. The brand products, Wegovy and Zepbound, are approved for chronic weight management; a compounded formulation is a different product and does not carry that approval. Laura will cover this fully before you start.
The clinical criteria used for these medications are a BMI of 30 or greater, or 27 or greater with at least one weight-related condition such as high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, or high cholesterol. Some histories rule the medication out entirely. Your consultation settles it.
You can, and that's exactly why we plan for it. Weight lost on a GLP-1 includes lean mass unless you defend it, so protein intake and resistance training are part of your plan from the first visit. Protecting muscle is the difference between a result that holds and one that doesn't.
Nausea, constipation, diarrhea, and reflux are the common ones, typically worst in the first weeks after a dose increase. Going up in dose slowly is the best way to manage them. Laura reviews the serious risks with you individually before you start.
GLP-1 medications are used for chronic weight management, which means ongoing treatment. Most patients regain weight after stopping. We'll talk about what a long-term plan looks like — including nutrition and resistance training — as part of your program.
Vue is a cash-pay practice and does not bill insurance for weight-loss medication. You'll have exact pricing at your consultation.