On The Pen GLP-1 News

Zepbound Dosing: What Your Doctor Didn't Explain

On The Pen GLP-1 News

Show Notes

Are you on tirzepatide or semaglutide and struggled with inconsistent weight loss and side effects? On this episode of On The Pen, Dave Knapp and Dr. Ian Ellis dive into the surprising variability of GLP-1 dosing (retatrutide, tirzepatide), even when the weekly dose remains the same. We explore how these subtle dosage changes can lead to frustrating glp-1 side effects and why many individuals eventually give up on their weight loss medication. This new way of thinking about glp-1 dosing could change the obesity medicine game. Referenced Links: http://www.OTPLinks.com00:00 Why most GLP-1 users are never on the same dose twice01:55 Dr. Ian's background: trainer, nutritionist, ER physician04:00 His obsessive relationship with food and body composition07:45 The two impossible choices: obsession or obesity10:12 How medical school destroyed his health10:25 A colleague mentions Ozempic for the first time11:35 His first dose and what real satiety feels like13:00 Why the same dose felt worse every single week15:00 30 lbs lost but the body scan results were horrifying17:30 Why elderly patients are especially at risk on GLP-1s18:35 Patient case: Pat May, 310 lbs, lost over 100 lbs20:45 Semaglutide half-life and dose stacking explained24:50 The therapeutic window and finding your ideal level26:30 Why the dosing protocol was built for trials not people28:00 You are never on the same drug level twice29:00 Patient case: Mary Alice lost 30 lbs below the starting dose32:00 The math behind calculating your precise GLP-1 level35:00 The VoaFit app and making precision dosing scalable36:00 Their patients lost more weight using half the medicine39:30 Why 40 to 70 percent of people quit GLP-1s42:00 Compounding pharmacies and the case for flexible dosing46:00 Using GLP-1 as a thermostat dial for your appetite56:45 Where precision dosing is available now58:30 Beyond GLP-1s: applying this to testosterone and more1:05:30 Why hitting the dose ceiling kills long-term results1:07:00 Dr. Ian's outcome: off GLP-1s completely1:10:00 Fixing a broken one-size-fits-all dosing paradigm1:13:00 How to find Dr. Ian Ellis and VoaFit

More from On The Pen GLP-1 News

Oct 20, 2026

Specific lots of compounded tirzepatide have been recalled over sterility concerns, another pharmacy recently recalled compounded semaglutide after particulate matter was identified, patients have reported visible strands and fibers in other compounded GLP-1 vials, and now FDA inspectors have documented black mold, insects, hidden paperwork, and questionable testing practices at facilities manufacturing GLP-1 active ingredients.So, should people taking compounded GLP-1s panic? No.Millions of people have used compounded semaglutide and tirzepatide, and these incidents still appear relatively uncommon compared with the enormous scale of use. But patients deserve transparency about who made their medication, where the active ingredient came from, what testing was performed, and what happens when something goes wrong.In this episode of On The Pen, we break down:- The Apothecary Pharma compounded tirzepatide recall- The affected lots and sterility concerns- Apollo Care and the compounded semaglutide “floaters”- The Hyalo/NewLife vials with reported visible strands or particulate- FDA findings involving black mold, insects, records, and GLP-1 API suppliers in China- Why these stories should not become Pharma vs. compounding- Why pharmaceutical manufacturers deserve scrutiny too- CagriSema, amylin, and why I’m watching January 2027- Lilly’s $1.1 billion METiS TechBio deal- Why the future of obesity and diabetes treatment needs to move beyond GLP-1s and weekly shots foreverAffected lot numbers and supporting links:👉 https://otplinks.comThe goal here is not fear. It is giving patients enough information to understand what they are actually injecting and enough context to put these stories into perspective.Subscribe to On The Pen for breaking GLP-1, obesity, diabetes, and metabolic health news.🔗 All my links: https://linktr.ee/manonthemounjaro#GLP1 #Tirzepatide #Semaglutide #Mounjaro #Zepbound #Ozempic #Wegovy #CompoundedGLP1 #CagriSema #WeightLossNews

Oct 14, 2026

Eli Lilly’s fight over retatrutide may be about much more than one obesity drug.I’ve been covering retatrutide since early 2023, and since late 2024 I’ve been closely following the legal fight over whether reta should be treated as a biologic. From the beginning, I’ve argued that this case could have consequences far beyond retatrutide itself.In this episode, I break down the growing unauthorized retatrutide market, the serious adverse events and death reports now entering the conversation, Lilly’s repeated legal actions against sellers, the restricted Seventh Circuit filings, and new context I’ve heard from someone connected to senior HHS policy discussions.The biggest question is no longer simply what happens to retatrutide. It’s whether this case could help shape how future peptide medicines are classified, regulated, and protected.I’m continuing to track the Seventh Circuit docket and work on the restricted filings. If those documents become available or I can independently confirm what is in them, subscribers at obesity.news and OnThePen.com will hear about it first.This episode is brought to you by VoaFit and Trilogiii Daily Essentials. Check the links in the show notes, and use code OTP10 for Trilogiii.Visit Trilogiii: https://triii.life/tiers/daily-essentials?utm_source=onthepen&utm_medium=influencer&utm_campaign=dave_knappVisit Voafit: https://www.voafit.com/otp

Oct 7, 2026

Zepbound isn’t just changing people’s weight. GLP-1 medications are beginning to change America itself.

Oct 1, 2026

This week on On The Pen, The Weekly Dose, we break down one of the biggest weeks in obesity medicine coming out of EASD 2026.Eli Lilly says Zepbound may still outperform Wegovy 7.2 mg, even after Novo Nordisk tripled the familiar maintenance dose, but the details are more complicated than the headline. We dig into the difference between the treatment-regimen and efficacy estimands, and why this was not a true head-to-head trial.We also cover Novo Nordisk’s $2.6 billion bet on a potential once-weekly oral GLP-1/GIP, new Foundayo data against high-dose oral semaglutide, Viatris and Mylan’s renewed patent fight over the future of generic Wegovy, and the full Phase 3 retatrutide publication in the New England Journal of Medicine.Plus, after weeks of concern over GLP-1 medications and NAION-related vision loss, we look at one practical thing patients may be able to do right now to better understand their own baseline risk.This episode is about more than who “wins” between Lilly and Novo. It is about what the data actually says, where the next generation of obesity treatment is headed, and what all of this means for patients trying to make informed decisions with their doctors.Covered in this episode: Zepbound vs. Wegovy 7.2 mg, retatrutide TRIUMPH-1 Phase 3 data, Foundayo/orforglipron, oral semaglutide, once-weekly oral GLP-1s, generic Wegovy patent litigation, NAION, GLP-1 vision risk, EASD 2026, Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk, Viatris and Mylan.Subscribe for breaking GLP-1, obesity, diabetes and metabolic-health news, explained from the patient perspective.Get Exclusive OTP Savings and Resrouces:Https://www.otplinks.comGet Breaking Obesity Medicine News:HTTPS://www.onthepen.com

Sep 22, 2026

This week on On The Pen, The Weekly Dose Podcast, retatrutide heads into a major federal court fight as the Department of Justice gives FDA fresh legal ammunition just days before oral argument. At the same time, FDA is escalating its scrutiny of mass GLP-1 compounding, with a warning letter to Empower Pharmacy that could have major implications for semaglutide, tirzepatide, telehealth prescribing, and patient access. We also break down Viking Therapeutics’ new VK2735 maintenance data, including early weight-loss numbers that are starting to draw retatrutide comparisons and the possibility of every-other-week or even monthly maintenance dosing. Plus, Roche’s enicepatide, formerly CT-388, just posted a 2.65 percentage-point A1C reduction and 15.5% weight loss in people with type 2 diabetes and obesity, raising new questions about how competitive the next generation of GLP-1/GIP drugs may become. This episode is about more than one drug. It is about where obesity medicine is heading, who gets access, how regulators are drawing the lines, and why the next few years may look very different from the market we know today.

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