GLP-1 Weight Loss Care From a Local Board-Certified Physician
Explore prescription weight loss options with Dr. Lara Samourjian, a board-certified internal medicine physician serving Culver City patients through RefineMD. Your care can include GLP-1 evaluation, medication selection when appropriate, and continued medical follow-up through convenient virtual visits.
Prescription weight loss treatment has changed considerably. Patients now have several medications, mechanisms, and methods of taking treatment to consider, which can make choosing a GLP-1 more complicated than simply asking for the medication you have heard about most.
Dr. Lara Samourjian provides medical weight loss care through RefineMD for patients who want help understanding those options and determining whether prescription treatment is appropriate for them. She is a board-certified internal medicine physician with more than a decade of clinical medicine experience and personally evaluates patients seeking medically supervised weight management.
The process begins with your health rather than with a specific brand. Your medical history, current prescriptions, previous weight loss attempts, appetite, metabolic concerns, medication preferences, and treatment goals can all affect which options deserve consideration.
For Culver City patients, consultations and appropriate follow-up care are available through telehealth. This allows you to work directly with a Los Angeles-area physician while completing many appointments from home. RefineMD also has a medical office in Glendale when an in-person visit is appropriate.
A prescription may be one part of your plan, but it is not the entire service. Dr. Samourjian can continue to monitor your progress, help you interpret how your body is responding, review side effects, and determine whether your treatment still makes sense as your needs change.
The term "GLP-1" is often used as if it describes one medication, but patients now have several distinct prescription options. Some medications act specifically on GLP-1 receptors. Others work through more than one incretin pathway. There are also both injectable and oral treatments available for eligible patients.
These differences can matter when deciding what fits your medical needs and everyday routine. One patient may prioritize a weekly medication. Another may strongly prefer a pill. Someone who has previously taken semaglutide may be asking whether a different mechanism should be considered. Another patient may be starting prescription weight management for the first time.
Wegovy contains semaglutide, a GLP-1 receptor agonist used for chronic weight management in eligible patients. It is available as both an injectable medication and an oral tablet.
Semaglutide works through the GLP-1 receptor, affecting biological signals involved in appetite, food intake, and feelings of fullness. For appropriate patients, this can make it easier to manage hunger and reduce the amount of food needed to feel satisfied.
Wegovy should also be distinguished from Ozempic. Although both contain semaglutide, they are different prescription products with different approved uses. Dr. Samourjian can help you understand the distinction and discuss which medications are actually relevant to your weight management goals.
Zepbound contains tirzepatide. Tirzepatide differs from semaglutide because it acts on two incretin pathways, GIP and GLP-1, rather than targeting GLP-1 alone.
Zepbound is an injectable prescription medication used for chronic weight management in eligible adults. As with other prescription treatments, medication selection involves more than comparing expected weight loss. Your health history, tolerance, other medications, treatment preferences, and ability to continue the plan over time should also be considered.
Tirzepatide is also found in Mounjaro, which is a different brand with a different approved use. This is another example of why it can be useful to review the actual medication and indication with a physician instead of relying on brand recognition alone.
Foundayo contains orforglipron, an oral GLP-1 receptor agonist for chronic weight management in eligible adults. It provides another option for patients interested in prescription weight loss who would prefer an oral medication rather than an injection.
Foundayo is taken once daily. Unlike some other oral GLP-1 formulations, it can be taken without planning the dose around food or drink.
The existence of an oral option does not mean that a pill is automatically better than an injection. Route of administration is only one part of the decision. The medication itself, your medical background, side-effect profile, treatment response, other prescriptions, and personal preferences all need to be considered.
| Medication | Active Ingredient | Type | Administration | Questions to Consider |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wegovy | Semaglutide | GLP-1 receptor agonist | Injection or tablet | Medication history, preferred format, tolerability, and overall treatment goals |
| Zepbound | Tirzepatide | Dual GIP and GLP-1 receptor agonist | Injection | Health history, prior treatment, response, tolerability, and long-term treatment plan |
| Foundayo | Orforglipron | GLP-1 receptor agonist | Tablet | Preference for oral treatment, medication history, tolerability, and medical suitability |
This comparison is not intended to identify which medication you should take. The purpose of a medical consultation is to determine whether prescription weight management is appropriate and which option makes sense for your individual circumstances.
A prescription is a treatment decision, not the end of the medical evaluation. At RefineMD, Dr. Samourjian can remain involved before treatment begins and as you continue using medication.
The initial consultation is an opportunity to look at factors that may not be apparent when someone simply requests a particular drug online. Dr. Samourjian may review:
Laboratory work or an in-person evaluation may also be appropriate depending on your circumstances. The goal is to make a prescribing decision with enough information to determine whether treatment fits your health rather than assuming that everyone who wants a GLP-1 should receive one.
The early part of GLP-1 treatment is not simply about watching the scale. It is also a period for learning how you respond to medication.
Your appetite may change. Foods or portion sizes that previously felt normal may feel different. You may experience gastrointestinal symptoms. Your hydration or eating patterns may need more attention because you are consuming less food. These changes provide useful information about whether the treatment is working appropriately for you.
Many weight management medications use gradual dose escalation rather than beginning immediately at a higher maintenance dose. Your individual medication instructions should come from your prescriber, and you should not accelerate a dosing schedule because you want faster weight loss.
Weight is an obvious way to measure progress, but physician monitoring can consider several parts of the treatment experience at the same time.
| Area of Follow-Up | What It Can Tell Your Physician |
|---|---|
| Weight Trend | Whether weight is changing over time and how the overall pattern compares with your treatment plan. |
| Hunger and Fullness | How strongly the medication is affecting appetite and whether you are able to maintain reasonable eating patterns. |
| Side Effects | Whether symptoms are manageable or whether treatment needs to be reassessed. |
| Food Intake | Whether reduced appetite is making it difficult to obtain adequate nutrition. |
| Hydration | Whether changes in eating, digestion, or gastrointestinal symptoms are affecting fluid intake. |
| Other Medications | Whether new prescriptions or changes in your health affect your weight management plan. |
Patients do not all follow the same weight loss curve. Some people respond quickly, while others lose weight more gradually. Progress can also slow after an initial period of loss.
A plateau is information, not automatically a reason to raise a dose. Dr. Samourjian can review appetite, medication adherence, food intake, activity, treatment duration, side effects, and other medical factors before deciding whether the current plan should change.
The same approach applies to side effects. Nausea, diarrhea, constipation, vomiting, and abdominal discomfort are among the gastrointestinal symptoms associated with GLP-1-based medications. If symptoms occur, treatment should be evaluated rather than adjusted without medical guidance. Severe or concerning symptoms require prompt medical attention.
One of the most important questions in medical weight management is not just whether you can lose weight. It is whether the treatment plan can work in your life for long enough to support meaningful, sustainable change.
That is why medication choice, nutrition, lifestyle, follow-up, and long-term planning belong in the same conversation. A medication may reduce hunger considerably, but your body still needs adequate protein, nutrients, fluids, and energy. Eating less should not become the same thing as neglecting nutrition.
Medical weight loss may therefore include attention to:
Telehealth can make ongoing medical weight management easier to fit into a normal schedule. Appropriate consultations and follow-up appointments can be completed directly with Dr. Samourjian without requiring a trip to the office for every routine check-in.
This can be particularly useful once treatment is underway. Questions about progress, appetite, medication tolerance, side effects, and continued treatment can be discussed with the physician managing your care instead of waiting until a problem becomes significant.
RefineMD's clinic is located in Glendale for circumstances where Dr. Samourjian recommends an in-person evaluation or when you prefer to be seen at the office.
The treatment conversation can change as you make progress. At the beginning, the focus may be on medication selection and determining how well you tolerate treatment. Later, questions may shift toward plateaus, continued dosing, maintaining muscle and nutrition, or what to do when you approach your weight goal.
Long-term treatment decisions are individual. Reaching a certain number on the scale does not automatically mean prescription medication should be stopped, continued indefinitely, or changed. Dr. Samourjian can review your progress and discuss what makes sense based on your health and response to treatment.
If you are considering Wegovy, Zepbound, Foundayo, or another prescription weight management option, you can begin by discussing your health and goals with Dr. Lara Samourjian.
RefineMD offers virtual medical consultations for Culver City patients, providing access to a board-certified internal medicine physician for GLP-1 evaluation, prescription treatment when appropriate, and continued medical follow-up.
Schedule a consultation to review your options and determine whether physician-guided medical weight loss is appropriate for you.
It is helpful to know which medications and supplements you currently take, what weight loss approaches you have tried before, whether you have previously used a GLP-1 medication, and any side effects or health concerns you have experienced.
Dr. Samourjian can also discuss your weight history, appetite, medical conditions, treatment goals, and preferences so that the consultation is focused on more than simply requesting a particular medication.
Yes. Current weight management options include both injectable and oral treatments. The decision should take into account more than which format you prefer.
Dr. Samourjian can review your medical history, previous treatment, other prescriptions, medication tolerance, goals, and preferences when discussing which options may be appropriate.
Both contain semaglutide, but they are separate prescription products with different approved uses. Wegovy is a semaglutide product used for chronic weight management in eligible patients.
Similarly, Zepbound and Mounjaro both contain tirzepatide but are prescribed for different approved uses. Dr. Samourjian can help clarify which products are relevant when you are seeking medical weight loss treatment.
A consultation does not require Dr. Samourjian to prescribe the medication you initially had in mind. Her role is to evaluate whether prescription treatment is appropriate and which available option best fits your medical circumstances.
If another medication or treatment approach makes more sense, she can explain why and discuss the alternatives with you.
A slower rate of weight loss does not automatically mean that the medication has stopped working or that the dose should be increased.
Dr. Samourjian can review your weight trend, appetite, medication use, nutrition, activity, side effects, and other medical factors before determining whether the treatment plan should remain the same or be adjusted.
Yes. Medical weight loss at RefineMD can include continued physician follow-up rather than ending once a prescription is provided.
Dr. Samourjian can monitor weight changes, appetite, medication tolerance, side effects, nutrition, and overall health while determining whether your current treatment continues to be appropriate.
Yes. RefineMD offers telehealth consultations with Dr. Lara Samourjian for patients in California. Appropriate weight loss consultations and follow-up appointments can be completed virtually, allowing you to work directly with the physician managing your treatment.
If laboratory testing, an examination, or another in-person evaluation is needed, RefineMD also has a medical office in Glendale.
Call or message us directly to learn more about our medical weight loss services.
Whether you’re ready to start a treatment or want to learn more through a consultation, our expert team is here to help.
