Will I regain some weight after I stop taking weight management medication?

Weight after the medicine ends

Ask about stopping before you start

Bring up the end of treatment at the first appointment and again before the last dose, and put the same question to your prescriber both times: what do they expect your weight to do afterwards? The answer should come with a plan for the period after the medicine ends.

What to look at

The NIDDK page on healthy eating and physical activity for life is a place to read about habits that sit alongside any medicine. The MedlinePlus weight control page gathers more reading on weight and health.

A skeptical reading asks what the plan is for the day the medicine ends. A prescription without a stopping plan leaves that question open.

Questions for the stopping conversation

• Ask your prescriber what the plan is if you stop, and who decides when to stop.
• Ask what supports are in place for the period after stopping.
• Ask how your progress will be checked after the medicine ends.

A note on expertise

Asking for a stopping plan is a sound step, but no source can predict your own result. Do not stop or change a prescribed medicine without talking to your prescriber.