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Sunday, February 16th
Sesame is a fantastic platform designed to connect Americans with high-quality, convenient medical care at half the price of being a cash pay patient at a traditional physician's office. Their network has over 10,000 doctors who can be booked online (even for an in-person visit, if you prefer), bypassing insurance to bring you the most affordable medical care possible. And, if you're hoping to find a doctor willing to work with you on weight loss and possibly prescribe a Semaglutide medication, Sesame is a perfect place to start.
Pay no attention to the annoying pop-up
If you enter your email in the pop-up you get when you first visit the Sesame site, you'll get a 20% discount off your first appointment. You'd think that would be optional, but apparently not: no matter how we tried, we either had to log in or put in an email address in order to keep browsing the Sesame site. Annoying.
You choose your doctor
But, don't let that get in your way, especially if you like the control of choosing the provider who will walk you through your weight loss journey and potentially prescribe Semaglutide or another medication. Right from the start, you pick the practitioner, and we're here for it. Prefer a female MD? Someone with hundreds of 4- and 5-star reviews? Whatever matters most, you're easily able to select someone who fits your preferences. It's super-transparent to see exactly when they're available and how much you'll pay. Click on any provider you're considering, and go to "Service details” to see more information about his or her background, read reviews from other clients, and get a feel for how the program will operate.
$195+ for 3 months
When you sign up at Sesame, you're paying for a 3-month weight loss program. Pricing starts at $195, but you'll see some providers with costs in the $300+ range. That's still not bad, considering you get 90 days of unlimited messaging with your provider, help with getting your insurance to authorize any prescribed medication, plus nutrition and exercise guidance.
Name-brand medication only
The only Semaglutide that will be prescribed through Sesame is the name-brand kind. If your insurance doesn't cover the particular one your doctor chooses (or if you don't have insurance), brace yourself for the cost (typically $900+ per month). You can discuss that with the doctor when you have your virtual visit: you'll go over your medical history, weight goals, and a potential treatment plan. Your provider may order lab work to be done, just to check on your most recent "metabolic data” and get a clear picture of where you're at and what milestones would make good goals to demonstrate progress. And, at the end, you could be started on a GLP-1 injection like Ozempic, Wegovy, or Saxenda, or offered Rybelsus (Semaglutide in tablet form).
Could be your healthcare one-stop shop
And, if you'd like to expand your medical care into other specialties via Sesame, there's nothing stopping you. You may want to consider joining Sesame Plus: "for as little as 27 cents per day”, your membership gets you $10 savings on non-Member appointment pricing, one free lab/blood test per year, and visits for as low as $29. The prices we saw for the weight loss program were referenced as the cost with Sesame Plus, but we weren't charged anything extra when we booked the visit without it. Still, $99/year or $10.99/month is a good deal for those benefits. Just keep all of that in mind as you get started with Sesame.
Great reputation for providers and for the entire platform
Sesame's reputation should put you at ease too. The company has an "A+” and accreditation from the Better Business Bureau, for starters. And, with transparent ratings for the doctors themselves, Sesame makes it easy-breezy to choose a practitioner with an equally-glowing track record. (As an example, weight loss specialist and APRN Dawn Drewes had an average of 4.9 stars across nearly 1,000 ratings.)
Excellent choice for weight loss - with or without Semaglutide
Are you guaranteed to get Semaglutide here? No. Can you get excellent care and support as you work on losing weight, with the possibility of getting the right prescription as a tool if needed (and if it's affordable enough)? Absolutely. Compared with some Semaglutide options on our list, who pair you with a doctor at their discretion (or who just have one review your history online without even talking to you), Sesame is the best option if you want the say-so in who you're inviting to partner with you in your efforts.
If you're like the rest of us, you've probably wished there was some magic pill or silver bullet for weight loss. "Can't I just take something and have the pounds just fall off?” For a lot of people, Semaglutide feels like it could be that unicorn. How familiar are you with this GLP-1 medication? Is it right for you?
Let's look at the background of Semaglutide for a minute. Semaglutide belongs to a class of medications known as GLP-1 receptor agonists. These drugs mimic the action of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), a hormone that regulates blood sugar levels and appetite. Approved by the FDA for type 2 diabetes treatment, its use has expanded to include weight loss due to its appetite-suppressing effects.
That expansion has provoked shortages in many of the name-brand options (like Wegovy and Ozempic), so some Semaglutide providers offer compounded versions (that are similar to a generic form of the same drug).
Does it work for losing weight? In clinical trials, Semaglutide has been shown to be more effective than a placebo. However, it's still fairly new in its usage for weight loss, and long-term safety data is still being gathered and studied. Some people have reported side effects like nausea, vomiting, and gastrointestinal issues. Starting Semaglutide is a decision you should make carefully, under the direction of a physician.
But, what if your doctor isn't willing to prescribe Semaglutide, or you don't have a physician you trust? In today's world of telemedicine, it's not just possible but easy to work with a provider online. Most platforms will start you off with a basic medical history, which is reviewed by a board-certified physician before you're approved for a Semaglutide prescription. The best Semaglutide providers offer a comprehensive approach, often bundling one-on-one coaching, apps for tracking what you eat, and access to a community of other people in pursuit of weight loss into the services you receive.
So, let's say you're ready to find out if Semaglutide is the right next step for you. How can you tell which online provider to choose? There are quite a few of them out there, and they're all eager to onboard you as their newest client. Here's what you should look for as you compare your options:
To help you on your "weigh” (see what we did there?), the experts at Top Consumer Reviews have evaluated some of today's most popular Semaglutide providers and ranked them from best to worst. Use this information to get a head start on choosing the one that will be your perfect partner on your journey. We wish you all the best of health and wellness!
Select any 2 Semaglutide Providers to compare them head to head