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Most GLP-1 consults are scheduled for fifteen to twenty minutes. Half of that is the patient explaining what's happened since the last visit — usually from memory, sometimes from a phone full of screenshots, occasionally from a printed spreadsheet. That's the conversation no one designed. The productive consult starts with one page of data your prescriber can read in 60 seconds, ends with three clear actions, and leaves both of you informed. This guide is the practical preparation that gets you there.
Before the visit — the five-day prep window
Five days out is the sweet spot. Long enough that you can fix any data gaps, short enough that your most recent shot, weight and side-effect data is still in the picture.
- Day -5: Run a draft Doctor PDF. Generate it in Muscle Guard, read it as if you were your prescriber. Note any gaps — missing weight entries, untracked side effects, training sessions you forgot to log.
- Day -4 to -2: Fix the gaps. Backfill anything important. Your prescriber will be reading the PDF as the canonical record of the last 12 weeks; make sure it tells the truth.
- Day -1: Write three questions. The biggest waste in a consult is realising at minute fourteen that you forgot to ask about side effect X. Three written questions, prioritised, prevents this.
- Morning of: Generate the final PDF. Includes everything up to that morning. Email it to yourself or have it on your phone, screen-bright.
What to bring
| Item | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| The final Doctor PDF | The one-page summary your prescriber reads in 60 seconds |
| Three written questions | Anchors the second half of the consult to what you actually need |
| Current medication list (all of them) | Drug interactions matter; oral contraceptives and GLP-1s have a known interaction |
| Last lab results if you have them | HbA1c, lipid panel, liver enzymes inform dose decisions |
| Notes on what's changed in your life | Stress, sleep, new exercise routine — all shape side-effect interpretation |
What the Doctor PDF contains and why
The Muscle Guard Doctor PDF was designed by reading a stack of clinical handover formats and asking: what does a busy prescriber actually need on page one? The answer was: the trend, the Score, the side effects, and one note. So that's what it shows.
- Medication log. Drug name, dose, dose-escalation schedule, missed shots flagged.
- Weight and body composition trend. A 12-week line chart with milestone markers. Waist circumference and body-fat estimate alongside.
- Side-effect timeline. Colour-coded by severity, grouped by week. Tracks nausea, fatigue, mood, sleep, sulphur burps, vivid dreams, all the rest.
- Protein adherence and training frequency. The lean-mass-preservation signal.
- Muscle Guard Score. Current value and 12-week trend.
- Patient-volunteered notes. One paragraph of "here's what I want you to know" — written by you, in your words.
It is not a medical record. It is a structured patient summary your prescriber can use as the starting point of the consult. Sample available here.
Three questions to ask every consult
The specifics differ by your situation, but these three frames work for most GLP-1 consults:
- "Looking at the trend, is the dose right for the next 4-6 weeks?" Triggers a deliberate conversation about dose escalation or holding. Better than "should we increase?", which presumes the answer.
- "Which side effect should I track most carefully between now and our next visit?" Forces the prescriber to prioritise rather than list everything. The answer often surprises.
- "What would make you change the plan?" The most underused question in clinical consults. The answer becomes your operating manual until you see them again.
After the visit
Within four hours of leaving the consult, write down the three actions you agreed on. Memory degrades fast; ambiguity creeps in within 24 hours. Then log them in Muscle Guard as scheduled reminders. The Personal Coach will check in on each one as you progress.
If your prescriber prescribed a dose change, log the new schedule in Muscle Guard immediately — the medication picker handles all approved GLP-1s plus compounded preparations. If they flagged a side effect to watch, add it to your symptom tracker. If they suggested a lab, schedule it.
The compounding effect is real. Each consult that starts from a clean, structured PDF and ends with three clear actions raises the quality of the next consult. Within four visits the conversation is twice as productive.
Virtual consults and telehealth
The same playbook applies, with two tweaks. First, share the Doctor PDF with your prescriber the day before — email or upload to whatever portal they use. They'll read it before the call, which means the call starts with "what's changed since this was generated?" rather than "tell me about the last twelve weeks." Second, have your phone ready to share a screen if needed — sometimes a screenshot of a specific symptom timeline is faster than explaining.
Frequently asked questions
How long should I budget for a GLP-1 consult?
Most are 15-20 minutes. Some weight-management practices offer 30-minute sessions for first visits and dose-change consults. Always ask when booking — the longer slot reduces compression.
Should I share the Doctor PDF before the visit or bring it in?
Telehealth: share the day before by email or portal. In-person: bring it on your phone and offer to email it during the consult if useful. Some prescribers prefer paper; ask what works for them.
My doctor doesn't use apps. Will the Doctor PDF still help?
Yes. The PDF is a one-page printed summary, not an app integration. Print it on the morning of the consult and hand it over.
Can my prescriber log into Muscle Guard?
No. Muscle Guard is a patient app, not a clinician portal. The Doctor PDF is the prescriber-facing artifact, generated on-device and shared at your discretion.
What if I miss the visit?
Reschedule promptly. Don't dose-escalate or change anything based on planned changes that haven't happened. Log the missed visit in Muscle Guard so the timeline shows the gap.
Should I bring my partner or family member?
If they help you track things at home, yes. They sometimes notice patterns you've normalised — sleep changes, mood shifts. Two memories are better than one.
What if my doctor pushes back on muscle preservation as a focus?
Ask them: 'What weight breakdown would you expect — how much fat versus lean?' The conversation usually shifts when the number is on the table. The published evidence is clear and most GPs respect the data when it's framed as data.
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