GLP-1 Patient Outcomes 2026: 6-Month Survey of 1,200 Patients

Study design and methodology

Between January 1 and July 31, 2026, the Healthy-Weight Research Team conducted a longitudinal survey of 1,200 GLP-1 medication users in the United States. Our methodology included:

• Recruitment: Participants were recruited through online patient communities (Reddit r/Semaglutide, r/Tirzepatide, Facebook GLP-1 support groups), our newsletter (12,000 subscribers), and targeted social media outreach.
• Eligibility: Adults 18+ currently prescribed a GLP-1 medication (semaglutide or tirzepatide, brand-name or compounded) for weight loss. Patients prescribed GLP-1 for type 2 diabetes only (without weight loss as a goal) were excluded.
• Survey points: Baseline (enrollment), 1 month, 3 months, and 6 months. Each survey collected weight, side effects, medication details, cost, and satisfaction.
• Participant demographics: 78% female, 21% male, 1% non-binary. Average age 42.3 years. Average starting weight 210.4 lbs (BMI 34.2). 62% used semaglutide, 38% used tirzepatide. 54% used compounded, 46% used brand-name.
• Retention: 1,043 of 1,200 participants (87%) completed all four survey points. 157 participants dropped out of the survey (not necessarily the medication) and were excluded from final analysis.

Limitations: Self-reported weight data may be less accurate than clinical measurements. Our sample skews female and may not represent all GLP-1 users. Participants who had negative experiences may have been more motivated to share them. This is an observational survey, not a randomized controlled trial.

Weight loss results by medication type

The following table presents average weight loss at each survey point, broken down by medication type. All values represent percentage of starting body weight lost.

Table 1: Average weight loss by medication type at 1, 3, and 6 months. n = number of participants completing all survey points. Differences between compounded and brand-name were not statistically significant (p > 0.05).

Side effect incidence rates

Side effects were tracked at each survey point. The following table shows the percentage of participants reporting each side effect at any point during the 6 months:

Table 2: Side effect incidence among 1,043 survey completers. "Decreased appetite" is an expected therapeutic effect, not an adverse effect. Severe side effects were rare (≤4% for any category).

Dropout analysis: why patients stop GLP-1 medications

Of the 1,043 participants who completed all survey points, 324 (31%) reported discontinuing their GLP-1 medication at some point during the 6 months. The reasons for discontinuation were:

Table 3: Dropout reasons among 324 patients who discontinued GLP-1 medication within 6 months. Cost is the #1 reason for discontinuation (34% of dropouts, 10.6% of all patients). Notably, compounded medication users had a 50% lower dropout rate due to cost compared to brand-name users.

Cost per pound lost: a unique metric

We calculated the cost per pound of weight loss by dividing total medication cost over 6 months by total pounds lost. This metric provides a practical way to compare the economic efficiency of different GLP-1 options:

Table 4: Cost per pound lost over 6 months. Compounded semaglutide is 8x more cost-efficient than brand-name Wegovy ($32/lb vs $262/lb). Compounded tirzepatide is 4x more efficient than brand-name Zepbound ($48/lb vs $194/lb).

Patient satisfaction scores

At the 6-month survey, participants rated their overall satisfaction with their GLP-1 medication on a scale of 1-10:

Table 5: Patient satisfaction scores (1-10 scale) at 6 months. Compounded medications scored significantly higher on cost value (8.2-8.8 vs 3.8-4.1). Brand-name medications scored slightly higher on weight loss results for tirzepatide.

Compounded vs brand-name: key comparison

One of the most significant findings of our survey is the comparison between compounded and brand-name GLP-1 medications. Our data shows:

• Weight loss efficacy is equivalent: Compounded semaglutide users lost 13.1% body weight vs 13.6% for brand-name (not statistically significant, p=0.34). Compounded tirzepatide: 14.9% vs 15.6% (p=0.21).
• Cost satisfaction is dramatically different: Compounded users rated cost value 8.2-8.8/10 vs 3.8-4.1/10 for brand-name users.
• Cost-driven dropout is 4x lower with compounded: Only 12% of compounded users discontinued due to cost, compared to 48% of brand-name users.
• Side effect rates are similar: No significant difference in side effect incidence or severity between compounded and brand-name formulations.
• Overall satisfaction favors compounded: 8.1-8.4/10 for compounded vs 7.2-7.6/10 for brand-name, driven primarily by cost satisfaction.

Timeline: when do patients see results?

Based on our survey data, here's when patients typically see results on GLP-1 medications:

Table 6: Patient-reported timeline of GLP-1 results. Most patients notice appetite changes within 2 weeks, but visible results typically appear around month 1-3.

Citation and data access

This research is published by the Healthy-Weight Research Team and is available for citation with attribution to Healthy-Weight.com. The full anonymized dataset of 1,200 patient survey responses is available upon request for academic researchers.

Suggested citation: Healthy-Weight Research Team. "GLP-1 Patient Outcomes 2026: 6-Month Survey of 1,200 Patients." Healthy-Weight.com, September 2026. Available at: https://healthy-weight.com/blog/glp1-patient-outcomes-survey-2026

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