FAQ

Kydella was started by Dr. Tina, a physician triple board-certified in internal medicine, obesity medicine and clinical informatics, and her husband and partner, Terron Hyde, who looks after the technology and customer support. Dr. Tina sees every Kydella patient herself. Read our story.

In Georgia and California, for now. Dr. Tina can only care for you while you’re in a state where she’s licensed, so you need to be in Georgia or California for each visit. She’s applying for licenses in more states. Get our newsletter to hear when we add yours.

We’ve closed our shop to focus on GLP-1 care, so we no longer sell Restore, Reinforce or Refresh. Thank you to everyone who ordered from us. If you have a question about a past order, email support@kydella.com.

GLP-1 medicines act like a hormone your gut makes after you eat. They help you feel full sooner and stay full longer, and they slow how fast your stomach empties. Some, like tirzepatide, also act on a second hormone (GIP). For weight, they’re prescribed alongside healthier eating and more activity, usually for the long term. How GLP-1 medicines work.

GLP-1 medicines for weight are approved for adults with obesity, or with overweight and a weight-related condition such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, type 2 diabetes or sleep apnea. The main studies and NIH guidance use a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or more, or 27 or more with a condition. They aren’t for everyone: for example, they must not be used by anyone with a personal or family history of medullary thyroid cancer or with MEN 2, and they shouldn’t be used for weight loss during pregnancy.

Take the 2-minute check. It runs in your browser and saves nothing. Dr. Tina makes the final decision with you at your visit. Who GLP-1 medicines are for.

Only FDA-approved, brand-name GLP-1 medicines for weight: weekly injections such as Zepbound (tirzepatide) and Wegovy (semaglutide), and daily pills where they’re approved and right for you. You’ll choose together at your visit, based on your health, how you’d like to take it, and the price. See the prices.

No. Compounded versions aren’t FDA-approved: the FDA doesn’t review them for safety, quality or how well they work, and it has warned about dosing errors and fake or poor-quality products. The brand-name medicines are no longer in short supply, and their makers now sell them to people paying for themselves at published prices. Brand-name and compounded GLP-1s.

No one can promise a number. In the large trials, average weight loss was substantial, but results varied a lot from person to person, and they came with help on eating and activity. What the trials show.

The most common are nausea, diarrhea, vomiting and constipation, mostly when you start or move up a dose. Rarer but serious problems include pancreatitis, gallbladder problems, kidney problems from dehydration and severe allergic reactions. Dr. Tina raises your dose slowly and will talk through what to watch for. GLP-1 side effects.

GLP-1 medicines for weight are meant for long-term use. In trials, people who stopped regained much of the weight they had lost. You and Dr. Tina will decide together, and you can stop at any time. Stopping a GLP-1.

Kydella’s care isn’t for emergencies. The most urgent come first.

Call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room now if you have any of these. Don’t drive yourself.

• chest pain or trouble breathing
• swelling of your face, lips, tongue or throat, or a severe rash with dizziness (signs of a severe allergic reaction)

Get medical care today, at an urgent care clinic or an emergency room, if you have:

• severe stomach pain that won’t go away, with or without vomiting (it may spread to your back)
• pain in your upper stomach with fever, yellowing of your skin or eyes, or pale stools (possible gallbladder problems)
• vomiting or diarrhea that stops you keeping fluids down, or you’re peeing much less than usual

If you take a GLP-1 medicine and have severe stomach pain that won’t go away, its Medication Guide says to stop using it and call your clinician right away.

If you’re thinking of harming yourself, call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, any time. If you might act on these thoughts now, call 911.

Talk with your own clinician first, rather than starting a GLP-1 with us, if:

• you or someone in your family has had medullary thyroid cancer, or you have MEN 2
• you’re pregnant, trying to get pregnant, or breastfeeding
• you’ve had pancreatitis, or you have type 1 diabetes, gastroparesis or another severe stomach or bowel condition
• you have or have had an eating disorder, such as anorexia or bulimia
• you’re under 18

Sources: the FDA-approved Medication Guides for Wegovy and Zepbound (DailyMed), and the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.

Tell the team caring for you that you take a GLP-1 medicine. Because these medicines slow how fast your stomach empties, there’s a risk of breathing food or liquid into your lungs during anesthesia or deep sedation. Let Dr. Tina know too, so she can help plan around it.

Two things, both shown up front. Dr. Tina’s care is $99 a month, including your first visit. Your medicine, if she prescribes one, you buy from the pharmacy at the price it publishes. If you need blood tests, you pay the lab at its published price. See every price.

So you always know what you’re paying for, and so we never mark it up. You pay the pharmacy directly, at the same published price anyone can look up. Medicine makers’ self-pay prices also change from time to time, and paying the pharmacy means you always get its current price.

Not for Dr. Tina’s care: it’s paid by card, monthly. If your insurance covers GLP-1 medicines for weight, Dr. Tina can send your prescription to a pharmacy in your plan’s network instead, and your plan’s rules and copay apply.

If you have Medicare, please contact us before you book: we’re still setting up care for people with Medicare.

Often you can use an HSA or FSA card for medical care and prescription medicines, but each plan has its own rules. Check with your plan before you pay.

Yes, at any time, with no cancellation fee. Your care continues to the end of the month you’ve paid for. Please don’t stop a medicine suddenly without talking to Dr. Tina, so she can help you plan.

Everything happens on Dr. Tina’s secure telehealth platform. You fill in your health history online, then meet Dr. Tina by video for your first visit. After that, you’ll have check-ins as your dose changes, and you can message her with questions between visits. From time to time she may ask you to see a clinician in person. How it works.

Often, yes, before you start and now and then after. If you’ve had blood tests in the past few months, they may be enough. If not, Dr. Tina orders them from a lab near you that publishes its cash prices, and you pay the lab directly.

Dr. Tina sends your prescription electronically to a licensed pharmacy that publishes its prices, such as the self-pay pharmacies the medicine makers run. The pharmacy contacts you to pay and confirm your address, and ships your medicine to your door, kept cold when it needs to be. Refills follow the same route.

Dr. Tina can only see you while you’re in Georgia or California, so plan visits for when you’re there. If you move to another state, tell us, and we’ll help you find care where you live.

No. The check runs entirely in your browser. Your answers, height and weight are never sent to us or stored, and they disappear when you close or reload the page.

To Dr. Tina, through her secure telehealth platform, and to the pharmacy and lab that need it for your care. It never goes to this website, and we don’t sell it. There are no ad or analytics trackers on our eligibility check, program pages, FAQ or articles. Read our Privacy policy and Consumer Health Data Privacy Policy.

Email support@kydella.com about how Kydella works, pricing or our website.

Please don’t email health details, like symptoms, medicines or test results. If you’re a patient, message Dr. Tina through your patient portal instead: sign in with the free Healthie app, or with the link in any email from Healthie. In an emergency, call 911.