Tesamorelin Therapy
Sometimes, even with careful eating and regular exercise, you might still notice extra fat deep in your abdomen. You may also be trying to keep your strength and muscle as your metabolism shifts with age.
Tesamorelin is a prescription peptide therapy that uses your body’s natural growth hormone pathway. At Vero Wellness & Aesthetics, we look at your full health picture—your history, lab results, medications, goals, nutrition, and activity. This helps us create a doctor-guided plan focused on real progress and lasting results.
Physician-guided peptide therapy
Visceral abdominal fat and body composition
Subcutaneous injection according to your prescribed protocol
Clinical follow-ups and individualized laboratory testing
Tesamorelin is a synthetic form of growth hormone-releasing hormone, often called GHRH. It does not provide growth hormone directly. Instead, it signals the pituitary gland to boost your body’s natural release of growth hormone, which then increases insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1). This process helps with fat metabolism, tissue maintenance, and body composition.
The FDA has approved branded tesamorelin, sold as EGRIFTA, to reduce excess abdominal fat in adults with HIV-associated lipodystrophy. It is not FDA-approved as a general weight-loss medication. When a clinician prescribes tesamorelin for a different body-composition goal, that use is considered off-label and should follow a thoughtful discussion of the available evidence, possible benefits, limitations, and risks.
At Vero, we take that distinction seriously. Tesamorelin is not used as a shortcut or a one-size-fits-all solution. Dr. Matthew Moye will decide if it is right for you and how it can be part of a bigger plan for strength, metabolism, and healthy aging.
Visceral fat is stored around your internal organs, deeper in the abdomen than the fat you can pinch under your skin. It acts differently from subcutaneous fat. Tesamorelin has been shown to reduce visceral abdominal fat in the group it is FDA-approved for, while body weight usually stays about the same. The goal is not just to lower the number on the scale.
This makes the discussion about tesamorelin more focused than a typical weight-loss talk. The aim is to improve the balance between abdominal fat and lean tissue while supporting habits that help you stay strong. Since research from one group does not always apply to everyone, your results will be personalized.
Your care begins with a physician consultation. Dr. Moye reviews your goals, medical history, medications, metabolic health, and any factors that could affect the growth hormone and IGF-1 pathway. Baseline laboratory testing may be recommended before treatment begins. This evaluation helps determine whether tesamorelin is an appropriate option and establishes objective markers for follow-up.
If you are prescribed tesamorelin, you will take it as a subcutaneous injection. Our team will show you how to prepare and give your medication, how to rotate injection sites, and how to store it properly. Your dose and schedule are set by your prescription, and you should not change them on your own.
Follow-up is an important part of your treatment. We check how you are feeling, look at changes in your body composition, talk about any side effects, and monitor lab markers like IGF-1 and glucose. We may also discuss nutrition, resistance training, sleep, recovery, and hormone health if they affect your results.
For an appropriately selected patient, tesamorelin may support a body-composition plan focused on:
Tesamorelin is not a stimulant and is not a guaranteed fix for low energy or endurance. These issues can be affected by sleep, nutrition, fitness, hormone balance, medications, and other health conditions. If you want to feel stronger or more capable, Dr. Moye will look at all these factors along with your body composition, instead of relying on just one treatment.
Tesamorelin is not an anabolic steroid and does not directly build muscle in the way a resistance-training program does. Clinical studies in adults with HIV-associated lipodystrophy found improvements in lean body mass, but those findings do not guarantee the same response for every patient or every off-label use.
Building muscle still depends on proper training, enough protein and nutrition, recovery, and healthy hormone and metabolic function. Tesamorelin can be one part of a plan focused on muscle and body composition, but it cannot replace these basics. We use follow-up data to see if the treatment is making a real difference.
Tesamorelin may be worth discussing if you are an adult who is concerned about visceral abdominal fat, wants a more precise body-composition strategy, and is prepared to take part in regular follow-up. A good candidate also understands that this treatment is not designed for rapid scale-weight loss and works best within a consistent nutrition and movement plan.
Tesamorelin is not appropriate during pregnancy or for people with active cancer, certain disruptions of the hypothalamic-pituitary axis, or a known allergy to tesamorelin. Additional caution may be necessary for people with a history of cancer, diabetes or impaired glucose control, fluid retention, carpal tunnel symptoms, or other conditions affected by growth hormone or IGF-1. A complete medication review is also important because interactions and treatment adjustments may need to be considered.
Eligibility is a medical decision. Dr. Moye reviews both the reasons you may benefit and the reasons another option may be safer or better aligned with your goals.
Changes in body composition take time. Instead of focusing on daily changes in your weight, we set a starting point and look for progress over time. This might include waist measurements, body composition data, lab results, strength, training ability, and how your clothes fit.
The pivotal studies supporting tesamorelin’s FDA-approved indication evaluated changes over months, not days. Results from those studies involved adults with HIV-associated lipodystrophy and should not be treated as a promise for other patients. Your response will depend on your clinical starting point, consistency, lifestyle, and the appropriateness of the treatment itself.
Benefits may diminish after tesamorelin is discontinued. Dr. Moye will discuss what maintenance could involve and whether continued treatment remains worthwhile based on your progress, laboratory results, tolerance, and long-term health priorities.
Commonly reported effects of prescription tesamorelin include redness, itching, discomfort, or bruising at the injection site. Some patients may experience joint discomfort, muscle aches, swelling from fluid retention, or symptoms associated with carpal tunnel syndrome. Hypersensitivity reactions can occur and require prompt medical attention.
Since tesamorelin raises growth hormone and IGF-1 activity, careful monitoring is important. Treatment can sometimes increase IGF-1 too much or affect blood sugar control. Your plan may include regular blood tests and changes based on your results and safety. Please contact us if you notice a concerning reaction, unexpected swelling, ongoing numbness or tingling, or any other major change in your health.
Peptide therapy should be handled with the same care and clinical judgment as any other prescription. At Vero, Dr. Matthew Moye, who is double board-certified in Internal Medicine and Geriatrics, oversees tesamorelin treatment. He focuses on prevention and healthy aging, and keeps his peptide training up to date every two years to stay current with new protocols and research.
You will have time to learn why a treatment is being considered, what it can actually do, and how we will track your progress. We connect peptide therapy to the bigger picture of your health, including metabolic markers, muscle preservation, nutrition, recovery, and mobility. Our approach is calm and focused on building a relationship, so you can make informed choices and take care of your health.
If ongoing abdominal fat or changes in your body composition are affecting how you feel, a focused medical conversation can help you understand what is going on. Meet with Dr. Matthew Moye at Vero Wellness & Aesthetics in Fairview, serving the Asheville area, to see if tesamorelin could be part of your personal health plan.
Request an appointment today and take the next step toward a stronger, more informed approach to your long-term health.
No. FDA-approved EGRIFTA labeling specifically states that it is not indicated for weight-loss management and describes it as weight-neutral. Its approved purpose is reducing excess abdominal fat in adults with HIV-associated lipodystrophy. If tesamorelin is prescribed for another body-composition goal, that is an off-label use. Patients interested primarily in overall weight loss may need a different metabolic strategy.
No. Tesamorelin is associated with visceral fat reduction in its approved patient population, but it is not a spot-reduction treatment for every type of abdominal fullness. Subcutaneous fat, skin laxity, bloating, posture, and abdominal muscle tone can all affect the appearance of the midsection. Your consultation helps clarify what is contributing to your concern and whether tesamorelin addresses the right target.
Tesamorelin is a gradual therapy. Meaningful body-composition assessment generally takes place over a period of months, with interim follow-ups used to review tolerance, laboratory markers, and early trends. Your timeline will depend on your health, prescribed plan, and consistency.
Tesamorelin is not a stimulant, and improvements in energy or endurance cannot be guaranteed. If those are important goals, we evaluate sleep, nutrition, training, hormone balance, metabolic health, and other possible contributors. A broader plan may do more for day-to-day performance than relying on a peptide alone.
No. Tesamorelin acts on the growth hormone-releasing hormone pathway, while GLP-1 medications primarily affect appetite, digestion, glucose regulation, and metabolic signaling. They serve different purposes. Dr. Moye can help determine which approach, if either, fits your health and goals.
Some of the body-composition benefits may recede after treatment ends. Before prescribing tesamorelin, we discuss the importance of follow-up, the role of ongoing nutrition and resistance training, and how the therapy will be reassessed over time. You should not stop or restart a prescription without speaking with your provider.
