Private-pay care · Virginia and Florida telehealth
Weight gain from psychiatric medication is a medical problem, not a willpower problem.
Antidepressants, mood stabilizers and antipsychotics are among the most metabolically burdensome medications in medicine. If a medication that helps your mood has cost you 10, 20 or 40 pounds, the answer is rarely to stop it. It is to treat the metabolic side effect inside the same care relationship.
Every visit is by video with Sonia Mia Diaz, MD. Private patients are seen out of network, paid per visit, with a superbill.
Who this is for
Adults in Virginia or Florida who gained weight after starting a psychiatric medication, whose labs show the metabolic cost of treatment (A1c, insulin, lipids), or whose mood and body image are now tangled up with the weight. You do not need a BMI of 30 to be evaluated. A weight gain of 5 to 7 percent or more on a psychiatric medication, metabolic lab abnormalities, or documented distress about body composition, together with a psychiatric diagnosis, is enough to justify an evaluation.
Antidepressant weight gain
SSRIs, SNRIs, mirtazapine and tricyclics. Often the medication helping your mood is not the one causing the weight gain, and the two can be separated.
Mood stabilizers and antipsychotics
Metabolic syndrome, insulin resistance and weight gain on lithium, valproate or an antipsychotic, monitored and treated without destabilizing your mood.
Anxiety, PTSD and ADHD
Stress-driven appetite changes, visceral weight gain, impulsive eating, or stimulant appetite suppression followed by rebound overeating.
Binge eating
Reward-driven overeating evaluated as a psychiatric condition, with treatment chosen for the whole picture, not the scale alone.
What the evaluation looks at
Your first visit is a 60-minute psychiatric evaluation by video with Dr. Diaz. For weight gain on a psychiatric medication it covers:
- Which medication is doing the work for your mood, and which is doing the damage to your metabolism. Often they are not the same drug.
- Whether a switch, a dose change or an added agent can protect the gains you have made in mood while reversing the weight trend.
- Baseline labs when indicated: comprehensive metabolic panel, A1c, fasting insulin, lipids, thyroid and B12. Labs are ordered through Fullscript and billed by the lab.
- Whether a GLP-1 medication is clinically indicated for you, and whether it is safe alongside your psychiatric regimen.
You leave with a plan, and every patient gets a written visit summary after each visit.
Treatment options Dr. Diaz may consider
Every option below is a clinical decision made at a visit and documented with its indication. Nothing is prescribed on request alone.
Medication review
Switching to a weight-neutral alternative, adjusting dose, or adding an agent that offsets the metabolic effect, while protecting the psychiatric response.
GLP-1 medication when indicated
GLP-1 receptor agonists such as semaglutide or tirzepatide when a psychiatric indication and the metabolic picture support them. Prescriptions go to the pharmacy and are paid by you directly; Welmivia does not sell or dispense medication. Titration, metabolic review and lab oversight happen in standard follow-up visits.
Nutrition and metabolic inputs
Read off your labs: protein, meal pattern, caffeine timing against stimulants, and correction of deficiencies before any dose is escalated.
Stopping is planned, not abrupt
Stopping a GLP-1 is a planned event, with a discontinuation assessment, a bridge plan and a scheduled follow-up, because weight regain can destabilize mood in patients whose treatment included body image distress.
What it costs
Private patients pay per visit and are seen out of network, with a superbill after each visit; your plan decides any reimbursement. No membership is required.
Initial evaluation, 60 minutes by video
Medication follow-up, 15 minutes by video
Follow-up with psychotherapy, 30 minutes by video
Labs are billed by the lab. Medications are billed by the pharmacy. You receive a Good Faith Estimate when you schedule. See all fees.
Scope
This is psychiatric care that treats a metabolic side effect. It is not a weight-loss clinic: a psychiatric diagnosis and a documented indication come first, and weight alone does not qualify. Welmivia does not treat eating disorders that need a higher level of care, does not manage diabetes as a primary condition, and refers out when a problem belongs with an endocrinologist or a primary care physician.
Questions patients ask
Do I have to stop the medication that helped my mood?
Usually not. The first question is whether the medication helping your mood is the one causing the weight gain. If it is, there are often alternatives or offsets; if it is not, the weight problem is treated alongside it.
Do I need to have obesity to be evaluated?
No. Weight is not the qualifying criterion. A meaningful weight gain on a psychiatric medication, abnormal metabolic labs, or distress about body changes, together with a psychiatric diagnosis, is enough.
How is this different from an online weight-loss clinic?
A psychiatric diagnosis is required, monitoring happens inside your psychiatric follow-up visits, and the goal is a stable mood and a healthier metabolism together, not a number on a scale.
Is a GLP-1 guaranteed?
No. It is one option among several, prescribed only when it is indicated and safe with your other medications. Welmivia does not prescribe GLP-1 medication for weight goals alone.
What if I need to stop a GLP-1?
Stopping is planned, not abrupt: a discontinuation assessment, a bridge plan and a scheduled follow-up.
Does Medicare cover this?
Welmivia Access patients with Original Medicare can raise weight gain from medication at any visit; it is part of standard psychiatric medication management. Coverage of a specific drug is a Part D question for your plan.
Ready to treat the side effect without losing the benefit?
Book an initial evaluation online, or call 434-623-0003 for a short call to check fit and coverage.
Welmivia Medical, PLLC · Sonia Mia Diaz, MD · Virginia and Florida telehealth · Private pay, per visit, with a superbill · This page is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Treatment requires a clinical evaluation. Not a crisis service. In an emergency, call 911 or 988.
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