If you’ve spent any time looking into GLP-1 medications or hormone replacement therapy lately, I’m willing to bet you’ve seen an ad for Hims, Hers, Ro, Midi Health, or one of the many other online clinics now offering these treatments.
And I get the appeal.
You can fill out information online, talk with a provider from your couch, and potentially have medication delivered right to your door. In some cases, it may cost less than receiving care through a local practice.
So why would you come to High Country Wellness?
It’s a totally fair question and one I get from new patients all of the time. So I thought I’d take some time to explain our level of care and how we differ from online GLP-1 and hormone clinics.
At High Country Wellness, we provide Medical Weight Loss, Hormone Replacement Therapy for women, and Testosterone Replacement Therapy for men for patients throughout Boone, Blowing Rock, Banner Elk, Linville, West Jefferson and the surrounding WNC High Country.
Depending on what you’re comparing, our care may cost more than an online option. However, we’re also offering a different kind of care.
Our goal isn’t to just help you get a GLP-1 medication or start hormone therapy. We want to understand what’s going on in your body, figure out exactly what makes sense for you, and be there to monitor, adjust, educate, and support you along the way.
Let me explain what I mean!
How do online GLP-1 and hormone clinics work?
Online GLP-1 and hormone clinics typically use telehealth to evaluate patients, prescribe medication when appropriate, and provide follow-up care remotely. Every online clinic is a little different, so I don’t want to lump all of them together, but generally, telehealth GLP-1 and hormone clinics are designed to make care convenient. You may complete an online health assessment, meet virtually with a licensed provider, have lab work completed when needed, and receive a prescription if you’re a good candidate for treatment.
Many of these companies also offer follow-up care, messaging with providers, medication adjustments, and some level of nutrition or lifestyle support.
To be clear: I don’t think there’s anything wrong with receiving healthcare online. We offer telehealth appointments at High Country Wellness, too!
The difference isn’t about online versus in person, it’s about how much care you want surrounding your treatment.
What does care look like at High Country Wellness?
1. We spend a LOT of time getting to know you.
There’s a reason our initial consultation is approximately 90 minutes.
I want to know what’s going on.
What symptoms are you experiencing? How are you sleeping? How’s your energy? What’s changed with your weight or body composition? What medications are you taking? What have you already tried? What does your lab work tell us? And most importantly, how do you want to feel? If you’re wondering whether your symptoms could be related to hormonal changes, here are the questions every woman should ask about her hormones.
You may walk through our doors because you’re interested in a GLP-1, but maybe you’re also exhausted. Maybe you’re not sleeping well, your sex drive has changed, you’re losing muscle, you’re having hot flashes, your brain feels foggy, your mood is different. Or, you’re doing all of the things that used to work for your health and suddenly they aren’t working anymore.
Your body isn’t made up of a bunch of completely separate systems. Hormones, metabolism, sleep, stress, nutrition, muscle mass, and your overall health can affect one another. So before we decide what treatment makes sense, we want to understand the bigger picture.
Learn more about Medical Weight Loss at High Country Wellness
2. Your treatment is built around YOU.
This is a big one for me.
Our patients aren’t standard, so I don’t believe their treatment should automatically be standard either. Your age, symptoms, medical history, medications, goals, lab results, risk factors, and response to treatment can all affect the decisions we make about your care.
When appropriate, we work with compounding pharmacies, which can give us additional flexibility to individualize certain medications and dosages.
And, it’s important to know that your treatment isn’t set in stone after your first appointment.
We continue looking at your labs, we ask how you’re feeling, we pay attention to side effects, we look at what’s improving… and what’s not. Then we make adjustments when they’re appropriate.
That’s the point of having a provider involved in your care. We’re not just trying to get you started on something. We’re trying to find what works for you. Learn more about why individualized hormone treatment matters.
3. We can look at your hormones AND your metabolic health.
One of the things I love about the way we practice at High Country Wellness is that we don’t have to put you into one little box. You don’t necessarily have a “weight problem” over here and a “hormone problem” over there.
For women going through perimenopause or menopause, changes in weight may be happening alongside changes in estrogen or progesterone, sleep, mood, energy, muscle mass, or sexual health.
For men, difficulty losing fat or maintaining muscle may be happening alongside changes in testosterone, energy, strength, motivation, or libido.
That’s why High Country Wellness provides Hormone Replacement Therapy for women, Testosterone Replacement Therapy for men, and Medical Weight Loss within the same practice.
Does that mean everyone needs hormones AND a GLP-1?
Absolutely not.
It means we have the ability to look at how these pieces may be interacting and determine what support you need.
Ready to talk about what’s been going on? Schedule your free 15-minute New Patient Welcome Call.
4. The first few months are high-touch on purpose.
Our programs typically begin with a three- to six-month foundational period.
Why? Because the beginning is often when you need us the most.
Your body is adjusting. You have questions. We need to see how you’re responding. Maybe your dose needs to change. Maybe something isn’t working the way we expected. Maybe you’re feeling great and we want to understand what’s working so we can keep building on it.
This is when we’re monitoring symptoms, reviewing labs, watching for side effects, making adjustments when appropriate, and answering your questions.
But we’re also helping with all of the things medication can’t do for you.
Depending on your treatment plan, that can include health coaching, nutrition and exercise guidance, educational resources, body composition tracking, supplement support, and ongoing medical care.
I think GLP-1s and hormone therapy can be incredible tools for the right patient, but they’re exactly that: tools.
A medication doesn’t automatically teach you how to eat enough protein, build strength, maintain muscle, understand your body, or create habits you can actually continue long term. We want you to have support with those pieces, too.
5. We care about a LOT more than the number on the scale.
If you’re trying to lose weight, of course it’s exciting to see that number come down, but I also want to know what you’re losing.
At our Boone clinic, we use InBody body composition scans to help us monitor changes in things like body fat and skeletal muscle mass.
Why does that matter? Because our goal isn’t just to make the number on the scale smaller. We want to support muscle, strength, metabolism, and your overall health while you’re losing weight. Those things matter for how you feel now and for your health years from now, especially if you don’t want to be on a GLP-1 forever.
6. You know the people taking care of you.
I don’t think this gets talked about enough. We’re a small team at High Country Wellness. You’ll know us. And we’ll know you.
Our providers communicate about your care. Our health coach understands what you’re working toward. Our medical assistant knows who you are. When you reach out with a question, you’re talking to the team that’s actually involved in your treatment.
We strive to respond to patient questions within 24 business hours, and sometimes you need more than a portal message.
You may want help with an injection. You may need another InBody scan. You may want to sit across from us and explain that something just doesn’t feel right.
We’re here.
For our patients, you can still have the convenience of virtual appointments when they make sense, without giving up having a local team that knows you.
Meet the High Country Wellness team.
Is High Country Wellness more expensive than an online GLP-1 or hormone clinic?
It can be and I’m not going to dance around that. We know this is an investment. If your number-one priority is finding the least expensive or most convenient way to access a particular medication, there are online clinics that may be worth exploring.
But when you’re comparing prices, I encourage you to also compare what’s actually included in your care.
- Who is monitoring you?
- How much time do you have with your provider?
- Who reviews your labs?
- What happens if you’re experiencing side effects?
- Can your treatment be adjusted?
- Are you getting help with nutrition and exercise?
- Is anyone monitoring your muscle and body composition?
- Can your provider look at your hormones and metabolic health together?
- And when you have a question, who are you actually talking to?
Those answers matter!
At High Country Wellness, you’re investing in time with your providers, individualized treatment, lab monitoring, medication adjustments, body composition tracking, health coaching, education, ongoing support, and a team that gets to know you.
Is an online GLP-1 or hormone clinic right for me?
Maybe! There isn’t one right answer for everyone.
If convenience, remote access, or finding a lower-cost option are your biggest priorities, an online clinic may be a good fit.
If you’re looking for someone to take a deeper look at what’s going on, follow your progress, monitor your labs and symptoms, help you make changes outside of medication, and actually build a relationship with you along the way, you may prefer a smaller local practice.
The important thing is understanding the difference before you decide. Because whether you’re considering a GLP-1, HRT, TRT, or a combination of treatments, you deserve to understand what you’re receiving and who is responsible for your care.
Looking for GLP-1, HRT, or TRT care in Boone, NC?
If you’re in Boone, Blowing Rock, Banner Elk, Linville, West Jefferson, or elsewhere in western North Carolina and you’re trying to figure out whether medical weight loss or hormone replacement therapy could be right for you, let’s start with a conversation.
You don’t need to know exactly what treatment you need. That’s our team’s job to help you figure it out!
Schedule a free 15-minute New Patient Welcome Call with our team. We’ll learn a little more about what brought you here, answer your initial questions, explain how our programs work, and help you decide whether High Country Wellness feels like the right fit.
SCHEDULE YOUR NEW PATIENT WELCOME CALL HERE.
Talk soon!
Stephanie Johnson, MN, APRN, FNP-C
Founder of High Country Wellness