The first time Caroline started on Wegovy, she made no secret of it. She openly told her boyfriend, her mother, and her close friends about the prescription. Over the course of six months, they watched as she shed 30 pounds, bringing her weight down from 130 pounds to what she describes as her "healthy original weight" of 100 pounds. Even so, her loved ones grew worried about the extent of her weight loss and discouraged her from shedding any more.
"I had tried every way under the sun to lose weight," Caroline tells SELF. The 34-year-old, who lives in Montreal, asked to use only her first name to protect her privacy. "I was really tired of trying." At five feet four inches tall, she was not considered obese and doubted her primary care physician would approve a prescription for the popular weight-loss drug.
Seeking an alternative, she turned to the internet and found a telehealth doctor who prescribed the medication over the phone without knowing her actual weight. Immediately after starting Wegovy, she recalls, the weight started coming off at an astonishing pace. After six months, she decided she wanted to stop taking it. However, the moment she discontinued the medication, the weight rebounded rapidly: she gained 10 pounds in a single month. "I realized, I can’t stop," Caroline says.
For the past six months, she has been taking Wegovy again, this time at a maintenance-level dosage. But there is one major difference: she is keeping it a secret from her boyfriend and her family. "Now that we’re talking about kids, he’s seen all the impacts [of the drug] and he’s done with it," she explains. Because she lives alone, hiding the medication from him is relatively manageable—she stashes the injectable pens in the back of the refrigerator, as they require refrigeration. Still, she constantly worries he will discover them. When they travel together, she has to conceal the medication in the hotel room fridge or, when visiting his parents, hide it inside their refrigerator. "So imagine, I’m hiding stuff in my parents-in-laws’ fridge, hoping they won’t see them," she says. "It’s super awkward."
Sometimes Avoidance Is the Easiest Option
Caroline is far from alone in going to great lengths to keep her GLP-1 use under wraps. On a recent thread on the r/GLP1microdosing subreddit, women openly shared their creative tips and tricks for concealing their medication from romantic partners and household members. One user stashes her pens inside a tomato paste box. Another uses a play food container borrowed from a child’s pretend kitchen. Others have turned to an opaque feta cheese container, a butter stick box, an anchovy paste box, empty bottles of women’s probiotics and supplements, a plastic takeout container, a metal water bottle, a box of wine, and even a baking soda box tucked away in the back of the fridge—all to keep their weight loss treatment out of sight.
"It’s a real thing," says Kia Mitchell, MD, a family and obesity medicine specialist in Jacksonville, Florida. She has observed numerous patients in her practice going to similar lengths to hide their medications from their partners. The first time she encountered this pattern, it was from a patient who simply wanted to avoid a domestic debate and keep the personal option of taking the medication.
"A lot of my patients are similar," Dr. Mitchell adds. "There’s this loss of control with the gaining of the weight, but being able to control the narrative around weight loss has been empowering and exciting" for her patients. "Because now they can reveal it on their own terms. That’s where the control comes back."
The underlying motives for this secrecy are clearly visible on online forums. "If my husband found out, it would just be a series of lectures," wrote one Reddit user under the handle Vivid-Act-6442. Another user noted they simply wanted to avoid negative or critical opinions after decades of marriage. Another woman admitted to hiding her medication from her teenagers out of fear that they would tell her ex-husband, explaining that she simply wanted to avoid the endless questioning.
Dr. Mitchell holds mixed feelings about this widespread secrecy. Anyone navigating a health journey undoubtedly benefits from having a support system that actively cheers them on, she notes, emphasizing that community is vital when dealing with significant health changes. At the same time, she acknowledges that deciding who learns about their weight loss drugs can feel empowering and protective for women, even if the ideal scenario is being in a relationship built on complete trust.
From a clinical perspective, however, concealing GLP-1 use from a significant other carries potential pitfalls. For one, these medications can significantly increase fertility and the likelihood of pregnancy—Dr. Mitchell notes she has treated "several GLP-1 babies" conceived unexpectedly while on the drugs. Additionally, managing potential side effects without a partner’s awareness can leave patients isolated when they are struggling. More broadly, maintaining secrecy generates chronic stress. "When someone is trying to lose weight, we want their stress hormones to be as low as possible," Dr. Mitchell explains. "If you’re trying to hide [medication], we’ll be fighting an uphill battle if you’re stressed about that."
Telemedicine Makes It Easier to Hide Them
A parallel issue involves hiding GLP-1 medications from primary care doctors, a practice that has grown increasingly common with the expansion of telehealth platforms like Hers and Ro. This is the exact dilemma Caroline faces: she did not inform her regular physician either time she started Wegovy and remains reluctant to do so, even though she worries about potential drug interactions with the Accutane and Ritalin she also takes. The thought of admitting her GLP-1 use to her primary doctor causes her anxiety because she fears breaking their established trust. Yet, with her annual physical approaching, she knows her physician will notice the substantial weight loss.
"I use ChatGPT as my doctor at this point since I can’t be honest with my own doctor," she admits. "I say, ‘Hey, this is my actual weight, what type of dosage is okay to take with other drugs?’" She readily concedes that this approach is far from ideal.
Caroline obtained her prescription through Hers. During the intake process, she was only asked to complete basic bloodwork and received no direct medical counseling, interacting instead with static documentation to read.
Craig Primack, MD, the head of weight loss at Hers, tells SELF that the company’s prescribing physicians do encourage patients to discuss their treatment plans with their primary care doctors. While acknowledging that the platform offers limited direct counseling, he points out that providers routinely screen for mental health, anxiety, and stress. The Hers app also includes psychologist-developed resources covering topics such as sleep management and personal eating habits.
Dr. Primack confirms that he is fully aware of patients hiding their medications from partners. Some choose silence until they have proven they can successfully lose weight, others worry about the financial cost of the treatment, and many fear how the physical changes might alter relationship dynamics. "Your weight and persona set up a dynamic in your couple," Dr. Primack notes. "When you start changing that, sometimes spouses get very jealous—’Oh my god, you’re becoming potentially more attractive.’ Not that weight is directly linked to that, but that’s what I hear them say."
He also points to the broader societal stigma surrounding weight and weight loss as a driving force behind telehealth utilization. "One benefit of telemedicine is it takes the bias and stigma away," Dr. Primack says. "One reason we are here is because people are uncomfortable going to talk to their primary care doctor about it."
Whether Caroline eventually discloses her medication use to her physician, she continues to grapple with the broader personal conflicts raised by her Wegovy regimen and the secrecy surrounding it. "It’s very stressful," she says. "The fact that not only can I not talk about it, but I’m also unable to get off of it. I don’t love the idea of taking medicine like that forever, but I’m kind of stuck with it." Unwilling to regain the weight, she questions her own motivations. "But I wonder to which extent I’m too harsh with my criticism of my body. Maybe my goals are too intense."
How to Talk With Your Partner About Weight Loss Medication
Given the deep vulnerability and sensitivity intertwined with weight management, the hesitation surrounding whether to disclose GLP-1 use is entirely understandable. However, approaching the conversation with a thoughtful framework can ease the process, according to Rachel Goldman, PhD, a clinical assistant professor in the department of psychiatry at NYU Grossman School of Medicine and a clinical psychologist specializing in weight management and disordered eating. Framing the discussion around personal experiences and individual needs helps make the conversation feel more manageable and less like something requiring defense, she explains.
Because initiating this conversation is challenging, Dr. Goldman encourages patients to first examine their underlying motivations—what led them to the decision, and what the treatment signifies for their overall health and well-being. Once a person feels grounded and confident in their reasoning, communicating that perspective becomes significantly easier.
Dr. Goldman also recommends drafting sample talking points beforehand, focusing strictly on personal experiences rather than comparing oneself to others. Utilizing "I" statements can keep the dialogue grounded. Additionally, anticipating a partner’s initial reaction and identifying desired outcomes—whether that involves seeking practical support, understanding, or simply carving out space to make autonomous health decisions without judgment—can prepare individuals for various scenarios. She notes that a partner’s immediate reaction may not reflect their permanent stance, as processing new information and working through personal biases takes time.
Ultimately, the objective is not to execute a flawless conversation, but rather to open the door to greater honesty, connection, and mutual support over time. And if all else fails, there is always an anchor in the back of the fridge, tucked neatly behind a box of anchovy paste.
