Zepbound in Queens, NYthe one approved for sleep apnea too
Zepbound® is tirzepatide approved for chronic weight management — and since December 2024, the first medication ever approved for moderate-to-severe obstructive sleep apnea in adults with obesity. Dr. Keisha Bryant, MD runs a physician-managed tirzepatide program in St Albans built on that same molecule.
The first medication approved for sleep apnea
Until the end of 2024 there was no drug approved to treat obstructive sleep apnea at all. The options were a machine, a mouthpiece, surgery, or weight loss by whatever route you could manage. Then the FDA approved tirzepatide, under the name Zepbound, for moderate-to-severe obstructive sleep apnea in adults with obesity, used alongside a reduced-calorie diet and more physical activity.
That matters here because weight and apnea are not two separate problems — they drive each other. Excess weight around the airway makes the airway collapse more easily at night; broken sleep raises the hormones that drive appetite the next day; the next day makes the weight harder to shift. Treating one arm of that loop tends to loosen the other.
What this approval is not is an instruction to stop using something that works. If you are on CPAP and it is helping, keep using it and bring it up at the visit. If you have a sleep study, bring it. Whether a medication changes your apnea plan is a decision your physician makes with your own results in front of her, not a decision a website makes for you.
Clues worth mentioning at your visit
These are reasons to be evaluated, not a diagnosis. Obstructive sleep apnea is confirmed by a sleep study. Dr. Bryant can review your history and arrange the appropriate testing as part of primary care.
The weight side of the same molecule
In SURMOUNT-1, adults with obesity or overweight taking tirzepatide alongside lifestyle changes lost an average of roughly 15 to 21% of body weight over 72 weeks, depending on dose. Tirzepatide works on two receptors — GLP-1 and GIP — which is the mechanical reason its trial averages sit above single-action semaglutide.
Trial averages describe study populations over fixed timeframes. They are not a guarantee, they are not a head-to-head promise against another medication, and individual results vary. The full mechanism write-up is on the Mounjaro page, since it is the same molecule.
What Dr. Bryantactually prescribes
Physician-managed tirzepatide — the same active ingredient as Zepbound and Mounjaro — dispensed by a licensed U.S. pharmacy, with the dose managed month to month by a board-certified MD.
A practice does not dispense the medication; the pharmacy fills what the physician writes. Whether a brand-name product or another physician-prescribed form of tirzepatide fits you depends on your history, your coverage, and what is actually available. That gets settled at the consult, before anything is written.
Typical eligibility is a BMI of 30 or higher, or 27 or higher with a weight-related condition such as type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure or sleep apnea. Check the thresholds on the GLP-1 eligibility guide.
- Physician-prescribed tirzepatide from a licensed U.S. pharmacy
- Monthly visit with Dr. Bryant, in office or by video
- Titration over 4–8 weeks so the side effects stay manageable
- Blood pressure, labs and metabolic markers watched as needed
- Nutrition plan and unlimited messaging between visits
Single-action semaglutide is $180/month. Dr. Bryant recommends a starting point based on your history rather than defaulting to the more expensive option.
Talk to us first if…
- · You are pregnant, breastfeeding, or planning a pregnancy
- · You have a personal or family history of medullary thyroid cancer or MEN2
- · You have a history of pancreatitis
- · You take insulin or other diabetes medications that may need adjusting
Common side effects are mild nausea, indigestion and constipation, usually around a dose increase and easing within about a week. None of the above are automatic disqualifiers — they are reasons for a careful conversation before a prescription is written.
Sleep, weight and blood pressure, in one office
The reason to handle this with a primary-care physician rather than a weight-loss app is that these problems arrive as a set. Untreated apnea drags blood pressure up. Blood pressure and weight pull each other along. A clinic that only sells weight loss sees one third of that picture and bills you monthly for the privilege.
Dr. Bryant Medical Practice and MedSpa is at 205-15 Hollis Avenue, St Albans, NY 11412, serving Hollis, Jamaica, Cambria Heights, Springfield Gardens, Queens Village, Laurelton and Rosedale. Dr. Keisha Bryant is board-certified in internal medicine, and the same physician handles the blood pressure and the weight.
Monthly check-ins can be taken as a virtual video visit if getting in is the hard part. Call (929) 547-9616 or book a free 15-minute consult online.
Keep reading
Common questions
References & sources
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration — FDA approves first medication for obstructive sleep apnea (December 2024)
- Jastreboff AM et al. — Tirzepatide Once Weekly for the Treatment of Obesity (SURMOUNT-1), New England Journal of Medicine
- Malhotra A et al. — Tirzepatide for the Treatment of Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Obesity (SURMOUNT-OSA), New England Journal of Medicine
- National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute — Sleep apnea: causes, symptoms and diagnosis
If you are tired all day and heavier than you want to be, those may be one problem.
Book a free 15-minute consult with Dr. Keisha Bryant, MD in St Albans. Bring your sleep study if you have one — she reviews the whole picture before anything is prescribed.
Zepbound® and Mounjaro® are registered trademarks of Eli Lilly and Company. Dr. Bryant Medical Practice and MedSpa is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Eli Lilly. Brand names are used here only to identify the medications patients ask about. This page is general health information, not medical advice, and does not replace a consultation with a licensed physician.