Frequently Asked Questions
Answers to the questions we receive most often — about therapies, costs, and your first appointment.
First appointment & how it works
At your first appointment, we focus on the essentials for your specific concern: previous conditions, medications, relevant symptoms. Depending on the situation, this may include a physical examination, blood draw, or initial diagnostics.
Please bring your health insurance card. Helpful but not required: a list of current medications, any relevant previous medical reports, your vaccination record, and recent blood test results from the past 12 months. We can also work without prior records — many findings can be assessed directly in our practice.
Standard consultation appointments focus on your specific concern. On Thursdays we additionally offer an extended consultation with longer slots — with room for details, background and individual questions. This is the right setting when a topic needs more depth: a nutritional medicine consultation, planning a GLP-1 therapy, or a more complex clinical picture. Private patients and self-payers can generally book any weekday — the extended consultation is independent of this and open to anyone who needs more time.
Repeat prescriptions for known long-term medications can be requested conveniently via Doctolib or by email to rezept@internist-wenzel.de — please include your full name, date of birth and the medication. For GLP-1 medications (Wegovy, Mounjaro, Ozempic), an initial examination and regular follow-up appointments are medically required.
Yes — consultations in English are available for expats, private and self-pay patients. Please mention this when booking via Doctolib or by email at info@internist-wenzel.de. The Thursday private and self-pay consultation is well-suited for in-depth English appointments.
GLP-1 therapy & weight loss injections
All three are GLP-1-based medications, but with different active substances and indications. Ozempic (semaglutide) is approved for type 2 diabetes. Wegovy is also semaglutide, but approved specifically for weight reduction in obesity. Mounjaro (tirzepatide) acts on two hormones simultaneously (GLP-1 and GIP) and achieves on average somewhat greater weight reduction in trials. Which medication is right for you depends on your diagnosis, existing conditions, and individual situation — we discuss this in consultation.
Generally suitable for people with obesity (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m²) or excess weight (BMI ≥ 27 kg/m²) with weight-related conditions such as high blood pressure, pre-diabetes or type 2 diabetes. The therapy supports rather than replaces lifestyle changes. It is not suitable in certain conditions, such as a personal or family history of medullary thyroid carcinoma or pancreatitis. Whether it is right for you is determined in a detailed initial consultation with blood tests and medical history.
An honest answer: after stopping, weight can return if sustainable lifestyle changes have not been established alongside the medication. Studies show that a significant proportion of lost weight returns within one to two years when treatment ends without accompanying behaviour change. This is why we always combine GLP-1 therapy with nutritional counselling, physical activity advice and regular follow-up appointments.
No. A medical initial examination and regular follow-up appointments are medically necessary — and non-negotiable. Prescriptions for GLP-1 medications without a physician-patient relationship and without monitoring do not meet our standards. That protects you as a patient.
Insurance & costs
For patients with statutory health insurance: Wegovy and Mounjaro for weight reduction are currently not regular GKV benefits. In poorly controlled type 2 diabetes, coverage as a statutory benefit may be possible depending on the situation (applies to both statutory and private insurance) — whether this applies to you, we check individually. Otherwise, the therapy is offered as a self-pay service within our extended consultation on Thursdays; scope and costs are discussed in advance.
IGeL (private health services) are medical services that fall outside statutory insurance coverage. In our practice these include BIA body composition analysis, nutritional medicine consultation, extended laboratory diagnostics, CGM glucose screening, and mobile polysomnography — performed within the extended internal medicine consultation on Thursdays. Billing follows the GOÄ; before the service is provided, we conclude a written agreement in accordance with § 18 (8) BMV-Ä. You have time to consider at any point and may decline the service.
Yes. As a statutory insured patient you can use all covered services via your health insurance card and additionally book private health services as a self-payer. Billing is clearly separate. Statutory insurance does not reimburse IGeL services.