Weight loss, treated as medicine.
Your hormones and metabolism first, medication when it fits, and monthly follow-ups with Dr. Abboud.
Most weight loss clinics are not run by endocrinologists. Qua is. Dr. Abboud is board-certified in endocrinology, internal medicine and obesity medicine, and spent thirty years treating the hardest cases in hormones and weight before she opened Qua in Burr Ridge. In our experience, weight is rarely willpower alone. It is usually what your body is doing underneath, and that is what we read first.
Medical weight loss at Qua begins with a real evaluation: labs, history and body composition, read by a physician. If a GLP-1 medicine fits, we prescribe it and monitor it. If something else is driving the weight, we treat that. Either way, you leave with a plan and exact pricing, not a package.
Why an endocrinologist
Insulin, thyroid hormones and cortisol can each have a say in how your body stores fat and how hungry you feel. When one is off, eating less and moving more may not be enough, and for many of our patients it has not been. An endocrinologist is trained to find that and treat it.
Dr. Abboud has more than 500,000 patient visits behind her and an endocrinology fellowship from Northwestern. As one patient put it: "I saw 10 doctors and all said to stop eating. Dr. Abboud explained about hormones and insulin. I lost 120 pounds, and I know now it is not my fault." Results vary.
Labs before medication
A standard panel checks a handful of numbers and calls them normal. Normal is a population range, and you are one person inside it. Dr. Abboud reviews your results with you in plain language, and the plan follows from what they show. No weight loss medication is prescribed before she has seen them.
A Qua evaluation also reads the numbers that can shape how you feel and how your body handles weight:
- Fasting insulin
- Thyroid antibodies
- Cortisol rhythm
- GLP-1 response
- Body composition
- Sleep and hunger hormones
GLP-1 care, when it fits
GLP-1 medicines are FDA-approved prescription medicines that, for many patients, may reduce appetite and change how the body responds to food. Some target GLP-1 receptors, others target both GIP and GLP-1. The right one, if any, depends on your labs and history.
We use them as one tool in a medical plan, never the plan itself. Dr. Abboud decides whether a medicine fits, chooses it, and monitors you on it. They can have side effects, and she reviews them with you before anything is prescribed.
Body composition, not just the scale
A bathroom scale gives one number. Our Body Mass Analysis scale shows what it is made of: how much is fat, how much is muscle, and how that changes over time.
Losing weight is not the same as losing fat. For many patients the goal is to lose fat and keep muscle, and body composition is how we check. It is a 15-minute appointment, repeated at follow-ups.
Monthly follow-ups with Dr. Abboud
Every month you see Dr. Abboud: weight and body composition are checked, medication is adjusted if needed, labs are repeated when due, and your questions are answered.
Where it fits, a vitamin B12 injection can be part of the visit. Eligibility is determined by the provider.
- Eating less and moving more has not worked
- Your labs are normal and you still feel tired, hungry or stuck
- You have PCOS, prediabetes, insulin resistance or a thyroid condition
- You want a physician, not a sales consult, deciding whether a GLP-1 medicine fits
- Request a consultation
Request a time online, no referral needed. A $50 deposit through Square holds your request, and our team confirms every appointment personally.
- A real evaluation
Your first visit is a 30-minute Weight Loss Consultation with Dr. Abboud: history, body composition, the labs a standard panel misses, and a doctor who listens.
- Your plan, and follow-ups
Medication when it fits, and treatment for whatever else the labs show. Follow-ups are 15 minutes and booked around your month.
Straight answers.
Medication is one tool, used when it fits. The plan is built on your labs, history and body composition, and Dr. Abboud adjusts it as those change.
Not exactly. They differ in the receptors they act on, and the evaluation is how we find the one that fits your body, if one does.
That is who we see most. In our experience, when the usual advice has failed, something underneath is often driving the weight, and the labs are how we find it. Results vary.
No referral. Consultations are requested directly online. Ask the front desk about insurance for medical visits.
Yes. Men's weight loss, hormones and aesthetics are all treated here.
Request your visit.
A member of our team confirms every appointment personally. No referral needed.