General Practitioners

• Headaches
• Arthritis
• Fibromyalgia
  We prescribe appetite suppressants or “diet pills” to most of our patients. However, we go beyond this.  We are skilled at using popular weight loss medications such phentermine but we also use all of the newest branded appetite suppressants such as Contrave, Saxenda, and Qsymia. We also have several medications that are used “off label” that help individuals with unique problems to lose weight.  Using these unique medications, we can help people with food addictions, fibromyalgia, impulse control disorders, and insulin resistance to lose weight.  But we go much further than appetite suppressants.  We will look at your entire group of active medications that you take for chronic health conditions and we will optimize them to enable you to lose weight.  Our goal is to help you to get off of as many of your long term, chronic medications as possible by achieving a healthy lifestyle.”
• Medical Weight Loss
  Ozempic (Semaglutide) is a medication that was designed to be used for diabetes but is finding use in the area of weight loss.  It is part of a class of drugs called GLP-1 agonists.  The letters stand for glucagon-like peptide.  There are GLP-1 receptors in the intestinal tract, liver, pancreas, heart, and brain.  Among the many effects this hormone has is that it causes a slowing of intestinal transit, improvement in cardiovascular protection, increased sense of satiety, and a decrease in cravings.
• Primary Care
  Hypoglycemia or low blood sugar is a common complaint in an Obese population but one that often stymies their Primary Care Doctor in Management. We find that this is typically caused by a poor diet. Once we have corrected your diet, you will find that this problem will largely resolve.
• Family Practice
  Dr. Knopke is double board certified in Obesity Medicine and Family Medicine. He is a leader in the field of Obesity Medicine. He has been elected and currently serves as a member of the Board of Trustees for the Obesity Medicine Association (OMA) and is an Assistant Professor in Family Medicine at the University Of California Riverside School Of Medicine. Additionally he is a member of many other related Medical Associations. He has spoken to and taught other medical professionals both locally and nationally on topics related to Obesity Medicine. He also offers a 4th year elective rotation to UCR medical students interested in pursuing a career in the field of Obesity Medicine. He is an active participant in designing continuing medical education (CME) programs on the topic of obesity medicine through OMA.
• High Cholesterol
• Electrocardiogram
  An EKG as a component of your initial evaluation is important to identify cardiac issues that put you at risk.  We recommend that you get this done prior to starting on the program.  Some issues that we look for include...

Gynecologists

• Pregnancy

Internists

• Kidney Stones

Psychiatrists

• Depression
• Psychiatry
  He is the past chair of the Family Medicine Section at Riverside Community Hospital. He has functioned as an adviser in Diabetes care at Riverside Community Hospital. His primary medical interests are Obesity Medicine and how this can be applied to treating the complications of obesity such as diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, sleep apnea, arthritis and many others. He also has special interests in psychiatry and exercise physiology and how they can be applied to treat obesity and associated metabolic conditions.
• Anxiety

Endocrinologist

• Diabetes Care

Surgeons

• Knee Replacement
  Osteoarthritis or simply arthritis of the weight bearing joints has been shown to be significantly increased in people suffering from obesity. It has also been shown that reductions in even modest amounts of weight (10 pounds) can significantly improve the symptoms and radiological changes associated with arthritis. Our experience in helping people to lose weight is consistent with these findings. We have even had patients who were prepared to have knee replacement surgery then realize after losing weight that they did not need to have surgery. If you are looking to improve the symptoms of your Osteoarthritis or to be free of chronic anti-inflammatory medications, then we look forward to helping you.

Plastic Surgeons

• Plastic Surgery
  Imagine Plastic Surgery and Inland Empire Weight Loss have worked closely together since 2008. Some of our weight loss patients who lose a significant amount of weight will develop excess skin on their arms, face, and abdomen. Through our relationship with Imagine Plastic Surgery, we are able to arrange for surgical correction of these problems when they are confronted.
• Gynecomastia
  For men, testing evaluates 11 separate components to make sure that your therapy is effective and safe. We also offer treatments to help prevent processing problems with testosterone that can result in an enlarged prostate and growth of breast tissue (gynecomastia) that can often be encountered with typical testosterone therapy.
• Bariatric Surgery
  These are numerous and are common reasons for weight gain, failure to lose weight, and weight gain following plateau in post bariatric surgery patients. Additionally, it has been noted that there is a slight increase in attempted and completed suicides in bariatric surgery patients. It is felt that this is due to poorly identified and treated psychiatric conditions and removal of the individual’s chosen treatment option for their psychiatric problem: refined carbohydrates. A brief summary of the common Obesity Related Psychiatric Disorders are listed here. Each of these disorders is regularly seen and treated in our clinic and tends to respond very well to medical therapy.