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"Just eat less and exercise" My primary doctor's advice 4 years ago. "You lost the genetic lottery and I'm putting you on Ozempic to address your metabolic di

"Just eat less and exercise" My primary doctor's advice 4 years ago. "You lost the genetic lottery and I'm putting you on Ozempic to address your metabolic disorder" My endocrinologist's response 2 years and 50lbs of weight loss ago. Since then every health marker has improved substantially, and with it clarity of thought and energy. Broad insurance coverage for these medications should be a slam dunk for insurers.

OrwellianChild 3y ago
It's hugely encouraging that we're starting to see frontline medical practice step out of the frame of mind that this is a "willpower" issue. If GLP-1 analogs work against both food compulsions and alcohol/drug compulsions [1], this re-contextualizes metabolic disorders as another form of addiction. [1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10097922/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10097922/
- toomuchtodo 3y ago
  While this is a great first step to get populations help immediately, it creates a chronic need for these drugs. Gene therapy must come next to fix root cause.
  - tomrod 3y ago
    I'm curious what the recurrence rate for weight gain. As well as yo-yo use -- perhaps its cost efficient to prescribe it off and on, as desired.
- melling 3y ago
  People might want to wait at least a few years before the “large scale study” is completed. Tens of millions of people are about to begin “ most common Ozempic side effects are nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain and constipation. Serious Ozempic side effects include allergic reactions, changes in vision and pancreatitis. Ozempic has an FDA boxed warning for the risk of thyroid C-cell tumors.”
  - fpgaminer 3y ago
    I think most people should wait, yes. There's a HUGE amount of pressure to get these things approved for weightloss. So most people can just wait and watch a year or two. But to be clear, these drugs are already approved by the FDA for diabetes, so they've been studied heavily already for safety. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe diabetic people were intended to take this medication long-term. So it would have been studied and assessed for safety in that regime. Really we're just waiting for studies specifically designed to measure efficacy on weight loss, and for the FDA to assess the specific risk-benefit balance of prescribing this medicine for weightloss. Seeing as how obesity is one of the leading causes of death in modern society, I wouldn't be surprised if the FDA is already leaning towards approving it if it passes efficacy. Which it most likely will; the diabetes studies reported something like 9 in 10 people losing something like 10-20% of their bodyweight? The signal was huge.
    - woleium 3y ago
      I believe the dose for weight loss is significantly higher, so there is room for long term effects not seen on the diabetes trials
  - rickydroll 3y ago
    yup, I got most of those side effects causing me to give up on Ozempic. I might have been willing to eat like an anorexic[1] if my BG dropped to normal range but it didn't. [1] not making light of anorexia. I mindfully chose that description because that drug will induce disordered eating patterns. I still have days where I refuse to eat because to my BG level and suppress hunger then binge because the hunger is overwhelming.
avgcorrection 3y ago
One wonders what legitimate reason there is to downvote a comment about what has worked (and not) for that person.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
- itsoktocry 3y ago
  Preface this by saying I have nothing against Ozempic, and its uses. But there are people (myself included) who do not believe for one second that there are people who if they actually watch what they eat and exercise, can't lose weight. Outside of extremely rare conditions, I don't believe that's possible. And yet so many people claim it. Just admit that you want a shortcut, there's nothing wrong with that. The opioid crisis has taught me that some doctors will put you on drugs without a care in the world to the consequences. Not that hard to find one who will tell you what you want to hear. Look at this thread. Everyone taking these drugs has some metabolic condition?
  - avgcorrection 3y ago
    What do I know. I just see someone who has an anecdote about it working and being downvoted just based on that (what else can the downvotes be about?). Mostly though I care about what works. Not obsessing over whether the “true way” would have worked for them as well. Have they achieved their goals? Great, done. > Just admit that you want a shortcut, there's nothing wrong with that. If this is so inconsequential and all of that... then why are you obsessing over it? Literally what does it matter, lol? They did something that worked so their work is done. But, what, their next task is to do a confessional about their laziness or whatever to some random strangers? This is so entitled that it has become farcical. > Look at this thread. Everyone taking these drugs has some metabolic condition? Are you surprised that a thread about X has a disproportionate amount of anecdotes about X? Threads on X don't attract a uniform sampling of the population.
    - itsoktocry 3y ago
throwaway1777 3y ago
Now that your energy has improved are you exercising and eating better?
kypro 3y ago
That's awesome man. I've heard some really positive things about Ozempic. Have you had any side effects? Also if you could have lost the weight with diet and exercise, do you think you would have still wanted the drug knowing what you know now? I suppose there is a risk here that people will turn to the drug instead of sorting diet / amount of exercise. I think an argument could be made that now we have the drugs we "over prescribe" drugs like SSRIs and stimulants because it's often easier to "fix" the symptoms with drugs rather than address the root cause.
- fpgaminer 3y ago
  SSRIs being over prescribe is a dangerous myth that should not be repeated; it puts people at risk. The vast majority of people get on SSRIs as a last resort to save their lives.
  - kypro 3y ago
    I strongly disagree. I think what you're saying is dangerous, if anything. I speak from personal experience, but this isn't something I'm willing to take a strong position on or try to defend. Even if you believe my comparison to SSRIs is inappropriate, I don't think it's controversial to suggest that the pharmaceuticals are often too quickly prescribed in the US. My question is perfectly valid.
- jnovek 3y ago
  How do you know that we over-prescribe SSRIs and stimulants?
stillbourne 3y ago
Sadly my insurance declined coverage.

OrwellianChild 3y ago

It's hugely encouraging that we're starting to see frontline medical practice step out of the frame of mind that this is a "willpower" issue. If GLP-1 analogs work against both food compulsions and alcohol/drug compulsions [1], this re-contextualizes metabolic disorders as another form of addiction. [1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10097922/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10097922/

toomuchtodo 3y ago
While this is a great first step to get populations help immediately, it creates a chronic need for these drugs. Gene therapy must come next to fix root cause.
- tomrod 3y ago
  I'm curious what the recurrence rate for weight gain. As well as yo-yo use -- perhaps its cost efficient to prescribe it off and on, as desired.
melling 3y ago
People might want to wait at least a few years before the “large scale study” is completed. Tens of millions of people are about to begin “ most common Ozempic side effects are nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain and constipation. Serious Ozempic side effects include allergic reactions, changes in vision and pancreatitis. Ozempic has an FDA boxed warning for the risk of thyroid C-cell tumors.”
- fpgaminer 3y ago
  I think most people should wait, yes. There's a HUGE amount of pressure to get these things approved for weightloss. So most people can just wait and watch a year or two. But to be clear, these drugs are already approved by the FDA for diabetes, so they've been studied heavily already for safety. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe diabetic people were intended to take this medication long-term. So it would have been studied and assessed for safety in that regime. Really we're just waiting for studies specifically designed to measure efficacy on weight loss, and for the FDA to assess the specific risk-benefit balance of prescribing this medicine for weightloss. Seeing as how obesity is one of the leading causes of death in modern society, I wouldn't be surprised if the FDA is already leaning towards approving it if it passes efficacy. Which it most likely will; the diabetes studies reported something like 9 in 10 people losing something like 10-20% of their bodyweight? The signal was huge.
  - woleium 3y ago
    I believe the dose for weight loss is significantly higher, so there is room for long term effects not seen on the diabetes trials
- rickydroll 3y ago
  yup, I got most of those side effects causing me to give up on Ozempic. I might have been willing to eat like an anorexic[1] if my BG dropped to normal range but it didn't. [1] not making light of anorexia. I mindfully chose that description because that drug will induce disordered eating patterns. I still have days where I refuse to eat because to my BG level and suppress hunger then binge because the hunger is overwhelming.

avgcorrection 3y ago

One wonders what legitimate reason there is to downvote a comment about what has worked (and not) for that person.

deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
itsoktocry 3y ago
Preface this by saying I have nothing against Ozempic, and its uses. But there are people (myself included) who do not believe for one second that there are people who if they actually watch what they eat and exercise, can't lose weight. Outside of extremely rare conditions, I don't believe that's possible. And yet so many people claim it. Just admit that you want a shortcut, there's nothing wrong with that. The opioid crisis has taught me that some doctors will put you on drugs without a care in the world to the consequences. Not that hard to find one who will tell you what you want to hear. Look at this thread. Everyone taking these drugs has some metabolic condition?
- avgcorrection 3y ago
  What do I know. I just see someone who has an anecdote about it working and being downvoted just based on that (what else can the downvotes be about?). Mostly though I care about what works. Not obsessing over whether the “true way” would have worked for them as well. Have they achieved their goals? Great, done. > Just admit that you want a shortcut, there's nothing wrong with that. If this is so inconsequential and all of that... then why are you obsessing over it? Literally what does it matter, lol? They did something that worked so their work is done. But, what, their next task is to do a confessional about their laziness or whatever to some random strangers? This is so entitled that it has become farcical. > Look at this thread. Everyone taking these drugs has some metabolic condition? Are you surprised that a thread about X has a disproportionate amount of anecdotes about X? Threads on X don't attract a uniform sampling of the population.
  - itsoktocry 3y ago

throwaway1777 3y ago

Now that your energy has improved are you exercising and eating better?

kypro 3y ago

That's awesome man. I've heard some really positive things about Ozempic. Have you had any side effects? Also if you could have lost the weight with diet and exercise, do you think you would have still wanted the drug knowing what you know now? I suppose there is a risk here that people will turn to the drug instead of sorting diet / amount of exercise. I think an argument could be made that now we have the drugs we "over prescribe" drugs like SSRIs and stimulants because it's often easier to "fix" the symptoms with drugs rather than address the root cause.

fpgaminer 3y ago
SSRIs being over prescribe is a dangerous myth that should not be repeated; it puts people at risk. The vast majority of people get on SSRIs as a last resort to save their lives.
- kypro 3y ago
  I strongly disagree. I think what you're saying is dangerous, if anything. I speak from personal experience, but this isn't something I'm willing to take a strong position on or try to defend. Even if you believe my comparison to SSRIs is inappropriate, I don't think it's controversial to suggest that the pharmaceuticals are often too quickly prescribed in the US. My question is perfectly valid.
jnovek 3y ago
How do you know that we over-prescribe SSRIs and stimulants?

stillbourne 3y ago

Sadly my insurance declined coverage.