Is Ozempic for You?
Ozempic, the brand name for Semaglutide, also sold under the names Wegovy and Rybelsus, is a diabetes drug which was approved for treating obesity in 2021. Since then, the drug, which you can inject yourself with weekly, has become a monster success and become the talk of social media, Sales of the drug in 2022 were $8.5 billion, and its sales for use in treating obesity led to a temporary shortage.
What is Ozempic?
Semaglutide is one of a class of drugs called GLP-1 agonists. These drugs help the body use insulin more efficiently to manage blood sugar, while also making our stomach empty more slowly, reducing appetite. These drugs have been on the market to treat type II diabetes for a while, but were more recently approved for weight loss in people with obesity. The results have been very impressive for weight loss, with a 17.5% weight loss in those with obesity. That's 35 pounds if you weigh 200 pounds.
Side-Effects?
The most common side-effects are nausea, diarrhea, abdominal pain,vomiting and constipation. Another disturbing longer term side-effect is "Ozempic face", caused by loss of fat. In fairness, however, sagging of the face happens in many cases of significant weight loss, as our bodies lose fat. If you're curious, no, Ozempic can't be taken during pregnancy.
The market for obesity treatment is roughly $50 billion, so many more drugs will be coming on the market. One, mounjaro, is expected on the market soon, and has even better results than Ozempic.
What's Dr. G's Take?
If you or someone you know has struggled long-term to manage your weight and/or you have type II diabetes, these medications certainly make sense to consider. If you are managing your blood sugar, have obesity but don't have major heart disease risk factors, you might be ok to avoid taking these medications as we still don't know the long-term implications of taking them. I have heard back from a couple of patients taking Ozempic and have not seen dramatic results with weight loss, even after a few months.
Erythritol: Avoid It or Cut Back?
A recent study suggests a link between higher blood levels of erythritol and heart attack or stroke. Erythritol, a popular sugar alcohol made from corn and found in many weight loss/sugar free products, gives foods and drinks a sweet taste without raising blood sugar.
While the study shows increased risk and has scary implications, and while I don't recommend ANY sugar substitute for long-term use, it seems reasonable to use erythritol and all sugar alcohols moderately. More research is being done, so stay tuned.
Frustrated at My Fitness Pal Cutting Back on Features? Read on...
As often happens, apps cut back on features or increase ads to try to drive us to the premium version. I think My Fitness Pal is a great app: easy to use with a rich database of foods, but the loss of features such as bar code scanning has been annoying, to say the least.
A patient mentioned the other day that a friend who accidentally switched their location from US to UK found the scanning feature restored. I'm not recommending anybody do anything, but thought that was interesting.
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Until next time, be well.
Dr. Goodman
Lose Weight, Feel Better, Stay Healthy
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