If you're taking Ozempic to lose a bit of weight doesn't this make you feel guilty?

[QueenieMe]

The Weight Loss Chat board feels like it's been taken over by Ozempic threads at the moment, with everyone and their aunt spending a fortune on injections to lose weight. Yet I've just seen Diabetes UK has issued a warning saying that diabetic patients are struggling to get supplies because of the demand. For them, taking the drug is not a lifestyle choice! I do appreciate there are those on the WLC board who are clinically obese and are taking it because their weight is impacting their health, but when I see women with normal BMIs saying they're taking it to lose that last stubborn stone I do despair. Knowing patients were struggling for supplies so I could fit in a bikini make me feel so guilty that I just couldn't do it. I'd love to hear their justification.

https://inews.co.uk/news/ozempic-diabetic-weight-loss-patients-drug-demand-2342119

@Bluebells1970 - I’m taking it so I don’t end up T2 diabetic like my father and it’s hasn’t ripped through my digestive system or made me feel nauseous.

Medication is the only answer for some people

Some people? Or as we are seeing with the supply issue 'pretty much anyone who wants to lose some weight / 65% of adults'? I am not seeing that people are being refused other than for supply issues.

The world is so detached from humans need to be healthy that we think taking a drug with clear side effects and an obvious impact on hormones is a good option for long-term health. It is so ridiculous.

I see all the 'it's not easy to lose weight' comments are building up. So what happens now? Do you stay on it for life, even if you have side effects? Is it either that or be overweight / obese? There are no alternatives, you have "tried everything"?

People have long done crazy, health damaging shit to lose weight. Amphetamines and stimulants, chain smoking, excessive laxative use etc. To some, they don’t care if their body is damaged to f, as long as it’s skinny.

There are terrible supply issues. I am a diabetic and it has been the best medication for controlling blood sugar and previous medications for diabetes have made me seriously ill and unable to leave the house. However the diabetes nurse rang me in January and warned of supply issues and since February I have not been able to obtain any despite having alerts on all pharmacies within a 250 mile radius plus internet pharmacies. Last month I did a 3 hour round trip when it showed up as available but it was gone before I got there.

Ozempic takes away some of your appetite. You still have to eat less and move more to lose the weight. It just is easier to do because you don't feel hungry all the time.

Yes, because it is impacting your hormones

You can do the very same via diet - and I mean what you eat in your diet, not a diet

I can’t believe anyone would risk taking it unless a last resort. There’s no evidence on long term effects

Ultimately, type 2 diabetes is caused by people putting on too much weight.

Is it, necessarily? I have an uncle and and an aunt who got it whilst in the normal range for BMI - admittedly towards the top end, and we're Arab. I've never met a person who got under under a BMI of say....23 (guessing). I wouldn't like to posit that it's impossible though. I can tell you the Arab side of my family is very prone to it.

Never mind all☝🏻👀 that it's a win-win for the big corporations🤑🤑🤑
The food industry has a big incentive to up its game and make food even more addictive to overcome the appetite suppressant effects of the new drugs🤠

@Littleworkaholic

Well nowadays more than just Dr’s prescribe, however, you should be comfortable prescribing particularly as it’s off label.

I’ve heard prescribers in aesthetics clinics are prescribing this ( nurses, dentists, pharmacists) and I wonder of those that end up in hospital- are their clinical teams following up on inappropriate prescribing, for example making a script for someone with a normal BMI and no diabetes. The health service is already under huge strain without complications from inappropriate prescriptions. Are the prescribers even aware of the complications their patients are suffering, are they reporting this via the yellow card scheme ?

The threads tell me that people with normal BMI/overweight are being prescribed this. And my question was really referring to how are people getting this prescription?

This is a very interesting podcast (or you can read the transcript) about Ozempic and the other semaglutide drugs. Especially for those of you who don’t appear to know much about but but just denigrate it and those who take it.

I do feel slightly guilty now that the supply is even shorter than it was. I have missed a dose this morning myself because I can’t get any at the moment.

However - yes I have tried a lot of ways over a lot of years to lose weight and the overall trend has been upwards. I do exercise. I feel that by using this medication I am taking responsibly for my long term health and hopefully will save the NHS the expense of treating me for diabetes or cancer caused by obesity. My BMI is over 30 so I am obese and not doing this for vanity reasons.

Yes, I expect to stay on it for the long term or I expect I will regain the weight in the same way as I have when I quit Slimming World or stopped calorie counting or started eating sugar again.

I think the thyroid cancer risk is very low as rats thyroids have receptors to this drug that we don’t have but I know there is a risk of pancreatitis etc which I have balanced against the long term risks of obesity and decided the balance of risks makes it worth while.

I can assure you there has been and will continue to be a shortage for those who actually need it, not those who can't be bothered to lose weight gradually and properly. Anyone who uses it for that purpose should be absolutely ashamed of themselves.

My GP is prescribing it for me. My BMI is too high I have had issues with underactive thyroid for years and during lockdown could not get a blood test done so was undereducated and as a result put on 4 stones. On Ozempic I'm slowly losing it again. I'm loosing about 4-5 kg each month.

This is the very sad consequence of the addictive nature of processed food, together with a society that's increasingly apathetic to life. We're so used to quick fixes too, and skinny people do get treated better in society, so why not try? There is little to no support for people with BED too, it's not taken seriously and I'm not surprised at all that people are prepared to inject themselves with a drug that's not going to address the mental aspect of them being overweight or obese.
We're all meant to be different shapes and sizes, but extreme excess weight is a symptom of something going wrong, I feel people forget that.

I picked up my prescription last week for 3 month supply. I was told to reorder about a month before I run out again as it might take a couple of weeks to obtain. My blood sugar was also far too high before I started taking Ozempic.

those who can't be bothered to lose weight gradually and properly. Anyone who uses it for that purpose should be absolutely ashamed of themselves.

Wow. That is so judgmental. Woukd you use these words to someone’s face? I am sure you can be bothered to control your weight properly but perhaps you are blessed with genetics that make this easier for you than it is for other people.

Do you know the huge implications that being overweight has on your health? Thyroid cancer is a blip compared to how many complications you can list from serious obesity.

This is like being snide about the drug Zyban to help people quit smoking because they should just simply not smoke. They can save themselves the risk of the side effects of a prescription medication.

I'm overweight and need to make a lifestyle change to lose weight. I've known this for 20 years. And I haven't lost the weight yet. My body is at risk of many issues - cancer being one of them.

No, I'm not on Ozempic. But maybe one day it's a decision I'll take because I will admit that the day "I will get round to losing weight" isn't coming.

There's so much misinformation on this thread!

People should not be being prescribed ozempic if they are only slightly overweight. They need a BMI of 27 AND related health issues OR a BMI of over 30. If they're getting a prescription when they don't fit that criteria they are either lying in the consultation or the prescriber is acting unlawfully. This shouldn't happen.

The side effects are not "hideous". There's a slight risk of acute pancreatitis and no recorded cases of thyroid cancer in humans and those with a family or personal history of thyroid cancer or certain thyroid diseases can't take it. Obesity itself increases the risk of multiple cancers. Other side effects are generally mild nausea, sulphur burps and constipation.

Ozempic doesn't work "only if you have a low carb diet". It's highly effective with lots of different nutritional regimes and makes following the lifestyle change of choice much easier.

For those who ozempic causes significant unpleasant but non-serious side effects, it's usually because they do not have a hormonal imbalance which is causing, or impacting, their weight.

Obesity is multifaceted, and very few people who are obese want to be obese or have not tried many, many lifestyle changes to combat it.

This thread shows the ignorance of many people and the morality surrounding obesity.

@Dodgeitornot I had the same thought about the processed food industry. How has it gotten to the point where we need a drug to support people's abstinence from these "food products" in the same way we need drugs to support abstinence from smoking? There's something terribly wrong with this picture at a structural level.

Because it’s only easy to do a low carb diet when you have appetite suppression, which Ozempic gives you. When you stop taking Ozempic, the cravings for unhealthy food quickly return.
Speaking as someone who tried Ozempic in the past.

I wish I could afford it. It works for my friend. I find it so hard 😩

No one is being angry, we're just discussing both sides of the issue. It's called debate.

https://open.spotify.com/episode/6V7XtKN9DBsCgfbfUJGH8P?si=b1m2W2zaSrSnlMk04bOjZw

this is really interesting for anyone interested in learning more, the guest speaker is one of the doctors involved in the clinical trials for Ozempic

@OsirisservesAnubis

Many thanks, is there a time limit or can you take it lifelong or sequentially?