An ‘Ozempic’ type med for alcoholics and addicts?

[Onand]

I’m not a scientist so please excuse my naive idealistic thought process, but could the mechanics and principles of Ozempic etc ever be used to create drugs that eliminates alcohol dependency, smoking or drug addiction? Imagine how monumental it would be for sufferers if such a possibility existed. To be able to switch off the desire and compulsion safely and long term. Could such products exist in the future?

I’m sure if you had said 10 years ago that Ozempic would start to change the lives of obese people no one would have believed you, yet here we are…

There are already drugs for alcoholism, naltrexone and antabuse for example.

Naltrexone implant. Great for most addictions, not so helpful with meth addictions though

There are already similar products. The issue is often when people are stuck in a lifestyle that promotes or provides easy access to drugs, via friends etc especially in lower income areas where it's much harder to break those cycles. This will be the case with some ozempic users when they stop using as food can often be an addiction. In both cases people self medicate with food or alcohol or drugs when depressed, bored or stuck in that habit.

There already are several drugs for addiction. The problem is the reasons for addiction are complex so it is not always enough to give a physiological deterrent.

For the same reason ozempic etc aren't currently recommended for eating disorders such as binge eating & bulimia.

I'm on mounjaro currently, and dont have the drive to drink.

I'm a half bottle of wine a night person normally, and now dont even think about it

Apparently Ozempic helps significantly with addiction as well. Heard lots of anecdotal stories of being able to easily cut down or even quit alcohol while being on the injections. Obviously the pharma companies don't want this info getting out just yet before they can obtain the correct licenses and conduct trials or tweak the product for a different target market.

A lot of problem drug users will be polysubstance abusers. Naltrexone would help with opiates but not other substances (you might be surprised at the range of street and prescription drugs people abuse) plus the person has to want it. Services for drug and alcohol use are inadequate, but another major problem is people saying they want help, want to stop then not engaging and not going to appointments. It's the same in every area of mental health - CAMHS & adults services are over stretched but we need to talk about how people don't turn up, don't engage or turn down services - I see this a lot.

Mounjaro has really turned me off booze and my off button was well hidden.

Many people have reported Mounjaro turning them off alcohol and smoking completely.

I read somewhere that trials are in the works to see if it can be used in alcoholism treatment too. I really can't remember who posted it on here and which thread, so take it with a grain of salt.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/search/research-news/19361/

Ozempic already does that.

As others have said, it's already existed for some time. I'm kind of curious that it isn't more widely used... I'm sure there are reasons, but it doesn't seem like the existence of Naltrexone has managed to simply switch off alcoholism across society. Will be interesting to see how the longer term impact of weight loss drugs compares....

The issue with mental health services is that they are simply appalling. People turn up for assessment expecting compassion, understanding and support but instead end up cruel & punitive 'pathways' that don't meet their needs with poorly trained, judgemental staff incapable of listening or understanding.

I've got a serious & complex illness (schizo-affective/bipolar) and would not go near local CMHRS with a barge pole.

Antabuse is not to get rid of alcohol craving. It makes you feel ill if you drink, which is much more of a punishment

I also find it a bit ironic that there are meds to increase appetite - anorexia being the eqting disorder with the highest mortality rate. But they aren't used to treat that condition.

Champix has been around for donkey's years to help smokers give up.

And Zyban. Have just successfully quit smoking with it

Eating, drinking, exercising, smoking too much to the extent that your health is suffering is all to compensate an inner anxiety/pain/numbness. It's just the drug that varies and the different stigma related to it. Somebody who wears down their body by training too hard is praised while the alcoholic overeater gets shamed.

I took champix for smoking and it worked but the side effects weren't fun. I stopped taking it and went back to smoking.

Subutex already exists .. and you don’t even need to inject it. My family member used it, as he was a heroin addict

Mounjaro is getting a lot of anecdotal reports it’s helping addiction generally not just food so booze and shopping too.

I'm on wegovy. I was definitely very worried about my drinking before taking it. Was on the verge of going to AA. Last wee while I've averaged about two glasses of wine per week. My thoughts and feelings have changed in a way I couldn't have imagined. I'm not even trying to 'stay off it'. It just has no appeal to me whereas before I thought about it all the time. It's honestly been life-changing.

There is some evidence these drugs do curb cravings and its being explored in clinical trials.

As other posters have pointed out though physical cravings are only one aspect of addiction which is highly complex, multi factorial and blends psychological and physical effects which is one of the reasons it’s so difficult to treat.

My understanding is that drugs like Subutex and Antabuse don’t stop cravings they just block the receptors in the brain that allow people to get high on their substance of choice. So a pretty blunt instrument and probably only useful for people who are pretty far gone in addiction.

A drug which reduces cravings would definitely be a great tool though.

@Maria1979

Somebody who wears down their body by training too hard is praised while the alcoholic overeater gets shamed.

It’s much easier to rehabilitate a body which has over-exercised than to replace a liver in late stage failure though. Or indeed to revive someone who has ODed on opiates.

And exercise doesn’t usually make people abusive or make them steal from their families.

Antabuse (disulfiram) interferes with how your body metabolizes alcohol - essentially it causes a build up of acetaldehyde which makes you extremely unwell and can in fact cause death which is why it’s quite controversial.

Naltrexone and nalmefene work by blocking the pleasurable feelings of alcohol /dopamine so you take them about an hour before drinking and when you drink, you don’t get a buzz so you don’t bother drinking more.

Acamprosate is meant to stop cravings and does for some people.

I’ve been on them all (nalmefene rather than naltrexone). Acamprosate gave me such bad diarrhoea that I couldn’t leave the house. Antabuse did stop me drinking through fear but it raised my blood pressure to dangerous levels so I had to stop it. Paid a fortune for a private prescription of nalmefene and it did kind of work - you feel literally nothing when you drink so you don’t “chase the buzz” so to speak. It was too expensive to stay on it long term.

Despite all these meds, I still eventually went back to drinking. I’m now sober as I just can’t be arsed with the drama my drinking causes. It’s the old story - no one stops until they really want to.

Have you? Is it prescription only? I need to give up, but finding it so hard.