Diabetes drug becomes viral weight loss hit (Elon Musk brags about using it) creating shortage

Topline

Ozempic, “Hollywood’s worst-kept secret”, has become increasingly popular due to its weight loss results – touted even by billionaire Elon Musk – causing a shortage, even though it is really intended for use in patients with type 2 diabetes.

A pharmacy technician grabs a bottle of medicine from a shelf.

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Highlights

Ozempic (known generically as semaglutide) is an injection used to lower blood sugar and hemoglobin A1C (the part of red blood cells with glucose attached) in type 2 diabetics; low levels of A1C to diminish Complications of diabetes such as stroke, high blood pressure and blindness.

Manufactured by Novo Nordisk, the drug is a glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor antagonist (a class of drugs used to treat diabetes) that was the first approved for use in type 2 diabetics in 2017.

To lower blood sugar and A1C, the drug interacts with the body in three ways by helping the pancreas produce more insulin when blood sugar is high, slowing the process of moving food out of the stomach, and preventing the liver from produce and release too much sugar.

It is meant to be injected once a week in the thigh, stomach or upper arm, with or without meals at any time of the day, and patients usually start taking a dose of 0.25 mg, although after four weeks, the dose is increased to 0.5 mg and then to 1 mg if “better glycemic control is needed”.

Of the more than 37 million Americans with diabetes, the vast majority (between 90% and 95%) have type 2 diabetes, according to at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

One of the side effects of Ozempic is weight loss, which is why some doctors prescribe the drug as an off-label use (the unapproved use of an approved drug) for weight loss in people without diabetes. Ozempic has not been approved by the FDA. .as a slimming drug.

A to study Posted in The New England Journal of Medicine found that those who took Ozempic for 68 weeks, along with a low-calorie diet and more active lifestyle, saw an average change in body weight of 14.9% compared to a change of 2.4% in the placebo group.

These findings prompted obese and slightly overweight people to seek Ozempic prescriptions from their doctors.

Although Ozempic is not approved for weight loss, Wegovy, a higher dose version of Ozempic, has been approved for weight loss by the United States Food and Drug Administration in 2021 for obese or overweight adults with at least one weight-related condition such as diabetes or high blood pressure.

Peg News

Wegovy and Ozempic are both listed by the FDA as two of nearly 200 drugs in a supply shortage, their growing popularity for weight loss is believed to be the reason for their shortage. Francisco Prieto, a California-based physician Told the Los Angeles Times that due to the shortage, his patients taking Ozempic have to “call several pharmacies and drive around town to see if it’s in stock”, with some still unable to fill their prescriptions.

Chief Spokesperson

According to the head of clinical nutrition at UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine, Dr. Zhaoping Li, people should be wary of using diabetes medications for weight loss. “The problem is that it’s one of the tools in our box, it’s not the ultimate solution,” he said. The variety. “The longest study done on these injections was conducted for less than two years. Many questions remained unanswered. »

Side effects

Some of the most common Side effects Ozempic causes nausea, diarrhea, constipation, and stomach pain. However, more serious side effects can occur, such as possible thyroid tumors and cancer. According to Novo Nordiskif anyone is taking the medicine and experiences shortness of breath, a lump or swelling in the neck, difficulty swallowing or hoarseness, they should contact their GP.

Tangent

Ozempic and other diabetes drugs like Mounjaro have caught on in Hollywood, with various celebrities and influencers accelerating their weight loss with the drug. For example, when someone highlighted Elon Musk’s weight loss on Twitter in October, Musk responded that he achieved the look by fasting “and Wegovy”. His comment drew a mix of praise and criticism, with someone pointing to drug shortages, affirming Musk didn’t “need it to lose weight, diabetics REALLY need it.” According to The variety, the drugs have “devotees from every corner of the industry”, with actors, executives and agents glorifying them on Signal, an encrypted instant messaging service used to hold confidential conversations. Even mere speculation is enough to stir up controversy, and the hashtag #ozempic has over 350 million views on TikTok. Thousands of videos are posted with the hashtag with people sharing their weight loss journeys and before and after photos, along with some attributing the growing popularity of the drug on the app to its shortage of supply.