Diabetes Medication (Ozempic) Is High In Demand As People Try To Lose Weight

Social media impact has resulted in a massive demand for medication (Ozempic) usually used to treat diabetes, all in an effort to lose weight.

What is Ozempic?

Ozempic is a brand name for semaglutide, an injectable medicine authorized by the FDA in 2017 for the treatment and management of Type 2 diabetes and cardiac problems in patients. The health sector quickly accepted it to manage blood sugar levels, which it does quite effectively. It is far more powerful than conventional medications.

Ozempic was shown to have an adverse effect in clinical trials: weight loss. It quickly became appealing to those who did not have Type 2 diabetes but wanted to lose weight.

Reasons why Ozempic causes weight loss:

The active ingredient in Ozempic is semaglutide, which is FDA authorized for weight loss under the trade name Wegovy, but the Ozempic brand of Semaglutide is not.

Ozempic has the same active component (semaglutide) as:

Wegovy injections -Which are taken on a weekly basis for weight loss in individuals who have obesity or are overweight (extra weight) and have weight-related medical concerns.

Rybelsus tablets- Which, in conjunction with diet and exercise, are used on a regular basis to reduce blood sugar levels in type 2 diabetes patients.

You may have seen photographs of celebrities and others showing off extreme weight reduction on TikTok and other media. How did they lose so many pounds so quickly?

Khloe Kardashian
(Alleged Ozempic user)

Some claim it's diet and exercise, while millions of people publicly attribute their slimness to medicines used to treat obesity and diabetes.

According to the US Food and Drug Administration, there is a shortage of Ozempic and its obesity treatment counterpart Wegovy (both generic semaglutide) (FDA).

This impact has resulted in a massive demand for the injections, resulting in a global scarcity of the treatment diabetics require to manage their condition.

If you're using the medication to control Type 2 diabetes, the results might be deadly. Blood sugar levels will skyrocket almost instantly, potentially leading to heart attacks, strokes, kidney damage, and even death.

Here's what people with diabetes  should know, as well as what those who are taking these medications can do if they lose access to them:

Dieters may be more inclined to switch to Ozempic during the present scarcity since it has a lower retail price and is more likely to be covered by insurance than Wegovy.

People with diabetes can still take alternative medications in place of Ozempic, including those in the same class as semaglutide. Ozempic is a glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist, which contains the medications liraglutide (Victoza), dulaglutide (Trulicity), and exenatide (Bydureon).

Another diabetic medication option for blood sugar control and weight reduction is tirzepatide (Mounjaro), a dual glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) and GLP-1 receptor agonist.

Ozempic side effects and dangers

While the weight reduction reported with semaglutide (Ozempic) appears to be remarkable, the medication is not without risks.

In clinical studies, the majority of persons using semaglutide suffered gastrointestinal adverse symptoms such as nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, and constipation. 

The majority of side effects were mild to moderate, however around 5% of participants dropped out of studies owing to treatment-related gastrointestinal issues, and approximately 10% of patients encountered significant adverse events.

When the FDA authorized Wegovy for weight reduction in 2021, it cautioned that the medicine has a risk of significant adverse effects such as pancreatitis, gallstones, dangerously low blood sugar, acute kidney injury, eye damage, elevated heart rate, and suicidal behavior or thoughts.

None of the clinical trials that persuaded the FDA to approve Ozempic and Wegovy included persons who were healthy weight. This makes it unclear how safe or beneficial the medicine would be for dieters who are not overweight or obese but nonetheless wish to reduce a few pounds.