The truth behind new weight loss drugs

GOLDEN VALLEY, Minn. You’ve probably heard of those popular weight loss drugs. Initially, they were created to fight diabetes, then they were prescribed for those who struggle with obesity, but others, who did not need drugs, began to use them. It created a shortage and started pitting people against each other.

So we set out to learn more about the drugs, how they work, who uses them, are they dangerous, and what’s with the shortage? We also asked two women who use drugs to come in and talk about their experiences. Shelley Appel is a type 2 diabetic and has been for 25 years. She started taking Ozempic last year.

“For years and years, I couldn’t get my A1C down, and now it’s 6.5. It’s supposed to be under 7, and I couldn’t do it without Ozempic,” says Shelle.

Amy Velsor has struggled with her weight since she was 8 years old. She tried every diet and every fad and failed.

I finally ended up having a gastric bypass about 9 years ago after I was done with my kids. I felt so sad that I was a mom on the park bench and not out playing with my kids and it broke my heart that I could keep up with them, says Amy.

After leg surgery last year, months of inactivity and menopause brought the weight back on. She was defeated and desperate and gave Wegovy.

I lost about 25 kilograms on a good day,” she says.

Diet, exercise, and other medications were not enough to control Shelley’s diabetes. Diet and exercise also weren’t enough to help Amy reach a healthy weight. But the lack of drugs has caused people to take sides.

I sometimes drove 40 miles to find a pharmacy that had it and decided to switch to Monjauro. I made the switch to Ozempic maybe two months ago, says Shelley. People who really needed it couldn’t get it, but celebrities could, which was very disappointing, she adds.

Amy admits she was hesitant to talk about it on camera because she was afraid of what others would think.

There’s still a lot of guilt because I know people who have diabetes and this drug is stable for them or part of a regimen that’s life-long for them and there’s a part of me that’s very guilty for taking a drug that might be saving them. someone else’s life, she says.

I think we can all agree that already skinny celebrities shouldn’t have access to the drug in the first place, but are we putting obese people whose health is at risk in the same category?

I like to tell a lot of people, or anyone who will listen, that these products are some of the best things that have happened to all of us and some of the worst things that have ever happened to us, says Dr. Andrew Kraftson with University of Michigan Health.

As an endocrinologist, Dr. Kraftson specializes in diabetes and obesity. He says the topic is complicated for a number of reasons. But let’s first explain what these drugs are and how they work. Drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy are part of a group of medications called GLP-1. Glucagon-like peptide. They mimic a hormone in the gut that helps suppress appetite.

They help the body produce more insulin to process the carbohydrates you eat, says Dr. Kraftson.

It can also signal the brain to be less hungry, more full, less food cravings, and can slow down the rate at which food passes through the stomach, so food stays there longer and you also feel a little fuller at this way, he adds.

Ozempic and Wegovy are produced by the same company – Novo Nordisk. One for diabetes, the other for weight loss. So what’s the difference?

Semaglutide is in Ozempic and Wegovy. It is exactly the same medicine. They differ in the device used to inject them, says Dr Kraftson.

Both start with the same first three doses and then start to vary. So Wegovy has a slightly higher maximum dose versus Ozempic, but they are quite similar, he adds.

And maybe you’ve heard of Mounjurno and Zepbound? These two drugs are made by Eli Lily. Again, one for diabetes, one for weight loss. They contain something called Tirzepatide.

They are even closer. It’s exactly the same equipment, exactly the same doses. Really the only indicator is the label you’ll see,” says Dr. Kraftson.

And the more people who qualify for medications – the fewer there are to go. But who should take it? Yes, those with diabetes, of course. But Dr. Kraftson says that untreated obesity can cause everything from diabetes to uncontrolled hypertension to heart disease and the list goes on. However, cost and health disparities have become barriers.

People can’t afford it. They are very expensive for those who don’t have any coverage and then the insurance companies are deciding, you know this is very expensive unless the pharmaceutical companies lower the prices, we can’t afford to cover these drugs for so much people .”

He says that some pharmacies have even refused to carry the drugs because it has become too much trouble. But the biggest problem is shortages.

Novo Nordisk did not respond to our requests for an interview, but on the company’s website is a message to patients about the shortage of Wegovy.

Doug Langa, Executive Vice President, North American Operations and President of Novo Nordisk Inc., says they are running their manufacturing facilities 24 hours a day, seven days a week to combat the shortage.

He goes on to say, “Our goal is to support a level of new patients that does not exceed our current supply capacity.

I think what we should have done with these drugs is what we did with the COVID vaccine. There is a limited supply that they should have rationed and given to people based on their needs, so at the top of the line would have been people with diabetes and very obese people, both of whom have great needs , says Johann Hari.

Harry spent a year researching these drugs and wrote the book “The Magic Pill” He also takes Ozempic for weight loss. He agrees that costs and shortages are the biggest issues.

Americans are robbed of all drugs. You pay a lot more for everything. This must be a political scandal to deal with. I’m constantly amazed that people aren’t a lot more angry and politically active about it, says Hari.

So we could end up in this dystopian situation where The Real Housewives of New Jersey get bone-thin while real school kids in New Jersey get diabetes at age 12. This is not a good situation,” he adds.

So let’s say you have access. Should you also take these drugs? Are they safe? Johan’s book covers, as he says, 12 disturbing risks of taking these drugs. Including the potential risk of increased cancer, the effects on people with eating disorders, and any long-term effects we don’t yet know about. The risk versus reward that must be weighed is an individual decision.

In this society, in this culture, we are inundated with processed foods from the moment we are born. We’re in a trap, aren’t we? We must dismantle the trap for the next generation. We need to make sure this doesn’t happen to our children, but those of us who are like me in our mid-40s were offered a dangerous and rusty trap door. I chose to go through the trap door. I don’t know if it was the right decision. But if you’re in a trap, you have to accept where you are and think soberly about how to get out, says Hari.

Dr. Kraftson says at this point he believes these are good drugs, we just need to make them more accessible. He also says we can’t cure obesity. These drugs should be combined with diet and exercise and under the supervision of your doctor.

And for the two women we interviewed, it has been life-changing.

It’s a game changer, says Shelley.

Absolutely, I would do it again, no questions asked, says Amy.

As you decide whether these drugs are the right path for you, as Dr. Kraftson and author Johann Hari, be careful how you do this. Some people have taken a backdoor approach, getting the drug through different channels.

Whenever there is a shortage of FDA-approved drugs, it is possible that some pharmacies will have a prescription, some ingredients and repeat the medication to fill the shortage need. The process is not completely transparent. There are different types of compounding pharmacies that have different levels of oversight, and there simply isn’t the manpower to audit all of these sites. And so, you’re getting people to put non-human study substances that are supposed to be exactly the same, but aren’t necessarily the same, he says.

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