What is this Ozempic Everyone is Talking About?
Every day I swear I wake up to someone discussing Ozempic. The newest fad with the catchy commercial jingle is EVERYWHERE these days. Ozempic helps regulate type-2 diabetes and has one significant side effect, weight loss. But is this drug really all it’s cracked up to be?
First I want to say that I have never taken Ozempic , its generic counterparts, or any of its “competitors”, like Wegovy . With that being said, I am also not knocking the drug itself, or anyone who is currently taking or tried the medication in the past. I am simply here to shed light on the flipside of this so-called “miracle” diet drug that is sweeping through Hollywood.
Now I’m not going to name names, but there are numerous celebrities whose sudden weight loss has sparked the Ozempic debate. Are they on the medication? I don’t know. But I do have two close friends who were on one of its “competitors” and had this to say…
Side Effects
“I lost 8 lbs. in my first week but was so nauseous I could barely get out of bed. The nausea was so bad that I couldn’t watch TV because I felt like I could smell the food through the screen and wanted to throw up,” says Friend 1.
Friend 2 had an extreme reaction and ended up in the hospital. Her white blood cell count dropped so low she had to be monitored in the hospital for three days. But did she lose weight? Yup. But when you’re so sick and can’t even keep down water, the weight should fall off of you, right?
So you can guess one of the major side effects is nausea. And I’m sure you guessed that diarrhea and vomiting are also on the list.
Both friends have since stopped taking the drugs, and oh yeah, are out of roughly $2,500 each from the money they spent to get it.
But How Does it Work?
Ozempic is a type-2 diabetes prescription medication that is self-injected once a week. Its primary function is to regulate blood sugar levels in people with diabetes by mimicking the effects of a hormone called glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1). Although nausea may occur, weight loss is almost always guaranteed due to the ingredient semaglutide. Ozempic was designed to help people with type 2 diabetes, and that is exactly what it does, therefore it is not approved for weight loss by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). But rumor has it many celebrities are taking it off-label…
Wegovy
Where A-list stars have ways of getting the off-label Ozempic , we common folks have to resort to Wegovy, another self-injected medication also containing the weight loss ingredient semaglutide. It too has the same nauseating side effects, but the main difference is Wegovy is approved for weight loss by the FDA.
Bottom Line
While these drugs are a tool to lose weight, they shouldn’t be the only tool in your toolbox. For the best weight loss results, make sure to keep track of your movement, food intake, and hydration. With the help of a weight loss journal, you can stay focused and on track to achieving your weight loss goals.
I’m not here to tell you what to do, but make sure to seek the guidance and supervision of a healthcare professional, and pay close attention to your body. It will tell you if it doesn’t like what you’re doing to it.
