(WXYZ) โ It’s called the weight loss secret for Hollywood stars.
When asked about his weight loss on Twitter – Elon Musk credits fasting and WeeGove. Wegovy, Ozempic and Rybelsus are all brand names of the drug Semaglutide.
It is a drug used to treat type 2 diabetes, but it is also approved for weight loss.
With increased demand, drugs like Ozempic are in short supply, and there are few people who need the drug.
Amy Itzko from Westland recalls a long battle with weight. She says she’s tried it allโmonths of dieting, exercise, and a drug called Adipex. Nothing worked. Being pre-diabetic and overweight, in September Amy’s doctor suggested Ozempic.
“I said, ‘Sure, let’s do it.’ And I couldn’t be more grateful,” Itzko said.
This is a weekly self-administered injection. I asked Amy to pick up the Ozempic pen so she could show us the drug that is improving her vision and losing weight.
Iatzko said she’s now lost more than 50 pounds, and it’s helped her lifestyle, improving her sleep, energy, and overall health.
Dr. Jennifer Hanna is a family physician and obesity medicine specialist in Ascension Macomb Oakland. He said drugs like Ozempic and Vegovy slow digestion, which gives us a feeling of fullness and reduces appetite. They also help control blood sugar and diabetes.
With obesity and diabetes on the rise, the FDA is reporting shortages of both Ozempic and Vegovy.
This is fueling a debate on social media with one person saying, “So sad that diabetics can’t get this drug. Just because it is being prescribed for weight loss,” and another calling it “ridiculous”.
But, Hanna said that’s not the right way to look at it.
“The American Medical Association views obesity as a chronic condition. It’s not cosmetic,” she said.
Obesity is a risk factor for many other diseases that shorten life and increase health care costs. Weight management is key to treating many of those conditions.
While shortages are a problem, finding drugs like Ozempic is a struggle for diabetics and those managing weight alike.
“You know, once I found something that I did. Something that worked for me, you know, the whole world decided to take it,” Itzko said.
She said she hopes to lose another 100 pounds and says she plans to take Ozempic as prescribed by her doctor and maintain a healthy diet and exercise routine, lifestyle changes that allow her husband to live without the drug. Helped me lose 45 pounds.
Hanna says these drugs are indicated for both diabetes and weight loss. Both are chronic conditions, and both need to be managed.
The shortage is an indication of how effective these drugs are, she says.
Bottom line – the answer is to increase production because these are long term drugs and people who use them will continue to be on drugs like blood pressure or cholesterol.
