The Physicians Really Are Healing Themselves, With Ozempic

[Demovictory9]

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/10/health/doctors-ozempic-weight-loss.html?unlocked_article_code=1.v04.On7u.EWNN6dvIQ6Iq&smid=url-share

The Physicians Really Are Healing Themselves, With Ozempic
At cardiology conferences and diabetes meetings, doctors can’t help noticing that thin seems to be very in.
When Dr. C. Michael Gibson, a cardiologist at Harvard Medical School, goes to heart disease meetings, he can’t help noticing a change.

“We will sit around at dinner and halfway through the meal, we will simultaneously push our plates away,” Dr. Gibson said. “We look at each other and laugh and say, ‘You, too?’”

They share what is becoming an open secret: They tried for years to control their weight but are now taking the new obesity drugs manufactured by Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk.

Dr. Robert Califf, the former chief of the Food and Drug Administration, says he hardly recognizes his colleagues. So many are now so thin.

____

Many newly thin cardiologists and diabetes specialists, like so many of their patients, had risk factors for heart disease. Or their blood sugar was creeping up. Or just the physical strain of carrying excess weight made everyday life burdensome. They say they like their new looks but also their new health and energy. In a way, they feel like members of a club.

Four years ago, Dr. Darren McGuire, a cardiologist at the University of Texas Southwestern, was struggling with obesity and Type 2 diabetes. Then he started taking Ozempic, the Novo Nordisk diabetes drug that is sold under the name Wegovy for obesity. He later switched to Mounjaro, from Eli Lilly, which is sold as Zepbound for obesity.

[maxsolomon]

1. Doctors can afford it.

Lots of others who could use it, not so much.

[OldBaldy1701E]

26. Bingo!

Only the wealthy can afford to use that stuff. I did a check of the price for Mounjaro... it runs around $1100 per 2ml dose.

Yeah, that means around 90% of the population cannot afford it. Yes, some insurance covers that. The insurance that would cover such thing is also out of reach for most of us.

Yet, they are still making 'fake' foods, and stuffing the foods we have with crap that is making us sicker. Of course, we won't do anything about that, now will we?

https://i.postimg.cc/8c8C2Bd5/temp-Image-R5-Hds-T.avif

[AkFemDem]

29. A lot of us use a compunded version for now

Much more affordable! But big pharma has been fighting it in court and fully expect compounding will come to an end very soon.

On the upside, rules just changed and now Medicare part D is now covering Zepbound (Monjaro specific for weight loss) if you have a dx for sleep apnea!!!

[xmas74]

43. Where are you getting your compound? Nt

[NNadir]

2. As a borderline diabetic with obesity issues when I went to a scientific conference where...

...GLP-1 drugs were under discussion I asked myself, "why aren't I taking this drug?"

When I got back from the conference I called my doctor and asked the same question.

He said, "I don't know why you aren't, you should."

I've been on Ozempic for three or four months. I'm still overweight but I've lost more than 40 pounds. I feel great, have no major side effects of which I'm aware.

I have read in the literature that some patients lose muscle mass, but it seem inconsequential. All people my age suffer some muscle mass, know under the general rubric of sarcopenia. Whether it is exacerbated with respect to what I would have lost by getting old, seems difficult to discern. I have aches and pains but I had them before starting Ozempic.

[ratchiweenie]

3. I'd take it in a heartbeat if it wasn't so expensive. It's not covered by most insurance even for obesity at this point

I see you are an Eleanor fan too.

[NNadir]

4. You win a heart from me for mentioning the greatest Democrat of all time, ER.

I get my Ozempic monthly for $45 bucks after having paid a $500 copay.

Until the orange beast fucks it up as he is sure to do, I will max out at all copay at two grand. I can afford it but I fully recognize that many others are not so fortunate. I'm still working but was required to take social security because of my age, and added part C the cost of which comes out of my SS payment. Part C is not popular around here but it works for me, imperfections acknowledged.

[ratchiweenie]

25. Wow, that's great. I'm retired and my plan doesn't offer any coverage and yes, she was the greatest Democrat of

all time. Franklin would not have done half of what he did without her constant prodding and she really tried to get him to do much much more. Wish she had been president. Love, Love, Love, her and thanks for the heart. Back at yah.

[Luciferous]

20. It really depends on your insurance. I

pay $25 a month for mine.

[tanyev]

6. My biggest question is how do you stop?

Once you hit your target weight, how do you pull back and maintain?

Sharon Osbourne looked like a walking skeleton for a while and she said she was on one of the weight loss drugs. I haven’t seen recent pictures of her, so I don’t know what she looks like now.

[NNadir]

11. Thus far I haven't noticed becoming too thin. I'm still some 30 pounds heavier than I was when I was in great shape.

There were two periods during which I was in great shape; in my twenties, I used to bicycle for hours a day, fast. In my thirties, early in my marriage, my wife and I used to run on the beach for an hour a day, and have very light vegetarian dinners.

Now as an obese old man, I haven't approached the weight I had back then. I don't think I will. In fact, I have noticed a plateau effect. For the first month, the weight came off quickly. I probably lost 10 pounds that month, with the caveat that I didn't keep records. Recently I am lucky to lose a pound a week, if that.

I'm not sure it will ever become a problem; I rather worry that I'll lose access to the drug and its health benefits under the Orange nightmare.

I do feel healthier, and people tell me I look better. (I couldn't possibly look worse I think.)

[Demovictory9]

8. What does Ozempic do to you..take away appetite?

[NNadir]

12. Yes. My appetite is lower, and I feel less hungry, less of an impulse to snack.

[Hekate]

14. Thank you for this subthread, NNadir. Your experiences & others are very helpful.

[Luciferous]

18. I started it a year ago and lost 40

pounds. I plateaued on Wegovy and just started Zepbound. I want to lose another 20 pounds.

[JCMach1]

22. I did get side effects

I will stick to Jardiance.to help control my Covid induced Type 2.

[TexasBushwhacker]

5. Thankfully, I'm not pre-diabetic

My overeating was emotional, not because of a big appetite. Fortunately, since my depression has gone into remission with ketamine assisted therapy, I've lost 35 pounds. I stick to a ketogenic diet. If I don't eat many carbs, I don't crave them. No gluten either. My arthritis has also improved dramatically.

[Aristus]

7. I find it interesting that we human beings are now so accustomed to seeing people being overweight,

that the doctor in the 'after' picture looks sick and unhealthy to me; as if he is in treatment for cancer or something. We'll see if perceptions change...

[Demovictory9]

9. That rich guy, who is trying to live forever, reached his ideal weight..people kep asking if he was ill

So he gained a few pounds to fatten out his face

[Beringia]

15. X-Acto

[Skittles]

17. I see that same look on a lot of people that lose weight

they look older and less healthy

[tavernier]

19. It happened to me.

I lost weight by cutting out sugar and bread and walking two to three miles a day. Then suddenly one day I woke up with deep wrinkles. I pulled back and gained five pounds, also slowly but keeping up the daily exercise. It did help to eliminate some of the deeper wrinkles. After a certain age, it’s a losing battle either way!

[Skittles]

24. losing weight too quickly seems to be the key

and going overboard, certainly

[tanyev]

32. A coworker lost quite a bit of weight by using the Weight Watchers app.

By the time I noticed she was losing weight, she was looking really good. But now I wonder if she’s gone too far. She’s in her early 60s and just a few days ago I noticed lines in her face I never noticed before.

I also think a lot of celebrities that do strange things to their faces with fillers should first allow themselves to go up 5-10 lbs and see if that helps. Most of them are too skinny anyway.

[Demovictory9]

21. Youthful look of the young is due to facial fat.

[Skittles]

23. "Ozempic face" is very real

https://www.allure.com/story/ozempics-effects-on-skin

[AkFemDem]

30. But they feel better and live longer

To paraphrase Sophie Tucker "I've been fat and I've been thin. And, believe me, thin is better." Any one of us who has dealt with the serious health issues that come with obesity will tell you we don't care if we "look older and less healthy" because we lose that kind of weight for ourselves, not the approval of others.

[Tribetime]

10. I just can't help but think that years from now they will discover

That this drug comes with permanent side affects.For some people maybaby cancer

[NickB79]

13. Cancer is already a side effect of obesity

Obesity is the second leading cause of cancer, only behind smoking.

It would be really hard for Ozempic to kill more people than obesity already does.

[Tribetime]

39. It just seems anything that's man too good to be true always is

I agree with you on the people who are way overweight, but I think a lot of people are using it that don't need to that are not obese. Just my humble opinion

[AkFemDem]

31. The comorbidities of obesity are well documented

Cardiovascular disease alone is the top killer in industrialized nations.

[MustLoveBeagles]

16. I was put on Ozempic last June

I've lost 35 pounds and my A1C is 5.8.

[JanMichael]

27. Since I'm usually in pretty good shape I am always pissed when some less than athletic

Doctor tells me I needed to lose weight. Usually based on BMI which doesn't take into account when you work out a lot. I could lose seven and a half to 10 lb of fat and would literally be better than when I was in my 20s and I'm practically 60.

It doesn't surprise me that much of doctors thAT have to tell people things like that finally decided to lose their own weight.

What I couldn't do is give myself a shot every week forever.

It's like taking too many steroids or testosterone when you already have normal testosterone - that can kill it. As in you don't produce your own anymore. Then you HAVE to take testosterone forever.

[JT45242]

28. Wife is hyperinsulemic but has low A1C -- so prediabetic... after 10 months insurance started denying

She was on ozempic for nearly a year -- weight down. Glucose numbers down. The hyperinsulemia associated with PCOS and the symptoms of wacky erstogen related hormone levels were all under control.

Then the insurance company gave it the old nope -- becuase saving long term by keeping her healthy is not a good investment for them. They are betting that I will have a new job and new insurance who will have to pay for the long term damage to her body and they will have maximized short term profits.

I'll pass over the price gouging of Novo and Lilly for a moment to focus on the problem with for profit insurance rather than a single not for profit (which also means not for loss) health care system.

If private formularies who are FOR PROFIT can make and sell these drugs for $100-200 a month, that means that we could argue there is a legitimate price point of about $100 a month. So, investing $1200 a year to prevent heart attacks, stroke, diabetes, and a slew of more expensive long term health problems. That's a win-win. (I would argue that if they are selling it for 100-200, a price point of $50-75 is likely reasonable). If the insurance company made me pay $50 a month, I would do that. I know not everyone can. I cannot pay the $1200 a month the pharmacy wants.

Obesity is an epidemic in this country and these drugs, and drugs like them help to treat this disease which is a contributing to far more dangerous, expensive, and deadlier diseases.

I'd say Congress and the FDA need to act, but I am certain that congress critters on both sides have been thoroughly bribed (oops, I mean legitimate free speech of corporations as people) to protect the megadonors in big pharma. I realize that there will be more critters in the pocket on the Republican side, but they have bought enough dems to ensure that meaningful legislation is likely never going to pass.

[Johnny2X2X]

33. Legit seems like a miracle drug

I've known a couple people on it and the results they got were stunning.

Seems like a cheat code and I hope we do whatever it takes to make it affordable because it could really make a huge impact on the country.

[marble falls]

35. Speaking from what authority?

[Yonnie3]

36. Obviously the poster is speaking from their personal experience

"Undigested food rotting away causes putrefaction and that creates dis-ease." That hyphen speaks volumes.

[marble falls]

37. These folks who speak technonsense are short on data, aren't they? How you doin' Bubba?

[Yonnie3]

40. I am OK!

They have no data, but they don't have undigested food rotting away, I guess that is a good thing.

I'm sitting here in my Central Virginia abode observing the snow falling. I was going to say without a care in the world, but I'm up on the news reports.

How are you?

[marble falls]

41. Pretty good! Life is good. Just getting older as impact free as I can.

[Bmoboy]

38. What could possibly go wrong?

Like all the "medical miracles" that proved ineffective or dangerous.

My father, like many in his generation had regular insertions of a rod tipped in radium to treat mastoid problems.

Premies used to get high pressure oxygen until many of them wen blind.

Every new pain medicine which was NOT addictive. Heroin, Talwin, Darvon, Tramadol, Oxycontin, etc.

Adriamycin was used to treat breast cancer if the patient didn't want a mastectomy. Unfortunately this damaged heart muscle , which is not good at all.

Thalidomide, Miltown, Vioxx, the list goes on.

[Hekate]

42. Regarding wrinkles: your skin gets stretched -- by pregnancy or fat. I was pregnant at 28 and 30...

Not young, not old. When I gave birth my tummy was all stretched out. For me, it was easy enough to return to my pre-pregnancy diet and do a few sit-ups every day. Nurse the baby knowing they consumed 1,000 calories a day from me. How lucky I was.

Because it was luck — many women come out of pregnancy and childbirth with skin that does not snap back. Women know what I mean — stretch marks on breast, belly, thighs — lower belly that pooches out a bit, or a lot. The skin has been seriously stretched.

In midlife I was given a prescription that I didn’t know caused weight gain. All I knew was that something unreasoning took place and I incessantly craved food. When I stopped the medication, I could feel a switch in my brain click back, which made me furious. I had gained a lot of weight and endured a lot of medical shaming.

My skin did not snap back. I was now old. My obesity had given me jowls — and losing some of that weight made the jowls become wattles. Age by itself slackens the skin — stretching aged skin with fat makes it smooth to a certain extent, but losing that weight reveals wrinkles. I wonder how it will be, at 77, if I have the luck to go on this new medication?

Because here are the consequences of this weight: diabetes, sleep apnea, gastric reflux, all kinds of difficulties trying to exercise: aches & pains, huffing and puffing. And gods know what else. Oh yes, increased risk of stroke, heart attack, and cancer.

I thought it was too late for me to try this, but apparently not. Hubby still has medical coverage from his job — it could happen. Wrinkles? Pfah.