It was a most unlikely source who first whispered the word “Ozempic” to me at a cocktail party. With a rock-hard body with probably below 10 percent body fat, she was someone who reveled in doing multiple exercise videos in succession, followed by frenzied skip-roping with her hands in an X. And yet, despite her devotion to fitness, she credited her exemplary body to this wonder drug. Later that night, she sent me more literature on Ozempic so I would know the pros and cons and decide for myself whether it was worth asking the doctor about it and taking the plunge.
Ozempic is a semaglutide that was initially created by the Danish company Novo Nordisk in 2012 specifically for people suffering from Type 2 diabetes. It mimics the GLP-1 (Glucagon-like peptide-1) hormone, released in the gut in response to eating. It does its magic in two ways. First, it prompts the body to produce more insulin, which reduces blood sugar, hence its role in preventing or managing diabetes. For people who are obese or overweight, GLP-1 in higher amounts also sends signals to the brain that one is already full or satiated after a few bites, thereby suppressing a big appetite. Combined with healthy eating and exercise, this anti-diabetes medicine supposedly helps reduce the risk of heart disease and cancer as well. I have always fantasized about tucking my shirt into jeans, or wearing a strapless gown without a shawl, but alas, I have never had the discipline to stick to a strict diet, or a rigorous workout routine. This Ozempic injection, administered once every week from a pen, could be my ticket to thinness without the hard work.
Ozempic was made for people like me. I’m an obese, diabetic person with hypertension and a breast cancer survivor to boot. It takes seven medicines to keep me going every day. My endocrinologist assured me that if I responded well to Ozempic, I may be able to phase out several of the maintenance medications.
A second, more elusive objective to me was the promise of becoming thin. Thanks to my obsession with food, I have never in my life been anything but large, then XL, and now XXL. I have always fantasized about tucking my shirt into jeans, or wearing a strapless gown without a shawl, but alas, I have never had the discipline to stick to a strict diet or a rigorous workout routine. This Ozempic injection, administered once every week from a pen, could be my ticket to thinness without the hard work.
This was also the thinking of Ralph, a 31-year-old who tipped the scales at 105 kilograms. His cardiologist warned him that high blood pressure and diabetes were imminent if he didn’t lose weight immediately. First, Ralph tried intermittent fasting, going without food for 12 to 16 hours. Progress was slow as he lost five kilograms in about five months. After that, he went on a strict diet that limited his food intake to between 2,000 to 2,500 calories a day. He said he felt healthiest on that diet, but because it involved so much preparatory work to measure his portions, he was not able to stick to it beyond a month since his work involved a lot of socializing at parties and restaurants. Ozempic has by far been the most effective weight loss intervention for him since he has already lost 10 kilograms in the span of two months. He got his diabetic father to try it, and it allowed him to drop one of his two daily insulin doses, lose five kilograms, and, as an unexpected bonus, gain a smoother, rosy complexion. Obesity is a chronic disease so without Ozempic intervention, the threat of returning to old eating habits—and former body types—will always be there. Was I therefore ready to accept that I would be on Ozempic for a very long time?
As with all good things, there are downsides to Ozempic. First, there are uncomfortable side effects that the patient feels with the first injection, and again whenever the dose is increased, which happens after a month or two. Sandee, a busy executive, said she felt such extreme nausea and acidity after her first Ozempic shot, that she vomited. The feeling gradually waned in the following days, helped in part by three anti-acidity medicines that she added to her regime. So far, she has lost 23 pounds in five months, or more than 15 percent of her body weight, which is the average weight loss for Ozempic takers. She also eats whatever food she wants, except the quantity is now half or even a third of the meal size she had before Ozempic.
The other downside, which my OB-Gyne warned me about, was that I may regain all the weight (or even additional) once I get off Ozempic. The medical journal “Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism” published a study that concluded that patients who go off Ozempic usually gain back two-thirds of their prior weight loss within one year. Likewise, improvements in their blood pressure and blood chemistry also inch back toward previous levels. Obesity is a chronic disease so without Ozempic intervention, the threat of returning to old eating habits—and former body types—will always be there. Was I therefore ready to accept that I would be on Ozempic for a very long time?
A third concern about taking this medication is that it would make me weak. In an interview on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, comedian Amy Schumer shared that she stopped taking Ozempic for weight loss because her side effects were so severe, that it left her feeling too weak and fatigued to play with her young son. I, too, have a young, extremely energetic son. I worry I will be so nauseated and depleted by Ozempic that I will become a very lackluster playmate. Hopefully, the bout of weakness will be a fleeting price to pay for more years, and better quality years at that, with my son.
I received the most heartening testimony about Ozempic from a woman in the U.S. named Kirsten. Formerly an Olympic swimmer, Kirsten was as fit and trim as a person could be. When she got pregnant, however, she gained a lot of weight, which she was unable to lose after delivery, despite trying radical diets and signing up with a personal trainer. She wrote that she became depressed and depleted of energy. She calls Ozempic a miracle drug because she was able to lose 45 pounds, or nearly 25 percent of her body weight, in the span of a few months even without working out. A year after starting the shots, she has so far kept the weight off even though she has shifted to the minimum dose of 0.25 milligrams and has even skipped the shots for a few months at a time. Best of all, Kirsten reports that her energy and mood have improved, making her look and feel like her former self.
As I embark on this journey and face the Ozempic pen that has been sitting in my refrigerator this past week, I know I’m not hoping to return to an old self. I’m looking at Ozempic to be a transformative experience that will take me off the trajectory of ill-health, infuse me with zest, and finally, as the best of all bonuses, give me the body of my dreams.
