would you "let" your 18 year old go on Ozempic?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Being a size 4 vs 10 is worth a lot of money, perhaps millions of dollars, to a young woman in terms of career and marriage prospects. I would do it.

Stupidest statement of the day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If she is a healthy eater and exercising 5 days a week and unable to lose weight, I would first see an endocrinologist and run very thorough blood tests to see if there is an underlying condition (hypothyroid, some form of PCOS, other hormonal issues) before I'd consider Ozempic.

This. And in all the time you’ve been not saying anything about her weight, this would have been a smart idea.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It increases your risk of pancreatic cancer which is one of the most aggressive forms of cancer. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11096-023-01556-2

You know that being morbidly obese puts you at risk of all kinds of cancers and heart disease right??????? GFC

Being 5’4” and weighing 140 isn’t morbidly obese though?

[Anonymous]

Get some therapy

[Anonymous]

I would encourage her not to. First, her bmi is not high enough to get it ethically. Second, it is not free of side effects as PP pointed out. I am newly back on it after losing 50 lbs, stopping, and regaining lost of it. The side effects k have are technically mild but I feel like crap - exhaustion, headache, dry mouth. and the weight gain coming off it is real! She is so young to commit to being on this for life.

If she really counts calories, she could probably lose 10-15 lbs. I’m her height and I get the struggle for sure!

[Anonymous]

OP. can your daughter afford it? She is an adult.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP. can your daughter afford it? She is an adult.

Second dumbest comment on this thread

[Anonymous]

It amazes me that those of you who know the least and choose to believe what ever you concocted in your head vs the actual science come on here day after day after day to call these drugs dangerous, horrible, etc. You are choosing to stay ignorant. Do better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:At her height/weight, I’d consider weight loss drugs to be disordered behavior.

+1 for someone who isn’t overweight.

I’d suggest a nutritionist. She’s getting extra calories somewhere. She needs to be on noom for a year, tracked all food religiously and stayed under 1,800 calories a day and see where she’s at. She may think she’s eating healthy but I doubt it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At her height/weight, I’d consider weight loss drugs to be disordered behavior.

+1 for someone who isn’t overweight.

I’d suggest a nutritionist. She’s getting extra calories somewhere. She needs to be on noom for a year, tracked all food religiously and stayed under 1,800 calories a day and see where she’s at. She may think she’s eating healthy but I doubt it.

+1 as the parent of a 21 recovering from ED, this 100%. She is a healthy weight but if she wanted to, she could lose some weight easily by tracking her food and increasing workouts. There is no easy fix. She may think oh I can go on Wegovy and drop 20 lbs in a month and be done, no she will have to fix whatever eating habits brought her to the weight she does not like. I would strongly discourage this and encourage her to try Noom or see a nutritionist.

[Anonymous]

I'm reading The Magic Pill right now by journalist Johann Hari as an audiobook. In it, he chronicles his own research on GLP1 drugs and his own decision to go on Ozemipic to treat his obesity of many decades. I haven't finished it yet but so far it has REALLY opened my eyes to the systemic food supply changes in our society that have resulted in so many overweight and obesity diagnoses, and also the dramatic individual health transformations that GLP1 inhibitors have made possible.

The side effects are not to be dismissed, and no one has any idea what being on drugs like this will do to a person if they have to stay on them for 10, 20, 30, or in the case of your daughter, potentially 60+ years!

If she starts and loses, say, 30 pounds, she will need to keep taking these forever.

They are not indicated to her for any medical reason.

Now...I understand. I was a size 10-14 in high school and it was horrible. Then I went up to a 16 in college. Then got on antidepressants in my 20's and ballooned to size 24. Once you perceive yourself to be fat, it's very difficult to change that perception, and fat cells don't just sit on your body; they change everything about your metabolism. I'd eat powdered ground up rats on the daily for a week if it would bring me back to a size 10 forever. But even I, in my mid-50's and hovering between size 20-22, have hesitated to get on the GLp1 bandwagon. The only reason I'm even considering it is to try to avoid getting dementia or diabetes younger than I might if I stay this size. I would never do it just for vanity.

That said, the obnoxious poster who said it will make a huge lifelong distance for her marriage and career prospects is not wrong. I lost 70 pounds a few years ago when I found a depression treatment that worked dramatically, and I couldn't believe how differently I was treated by the world, including women, and I was in the middle of a career change and I as offered every position I interviewed for, which had never happened when I was heavy. All of a sudden I was hugely popular at work and among other moms, too, which was shocking at my age.

When my depression treatment stopped working and the pounds found me again, all of that changed dramatically for the worse, and I honestly don't feel like my external personality is at all different. The world in general is just really, really cruel to fat bodies. We are assumed to be stupid, weak, and not worth knowing. I am no different in my character or skills or personality, but I am perceived very differently.

If I could go back in time, I wish I had a health coach to work with me on eating unprocessed foods and cutting carbs dramatically. That plus exercise can make a 20 pound different for your daughter, and that is what I would advise her now. The upsides of being thin are HUGE at her age, but we have no idea whether they are worth the downsides of long term use of GLP1 inhibitors.

You and she could listen to the audiobook of The Magic Pill together and may get some good info and insight there. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'd help her get a personal trainer and try that for 6 months first. Is she about to start college? If so, that would be even more helpful to try to avoid gaining weight as a freshman. I have a similar build and was always able to up the exercise and stay slim until I hit 45. Now absolutely nothing has worked, and my numbers were all bordering on unhealthy. I have gone on a very low dose of ozempic and got my weight back down some (down to 152). I intend to stay on it until I get to 135. I had never been that overweight, and it was even impacting my ability to work out (was starting to get arthritis and issues in my knees and ankles). I'd save the ozempic until she has exhausted everything else.

It's you. Hi. You're the problem. It's you.

Stop taking drugs for a vanity purpose when people who need them can't get them. These drugs are meant for those with A1C/diabetes issues and severe weight issues. Not because you hit pre menopause and aren't feeling "slim" any more.

Wegovy is approved for weight loss. It's the same medication as Ozempic under a different name. Try harder next time.

It's approved for weight loss for people with obesity and comorbidities of obesity, like high blood pressure. Not to get you from 150 to 135 in perimenopause. I grew with the PP here; yih are the problem. So many people who desperately need Wegovy to lose 100+ pounds can't get it because people like you are on it and don't need to be.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think these drugs are a lifesaver for obese and morbidly obese folks.

Your daughter is neither.

I'd also reconsider the pat on the back you give yourself for not discussing her weight. Why does she not feel comfortable in her (perfectly normal) body? Why haven't you instilled a high level of self esteem for her weight? Sorry, but I think you've failed somewhere if she feels this way and is specifically asking your advice on this.

So no, I wouldn't recommend this drug for a perfectly normal teen. And I question the parenting of anyone who would.

This mom has NOT failed. Her daughter is coming to her with her concerns and advice.

You just know that a lifetime of body positivity messaging at home can be undone in a couple of weeks on Instagram or with peers. A mom is not one influencer in her child's life and is not solely responsible for a child's body image.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It amazes me that those of you who know the least and choose to believe what ever you concocted in your head vs the actual science come on here day after day after day to call these drugs dangerous, horrible, etc. You are choosing to stay ignorant. Do better.

Have not read the entire thread but I for one said I would not because of the risk. I think these drugs are amazing, miracle drugs for people who need them. EVERY DRUG HAD RISKS THOUGH! Those risks are outweighed by the benefits for a 45 year old with a BMI of 35. I am not sure ANY risk is outweighed by the benefits for an 18 year old with a BMI of "25 and change." Did OP said she has done this and that and all the things and the weight won't budge? No! The girl is ever so slightly chubby and for all we know she has never made a serious effort to lose weight.

[Anonymous]

No, I wouldn't "let" her.