What’s stopping you from trying a GLP / meds?

[Anonymous]

Ozempic should be put into the water, because everyone should be on it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m in healthcare and I keep up with the latest research on this. The fact is, we don’t know what all the long term impacts are at this point. Newer studies are now showing that there are potential serious adverse effects on the kidneys and pancreas- you don’t want to mess with that. There’s a reason that doctors don’t want people going on this to lose vanity weight.

"in healthcare" - are you a doctor?

Can you cite the studies?

I assume a lot of people here are very smart - do you really believe all of this stuff that "people say" about the drugs or are you all getting this information from doctors and peer reviewed studies? Just stop stop stop with the misinformation. People want so badly for the negative stuff to be true.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Literally everyone I know seems to be on a GLP or weight loss meds and I have been hesitant up until now, but am giving it some serious thought. Looking around at my friends, colleagues and even family members on it, they all are in the best shape of their lives and just don’t think about food anymore, which is my constant struggle. And these are people who only wanted to lose 10-25 lbs.

My body wants to be 10-15 lbs heavier than I want to be so I am either strictly dieting and calorie counting to lose/maintain weight, or I eat normally (but still eat healthy 80% of the time) and weigh 10+ lbs more and just don’t feel like I look good - my clothes are tight and I carry all my weight in my stomach so people sometimes ask if I am pregnant.

My main reasons for not going on it are that my GP is opposed and isn’t a fan of the meds unless you’re diabetic/pre-diabetic (so I would need to go around her which feels awkward), and I am slightly concerned about the long-term impact that isn’t as well documented for meds like Wegovy.

Given how easy it is to get these meds now, what’s stopping others from trying them other than cost?

For me it is the hair loss. I am relatively thin but would like to lose the usual 5- 10 pounds to fit in my bathing suit better, not have the muffin top over some of my pants etc.. I am 45 and I find it a bit harder to get back to my happy weight.

Several of my colleagues as well as my MIL are on GLP. They look great, lost the weight easily so it is very tempting. But for the 3 of them I think I can see the middle of the hairline parting further. And the hair even receding on the side. It is subtle but there. And 2 of them started with beautiful, thick hair.

That is scary to me plus I have absolutely no medical reason to take the pill so even a subtle change in my hairline wouldn’t make it worth it (again for me given my already healthy BMi).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m in healthcare and I keep up with the latest research on this. The fact is, we don’t know what all the long term impacts are at this point. Newer studies are now showing that there are potential serious adverse effects on the kidneys and pancreas- you don’t want to mess with that. There’s a reason that doctors don’t want people going on this to lose vanity weight.

"in healthcare" - are you a doctor?

Can you cite the studies?

I assume a lot of people here are very smart - do you really believe all of this stuff that "people say" about the drugs or are you all getting this information from doctors and peer reviewed studies? Just stop stop stop with the misinformation. People want so badly for the negative stuff to be true.

Anyone can say they're in healthcare. That person could work data processing for a payment system and work in healthcare.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ozempic should be put into the water, because everyone should be on it.

Seriously, who do you hang out with?

[Anonymous]

Maybe this is a niche concern, but I wonder if at least a few people taking GLP-1s actually have an undiagnosed medical issue for their weight gain that doesn't get addressed when it should. The usual medical attitude toward weight gain is you eat too much.

But that is not always the case, and I am not sure that doctors look too deeply into medical causes, especially the online places. This is very sub-optimal. Some of the diseases that cause weight gain can be very serious, even life-threatening over the longer run.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m chronically constipated. I’m on daily MiraLAX to go and can’t wean off despite a diet that many GI docs recommend to fight constitutional. Figured slowing down my already slow colon isn’t a great idea.

Same. It just doesn't seem worth it for the 15 I'd want to lose for vanity. All my blood work, BP, etc are great. I'm perfectly healthy just heavier than my ideal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm not overweight?

OK so this is the real answer to OP's question.

The drug is for people who need it. People who have chronic obesity. For those of us who have taken it and have lost weight, it is a life saving drug. All of these side effects that everyone is harping on do not matter when you are losing enough weight to save your life or extend it down the road. If someone asked the same question about why someone doesn't take blood pressure medicine then the answers wouldn't all be about the side effects. (And yes it's a similar thing - obesity is a disease, and if you don't understand that you probably don't suffer from it).

I don't really care if people are using it to microdose or whatever. But it is so unhelpful for people who don't even have real weight to lose to get online and spread all sorts of negative comments and misinformation about a drug they don't need and aren't even taking.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm not overweight?

OK so this is the real answer to OP's question.

The drug is for people who need it. People who have chronic obesity. For those of us who have taken it and have lost weight, it is a life saving drug. All of these side effects that everyone is harping on do not matter when you are losing enough weight to save your life or extend it down the road. If someone asked the same question about why someone doesn't take blood pressure medicine then the answers wouldn't all be about the side effects. (And yes it's a similar thing - obesity is a disease, and if you don't understand that you probably don't suffer from it).

I don't really care if people are using it to microdose or whatever. But it is so unhelpful for people who don't even have real weight to lose to get online and spread all sorts of negative comments and misinformation about a drug they don't need and aren't even taking.

This. "What's stopping you from trying a GLP if you're obese and (pre)diabetic?" is a totally different question than "What's stopping you from trying a GLP to lose vanity weight when your BMI and A1C levels are healthy?" It's not productive to lump the two questions together.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm not overweight?

OK so this is the real answer to OP's question.

The drug is for people who need it. People who have chronic obesity. For those of us who have taken it and have lost weight, it is a life saving drug. All of these side effects that everyone is harping on do not matter when you are losing enough weight to save your life or extend it down the road. If someone asked the same question about why someone doesn't take blood pressure medicine then the answers wouldn't all be about the side effects. (And yes it's a similar thing - obesity is a disease, and if you don't understand that you probably don't suffer from it).

I don't really care if people are using it to microdose or whatever. But it is so unhelpful for people who don't even have real weight to lose to get online and spread all sorts of negative comments and misinformation about a drug they don't need and aren't even taking.

hey i posted that with much snark and your response is excellent. Hope these meds are helping!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm not overweight?

OK so this is the real answer to OP's question.

The drug is for people who need it. People who have chronic obesity. For those of us who have taken it and have lost weight, it is a life saving drug. All of these side effects that everyone is harping on do not matter when you are losing enough weight to save your life or extend it down the road. If someone asked the same question about why someone doesn't take blood pressure medicine then the answers wouldn't all be about the side effects. (And yes it's a similar thing - obesity is a disease, and if you don't understand that you probably don't suffer from it).

I don't really care if people are using it to microdose or whatever. But it is so unhelpful for people who don't even have real weight to lose to get online and spread all sorts of negative comments and misinformation about a drug they don't need and aren't even taking.

💯. I think anyone asking questions about using a GLP-1 for vanity weight loss should be asking this question on the beauty and fashion forum, and the rest of us should be asking and answering questions on the medical forum. It's a shame that there are so MANY vanity weight people on here that Jeff had to move real medical questions to this random forum about weight loss. Obesity is a real medical condition. Don't discount that.

[Anonymous]

Not overweight yet - also I don’t want to alter my GI motility or gut biome.
And I don’t want to risk weight gain if I stop taking it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The side effects. I have had to to have colorectal surgery and I really don't want to deal with the side effects from constant diarrhea or constipation.

Plus the cost. It's not cheap if you have other medical expenses.

Neither of these sides happened to me or anyone i know!

[Anonymous]

Because it’s cheaper, healthier, and easier to just eat healthy food and exercise.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m in healthcare and I keep up with the latest research on this. The fact is, we don’t know what all the long term impacts are at this point. Newer studies are now showing that there are potential serious adverse effects on the kidneys and pancreas- you don’t want to mess with that. There’s a reason that doctors don’t want people going on this to lose vanity weight.

"in healthcare" - are you a doctor?

Can you cite the studies?

I assume a lot of people here are very smart - do you really believe all of this stuff that "people say" about the drugs or are you all getting this information from doctors and peer reviewed studies? Just stop stop stop with the misinformation. People want so badly for the negative stuff to be true.

Anyone can say they're in healthcare. That person could work data processing for a payment system and work in healthcare.

Definitely not in data processing, lol. I have to stay on top of all the research because I work directly with patients. No one is spreading any misinformation, everyone has access to google and medical journals (I just subscribe to a lot and get them directly to my email). I can copy and paste articles, which is a waste of my time to gather all this information for internet strangers when you can easily find it for yourself.

Of course there are adverse reactions and side effects… that is pretty much any medication. Here’s what’s being discussed right now for GLP’s:

Risk for thyroid C cell tumors
Gastroparesis (which can be irreversible and trust me, you don’t want this).
Gallbladder issues.

And by the way, I never told anyone not to take them. You people get so oddly defensive about your life choices. I said doctors are not keen to prescribe these for vanity reasons and there is a good reason for that.

Here’s another Medscape article written by a (gasp) doctor and not someone working at a data center:
https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/1003255