Anonymous wrote:It seems like he likes GLP-1s and his objections are not hard to overcome:
"Reasons for discontinuation include cost, side effects, and supply shortages. But one of the most common reasons is that patients simply don't want to take a weight loss medication indefinitely. Many believe they can "beat the system," use them briefly, change their lifestyle, and stop taking them without regaining weight."
So why not educate patients so they understand the importance to stick with the GLP-1s? There are many reasonable cost options out there. The support group I am in has a wide spectrum of income. With cost going down and the ease of newer pill meds, all the objections (aside from side effects, and a switch to a different specific med can help with that) for staying on meds go away.
It sounds like his experience is patients don't stay on the drugs. I assume he is warning them they need to stay on them, but people don't want to do that. And since the majority are not staying on them and instead are cycling on and off the drugs they are just spending a lot of money for no health benefits.
Most people (no matter how they lost weight) regain the weight eventually. The benefit of weight loss is still there for the patient though: the ability to move around in the world as a normal weight person, being able to hike, sit easily on an airplane, physically be more active with kids and grandkids, having fewer health issues while on the med, not feeling addicted to food...Personally I think this is absolutely priceless even if it is fleeting because it is such better quality of life. But do I think staying on the med is best? Yes. I think that should be the takeaway rather than "don't start it because you'll stop it" which is fatalistic and not solution-oriented especially when the main objection is cost.
Weight yo-yoing (weight cycling) is generally considered bad for you, linked to increased risks for heart disease, type 2 diabetes, higher body fat, slower metabolism, and poorer mental health due to repeated stress, muscle loss, and metabolic disruption, making future weight loss harder and increasing health problems.
It is bad for you. But you're not going to find many doctors advising their patients to stay fat and not try and lose weight, despite knowing that they are likely to regain the weight (again, regardless of how they did it).
GLP-1s are costing employers and taxpayers a.lot of money. That's fine if it has a health benefit. But if there is no added health benefit then it is a net negative for health and society.
There is a cost benefit to society in having fewer obese people. Not all employer plans cover it depending on specifics, and many people go out of pocket and get compounds anyway on their own dime.
Our public school system is millions of dollars in the hole due to GLP-1s. I am all for spending money to reduce obesity sustainably but not for medication assisted yo yo dieting.
There is no proven way to lose weight without a very high likelihood of yoyo weight.
So let's choose the option that's free and has the same result.
Go for it! I’m choosing the option that cost me 25 dollars a month and actually works , whereas the last 20 years of dirt and exercise and thinking of food constantly has not. For me. We both win!
Kind of. . . Your insurance won’t cover it for $25/mo to you once you lose enough weight that you are not at high risk. Then you yo yo and . . . well, you lose (not weight).
My insurance has not had any problem with me staying on it. My BMI has now been in normal range for over 6 months . Still 25 dollars a month. I know you don’t want this to work for me , and for others, for some strange reason, but believe it or not, I am taking a medication that has improved my health and I’m going to keep taking it. Even if you are jealous that you do not get to take it too, which is the only plausible reason you hate me taking it so much when it doesn’t affect you at all.
No, they hate you taking it because now they can't be "better" than you by being thinner. And you are getting thinner by "cheating". So they no longer stand out like they used to. That is behind all the anger, frustration and hate.
Tell yourself that, dear. We can buy it if we wanted to.
You're confused. No one thinks you're jealous we can source the drug. We think you're mad *we* are no longer jealous of *you.*
They are purposely being obtuse and trying to confuse the situation. We see them for what they are really feeling. They are no longer superior in their thinness. And they hate that the former "fatties" can look just as thin as them now. To the "Tell yourself that, dear" person - do you not even get this? Obviously you don't need to buy it if you wanted to (and why would you want to if you are already thin?).
Why are you so upset/mad/whatever that someone else is getting thin now? Ask yourself why you are refusing to address my earlier point that you are frustrated that you no longer stand out by being thinner than the former "thick" gals. Why does it bother you that you aren't automatically judged "better" because of your thinness?
I really don't understand the anger. Do you feel that way about people who have to take insulin because their body doesn't produce it? And those who take statins to lower cholesterol? Or meds to lower high blood pressure? How about surgery for a severe bone fracture, are you opposed to that as well, because it should heal on it's own or the person should live with it? What about antibiotics for an infection? And vaccines? Are you against all science?
FWIW, I am the pp who lost weight, went off, gained about half back before going back on the shot. I was fortunate never to have any of the side affects, not nausea, not anything gastrointestinal, not hair falling out, not anything other than losing weight. I'm at a comfortable weight for me (and my doctor agrees), and will stay on maintenance dose for life. I do not have Ozempic face.
My copay is $0 and I have never paid a penny for the shot (our health insurance covers it, I'm guessing because it's cheaper in the long run than the high cholesterol and high blood pressure that I used to have). Our insurance is not through a federal or state government, so not your tax dollars helping me at all. In fact, I'd say that I am probably helping the economy more as I have bought an entire new wardrobe, professional and casual, in my current size.
And out of curiosity, why does my health, and how my doctor and I choose to address it, upset you so much?
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