As New Year\u2019s resolutions kick into high gear, many are turning to drugs like Ozempic and other GLP-1 medications used for weight loss.<\/p>\n
As New Year\u2019s resolutions kick into high gear, many are looking to lose weight with drugs like Ozempic and other GLP-1 medications.<\/p>\n
Bariatric surgeon Dr. Katelin Mirkin is among the medical doctors who warn that these medications are not without risk, and relying on them for a quick fix to weight loss could come with significant consequences.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve noticed a lot of really impressive rebound weight gain after these drugs are stopped, particularly when they\u2019re stopped abruptly,\u201d Mirkin said.<\/p>\n
Medications like Wegovy and Ozempic were originally designed to treat diabetes, but they\u2019ve become increasingly popular among people using them for weight loss. As more and more Americans turn to GLP-1s, doctors are learning more about what happens when patients discontinue use of the drugs, including weight regain.<\/p>\n
Many people tolerate GLP-1 drugs well, but like any medication, they carry side effects. The most common include nausea, vomiting, constipation and slowed digestion. These effects occur because the drugs are working as intended by slowing gastrointestinal transit and suppressing appetite.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are also concerns for more serious problems like pancreatitis, gallbladder disease, sarcopenia, which is a fancy word for muscle loss \u2026 and some rare thyroid cancer risks,\u201d Mirkin said.<\/p>\n
For the most part, Mirkin said the medications are \u201cpretty well tolerated\u201d by most patients. But studies suggest that most people stop taking these drugs within a year and many quickly regain weight.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat negative feedback of that nausea that you felt from the medication isn\u2019t there, and so you just kind of go back into old habits,\u201d Mirkin said. \u201cThe drugs themselves slow how your GI system processes food, and so once that\u2019s gone, you\u2019re not going to feel a lot of those side effects.\u201d<\/p>\n
Exactly why the weight returns after stopping GLP-1s is still being studied. Experts have said it\u2019s likely a combination of factors.<\/p>\n
\u201cI see patients that describe voracious hunger and appetite after stopping these medications. Or they try them for a while, have some success, but then can\u2019t afford the financial burden of them or can\u2019t tolerate the side effects,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Doctors agree that for many patients, especially those who are obese or have diabetes, GLP-1 drugs may need to be taken indefinitely.<\/p>\n
Mirkin said the medications shouldn\u2019t be considered a jump-start to lose weight or a quick fix that can be applied in the short term.<\/p>\n
While patients are advised to pair the drugs with lifestyle changes like increased protein intake, strength training and mindful eating, some rely solely on the medication.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome of these weight regains is even in people that have made these lifestyle changes,\u201d Mirkin said. \u201cBut certainly your overall health is going to be better if you can kind of commit to healthier habits in general.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As New Year\u2019s resolutions kick into high gear, many are turning to drugs like Ozempic and other GLP-1…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":222591,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[1372,4569,163,122314,85,46,482,498,114118,4514,2808,591],"class_list":{"0":"post-222590","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-medication","8":"tag-exercise","9":"tag-glp-1","10":"tag-health","11":"tag-heather-gustafson","12":"tag-il","13":"tag-israel","14":"tag-medication","15":"tag-medications","16":"tag-new-years-resolution","17":"tag-ozempic","18":"tag-weight-gain","19":"tag-weight-loss"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/222590","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=222590"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/222590\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/222591"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=222590"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=222590"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=222590"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}