EL PASO, Texas (KFOX14/CBS4) — GLP-1 medications have been used for more than two decades, but a newer wave of high-profile attention has many people asking what the drugs do, who should take them and what the risks may be.
Dr. Luis Ortiz said GLP-1 medications “have been out since 2005,” when the first one was released. He said the newest and most talked-about versions include semaglutide, also known by the brand name Ozempic, which he described as “the mainstream.”
Ortiz said the medications were originally developed to manage diabetes, but weight loss emerged as a significant side effect.
So these medications were initially invented for the management of diabetes, but as a side effect, we saw that people started losing weight,” Ortiz said. “Yes, so and it was a significant weight.
As people lost weight, Ortiz said, their diabetes often improved, and the medications began to be used for weight loss. He said newer options are now marketed specifically for obesity rather than diabetes.
“Now there’s another branch of medication like Wigovian setbound that have come out with the indication of obesity only,” Ortiz said.
Ortiz said Ozempic contains semaglutide and is indicated for Type 2 diabetes, which can affect whether insurance will cover it.
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El Paso doctor urges prescriptions and monitoring for GLP-1 weight-loss medications
“So if you wanna run it through the insurance and you wanna prescribe it to your patient, the patient has to have the diagnosis,” Ortiz said.
He also emphasized that GLP-1 medications are not available over the counter.
“You still need a prescription from a physician,” Ortiz said.
For patients who do not have diabetes but have obesity, Ortiz said there are other medications, naming “Wegobe and Sebbound,” that can be prescribed for obesity. He defined obesity as a body mass index over 30 and said BMI is still commonly used in clinics, even as other measurements are being used.
“The definition of obesity is someone who has a BMI of more than 30,” Ortiz said.
On side effects, Ortiz said long-term impacts are still being studied, but the most common issues seen in clinics are gastrointestinal.
“The most common side effects that we know from and we see in the clinic that are very common are gastrointestinal side effects, such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation, abdominal pain,” Ortiz said.
Ortiz also addressed concerns about thyroid conditions. He said one black box warning applies to people with a specific, rare cancer.
“People who have a certain type of thyroid cancer, which is medullary thyroid cancer, is very specific and it’s very rare, they cannot use that, okay, it’s a big no-no,” Ortiz said.
However, he said patients with thyroid nodules or papillary thyroid cancer “are candidates for these medications,” while noting they should be monitored and evaluated by their primary care physician or endocrinologist.
Ortiz said he would recommend GLP-1 medications for people who meet criteria for overweight or obesity, citing the health risks associated with obesity.
“And the answer is yes, because these medications help a lot to those people and something that everyone should know, something that everyone should know is that obesity is associated with a lot of complications,” Ortiz said.
He said people with obesity are more likely to develop diabetes, high blood pressure and “even certain types of cancer,” adding that there is an obesity epidemic in the U.S. and worldwide.
“Especially in El Paso,” Ortiz said, pointing to factors he said play a role locally, including “our Hispanic culture, the food, socioeconomic status,” as well as genetics.
Ortiz cautioned that the medications should be used under a doctor’s supervision, warning about people obtaining prescriptions through online pharmacies without appropriate oversight.
“These medications need to be used under physician supervision, because a lot of people, and you can see it a lot in online pharmacies where they just prescribe these medications, people start taking them, and that’s when they develop side effects,” Ortiz said. “You see all this nausea, vomiting, dehydration.”
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