• peoplebeproblems@midwest.social
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    3 days ago

    Wegovy/Saxenda whatever others are (GLP-1) inhibitors aren’t a scam, they work.

    They are absurdly expensive for the benefit they bring. Of course, fat lot of good it does if you don’t use it to the full extent so you can actually get off of it.

    • nibbler@discuss.tchncs.de
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      2 days ago

      The pricing is absurd. In Denmark it’s like $80 for four weeks. in USA it starts at $1000. But medicine in USA is a whole other can of worms.

      In Germany it starts at $300 (2.5mg/week) and goes up to $540 (15mg/week). But then if you get a 15mg/week prescription and happen to only need 5mg/week (possibly supported by taking it more often than once a week), and also make use of the 1.3 (my guesstimate) extra doses that are in the syringe (but a bit difficult to extract) you pay like $120/month. This is what a proper gym costs in my area. And honestly, you safe on food, too. And on your weight watchers subscription!

    • futatorius@lemm.ee
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      2 days ago

      The work in the sense that they cause weight loss. They do nothing to keep the weight off once it’s lost. And they have side-effects, some quite nasty.

      • Trainguyrom@reddthat.com
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        2 days ago

        These new Semaglutide medications work by mucking with one’s appetite and slowing digestion. It’s actually mimicking a natural process that occurs in a species of desert lizard if I remember correctly.

        So they work, and in trials they found people. lost at most about 30% of body fat, which is significantly more than any previous weight loss drug, but for folks who need to lose more than 30% they won’t reach their goal body weight. (But it does certainly make the Hollywood approach of taking semiglutides to rapidly lose a fairly small amount of weight make more sense)

    • CmdrShepard42@lemm.ee
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      3 days ago

      I dunno anything about these drugs but I remember the diet drug fad in the '90s and the disastrous consequences and side effects that came from it. I’m sure these aren’t going to give heart attacks to a bunch of people, but I have a hard time believing there isn’t some sort of cost to pay for a magic pill that makes you skinny. I’m willing to admit that my view is tainted by the past and will once again state that I know nothing about these pills specifically so I could be completely off base here.

      • lennybird@lemmy.world
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        3 days ago

        I’ll just say that my wife works in medicine and you have to stop Oz3mpic 24 hours before surgery because of the added risk of aspiration due to the stomach retaining food contents for longer. Seems to possibly put strain on the pancreas (pancreatitis a side effect).

        That doesn’t sit well with me. Neither does it fix the core problem of what caused the vast majority of weight gain cases: poor dietary habits. Then again, our society has short-circuited evolutionary dopamine-driven behavior so it may necessitate intervention to re-wire it back.

        • nibbler@discuss.tchncs.de
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          2 days ago

          Ozempic is typically taken once a week. The half-life of Ozempic is about a week. Stopping Ozempic “24 hours before surgery” does not make any sense.

          • lennybird@lemmy.world
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            1 day ago

            I might have that wrong and it may be a full week. I’ll ask them when I get a chance and update.

            Edit: Yeah my mistake; it’s a week.

    • Trimatrix@lemmy.world
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      3 days ago

      Or get caught up in the crossfire where Metformin makes you shit your pants and a new drug for managing your A1C comes out (ozempic) which doesn’t make you shit your pants. Only for a few years later get denied insurance coverage for it because you obviously are using it to lose weight.

      • grysbok@lemmy.sdf.org
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        3 days ago

        In theory once you stay at a dosage of metformin for long enough the unfortunate side effects go away. In practice it’s been a year and I still can’t trust a fart.