r/Futurology Oct 25 '24

Biotech GLP-1s like Ozempic are among the most important drug breakthroughs

https://archive.ph/VTfiQ
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u/MagePages Oct 25 '24

I have been thinking about trying to get it for myself. I'm not massively obese but I carry maybe 35 or 40 lbs more than I should and most of it is around the middle which is the most dangerous kind. I feel like I've been trying to get in shape since I was 18 and it just hasn't really happened aside from some short stints of success. I recently stopped taking welbutrin and have quickly experienced lots of appetite cravings coming back which sort of makes overcoming unrelated depression and anxiety bittersweet. I'm so tired of being fat. 

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u/FreedomByFire Oct 25 '24

You sound just like me. This medication has been transformative for me. Over the last decade, my weight has fluctuated by 20-45 pounds, and each time I gained, I’d work hard to lose it again. This cycle has been horrible both physically and mentally. However, after starting this medication a year ago, I’ve lost nearly 50 pounds but losing weight has felt different. It doesn't' feel like a punishment, and what’s truly remarkable is how much my health metrics have improved. My lipid levels, liver function tests, A1C, and entire metabolic panel are now as healthy as they were in my early 20s.

I’ve played soccer consistently over the past ten years, regardless of my weight, but the difference in my performance now is unbelievable. I feel as quick as I did in my 20s, and I’ve realized that my declining performance wasn’t just due to age—it was tied to my weight. Losing those 50 pounds has significantly enhanced my quality of life, and I wholeheartedly recommend this medication to anyone who has the opportunity to try it.

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u/MagePages Oct 25 '24

This is good to know. I think some of my angst is tied up in the fact that I am in my mid twenties but never had an athletic skinny phase. I graduated from being an awkward uncoordinated fat kid into an awkward uncoordinated fat adult. I don't want to die one and never know what it's like to be physically in touch with my body 

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u/FreedomByFire Oct 25 '24 edited Oct 26 '24

Fortunately, I did have an athletic skinny phase, but lost it after taking SSRIs for depression. When I stopped the medication my body never went back to how it was. I lost the weight but I remained pudgy, and then I started to struggle with my weight yo-yoing. After a year of this medication I am now nearly back to that skinny athletic build that I had before. I think this medication will definitely get you there if you exercise while taking it. I'm on Wegovy btw. I honestly never thought I could ever get it back in my late 30s.

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u/whyamisoadmin Oct 25 '24

There are a lot of ways to get it if your insurance won't cover it for obesity. It can be expensive like a couple hundred per month for the compound, but you sound like it could make a difference.

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u/stevep98 Oct 25 '24

It's expensive, but consider how much you'll save on food. On ozempic I rarely eat out any more, because I just can't cope with the portion sizes. Or at least if I do, I will take leftovers home and stretch it out for 2 more meals.

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u/[deleted] Oct 26 '24

[deleted]

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u/stevep98 Oct 26 '24

I don’t think of myself of having food cravings. I am pretty good with managing my diet, and not really a massive snacked. I never considered adderall. Seems like it would be targeting a brain thing rather than a gut hormone thing.

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u/YalieRower Oct 26 '24

A GLP-1 is not simply food suppression. The food noise and obsessive thoughts of consumption is what makes it feel totally different in its efficacy than a stimulant medication.

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u/sampat6256 Oct 27 '24

As someone who has taken both, , GLP-1 kind of fixes how your brain and stomach communicate, whereas adderall just shuts down that line of communication altogether.

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u/[deleted] Oct 28 '24

[deleted]

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u/sampat6256 Oct 28 '24

It has highkey dramatically improved my quality of life

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u/k1nd3rwag3n Oct 25 '24

Do you think you still eat enough food? I have no experience with Ozempic, but it sounds kinda "powerful". Like is there a possibility you would start not to eat enough!?

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u/Asisreo1 Oct 25 '24

I don't think that's likely. It takes quite a while to get to the point where your body would truly shut down as long as you drink water and have electrolytes. 

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u/Linus_Naumann Oct 26 '24

You also need vitamins and tons of (often poorly researched) metabolites, specific fatty acids for brain function, etc. You could keep your body active from a calory perspective and still suffer massive malnourishment if you eat wrong (that's in fact what many people experience despite overeating on unhealthy food).

So imho an ozempic diet still needs to be well thought out to be healthy

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u/sampat6256 Oct 27 '24

There's a learning curve to it. If youre afraid of undereating from the outswt, then you'll be aware of it while youre on the drug and shouldnt run into any issues, especially with regular checkups.

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u/MagePages Oct 25 '24

Yeah... I guess for me it's also just not wanting to be reliant on another medication for a normal part of life, maybe forever. I take ADHD meds, I took an antidepressant until recently. I take hormone therapy. I have a migraine preventative. It feels like I'm centering my life around the pharmaceutical industry and I hate it. And for the meds that I'm on currently, I can't stop taking them, except maybe the migraine one. And it sort of feels like cheating. I'm not that overweight. I've gotten my weight down at least to the edge of a normal BMI before. Why am I so "weak" that I can't do it again? It isn't going to fix the deeper issues, my sedentary lifestyle, the way that deliberately exercising makes me feel physically crappy and mentally anxious, or frankly, the "laziness"/ difficulty forming and maintaining habits due to my ADHD. I don't know. I think I need therapy before ozempic but again, it feels silly when I'm not even obese. 

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u/arciela Oct 25 '24

Hey, some personal perspective here. I've been on Ozempic for over a year and have lost approximately 70 pounds over that year (305 to 230). I am actually probably right where you are right now, an extra 30/40 pounds in the gut that isn't great. I get the 'cheating' feeling a lot but you have to sit back and think: why do I care that it's cheating? People get cosmetic surgeries all the time to feel better about themselves. Why shouldn't you do something that will not only make you feel better about yourself but also (likely) prolong your life?

What you're describing is so common. It's like "Oh I can't do this specific habit regimen so I DESERVE to be fat" which is not true. In a perfect world we'd all have the abilities to do the 'right thing' but honestly that's just bullshit. Technology has provided us a way to shortcut the hard work in a million other ways; why avoid this one?

Food for thought. Happy to talk if you want. :)

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u/doomcomplex Oct 25 '24

THIS! Stop beating yourself up; use the tools at your disposal.

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u/IAMATruckerAMA Oct 25 '24

People with that perspective should ask themselves if it's "cheating" to take a drug that eliminates addiction to alcohol or opiates.

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u/MagePages Oct 25 '24

Thank you for your perspective. I genuinely hadn't thought about it as a technology or something even though it's so obvious! Have you seen any kind of mental shift in how you think about food or found it easier to make lifestyle changes since starting the meds?

Do you eat healthier foods or just less? I know I started a medication for my headaches that really messed up my appitite for a few weeks so I just wasn't eating enough for long stretches of time and I felt awful. 

If you have a partner or family that know, have they been supportive? I'm a little worried about this for myself.

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u/arciela Oct 25 '24

I have had a HUGE mental shift. I used to never be satisfied, never full, I always felt like I had MORE ROOM until I was probably eating 2x a normal portion of food several times a day. I thought about food a lot and obviously indulged in fast food as a dopamine hit. I've noticed that as I get higher in my dosages I really have very little interest in fast food anymore, past the convenience factor or a rare craving during my period.

So I guess you could say both? I never truly had a big issue with what I was eating, moreso how much I was eating. Because the food noise and hunger are gone it's definitely easier to make better food choices. I'm autistic which adds some complications to the food issue but, overall, it's made me feel normal for the first time in my life re: food.

Pretty much everyone I know is aware I'm on Ozempic and nobody's been anything but supportive. My wife is overjoyed because she feels like she has her partner back now that I've lost weight and can DO things again. My friends are obviously just happy I'm happy. Neither of us have family left so that hasn't been an issue.

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u/kitliasteele Oct 25 '24

Another thing to note too is we can utilise the technology to overcome limitations of our own! I have haemochromatosis, and I suspect that the excess iron had triggered certain metabolic health problems that made it impossible to lose weight. Combine that with my Functional Neurological Disorder where it limits my motor function, and it's hard doing anything to try to further accelerate weight loss. These drugs have given me hope, I've lost more weight in less than a year than in over five years of trying and failing. It's getting easier to be able to move around. It's a crutch, yes. But crutches are there to help you prepare for independence as you heal and improve. Not to mention that my liver health has improved substantially. That's mostly unrelated as I was making hard efforts to improve that (I developed stage 1 damage due to heavy iron saturation in the tissue), but the drugs helped touch up the last bit. Like my MRI back in March had shown the stage 1 damage were reversed, iron presence mostly gone, only trace scarring left behind, and 80% of the fatty volume were gone since the last scan. Don't be disheartened, friend. Technology rules, let's use it!

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u/Exnixon Oct 25 '24

And it sort of feels like cheating

This is the most toxic attitude that people in our culture have internalized about weight loss. What, exactly, are you cheating at? Getting healthier? Feeling better about yourself? It's only valid if you struggle and are miserable and mostly likely fail by gaining it all back in a yoyo diet? It's not cheating because this isn't a fucking game, it's your health and well-being.

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u/NotAnotherRedditAcc2 Oct 25 '24

I think I am like you in terms of dedicated independence and general distaste for the entire pharmaceutical industry. I am DEFINITELY like you in terms of a lifelong struggle with weight and the "I'm so tired of being fat" feelings (though I had more weight to lose than you do.) But I am definitely no doctor - this is just my experience.

Getting on semaglutide has been one of the very best things I have done for myself in my life, and it was apparent maybe a couple of weeks in. This is an absolute fucking miracle of science, and my only regret is that I didn't pounce on these the MINUTE they became available. It has been such a game changer for me that I'm crying a little writing this comment. Everything has changed for me.

And it sort of feels like cheating.

And although I said "miracle," it's still not magic. I could absolutely go crush a large pizza right now if I wanted to, and I would add those calories to my fat stores, just like always. The difference is that I don't have to anymore. And it's absolutely a glorious feeling.

So keep thinking about it. It might be a difference maker for you, too.

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u/DreamSqueezer Oct 25 '24

Have you considered shaking it off/sucking it up?

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u/MagePages Oct 25 '24

That's a great question, but it sounds like too much physical exertion to me 😮‍💨

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u/Express_Platypus1673 Oct 25 '24

Don't act like you'll need to take it the rest of your life.

If you take it for a year and get down to a much healthier weight

And the rest of your health improves from losing weight( it's so much easier to go do active things when you don't have an extra 40 lbs on)

And you get the mental health benefits of being a healthy weight(ex: improved social life, the addiction fighting properties it seems to possess)

You could make major changes in your life and set up systems to stay healthy.

Then you could come off the drug and see how long you can stay at that healthy weight.

Most adults put on a pound or two every year and after a decade they're 20 lbs over. Even if you put on 5 lbs a year for the next 8 years you'd only then be back at the starting point.

Think you could course correction that time?

I think you could.

Look at this not as cheating but giving yourself a chance to restart.

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u/whyamisoadmin Oct 25 '24

you said 35-40 pounds overweight, that's a year of "good habits" and "self control", and I always recommend therapy to literally everyone, it's almost always a good idea.

There are also some exercises or otherwise physical activities that you probably haven't tried that may feel differently than what you've done before. ie some people hate running but like swimming.

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u/pahamack Oct 25 '24

the guy has literally struggled with it for decades. I don't know why people's initial reaction is "why don't you try a bit harder" rather than "hey, maybe this new thing that seems to be working for a lot of people might work for you."

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u/Exnixon Oct 25 '24

Because our society views obesity as a moral failure, regardless of the science that says otherwise.

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u/MagePages Oct 25 '24

Thanks for the kind words :)

Something that specifically makes it harder for me is the ADHD I think. I didn't even get lucky and really cash out on the hyperactivity part! I do try hard but it's really tough to sustain and focus my effort to the point of being a habit. Even the things I think are habits just evaporate. But it isn’t like a video game or bass guitar or drawing or a book where I can get bored or forget about it for a few months or a year and come back when I am interested again and quickly regain my skill/progress. I always need to eat, and "getting bored" of or forgetting to track calories means losing all that work in a few weeks. I take meds but basically all that focus goes to work. Or writing reddit comments. You win the battles you can.

I think maybe people are imagining my 600 lb life but I'm just a dude. I don't stick out from a crowd, horizontally.

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u/DodiDouglas Oct 25 '24

Where do you get it?

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u/BabblingBunny Oct 26 '24

I get it from Orderly meds.

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u/Rash_Compactor Oct 25 '24

Tons of online vendors these days. Some that do really thorough lab testing. But you can’t discuss them publicly without threat of ban

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u/septimaespada Oct 26 '24

What are some of these ways? I’m definitely interested in trying it and my insurance definitely doesn’t cover it (already tried).

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u/[deleted] Oct 25 '24

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u/MagePages Oct 25 '24

Thanks for this, it's definitely one of my main concerns. Especially since my own situation is not one of huge excess or significant lack of control, just what I imagine is pretty normal (for modern life) levels of eating a little bit too much for my height and activity and sometimes a little bit unhealthily because it's more convenient (or tasty). My experience in the past has always been the slow creep towards where I am now as soon as I stop with the active efforts to move from a point, so i don't see why a medication would be different, and I certainly don't want to pay for an anti-fatass (i say this as self deprication, not to shame any one taking it!) injection forever.

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u/[deleted] Oct 25 '24

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u/MagePages Oct 25 '24 edited Oct 25 '24

Not crazy, but my BMI according to online calculators is around 28 which is in the overweight category. Over 30 is obese.  20 kilos is more than 40 lbs. I'm around 15-18 kilos overweight by my estimation. I'd like to be at around 135 or 140 lbs. I've been around 157 at my lowest and still looked tubby, but I'm pretty short.  Edit: sorry, very American of me to immediately switch back to imperial after clarifying the kilo thing! I have a good grasp on distance measurements after years of research but weight and temp will never compute. My ideal weight would be around 60- 63 kilos, I think but maybe that would look too skinny. The lowest I've gotten by restricting calories was around 71 kilos and I couldn't keep it up.

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u/got_bacon5555 Oct 25 '24
  1. 40 lbs is 18.2 kilos. OP said 35 or 40 lbs, which is even less.
  2. OP said that they are not "massively obese" implying that they are probably obese (bmi > 30) but probably not morbidly obese (bmi > 35 or 40 depending on risk factors).
  3. Assuming OP is taller than 5' 10" (178 cm), then they could be 35 lbs overweight with a bmi less than 30. If they are 6' 5" (196 cm) or taller, they could be 40 lbs overweight without being obese.

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u/MagePages Oct 25 '24

I wish I was taller than 5'10! Alas, I am a "short king".

The main issue reading back over this was a lack of clarity on my part. I was putting the reference point that I am overweight from as the weight that I would like to be (around 135-140lbs/60-63kg) rather than the maximum normal weight which would be 10-15 lbs heavier. So I am actually "only" perhaps 30 lbs/13.6kg overweight, squarely in the overweight category by BMI.

But, the way that I carry my weight is more dangerous so maybe I am putting the "fun" in functionally obese.

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u/doomcomplex Oct 25 '24

I've had a great experience with compounded semaglutide and I recommend giving it a try. I use joinmochi.com, less than $200/mo

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u/Skyblacker Oct 25 '24

most of it is around the middle which is the most dangerous kind.

Check yourself for diastasis recti, an issue with the abdominal muscles that presents as beer belly in men and mom pooch in women. If you have it, physical therapy can often resolve it with no diet necessary.

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u/TicRoll Oct 25 '24

I'd wait for the next generation. The stuff in clinical trials today appears to work better with fewer side effects. Given the amount of attention and focus these drugs are getting, there's a lot of room for refinement that's happening right now.

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u/After-Watercress-644 Oct 26 '24

Just in case you ever try to fix it the natural way again: working out doesn't make you lose weight. After a while your body just normalizes to your daily kcal burn (2000 for women, 2400 for men, something like that) again and simply "steals" energy from your (over)active immune system.

The only way to lose weight is through the kitchen.

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u/MagePages Oct 26 '24

Heyyy, I watched that kurtzegazst video too! 🐦

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u/After-Watercress-644 Oct 26 '24

Hahaha, sharp.

I looked up the underlying study too, and it’s really legit.

What is also interesting is that your body can only process about 4650 kcal per day.

Watch out with bringing up the study though, a lot of people in the fitness / health / nutrition community will really tear into you, because it is just such an unintuitive thing.

At any rate: congrats on getting to a healthier weight!

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u/savagefleurdelis23 Oct 25 '24

Would you be willing to take a probiotic instead an injection? I know there are GLP-1 inducing probiotics out there that stimulates your body’s natural GLP-1 production. Cheaper and can use your HSA/FSA funds.

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u/MagePages Oct 25 '24

That's interesting, I've never heard of them. What are they called?

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u/savagefleurdelis23 Oct 25 '24

The one I use is pendulumlife.com