A recent post mentioned some of the complications of using Ozempic or other brands of semaglutide, which are GLP-1 receptor agonists used to facilitate weight loss. It’s necessary to look closely at this trend for the sake of patients, who are being prescribed these drugs at ever-younger ages. We don’t want them to suffer (or hate us) 20 or 40 years from now, if their future bodies are messed up in some way that present-day science does not even suspect.
And of course, as has been widely publicized, a lot of their bodies are already messed up while using the stuff now. One big problem is that even the injectable form can cause misery in the patient’s digestive system, in addition to other difficulties. Yet, users and potential users clamor to have this medication in oral form, delivered directly to their stomach and gastrointestinal tract. (And how about the suspense of using a substance so versatile, it can bring on both constipation and diarrhea?)
In addition to possibly causing pain, nausea, and vomiting, the pills have to be swallowed on a strict daily schedule: upon awakening, with an empty stomach, and half an hour before eating a bite of food. They come with quite a few cautions and contraindications, including a list of almost 40 side effects.
The person taking oral semaglutide may have to give up alcohol and/or tobacco because of negative interactions, according to the Mayo Clinic, which also adds:
Appropriate studies have not been performed on the relationship of age to the effects of semaglutide in children. Safety and efficacy have not been established.
One foundational and undeniable fact here is that on the whole, people would rather not give themselves injections, no matter how streamlined the process. Also, there is an ecological angle. The users do not refill a single apparatus with the substance they need. The tool is not a reusable syringe. The medication arrives in individual, single-dose devices. Eons from now, there will still be millions of them in landfills, and in the oceans.
Additionally, these gadgets are costly to manufacture, forcing people to spend lavish amounts on objects destined to be thrown away. Viewed from a certain perspective, this just looks insane.
Speaking of mental health…
Everyone has heard of semaglutide’s desirable effects: decreased appetite and a feeling of fullness that lasts longer because the stomach empties slowly. But we aren’t done mentioning the undesirable effects yet. Semaglutide has some serious drawbacks that are classified as uncommon, which means it affects one person in 100; and rare, which translates to one in 1,000. These include hypoglycemia, allergic reactions, pancreatitis, stomach paralysis, and liver abnormalities.
Because of the factor called titration, which means getting just enough of the drug at just the right time, the patient has to check in with the doctor quite frequently. Most people don’t have enough money or time to spend either resource so extravagantly.
And of course, there is the expense of the substance itself. And the fact that a user’s facial appearance may change in unexpected and unwelcome ways. And it has begun to look pretty certain that they have to stay on the medication forever, or else gain the weight back.
Previous posts have mentioned how some weight-loss drugs cause depression and suicidal ideation, which is ironic, considering that many patients have been programmed to equate weight loss with ecstatic happiness, or at least with the potential to solve many life problems. Their disappointment and discouragement must in some cases be profound.
Here is a question: What if, instead of making semaglutide universally comfortable to use, the emphasis could be on making it obsolete?
Your responses and feedback are welcome!
Source: “Semaglutide (oral route),” MayoClinic.org, undated
Source: “How Ozempic Works: The Science Behind the Medication,” JoinLevity.com, 06/19/24
Image by Richard Riley/Attribution 2.0 Generic
FAQs and Media Requests: 
