Excited to try Ozempic but are still on the fence about how this weight loss drug works and whether or not there are any severe side effects you should be worried about? Let’s take a look at some of the Ozempic success stories to help you ease your mind.
Susanne Brown
For Edmonton resident Susanne Brown, taking Ozempic has been a game-changer. Since starting the medication, she’s been able to climb mountains, train for a 10-kilometer run, zipline through tropical forests in Mexico, and swim in cenotes. She also lost 140 lbs (from 280 lbs to 140 lbs today)
She feels empowered to do anything she wants physically and describes the medication as completely transforming her life by removing the fear from physical activities.
However, Brown wasn’t prescribed Ozempic for its primary use (as a treatment for Type 2 diabetes). Instead, she takes it off-label to manage obesity.
Ozempic gained widespread attention in 2023 when shortages in the U.S. and Australia sparked concerns that people using the drug for weight loss were depriving those with diabetes who need it most. This narrative often overlooks the increasing number of people who take Ozempic under their doctors’ guidance to address obesity and ultimately lead healthier lives.
Despite speculation about Hollywood celebrities using the drug, the reality is far from a miracle weight loss solution. For Brown, losing weight with Ozempic came with significant downsides, but she found them worth enduring to manage her condition.
Katherine
Katherine (@therealkatherine) is a social media influencer, podcaster, and TikToker. In one of her popular videos on TT she discussed her journey with Ozempic and talked about the six months she has spent on the medication.
Over this period, Katherine has lost about 38 pounds and according to her, she averaged over 6 pounds of weight loss per month. She says seeing herself in the mirror daily sometimes makes the changes less noticeable, but when she compares photos from last Christmas to Thanksgiving, she (and everyone else) notices the major transformation.
Reddit Ozempic Success Stories
A redditor named Various-Cookies identified herself as a 42-year-old woman, 5’3″ and once weighed 195 lbs. She had a long history of crash dieting and regaining weight. Eventually she decided to take Ozempic for weight loss. Over the course of about 10 months, she successfully lost 32 lbs and not only that but her relationship with food changed dramatically—she went from being obsessed with eating and overeating to having very little interest in food and almost no appetite.
Throughout her time on Ozempic, she did not struggle with nausea, diarrhea or vomiting although she did face constipation.
Three months ago, she was about 10 lbs away from her goal weight when she had to stop taking Ozempic due to a job change and her new insurance denying coverage. It took about three weeks for the medication to leave her system and she noticed her appetite and enthusiasm for food returning strongly, which resulted in her gaining weight of about 8 lbs.
Since then, she joined a gym, started working with a personal trainer, and adopted a nutrition plan. While losing weight is harder now, she feels much better physically.
She says she’s glad she took Ozempic as it provided the jump start and confidence she needed. She acknowledged that she might have reached her weight loss goal faster if she had pushed herself to work out and make better food choices while on the medication, but she is now relearning those healthy habits.
What It’s Like to Take Ozempic for Years
After taking Ozempic for a couple of years, many individuals find that they still need to be proactive about staying active and maintaining a healthy diet.
There’s a high demand for the diabetes drug Ozempic as it’s often used off-label for weight loss. Novo Nordisk, the maker of Ozempic, says there are around 60,000 new prescriptions for the drug every week. However, because the drug is still relatively new, there aren’t a lot of people who have been taking Ozempic for several years.
NBC News spoke with several people who have been taking this drug for at least 18 months. Let’s check out what they have to say:
Barbie Jackson-Williams
Barbie Jackson-Williams is a 54-year-old from Des Moines who started taking Ozempic in early 2021 for weight loss and type 2 diabetes management. She has lost 180 pounds while on Ozempic and found that the medication has made it easier for her to make lifestyle changes she previously struggled with. She also feels the need to stay active now and can’t just sit and watch TV like she used to.
Edward Matias
Edward Matias is an IT professional from Connecticut, who has been taking Ozempic for nearly 2 years. He pointed out that Ozempic isn’t a miracle solution or a fountain of youth and to get its full benefits you need to be consistent and put in the hard work. Because of his diabetes, Matias still has to be cautious about consuming foods high in sugar or carbs, but he has managed to lose 80 lbs since starting Ozempic (from 310 lbs down to 230 lbs).
Arnob Alam
Arnob Alam manages his prediabetes with Ozempic and shared that he has increased his cardio workouts to 30 minutes almost every day. He has also begun lifting weights. He noted that while you still need to make adjustments to your diet and exercise routine, the drug does help prevent overeating since it can make you feel sick if you eat too much. Alam mentioned that although he takes the drug to control his blood sugar and manage his weight, he has regained some of the weight he initially lost after starting the medication, partly due to disruptions in his healthy routines from travel and returning to the office.
Kimberly Tabor
Kimberly Tabor takes Ozempic for her Type 2 diabetes after years of struggling with severe obesity. She explained that between working constantly and having a young child, she had stopped doing things for herself and turned to fast food and quick-prep meals. Now, she is better able to control her snacking and eats smaller portions.
Serafina Raskin
Serafina Raskin shared that she finds taking Ozempic easier than following the diets she used to rely on. She now allows herself pasta on weekends which was something she previously avoided. For the first time in her life, she feels like she doesn’t have to eat perfectly and her brain now signals her when she’s had enough. She, along with the others, also said she no longer experiences the side effects of Ozempic.
Wendy Tell
Wendy Tell is a retired teacher from Yorktown, VA who has been taking Ozempic for 2 years. She mentioned that she’s unsure if she can afford to continue taking it to manage her Type 2 diabetes. Even with Medicare, she still pays over $700 for a 90-day supply due to coverage limitations in her prescription plan. She has lost 25 pounds and now worries she might gain it back once she stops.
Common Misconceptions About Ozempic
The media has largely overlooked the massive benefits of Ozempic and other GLP-1 drugs, and instead turned them into punchlines for celebrity jokes and spreading unnecessary fear about their effects. There are a lot of misleading arguments circulating online and Dr. Yoni Freedhof has debunked the most common ones in an article published by Time Magazine.
1. You need to take them long term, and if you stop, you’ll regain the weight you’ve lost.
Yes, that’s how treatment works for chronic conditions, and this doesn’t seem to bother anyone when it comes to other health issues. For example, if you have high blood pressure and take medication that effectively controls it, you still have the condition. If you stop the medication, your blood pressure will go up again.
2. There are side effects.
As with any medication there are always side effects. However, with Ozempic they are not significantly worse than those associated with other treatments for chronic conditions where the benefits outweigh the risks. With anti-obesity medications, the side effects usually diminish over time, and even if they don’t, most people choose to stay on the medication, and doctors continue to prescribe it. This shows that both patients and clinicians have weighed the risks and benefits, and those who stay on the medication believe the advantages far surpass any side effects.
3. They don’t treat the root causes of obesity.
How many medications actually treat root causes? For example, do asthma drugs improve air quality? Do cholesterol-lowering drugs regulate the trans-fat content in food? Do painkillers prevent injuries?
4. They aren’t likely to help everyone lose all their excess weight on their own.
While this is true, we don’t seem concerned about this when dealing with other chronic medical conditions. Take high blood pressure as an example again: many people require multiple medications to control it, and even then, it might not reach “normal” levels. But even a partial reduction in blood pressure lowers associated risks, just like a partial weight reduction does.
5. Too many people will benefit.
Surprisingly, some argue against these medications because they could benefit too many people. An op-ed in the New England Journal of Medicine even suggested that their widespread use could bankrupt Medicare because so many would qualify.
6. People will misuse them.
Medications are prescribed to those who meet the medical criteria set by the FDA or other regulatory bodies. Given the effectiveness of these drugs, there will likely be people who don’t meet these criteria but still try to obtain them. However, if someone who doesn’t meet the medical criteria is taking the medication, the issue lies with the prescriber, not the drug itself.
7. Lifestyle changes alone are enough.
This is true for a small percentage of people. However, for most, achieving and maintaining significant weight loss through lifestyle changes alone requires a great deal of privilege. Plus, there are countless factors beyond your control—like medical conditions, genetics and social determinants of health—that affect weight. Although lifestyle modifications can help manage most chronic diseases, it’s only with obesity that the false notion of behavior as the sole solution is pushed.
8. They’re expensive.
Most new medications are. Research, development, and clinical trials are costly, especially for obesity drugs, which face more stringent regulatory requirements than most other medications. In the U.S., the average annual cost of semaglutide, one of the most prescribed drugs in this category, is around $13,600. While this is a significant expense, it’s not out of line with other new drugs in the U.S. For example, the annual cost of abrocitinib, which is a drug approved this year for eczema, is $60,000, and the median annual price of the 17 novel drugs approved by the FDA since July 2022 is over 10 times that of semaglutide, at $193,900.
9. Using semaglutide will trigger eating disorders.
Which situation is more likely to cause disordered eating – a strict diet that leaves a person constantly fighting hunger or a medication that lessens your food cravings, curbs your appetite, helps you feel full more quickly? You decide.