T The promises of new drugs like semaglutide and liraglutide for helping people shed weight has become the focus of a lot of media attention recently including Wegovy being the latest drug that was approved for usage within the NHS for certain types of obese people – but it’s not yet be accessible.
These drugs are also accessible from online pharmacies with a personal prescription, an increasing number users have tried treatments – such as Ozempic the drug that has semaglutide in it, which is the same medication as Wegovy. Even though Ozempic is approved for use in Type 2 Diabetes, it’s usage to lose weight isn’t on the label or not recommended by regulatory authorities.
Although experts have acknowledged that these jabs can be exciting – particularly since a lot of people struggle to keep losing weight through exercising and diet, there have been some questions. It is feared that the weight lost could get back when jabs stop and they do not address the underlying causes of weight gain. People who are taking jabs have reported other issues such as a complete disappearance of appetite.
More than 100 people participated in the Guardian invitation to express their thoughts. A majority of them said that they’d used online prescriptions for access to the medication.
The results varied from profound weight loss that lasted for a long time with renewed energy, a desire to exercise and less thoughts of food and a loss of weight that reversed when the jabs were stopped. The reports also mentioned negative side effects such as long times of nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea. There were also worries about the cost of private prescriptions and the absence of assistance for people who purchase these drugs on the internet.
Four people discuss their experience with weight loss jabs.
“In a nutshell the shortest way, it destroyed my life’
To Rachel*, 26, living in London the weekly injections of Ozempic resulted in a dramatic change.
“In simple terms, it cost me my entire life,” she states. “I always woke up in the day with a stomach ache I would frequently throw up when I got up.”
Rachel who has the body mass index at approximately 37, opted to purchase the medication via the internet pharmacy. “I tried to contact my GP who told me “You’re not dreaming,” basically in order to have it added to the NHS,” she says.
The patient quickly faced issues. “The injections were very pain-inducing,” she says, saying that an agent of the pharmacy online required three weeks to respond to her questions.
Rachel was also afflicted with bruising as well as fatigue. “The subsequent days following the dose, I’d experience the most intense levels of fatigue that I was unable to take a step out of mattress.”
However, Rachel admits that the need to shed weight was the reason she did not stop the jabs.
“I believe a small part of me thought I had deserved feeling this terrible as a consequence because of my body weight.”
The reality is that Ozempic was not able to assist her in losing the weight. “All it did was cause me to throw my bowels in a rage, but did not have any influence in my appetite. Actually, food was the only way to help me get over the sickness, so I had to consume more calories than usual.”
After five months Rachel quit Ozempic.
“Now I’m free from the fog that surrounds me, and the thought of infusing myself with needles each week in order to inject a medical-grade liquid with side-effects that could be life-altering, in order to reduce weight is the standard definition of dysfunction.” she says.
“As an individual who has suffered from weight problems for the whole life, I’m sure that at times it’s hard to not feel like you’d do any thing, and there’s nothing more painful than being in a state of denial about your body. It’s an absolute fact that now it is an unease that is affecting me everyday.”
Rachel states that she uses her money that she used to pay for a therapist instead.
“I believe that this is the best way to deal with being overweight It’s a matter of the mind, more so than the body. No number of appetite suppressants could help you as an therapist could since therapy isn’t over once that you have stopped using the medication. You’ll be transformed truly.”
“I was stuck in a yo-yo that was unhelpful’
taking Saxenda the weight-loss medication made up of liraglutide, which is administered via injection, has transformed Anne’s lifestyle. The 49-year-old woman from Merseyside is battling over her weight for a long time and has described the complicated and challenging relationships with diets, food choices and mental wellbeing.
“Food is intrinsically connected to feelings, and I’ve been a victim of unhealthy yo-yo diets with no longevity,” says Anne, she works as a representative for a local government. “Over time, I’ve been through therapy and counselling. There have been improvements but I’ve failed to lose weight and losing weight My weight increases often, despite being physically active. The repeated failures I’ve had over the time has resulted in depression, self-esteem issues as well as a love affair over food.”
Following the time that her GP declined to prescribe semaglutide Anne obtained a prescription for Saxenda through Boots Online and started taking the drug in the month of April 2022. The drug was used, according to her, for a period of six months and lost around three stone during this period of time.
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“It is the most joyful I’ve been in my life. It has helped me reach an ideal weight, and I’ve been able to maintain healthy eating as well as fewer calories. If I had it through the NHS or much more affordable, I’d be taking daily injections,” she says, saying that she spent around 11,000 pounds for the injections she received in the last year. “It’s extremely expensive, and I have to make sacrifices in order to cover it, however my life quality is greatly better. I’m ok with the fact that I’ll have to finance the cost of a few months each year in order to sustain the weight reduction and joy.”
Following her stoppage of the substance and resuming her diet, she swelled by about a stone. She she has been conducting the “top up” program to reduce her dosage. However, she’s also working to find the underlying causes of her weight gain as well as the eating patterns that lead to excessive eating. “I’m trying to address various concerns. My initial thought was weight gain, but it’s really stress,” she says.
“The adverse effects have made my life painful’
For Andy who is 50 years old, the negative effects from his daily Ozempic injections for diabetes have been a gruelling experience. The patient is usually awakened during the evening by a sense of sickness with frequent nausea, heavy belching stomach pains and diarrhoea.
Andy is a resident of Somerset and has stopped working because of disability, says that his diabetes nurse reduced dosage after he spoke to her about the adverse effects. Andy has been taking the medication for about the past six months. “They stated that the side-effects would be gone after some time. This isn’t as bad as it was a few months ago, but it still makes my life somewhat uncomfortable – I’m always having some sort of stomach pain.
“The statistics they provide you with on your blood sugars, and other things have all been reduced. It’s definitely doing me great things, but I’m feeling awful when I have to consume the medication.”
The patient has shed about one stone but weight loss wasn’t the primary reason for his prescription of the medication. “If the medication keeps the weight off for a long time, that’s great however my concern is that the moment they advise me to take it off and I do, my weight will get back to normal,” he says.
Andy claims that the substance reduced his appetite for food. “You are less hungry and lose the appetite for food. I’ve always enjoyed food which is probably the reason why I’m obese. In the kitchen, I’m cooking for myself. even if the experience of eating doesn’t go well the food, it makes you less interested about the experience.”
“I was shocked by how much food was my scourge’
However, for Louisa*, who is 33, semaglutide has brought relief. The weight gain “has always been a major issue” for the 33-year-old, London-based financial worker who has polycystic Ovarian Syndrome.
“I’ve been battling with my hunger and an enormous craving,” she says. “Despite all my efforts, I’ve gained 20 pounds over 5 years.”
Her treatment started in January 2021, after visiting an experienced private endocrinologist. Although she had some adverse effects like nausea or stomach discomfort however, she was able to overcome this issue by taking the indigestion medication omeprazole and injection.
Louisa claims she shed 18kg in 15 months. “What’s amazing is that there was not a struggle. In a way, it was like magic. My appetite disappeared and my cravings were gone. Then I realized the amount of food that was bothering me.” she states. “Now I’m able to eat one cookie and be satisfied and not worry that I’ll gobble up the whole box.”
This has helped her realize the amount of time and effort she was wasting worrying over her body weight. “I believe I’ve spent a lot of my time worried about my weight instead of engaging in other activities. The self-discipline and the willpower I could have put in pursuing my dream was spent on taming my appetite and putting my body through a lot of punishment.
“It’s sad to witness Ozempic getting a restraining as another trend. I can understand why people have reservations, however they are not aware that each drug has its benefits and cons. Also, there is a part of those who believe that you must shed weight “the correct way’. But the majority of people are spending years trying to shed pounds and many other factors that are happening in our society makes it extremely difficult to lose and stay slim.”
* Certain names were modified.