In the late 1800s, physicians began using thyroid hormones to treat obesity.
The 1940s marked the beginning of amphetamine use for weight loss.
The FDA approved a new central nervous system stimulant called phentermine for weight loss in 1959.
In 1960, the FDA approved the oral tablet Didrex® (benzphetamine hydrochloride), a central nervous system stimulant that can promote weight loss.
The FDA approved Bontril® PDM (phendimetrazine tartrate) in 1976 for the treatment of obesity.
During the 1970s, the FDA also approved fenfluramine, an oral tablet commonly used as an appetite suppressant at that time.
Over-the-counter appetite suppressants containing phenylpropanolamine (PPA) became more popular in the 1980s.
Another short-lived weight loss medication emerged in the 1990s with the introduction of fen-phen—the combination of fenfluramine with phentermine. Evidence linking fen-phen to valvular heart disease led to fen-phen’s quick demise.
In 2005, the FDA approved the very first GLP-1 agonist to treat people with type 2 diabetes.
Exenatide paved the way for future GLP-1s, providing new treatment options for people with obesity.
Meanwhile, Alli® (orlistat) oral capsules became available over the counter in 2007.
In the 2010s
Victoza® injections for diabetes (2010)
Saxenda® injections for obesity (2014)
Ozempic injections for diabetes (2017)
Rybelsus® tablets for diabetes (2019)
The FDA in 2014 approved Contrave® tablets as a weight loss treatment featuring naltrexone (an opioid antagonist) and bupropion (an antidepressant) as active ingredients.
Now we have the flavors of the day
Wegovy for weight loss (2021)
Mounjaro® for diabetes (2022)
Zepbound® for weight loss (2023)
The active ingredient in Wegovy (semaglutide) is the same active ingredient in Ozempic and Rybelsus. The difference is that weekly Ozempic injections and daily Rybelsus tablets are not approved for weight management.
And don’t forget that if you’re allergic to any those, don’t take them. Lol.
But seriously, I don’t take anything on a regular basis. Asprin if I get a headache.
I notice all of the GLP types are about the same price. Mounjaro being a dual hormone agonist is more effective for weight loss, don't see data for A1c. All of these types of drugs are about the same price per dose. Ozempic is much less effective for weight loss than Mounjaro so why does it get all the hype? Marketing.
For all the arm chair experts who blame all Type 2 on obesity, BS to you. It isn't true. There are Type 2 people who are not obese and who work at hard labor, are active and exercise every day. The Type 2 epidemic is in multiple parts, our diet of carb filled boxes with supplemental sugars out the wazoo followed by HFCS shit approved by the FDA because it makes lots of money, a sedentary lifestyle and concurrent obesity supplemented by lousy diet. Secondly, it is an epidemic of diagnosis just as popular as any of the other previous money making campaigns by medicine. Remember when just about every middle aged woman that could pay for it had a hysterectomy? I don't see much of that now. The number of people now diagnosed with Pre-diabetes as if it is a death sentence that launch into some medication for an A1c of 6 complete with diet and lifestyle coaches is nuts.
Type 2 is the money maker of the day and it isn't going away. Curiously, it was at first explained as an insulin uptake problem, insulin resistance at the cellular level, now it is explained, with no mention of the previous cause, as a lazy pancreas that is failing?