Posted on 01/15/2023 5:57:44 AM PST by fluorescence
Tammie Rachell Largent-Phillips, 52, has Type 2 diabetes. For the past two years, she's managed the condition using a drug called Ozempic, which helps people with diabetes keep blood sugar levels in check.
But in November, she was forced to switch to another medication, insulin. The Ozempic she needed was no longer available at her pharmacy.
In recent months, demand for the drug has soared, colliding with global supply issues. Together, it's led to a shortage of Ozempic.
But the popularity of Ozempic, or semaglutide, isn't because of rising rates of diabetes. Instead, it's because of its weight loss benefits, doctors say. At a higher dose, semaglutide is used for weight loss. Ozempic manufacturer Novo Nordisk sells that higher dose under a different brand name: Wegovy.
Shortages of Wegovy, also highly popular, were widespread last year. As a result, some people who had been taking Wegovy were instead prescribed Ozempic off-label for weight loss. That's causing problems for people like Largent-Phillips, who need the drug to manage their chronic illness.
"It's been very frustrating," Largent-Phillips, of Florida, said of the shortage, adding that her blood sugar levels have been fluctuating as she's had to change medications.
Ozempic works by mimicking a hormone in the body that regulates insulin levels. It's a type of drug called a GLP-1 agonist. The medication is self-administered weekly as an injection.
The supply shortages of Ozempic have meant that some patients have had to go to several pharmacies before they could find the medication, said Dr. Marcio Griebeler, an endocrinologist at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio. In other cases, he said, patients have been forced to take a lower dose because it's all that was available.
(Excerpt) Read more at nbcnews.com ...
It must really work, because its popularity cannot be related to the cringe advertising. Oh, Oh, Oh, Oh zempic...
Too bad they can’t make that kind of thing in the United States. Can’t we get China to increase production?
I have type 2 diabetes, I control my blood sugar levels with a low-carb diet, and very effectively. I have thought of taking ozempic so I could eat those carbs again, like potatoes, rice, and bread, but I guess now I am SOL.
Have any of these people tried carnivore or keto diets?
What is SOL?
After hearing the AWFUL “possible” side-effects, I am amazed that ANYONE would bother with any drug that is advertised on TV.
Oddly, at my insurance company pharmacy, they cannot STOP sending me Ozempic.... to the point I have a surplus. It’s the pen-version, injectable.
Very interesting to me is also this: Injections and retrieval of a small finger blood sample is nearly 100% painless. They’ve really done a good job of making things pain-free.
“Blank” outta luck.
Too bad those who are trying to lose weight don’t try other things (paleo diet, exercise) and let the diabetic have their potentially life-saving meds.
“””What is SOL?”””
In medical terms it is referred to as ‘Excrement Outta Luck’.
I never understood why drug companies are allowed to advertise prescription drugs to non-medical people. It causes is people without medical knowledge to go to a doctor and demand a certain med. I have seen people around me do that very thing. Some doctors seem to bow to the pressure just to shut them up. Look at how many buy ED drugs that really want it for recreation not true ED. Weight loss drugs are the similar. Then in a few years it’s followed by lawyers trolling for class action lawsuits.
Or portion control and exercise...?
Ka-ching!
“Sh#t out of luck”
Saw an expose on that drug. The models/elites are using it up at a rate that the diabetics are deprived of it.
But maybe that’s a mercy because SHEESH does that stuff have some nasty side effects, one of which is that when some people go off of it, they gain all the weight back and more. Somehow it defeated the body’s ability to metabolize or burn fuel or something because the weight was back 2x and the hunger pangs made people ravenous.
I visited a family member and they had the tv on.
I saw a commercial for medication for if a man has a bent penis.
I saw a commercial where an ugly, fat black woman hiked up her skirt to show her pee underpants I couldn’t otherwise see.
This was in the middle of the day. Tv is trash…
OK...Sitting here laughing!
Ozempic does a lot of advertising on Newsmax. As soon as I saw this thread, their advertising jingle, set to the tune of Pilot’s 1975 hit song “Magic,” popped into my head.
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