Lost and found: Life after Ozempic and other weight-loss drugs was just the start for these four people
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Research shows that 1 in 8 adults in the US has used one of the popular GLP-1 medications, most of them trying to manage chronic conditions such as diabetes and heart disease and others to help them lose weight. Most of the adults who do so are trying to manage chronic conditions such as diabetes or heart disease, and others are using them to help lose weight.
But nearly 60% of the people taking these drugs – including Ozempic and Mounjaro for diabetes and Wegovy and Zepbound for obesity – stop treatment before 12 weeks, before the medicines can provide clinically meaningful weight loss, studies also show.
Side effects such as diarrhea, vomiting and nausea can prompt some people to quit the medication. Others stop because they don’t feel like the drugs are working or because of concerns over price. Although manufacturers offer assistance programs, they can cost around $1,000 or more without insurance.
“We call them anti-obesity medications because we are treating the chronic disease of obesity, and that means that you usually have to stay on these medications indefinitely,” said Dr. Eduardo Grunvald, medical director of the weight management program at the University of California, San Diego. “If people want to stop or try to stop taking them, I have no problem supporting them. But most people will regain the weight if they stop it.”
Here’s what people found after they tried the medications.
