Ozmpic expert explains what you need to know before taking GLP-1 medicines

Few medicines in recent years have shaken medicine and society as a whole, to a large extent, which they have a semi -grace and its siblings.

Semaglutide is the active ingredient in a medicine for ozepik diabetes and wegovy obesity medicines (since Wegovy has been approved in 2021, Ozmpic has become a common treatment outside the obesity label). This is a synthetic version of the GLP-1 hormone, which helps regulate our metabolism and hunger. Semaglutide and other newer drugs GLP-1 have proven to be much more effective in treating obesity than diet and exercise, and their benefits seem to extend beyond weight loss. Only this month, for example, a VA data survey suggests that the use of GLP-1 is Connected With a reduced risk of up to 42 different health conditions, including cardiac attacks, dementia and disorders of the use of substances.

As much as they change the game, these drugs seem, many people-initially those who may have the right to take them-they don’t know much about them yet. Alexandra Owl, a specialist in medicine for obesity and instructor at the Nyu Grossman Medical School, there is debut A new book this month entitled Ozephi RevolutionDesigned to change this. The book is charged as a “whole consumer guide” for both future patients and the people who accept them exactly this moment. Not only does it include tips on how to provide health coverage of frequently excess medicines that can cost over $ 1,000 a month without insurance, but it also offers tips on how to manage and avoid gastrointestinal side effects common to their administration.

Gismodo talks with owl about her experience in obesity, misconceptions about GLP-1 therapy, and what the future of the treatment of obesity may look like. The following conversation is edited for clarity and grammar.

Ed Face, Gizmodo: What was it for you as a doctor specializing in the treatment of obesity to see the rise of Ozephi and similar medicines in the last few years? And how many things really changed after their arrival?

Alexandra Owl: When I found the area of ​​medicine for obesity, there was no look back at me. I wanted to be a doctor who works to prevent disease and this area allowed me to do it. But until recently, people just couldn’t understand what we were doing in our special clinics. So it is exciting to see the widespread intake of the fact that recently obesity is a disease-it is not a lack of well-being. And that it deserves deliberate, caring and overall treatment.

I’m sure, More than 10 years agoS So we had other tools – they were just not that effective. So, until we started getting these more effective injections, we didn’t make people say, “Oh, that really works.” And this is led, in my opinion, to the meteoric rise in the reflection in the press. And then the social media were also part of this, with people simply sharing their stories. And it was really great to see.

Gizmodo: What were some of the biggest myths or misconceptions for GLP-1 drugs you want to get distracted with your book?

Owl: I think the most bigge is that people think of these drugs like just some magic wand, an easy way out. And they will see it like this magic wand for themselves or the names will say, “Well, this is the easy way out. You just have to try more. But these drugs are not a magic wand. People still need comprehensive care to achieve the goals they and doctors like us want: significant weight loss, improved health, disease prevention.

We still need to know how to eat, how to exercise, how to maintain our muscle mass, and how to think differently about our bodies and travel. And there I really see the difference between people who just get a recipe for these drugs, and people get all -encompassing care. So I wrote this Bible book for anyone who is thinking of going to those medicines who are currently taking these drugs or even considering giving up treatment because it doesn’t go as it hopes.

I also think there is a big interruption between people who write about medicines as well. As a medical specialist for obesity, there are only thousands of millions of doctors. About 0.3% of doctors have a medicine for obesity. And we know that many more people are prescribing these drugs now, which is great because we want to increase access and reduce barriers to get medicines. But the problem I really see is that there is often no time in health systems or in these asynchronous platforms where people get all -encompassing care.

Second, so far, people look at this potentially as a short -term decision. But indeed these drugs are intended and approved for long -term, potentially forever, use. Therefore, we should not go into taking these medicines without at least having this very serious conversation with risk and benefit with a doctor.

Gizmodo: Related to how worried people should be about the overall safety of Ozephi and similar drugs? Are we likely to see a really common serious health risks to pop up on the road?

Owl: This is another very often misconception about these drugs: that they are brand new, fad and are not safe. Well, we had GLP-1 medicines around the early 2000s. They have been widely studied. They have been used exclusively for weight management for over 10 years. And indeed, they work and are very safe, with many, very, very few contraindications (ie the reasons why treatment should not be used). They are probably one of the easiest to prescribe medication regarding thinking about: “What should I consider here?”

What is so unique in these drugs is that they are not just for one indication. And what we see is a reduction effect, right? He returns to this concept of obesity care as preventive care, preventive medicine. You may never get to this place where you are diagnosed with XYZ because you were on this medicine. We have very large databases, with hundreds of thousands of people on these drugs. And what we continue to see from this data is, in fact, a greater improvement in the conditions of the disease and prevention, not new risks, which is great to see.

This was said that we really should always treat it with respect. GLP-1 drugs are a truly modern medical miracle and a revolution in how we can treat patients. But this comes a great need for respect for the process. And I would say that although we see that there is a benefit from all over the country, we still have to enter this conversation at risk and benefit with our patients.

Gizmodo: Where do you see the future of treating obesity as a whole?

Owl: Obesity is complicated and there are many hormones in the game and many, many genes. Other paths we had tried to treat in the past, not really – by theory, they had to work – but then they didn’t. So now that we have somehow cracked the surface of what is effective in treating obesity, I think what we will see is more suited to therapy with you.

If you have an x ​​amount of weight to lose weight and have X Comorbity (existing medical conditions), this will be the medicine for you. Or genetically, if we know that you are potentially missing from this gene, it will be the medicine for you. Some of these more and more iterations, double agonists, have Such a significant weight loss that not everyone needs these medicines; In fact, we can start with some of the worse iterations. So I think it will just become more comprehended to what your specific needs are.

I also think that at a very, very important level, as we see more medicines in the pipeline that the price is decreasing. The biggest barrier for widespread use is the price right now. And I think we will start to see potentially easier modalities for taking medicines. Maybe it’s an injection once a month, it may be pills or spots.

Gizmodo: What is the biggest absorption that you would like to leave our readers?

Owl: I wrote this book because I want people to feel truly empowered. It should not just be as simple as you get a recipe that comes out of the office and never think about it again. This is a whole change of the sea tide of how you will live your life and how you will approach food and exercise and we should look at it as such. In the beginning, there should always be a conversation about the long -term risks, the long -term benefits and where you fit into it. I do not want to see this to become a vanity for vanity where there are really no benefits for someone and just the risks. But if it is used for the correct indications, then in general all benefits are far exceeding any small minimum risk.

The other is that I think there is a rise to the influential who talk about these drugs. And it’s wonderful that people can share their story. But expertise matters with these medicines. And so I wrote this book so that people can become their experts. So they do not come across myths, misconceptions, or fake news about all this – that they can be authorized to make truly responsible and changing life decisions for themselves.