Ozempic – Myth of “Magic” Weight Loss or a Medical Treatment for Type 2 Diabetes?

On social media, the use of the drug “Ozempic,” which aims to help people lose weight quickly and easily, is becoming increasingly popular around the world.
This trend is inevitable and more and more citizens, following the information available on social networks, are starting to look for a dose of the drug in pharmacies in the country.
But are the “magical effects” of the drug true to our health, and who exactly is this drug intended for?

• Let’s start with what is “Ozempic” and what is its primary purpose, that is, for whom is the drug primarily intended?

“Ozempic” is a medication that has been approved by the European Medicines Agency, the US Food and Drug Administration, and the Agency for Medicines and Medical Devices of the Republic of Macedonia – MALMED for the treatment of adults with type 2 diabetes in order to improve glycoregulation. It is also officially used in Macedonia as a result of this decision. In people with type 2 diabetes, it has been demonstrated that the drug has a beneficial effect on lowering blood sugar levels, lowering glycosylated hemoglobin HbA1c, and preventing cardiovascular diseases by significantly lowering the incidence of heart attacks and strokes.

•  What is the drug’s active ingredient, and how does it contribute to successful blood sugar regulation?

Semaglutide, the active ingredient in “Ozempic,” functions in the body as GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide 1), which is produced in response to eating and food intake. According to its pharmacological properties, the main actions in terms of blood sugar regulation are exerted by the drug on 3 target tissues, namely:

1) It inhibits the production of glucagon and stimulates insulin secretion from beta cells at the pancreas level;
2) It reduces the release of glucose into the blood and glycogenolytic processes (the breakdown of reserve glycogen) at the liver level;
3) The stomach and GIT, which reduces the rate of elimination of food and nutrients from the digestive tract.

According to the above effects, Ozempic plays a role in regulating blood sugar levels, reduces the feeling of hunger, enhances the feeling of satiety, which reduces the need for food intake over a longer period of time, and thus provides the opportunity for weight loss.

• But what makes the drug unavailable to overweight people as a magical trend solution, and only necessary for people with diabetes?

“Ozempic” is NOT registered as a weight loss drug, and it is NOT INSULIN and is NOT used as a substitute for insulin!
The drug is not prescribed to patients with developing ketoacidosis or type 1 diabetes, in which the pancreas does not produce any insulin.
The medication known as “Ozempic” is only prescribed to people with type 2 diabetes who are also at risk for cardiovascular disease. It is used as a monotherapy (the only medication prescribed) or in combination with other medications, such as oral antidiabetic medications, after receiving approval from a medical specialist.
The medication is taken according to the doctor’s instructions, starting with 0.25 mg once a week for four weeks. After that, a new course of treatment is decided in consultation with the doctor to effectively manage the condition and avoid potential side effects.

•   And what might the drug do, particularly if taken by people who don’t have type 2 diabetes?

Since Ozempic is not a drug that has been approved for the treatment of obesity, which necessitates additional testing, the only circumstance in which its use has benefits that justifies the potential negative effects is in the management of type 2 diabetes.
Irrational use of the drug can cause mild side effects like nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, stomach pain, constipation, gas, dizziness, fatigue, and other symptoms.
However, irrational use can also result in more severe adverse effects like the following:
– hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar, which can be treated at home in mild cases but requires immediate medical attention in severe cases, which can have long-term effects;
– acute pancreatitis, also known as inflammation of the pancreas, which can cause more pain and hormonal complications in healthy people as well as diabetics;
– diabetic retinopathy, which causes permanent damage to the eye’s capillary network and a decrease in the quality of vision;
– an allergic reaction to any of the drug’s components that results in a hypersensitivity reaction or anaphylaxis.

Also, some people have seen an increase in appetite, which means they ate more, in scientific research that was done after they stopped taking the drug. In the end, they saw a return to their previous weight and/or a disruption in the glycoregulatory mechanisms and fluctuations in blood sugar levels.
This indicates that the medication is only available on prescription from a doctor or specialist with a prescription and is not free to use in pharmacies across the nation for the sole purpose of rational use, availability, and prevention of potential side effects.
Because of this, the drug can only be used to treat type 2 diabetes mellitus, so people who are overweight shouldn’t take it, especially if they don’t get a prescription from a doctor.
Additionally, as recently pointed out by Macedonian doctors, its irrational use by purchasing the medication from neighboring nations, where it is readily available at relatively low cost from pharmacies and, at the very least, from unreliable and unsafe sources, can have long-term negative effects on your own health.
Therefore, only take the medication with your doctor’s approval and for every possible indication.