The blockbuster weight loss drug sold as Ozempic and Wegovy [has, on 21 March, gone] generic in countries that are home to 40 percent of the world’s population, significantly lowering the price of a costly medicine that had been largely unaffordable to nearly all but the wealthiest people. On Saturday, Novo Nordisk, the company that until now has had a monopoly on selling the drug, will lose patent protection in several of the world’s most populous countries. The first generic versions are expected to arrive in India as soon as this weekend. In the coming months, the generics are also expected to become available in China, Canada, Brazil, Turkey and South Africa.
This drug isn’t the solution: it’s a band-aid to give people more time to develop better habits.
Many people will not - sometimes they believe they can merely get back on the drug when their lifestyle starts killing themselves again.
The drug will drop the weight, though. But, like dialysis, it’s not a permanent treatment, nor is it a fix.
imo the fact the drug works as well as it does is more evidence that the problem is better conceptualized as physiological than psychological. If someone’s body insists to them, chemically, that they are starving, that’s the real problem because making decisions with chemicals is what our brains do, and we evolved to have less direct agency over the things that most directly impact our survival.
I took Ozempic for awhile until I left the US it was amazing simply for the fact it just curbed my constant hunger. I was always ALWAYS hungry. I would literally eat til full and then still feel hungry. I went on a big diet for awhile to manage portions and generally eat healthier but the hunger just distracted me constantly and kept me from sleeping. I was on the diet for the better part of A year and I never got used to the portion sizes (I did get used to eating better food though)
then I finally started taking Ozempic and when the hunger started subsiding I felt so much better. My type II was able to be managed much more effectively so I actually had energy. I slept better, I worked better and could think clearer. It was actually life changing and I did start losing weight.
Now im in a country where its not as accessible if at all and even if it was available, I make so little money I probably cant afford it. I used my last two doses while I was here and then just went off it. The hunger is back and my blood sugar is back to being not so controlled. Im eating more because of the hunger and if I dont I get very grumpy and unpleasant to be around. Im tired and exhausted all the time. I am doing a little better than before because good healthy food is easier and cheaper to come by. Im also much much much more active whether I like it or not but it is keeping the pounds off so im definitely burning all the calories that I am eating at least but being so active and hungry is even more miserable.