Ozempic. Wegovy. Semaglutide.
These are all names for the diabetes medication that has recently become the “magic weight loss drug” all of Hollywood is injecting themselves with.
Everyone from Elon Musk to Chelsea Handler, to the Kardashians, Real Housewives mainstays, and Amy Schumer – just to name a few – have all admitted to taking this medication for its weight loss effects.
And they’re not alone. Celebrities and “normies” alike are flocking to their doctors for a prescription to help them shed a few pounds so much so that there is now a shortage.
Meaning, people with Type 2 Diabetes who actually need this medication to live are now scrambling to find it, meanwhile prices for it off-label are skyrocketing to $1600 a month.
It’s all over the news. Rivaling even Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift’s recent NFL-romance.
People are obsessed with this new “miracle drug.”
And frankly, it has me sick to my stomach.
As someone who almost succumbed to anorexia in my past, I try to stay away from fodder about diet culture — particularly weight loss — like the plague. That just isn’t something I need filling my mind.
But this Ozempic obsession — it’s inescapable.
And I’ve got some thoughts.
{And just allow me to set the stage for those who may have stumbled upon this article from a Google search: I battled a severe case of anorexia in high school, wasting away to 78 pounds before I went to an inpatient treatment facility for three months, and now have dedicated my life to helping others regain their life and kick their eating disorder for good.}
First and foremost, it is the epitome of irresponsible to be abusing a life-saving medication for diabetics for vanity purposes to the point that there’s a shortage. I cannot believe how selfish some people are, and how little they think of others. To put one’s own weight loss above a necessary medication that diabetics need to survive. It’s unconscionable.
But morality — and its risk of thyroid cancer — aside, this drug is an eating disorder in a syringe.
The rapid weight loss associated with taking Ozempic becomes an addiction. Believe me, I’ve been there. Your shrinking body, the complements you receive, the ease with which your clothes now fit, the adrenaline rush you get from the mirror and the confidence it brings, plus the satisfaction of control you have over food — it is insanely addictive. (And that in and of itself can trigger a life-long skewed relationship with food restriction.)
But that addiction to weight loss is unsustainable. For once a person stops using Ozempic every week, the weight comes right back on. Ozempic mimics the hormone that tells the brain that you’re full. So once a person stops, their body’s “fullness” hormones start regulating normally, and the weight will come back on. That is where the trouble starts.
Because now, addicted to that feeling of losing weight, the person may seek unhealthy methods to attain it again. Enter binge eating, enter bulimia, enter orthorexia, anorexia, exercise-induced anorexia. It becomes a hellish cycle of binge-restrict, binge-restrict, self-hatred, negative self image…and thus begins a battle that can take literally decades to overcome.
But that’s not the only concern I have with it. That’s just for the people actually taking it.
Let’s turn now to the impressionable young lady who sees all of Hollywood shrinking, obsessed with thinness, and now, able to just snap their fingers and *poof* they’re posting bikini photos on Instagram where you can see their ribs.
It is sending such a destructive message to our young girls — and guys. It’s “thinness at all costs.” It’s seeing a rain-thin celebrity woman proclaiming she’s a “guy’s girl” eating pizza and donuts…all the while she’s taking Ozempic to keep a nearly impossible physique to naturally attain and sustain. It’s creating a devastatingly difficult standard of beauty that they literally are achieving by cheating unnaturally.
What is that young girl supposed to think?
What happened to loving oneself for who we are on the inside? What ever happened to taking care of our bodies, and embracing the shape that God gave us? What ever happened to rejecting this obsession with thinness and embracing “healthy” over “skinny?”
Friends, I’ve been the rail. I’ve been that walking skeleton that turns heads because people are concerned. That life consists of only two things: obsessing over food, and isolating yourself from others to avoid it. That’s the long and short of it. Truly.
You might be skinny, but you’re alone, insecure, irritable and irrational, lonely, you can’t sleep, you spend every waking minute thinking about food, and to top it all off: your breath stinks, nails are brittle, skin is gray and old-looking, and your hair is falling out.
That is a place I am never going back to.
I pray that our country snaps out of this Ozempic craze. I pray that there aren’t any serious side effects that pop up 10, 20 years down the line when we actually have data about the implications of taking a diabetes drug for off-label weight loss purposes. I pray for all those who develop disordered eating as a result. I pray for all those with Type 2 Diabetes who now no longer have access to the medication they desperately need. And I pray for all those young people who see our society’s obsession and celebration of thinness, and are tempted to turn to destructive habits to mimic the “Ozempic effect.”
What do you think of this Ozempic craze?
24 responses to “We Need to Talk About Ozempic”
THANK YOU for posting this. I agree. When I learned that teacher friends were jumping on that train, I researched it and am concerned. Hard no for me.
Caralyn, thank you for alerting me to this ridiculous situation, I had no idea this is happening. My question is how are these people getting so much of this drug when (I assume) it is available only through a doctor?
This is so vile!
I am a type 2 diabetic and have never used that injection, I take Metformin twice daily which has worked well for me for several years now. I lose zero weight am and okay with that based on this new discovery.
i have said for many years that these big pharma companies are the biggest drug pushers on the entire planet, this has got to be stopped now. America is in so much trouble, Caralyn. I hope the young people won’t be fooled by the fools in Hollywood.
I don’t presume to know anything about this drug but I do know what it’s like to have people run you down behind your back and pretend to be your friend. No wonder people try to starve themselves! There doesn’t appear to be anybody left in this world who gives a rats about anybody else any more. I know ww have crossed swords occasionally but you have taught me a lot and I thank you for that!
I agree with you (as a nurse), especially after working in the pharmacy for 6 months on my retirement gig. I was shocked at the ācrazeā. It does not correct the root problem, only a symptom – addiction material for sure.
[…] We Need to Talk About Ozempic […]
Are you interested
Wegovy is now approved for obesity, which by the way is why many diabetics need the drug.
I have lost 50 pounds on this medication. I no longer take medication for high blood pressure and I am no longer pre-diabetic. I am an avid fan and supporter of you and your journey with anorexia but please stick to what you know .. anorexia. When you can speak to real life experiences with obesity then I will respect your āopinions.ā
I remember the miracle drug phen/phen craze of days gone by. I had a friend that ended up with heart issues. As a GI nurse Iāve seen complications from this new miracle drug. If one doesnāt stop it two weeks prior to an upper scope, food is often still in stomach some 10 hours later. Some have ended up with unrelenting nausea and or vomiting. And the girls that I work with that are using it look horrible. It makes you look so gaunt. I have a friend with type 2 diabetes who is on monjuro. It has stabilized her blood sugar and she lost 70 pounds (sheās a good 150 over weight). Insurance refused to cover it so she had to go on the one you spoke of. It didnāt work for her and she gained some weight back. She has changed some of her eating habits and now insurance covering monjuro again. She needs it, Hollywood idiots do not. Just my opinion. I agree with you in what is going to show up in a few years from this miracle drug?
This
šš»
Hey Caralyn š
AFAIK, studies have shown that LESS than half of the weight loss is fat (tissue).
In other words: MORE than half is stuff like muscle — which is necessary, for example, in order to be able to move around … like by using your own arms + legs … .
#SMH
š Norbert
People no longer see the benefit of learning to live with reality and follow the crowd – weightloss is as big a problem as obesity, take the weight off by using drugs you become vulnerable to other serious issues.
Great post thank you for your lived experience as the sound basis for this content.
Someone sent me a message just over a week ago about The Elon Musk trust or something and how I could get $1000’s of dollars. I fortunately didn’t believe it even though I looked up Elon Musk and told him it was a scam.
As always, so well articulated Caralyn
Amen, sister! I have heard people say, when they hear of my history with eating disorders, that they wish they could have anorexia for a while. Eating disorders are so like being possessed. I was unaware of this trend, Caralyn. Every time you expose ED, you take away the power of his poisonous shame. Thank you for speaking truth! Iām on the verge of tears for all those impressionable people who were and are just like me. Lord, protect them.š
You’re spot-on with all points, Caralyn. It’s really quite scary how popular it’s become. To boot, anyone who understand biochemistry can see that there will be some nasty long-term effects associated with Ozempic, most notably reduced bone density and osteoporosis.
I know people with diabetes who have used it successfully and, while I suspect the right diet would do the trick, maybe it is necessary for some folks. Regardless, people really should be made aware of not only the side effects, but the longer-term damages.
I struggle to keep my weight down, but that is apparently a side effect of getting old. I’m in my mid-60’s. My doctor tells me that I have a genetic predisposition to being fat, as my body looks at carbs and defaults to makings sugar. Well, if I don’t have at least SOME carbs I feel sick. This is hard to take for someone who was once extremely healthy and very strong.
But I recently saw a special that interviewed all the major players in all the Star Trek series. I’m glad they had their names shown, because there were at least a couple I would not have recognized due to the extra pounds and wrinkles.
My point is that you just need to do the best with what you have. Anything more will just send you down a rabbit hole you might never get out of! Caralyn was very blessed to have come out of hers with incredibly loving family support and Jesus Who never gave up on her.
Forget the pills, the quick fixes, and the comparisons to others. You are who you are. Thank God you’re alive and honor Him by doing the best with what you have!
Thanks so much to Caralyn for her compassion and ability to analyze and articulate so much truth. She is wise beyond her years and truly a gifted lady. Your comments, Jeffrey, are so on target, well-said!
Yes, the craze has gone overboard but there are people who need/will benefit from this drug for obesity so don’t knock it totally. Having a gastric bypass for weight loss is not the best idea either (my opinion) but many doctors offer this and patients accept it (more than the public has any idea). I have seen the potential complications from this drastic surgery so I think the new drug might be a better option for these people – who knows. By the way, I work in the medical field. Someone asked where everyone gets this drug if it is prescription. Small pharmacies are compounding it locally instead of buying from the big drug companies because of the shortage and adding to the issues with it.
Semiglutide (Ozempic) is a killer that almost killed me.
Hi Caralyn,
I applaud you for speaking out about this. You have come a long way in your short life and overcome and achieved so much. Here you are are once again doing all that you can to try to help others.
I didn’t know about this and I am saddened that it is occurring! And, yes, it is such a shame that it has created a shortage of the drug that is needed for those type 2 diabetics that truly need it. Hopefully there will be more of this drug manufactured so that those who really need it will be able to get it.
As one who has had health problems all of my life and having done all that I can to discipline myself and try to improve my own health, I cannot understand people who will risk their health and life to satisfy a desire to be thin and attractive. I realize that some are emotionally ill and are seeking physical appearance to satisfy their inner insecurity, which is unfortunate and sad (my prayer is for them to be led to the healthy answers that they need). But, for those who are just acting out of vanity, I also pray that they will be shown how self obsessed they are will be led to a better way of life.
Well done! Thanks!
Caralyn, I did not know about this and I am so glad you shared your very real and painful experience as well as the implications for those fighting diabetes and seeing their medicine supply disrupted in this way. Prayers for all who suffer from this disordered view of their bodies and those struggling with addictions, as well.
I’d never heard of this drug until a few months ago when Jaime French did a video about it (she’s a comedian and YouTuber who does clean comedy, often while doing makeup or movie reviews). She has some health issues that affect her weight, and she tried Ozempic to see if it would help. Long story short, her health took a dive and she did a video where she (very frankly) talked about all the horrid side effects and what it took for her to get back to her former, hard-earned “normal.” The video’s called “My Horrific Experience with Ozempic” but here’s the link, if anyone wants to watch it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQWllUJP7Bs
Thank you for highlighting not only the direct effects of this drug, but the long-term emotional effects and possible alternate habits that can come of it.