You Can't Handle the Truth
Diabetic Medication for Weight Loss? Here’s the skinny….
The FDA has now approved its third medication created to manage diabetes for weight loss. Keyword here is manage, not cure. We will get back to that a little later.
Here are the facts:
The three medications that are now on the market and approved for use in weight loss that were originally created as diabetic medications are Ozempic (semaglutide), Trulicity (dulaglutide) and Mounjara (tirzepatide). These medications are not for individuals with Type 1 Diabetes and it is not advised that pregnant women with gestational diabetes use this medication.
The medications are part of a drug class known as glucagon-like peptides or GLP-1. Clinical trials conducted in 33 countries demonstrated improvement in A1C in the study participants. These medications in combination with a healthy diet and exercise help to control blood sugar and can have some benefit in lowering the risk of other lifestyle diseases such as heart attack and stroke. These drugs work to increase the amount of insulin in your body and thus decrease the amount of glucose released into your bloodstream.
Providers are now simply prescribing the drug for weight loss (off-label) and not for its intended use. These medications are severely expensive, even if you have insurance. The cost of these medications are astronomical! Ranging from $900-$3800. Additionally, people can now get a prescription online direct-to-consumer without seeing the primary physician with a 5-min consultation and likely much cheaper.
Here is why alarms should be going off in your WHOLE BODY!!!!
Yes, the drugs can mange your symptoms of diabetes and have aided some individuals with weight loss. Also, “these drugs are reported to decrease the risk of other lifestyle diseases”.
All of this sounds great! Until it is not. These drugs all can cause serious and unwanted adverse effects. One major side effect that research has discovered is pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer. Hold on right there. You have created a drug that supposedly manages diabetes, but it has a negative effect on the organ that is responsible for making the hormone insulin which could help control blood sugar levels and thus the negative effects of diabetes? Then a person would not need the drug if the pancreas was working properly. Make it make sense.
Other side effects include thyroid issues; the thyroids' job is to regulate hormones and the body’s metabolism. When this is out of sync an individual tends to gain or lose weight at a rapid pace, you crave unhealthy foods, your sleep patterns are disrupted and so many systems of the body malfunction when the thyroid is ill-functioning. Just a few more side effects that come with this “great” medication: nausea, vomiting , gastrointestinal issues, kidney problems, worsening of vision, complications of diabetes-related eye disease ( go check out the LIVNTRUTH Youtube channel to hear more about diabetic retinopathy). Last but definitely not least, mental health issues.
Another point of contention is that there are counterfeits of these medications circulating out here. Several news outlets reported at the beginning of this month that there have been at least 42 hospitalizations and 28 of those were considered serious events, some ending in death. If the regulated drug can cause all of the problems that it causes. One could infer what a drug counterfeit would do to you.
This sounds like capitalism at its finest and as usual in our great “healthcare system”, everyone wins except the healthcare consumer. The cycle of sickness, disease, dysfunction, and untruths continues.
Here’s a tip. Eat a healthy diet, whole-food plant-based preferably. Eliminate the excess salt oils and sugars, drink lots of water, stay physically active, get in environments that nurture your body, soul and spirit and you will decrease your risk of all lifestyle diseases. Yep, it’s that easy.
Definitions/Resources:
GLP-1 receptor agonist-drug to treat T@D and effect in lowering A!C and weight with a low risk of hypoglycemia (low blood sugar).
Off-Label - prescribing drugs for a different purpose that what the FDA approved
Clinical trial - A clinical trial is a research study conducted in human beings with the goal of answering specific questions about new therapies, vaccines or diagnostic procedures, or new ways of using known treatments. Clinical trials are used to determine whether new drugs, diagnostics, or treatments are both safe and effective.
Other names for GLP-1’s
Wegovy
You can find information about adverse effects of drugs on the FDA Adverse Reporting System (FAERS)
Drug trial Snapshot: https://www.fda.gov/drugs/drug-approvals-and-databases/drug-trial-snapshot-ozempic
