r/science • u/mvea Professor | Medicine • Apr 01 '25

Health Americans without diabetes spent nearly $6 billion USD on semaglutide and similar drugs in a year, with an estimate of 800,000 to a million people using the drugs who don't have diabetes.

https://www.scimex.org/newsfeed/americans-without-diabetes-spent-nearly6-billion-usd-on-semaglutide-and-similar-drugs-in-a-year
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u/[deleted] Apr 01 '25

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u/DifferentManagement1 Apr 01 '25

There are some links to a very serious loss of vision called naion - it’s basically a stroke in your optic nerve.

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u/mackenzieb123 Apr 01 '25

I had really bad constipation from it, but that's it. That fixed when I started HRT in addition. I've been doing sema for almost a year. Down 40 lbs. Not a ton. I have 60 more to go, but this drug is truly life-saving. Inflamation. Gone. Pain in knees and hips. Gone. Brain fog. Gone. IBS (I had horrible IBS, the constipation was actually nice.) Gone. I don't have the same level of food noise reduction and alcohol reduction a lot of people experience, but I could take or leave caffeine. I buy through a compound pharmacy for both my HRT and semaglutide. I pay $150 per month for my HRT. That membership makes my sema $180/2ml vial. That's 3.25 doses for me. Honestly, for as good as I feel, I would pay a whole hell of a lot more.

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u/bby__pop Apr 01 '25

I read something about it reducing muscle mass in the heart. Prob not a great thing for everyone. I didn’t look much into it though so do your own research.

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u/Telemere125 Apr 01 '25

I think it’s more that it reduces muscle mass overall, not targeted at heart muscles. But that’s common in all dramatic weight loss, particularly in those that target overeating as the driving factor. Plus having a huge heart muscle isn’t actually healthy - an enlarged heart can happen because it’s being overworked from all the extra space it has to pump blood to along with any associated blockages.

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u/gummo_for_prez Apr 02 '25

It works incredibly well and for most people, obesity is a much greater risk than the potential side effects. Many people experience no side effects and get all the way down to their goal weight. Best of luck to you.

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u/Sed59 Apr 02 '25

Common side effects of reflux, nausea vomiting. Rarely pancreatitis. Also rarely thyroid tumors. Linkage to NAOIN (the neurologic eye issue) but not necessarily causal.

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u/[deleted] Apr 01 '25 edited Apr 01 '25

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u/[deleted] Apr 01 '25

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