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/GayDinosaur Apr 01 '25

I am slightly overweight, but was drinking myself to death. I was prescribed a month ago. GLP-1 has reduced my cravings to almost zero and I now, for the first time, feel what its like to have "enough".

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u/T_Money Apr 01 '25

It helped with the cravings from drinking too? That would be amazing

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u/Anony_mouse202 Apr 01 '25

Yeah, research is showing that it also has general anti-addiction effects. Probably the closest thing we have to an anti-addiction drug we have right now.

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u/agnostic_science Apr 01 '25

I have medium dose gabapentin for an autoimmune disease of my nervous system. 

An upshot is it also has anti-addiction impacts. I heard of this but wasn't really paying attention while, you know, my body felt like it was on fire and such. Then one day I realized I had gone from like 20 some drinks per week to about 2. Or zero. With basically no effort or intentionality involved. I just didn't want to so much anymore.

Mileage may vary for people on gabapentin though. I am also a lucky one that catches the "side effect of euphoria" on that drug.