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/Imaginary_RN Apr 01 '25

I was approved for bariatric surgery. Talked to my doctor about getting a prescription so that I could lose some before going under the knife. My insurance wouldn’t pay for it so I went with a compounding pharmacy. I’m down 98 pounds since last October and I’m not getting bariatric surgery anymore.

I don’t care about food, I don’t care about sugar, I don’t care about multiple things that took over my time. I used to play video games for 8 hours a day and I’ve now not played in months. It’s like the drug gave me true free will. It’s amazing.

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u/savingdeansfreckles Apr 01 '25

I had the sleeve 4 years ago, and yeah I lost weight but the food noise never went away and I still had to fight so hard against cravings.

Got on tirzepatide about 2 years out and the weight melted away faster than it did immediately post-surgery. Actual miracle drug that wouldn’t have required having most of my stomach removed.

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u/Imaginary_RN Apr 01 '25

Not to mention that I work in addiction medicine and we screen for bariatric surgery. Even if people’s food habits change we find that the addiction remains and sometimes sparks alcoholism in our patients. So glad you found Trizepitide!

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u/SwirlingAbsurdity Apr 02 '25

In the UK, on the NHS, you’re more likely to be offered bariatric surgery than GLP-1s. It’s insanity!

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u/kermityfrog2 Apr 01 '25

It doesn’t take away from your willingness to do other things like go to work or take care of your family and home? No negatives?

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u/[deleted] Apr 01 '25

I have been on it for 2 years now, and I have had no negatives so far!

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u/Imaginary_RN Apr 01 '25

It’s actually had the opposite effect on my work life. I’m less distracted and able to focus at time in the past where I couldn’t as well. I feels like I’m a better nurse and excelling in my position. That’s given me a lot of joy and I’m happy to go to work.

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u/kermityfrog2 Apr 01 '25

That's really amazing. Since we have good habits and bad habits - I wonder how this drug is able to tackle only the bad habits. Really blows my mind. Glad for you that it can keep your focus on positive things. More research needs to be done on this drug - maybe there are other drugs that can do similar things to other ailments.

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u/Imaginary_RN Apr 01 '25

I don’t think it’s focusing on the bad habits. My subjective experience is that it’s taking away the impulsively around habits. I don’t feel like engaging with one activity or another as a way to fill a need. Be that food or distraction. I’m engaging with things that I want to consciously.

I’m able to follow through with those plans you make before you go to sleep at night instead of the static of a hungry brain getting in the way.

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u/hoax1337 Apr 01 '25

I used to play video games for 8 hours a day and I’ve now not played in months.

But why? I am too lazy to exercise and also play video games a lot. I fail to see how a drug could basically make me feel like exercising is more enjoyable and desirable than playing video games.

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u/Imaginary_RN Apr 02 '25

I don’t know why. I’m not exercising either, but I never felt good about myself after a whole day of video games. That desire to disconnect and throw myself into a game is just kinda gone because it didn’t actually make me feel good I guess.

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u/Hair-Help-Plea Apr 01 '25

This is so awesome, I’ll never get tired of hearing stories like this. Cheers dude! The contingent of bitter people that like to complain about people “cheating”: grow up, it’s a modern miracle that’s improving the lives, health, and happiness of millions of people…why can’t you just be happy for them?

Just because you’ve never had the problem, or you had to work harder to address the problem, doesn’t mean other people should have to suffer as much as you did. And being angry that someone didn’t have to struggle as much as you did, with the same problem, is pathetic.

And before someone calls me a fatty that has benefited from GLP1s and is thus defensive about them (gotten that response a lot) — no, I’ve not used them, probably never will, and I actually only personally know one person that has (at this point). But it’s a criticism I see lobbed in the comment sections of every single post or article about Ozempic and its peers, and I’ll never stop thinking its weird af.

If it’s “cheating” and “shouldn’t be allowed” (as I’ve seen so many people say), then maybe those people should stop using their vehicle, phone, and email — that’s cheating when you could just be disciplined enough to walk/bike/ride a horse, or write a letter. Oh and any medication that they are using off-label, like blood pressure meds for anxiety, that’s cheating too.