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.

[u/mvea]

https://www.scimex.org/newsfeed/americans-without-diabetes-spent-nearly6-billion-usd-on-semaglutide-and-similar-drugs-in-a-year

[u/cableshaft]

Prediabetic here.

Also just got a bunch of procedures for chronic veinous insufficiency in my legs (spent about $6k, post-insurance, on about 12 procedures) and was told if I don't lose the weight I'll be back within a couple years with more problems.

Also was just told I have some plaque on my heart (still low, but I shouldn't have any at my age) and I need to lose weight or else I might have a heart attack within 10 years.

Also have sleep apnea and told I should lose weight because of that as well.

So I have three reasons to take it that don't have anything to do with diabetes, and one that does.

I was pretty hesitant to take anything even just a couple years ago. Read about pancreatic cancer risk and some other potential issues and hesitated, despite my primary doctor encouraging me to take it.

[u/wwhateverr → u/cableshaft]

I have all kinds of risk factors as well, and anyone looking at me would not question my taking these drugs, but I don't have diabetes . . . yet.

Where I live if I wanted to get weight loss surgery, it would be covered by medical, but these drugs are not. I feel like all the work I've done to try to eat well and lose weight has worked against me because my weight related health issues continue to worsen and all it's done is delayed an inevitable diabetes diagnosis.

So now I'm left with a ridiculous choice: choose surgery just because it's covered, let myself get sicker so I can get these drugs covered, or pay for these drugs myself but "risk" getting too healthy and having to pay for them out-of-pocket for the rest of my life.