What is Ozempic?
Ozempic is a drug that is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat Type 2 diabetes and to reduce major heart events in adults who have Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Clinicians prescribe it off-label for weight loss because clinical evidence shows it also helps people lose weight.
More on off-label prescribingOzempic is a brand name for semaglutide which Novo Nordisk manufactures. It is a synthetic version of the GLP-1 hormone.
Benefits of Ozempic
Expected weight loss depends on the dosage of Ozempic. In one study, people who took 2.4 mg of semaglutide every week for 68 weeks lost an average of 14.9% of their total body weight. (Safe weight loss is one to two pounds per week.)
Although Ozempic is a diabetes medication, it may have more benefits for off-label use beyond weight management. Multiple clinical trials funded by Novo Nordisk show semaglutide can reduce the risk of major cardiovascular events such as heart attack, stroke, or death in adults with Type 2 diabetes and known heart disease.
Semaglutide improves heart health by lowering blood sugar and helping people lose excess body weight. Research is ongoing to determine if semaglutide can treat other medical conditions.
And it’s significant to note that some patients have reported reduced cravings while using semaglutide for weight loss.
How does Ozempic work?
When you eat, your food stimulates your gut to release the GLP-1 hormone. GLP-1 helps lower blood glucose (blood sugar) by stimulating insulin release. And insulin helps blood glucose enter your body’s cells for later energy use.
In some people, the gut doesn't make enough natural GLP-1, or the brain isn't sensitive to it.
Ozempic is a synthetic GLP-1 RA or glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist. A drug that works as an agonist activates the same cell receptors as the body's natural hormones. So, Ozempic works in the gut like natural GLP-1. Because Ozempic slows digestion, it helps curb hunger and signal fullness to the brain. As a result, some people with obesity have lost weight while taking it.
Because Ozempic supports a process the body isn’t doing well, it’s intended for
long-term use.It’s important to note that GLP-1 medications don’t work for everyone. There are dozens of biological reasons why people struggle to lose weight. Found’s health care providers, trained in obesity medicine, can help patients identify the root cause of their weight gain and personalize a prescription to target it.
More on personalized treatment with Aayu Well.How to use it
Physicians typically instruct patients to take Ozempic once a week. Novo Nordisk recommends injecting the medicine under the skin in your upper arm, upper thigh, or stomach. Store Ozempic in a refrigerator.
Dosing
- Rapid or significant weight loss can lead to too much muscle loss. To protect your muscles, it’s important to start a strength training program and exercise regularly while taking dulaglutide.
- Tell your health care provider if you have severe stomach problems that won’t go away, including abdominal bloating or pain, acid reflux, a feeling of fullness after eating just a few bites of food, nausea, and vomiting, including vomiting undigested food eaten a few hours earlier. These may be symptoms of gastroparesis (stomach paralysis).
- Use an effective contraceptive while taking this medication. If you are pregnant, breastfeeding, or planning to become pregnant, do not take dulaglutide.
- Dulaglutide is not used to treat insulin-dependent diabetes or diabetic ketoacidosis. So, if this is you, dulaglutide isn’t the right fit.
Side effects
- Rapid or significant weight loss can lead to too much muscle loss. To protect your muscles, it’s important to start a strength training program and exercise regularly while taking dulaglutide.
- Tell your health care provider if you have severe stomach problems that won’t go away, including abdominal bloating or pain, acid reflux, a feeling of fullness after eating just a few bites of food, nausea, and vomiting, including vomiting undigested food eaten a few hours earlier. These may be symptoms of gastroparesis (stomach paralysis).
- Use an effective contraceptive while taking this medication. If you are pregnant, breastfeeding, or planning to become pregnant, do not take dulaglutide.
- Dulaglutide is not used to treat insulin-dependent diabetes or diabetic ketoacidosis. So, if this is you, dulaglutide isn’t the right fit.
Black Box Warning
- Rapid or significant weight loss can lead to too much muscle loss. To protect your muscles, it’s important to start a strength training program and exercise regularly while taking dulaglutide.
- Tell your health care provider if you have severe stomach problems that won’t go away, including abdominal bloating or pain, acid reflux, a feeling of fullness after eating just a few bites of food, nausea, and vomiting, including vomiting undigested food eaten a few hours earlier. These may be symptoms of gastroparesis (stomach paralysis).
- Use an effective contraceptive while taking this medication. If you are pregnant, breastfeeding, or planning to become pregnant, do not take dulaglutide.
- Dulaglutide is not used to treat insulin-dependent diabetes or diabetic ketoacidosis. So, if this is you, dulaglutide isn’t the right fit.
Precautions
- Rapid or significant weight loss can lead to too much muscle loss. To protect your muscles, it’s important to start a strength training program and exercise regularly while taking dulaglutide.
- Tell your health care provider if you have severe stomach problems that won’t go away, including abdominal bloating or pain, acid reflux, a feeling of fullness after eating just a few bites of food, nausea, and vomiting, including vomiting undigested food eaten a few hours earlier. These may be symptoms of gastroparesis (stomach paralysis).
- Use an effective contraceptive while taking this medication. If you are pregnant, breastfeeding, or planning to become pregnant, do not take dulaglutide.
- Dulaglutide is not used to treat insulin-dependent diabetes or diabetic ketoacidosis. So, if this is you, dulaglutide isn’t the right fit.
Interactions
- Rapid or significant weight loss can lead to too much muscle loss. To protect your muscles, it’s important to start a strength training program and exercise regularly while taking dulaglutide.
- Tell your health care provider if you have severe stomach problems that won’t go away, including abdominal bloating or pain, acid reflux, a feeling of fullness after eating just a few bites of food, nausea, and vomiting, including vomiting undigested food eaten a few hours earlier. These may be symptoms of gastroparesis (stomach paralysis).
- Use an effective contraceptive while taking this medication. If you are pregnant, breastfeeding, or planning to become pregnant, do not take dulaglutide.
- Dulaglutide is not used to treat insulin-dependent diabetes or diabetic ketoacidosis. So, if this is you, dulaglutide isn’t the right fit.
