When people have to stop taking the new obesity drugs, it is a dilemma
Zepbound can help moms and dads of obese kids, but it can take too long for them to realize that they are not alone: A pediatrician’s perspective
But there are also a lot of emotional changes to prepare for, too, says Dr. Natalie Muth, a pediatrician, obesity specialist and spokesperson for the American Academy of Pediatrics.
A number of her young patients who have taken the drug feel a sense of hope, along with increased mobility. Some of her patients experienced shortages recently and they also had a lot of anxiety. They felt that it was real and they were very distressed about it. As the patients and their families transitioned from being morbidly obese, she worked with them to make behavioral changes to manage their weight.
But on Zepbound – the newest GLP-1 agonistdrug to launch – Meyers lost 35 pounds and loves feeling free from hunger. He consumes less and moves more of the time without what he calls food noise.
Instead, Meyers last month opted to buy the similar drugs sold by a compound pharmacy in Florida. He did so with his doctor’s cautious blessing and despite the various unknowns — like what’s in the drug, exactly, or how he might react to it.
Source: The new obesity drugs work, but it’s a dilemma when people have to stop taking them
The Pain and Symptoms of Obesity in Kids & Teens: A Conversation with Dr. Rekha Kumar on the Importance of Taking Opiate Medicines Short Term
He says after two weeks on the substitute, it’s a mixed bag. He feels dyspeptic on it, but also hungrier. It’s a challenge to push the plate aside because you want a little bit more.
There’s also plenty of other uncertainties — about the short supply, fluctuating cost, and their long-term effects – but he says even those hassles are worth it. “To me, if I have GI problems for the rest of my life, but I don’t have a heart attack or don’t have all the other things associated with obesity, it’s fine.”
“So there are going to be scenarios, especially in young people, [where] we will have to come off the medicine, whether they like it or not,” Kumar says.
In the meantime, Kumar says for those on them long term, transitioning on and off the drugs will be a reality many patients will face, if nothing else, because of other medical situations they may run into, such as a surgery or pregnancy. The research shows that it is not linked to more birth defects than sugar, but it is not known how fetal exposure will affect birth defects. Some women who have struggled with infertility and used GLP1 medicines are reporting surprise pregnancies after using birth control pills.
“It would make sense that once we stop the therapy for those biological problems, that we would have relapse,” says Dr. Eduardo Grunvald, director of the weight-management program at the University of California San Diego. He notes only the exceptional one or two of his patients have stopped the injections and not seen appetite and weight return.
These are blockbuster medicines that have become a societal phenomenon. And all the chatter about the use of them on social media and in popular culture can confuse patients, says Dr. Rekha Kumar, an endocrinologist and former medical director of the American Board of Obesity Medicine. She says social media is full of posts by people claiming to use obesity meds short term, as a kickstart to a diet saying, “‘Oh, I’m just going to take these for a short time and then stop.’”
Chronic disease requires chronic treatment in the same way that it does for high cholesterol and kidneys. The new treatments act on the various drivers of weight gain.
Meyers says before going on the injections, he felt his hungry impulses always won out in the end. “That’s the biggest component of this whole thing,” he says. He says he can walk past candy bars in a grocery store if he doesn’t grab one.
People who started taking the new GLP-1 agonist drugs are now confronting the reality of their limitations, and taking a medication like Wegovy and Mounjaro can only help with sustained weight loss while they are on it. Negative side effects such as supply shortages are making it hard for many people to transition off of them.
The Journey of Jonathan Meyers: Loss, Gain, and Regaining Weight after Meat and Diet: How to Get Them Off a Fast Bootstrap
But the drug’s been in short supply and very hard to find. In Maine, a family ship medicine to him in Maryland. Now, he can’t find Zepbound anywhere, and says friends, family, and people he follows on social media are all in the same boat. Some people have turned to compounding pharmacies for an alternative to the drug.
Over the past few decades, Jonathan Meyers endured several cycles of gaining, shedding, then regaining weight after attempting Keto, high protein, low fat, and calorie-restrictive diets. “I’ve had success, up and down, but I always regain the weight,” says Meyers, a digital strategist at an environmental nonprofit.
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Source: U.S. faces firefighter shortage; global condemnation toward Israel mounts
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