The prescription drug Ozempic helps individuals with diabetes management their blood sugar. But its wild reputation is because of a aspect impact: fast weight reduction. That’s made it arduous to search out in some areas.
ADRIAN FLORIDO, HOST:
Ozempic has been everywhere in the information these days. The prescription drug was created by Novo Nordisk to assist diabetes sufferers management their blood sugar, however the aspect impact of fast weight reduction has made the drug a highly regarded commodity, and that might be an issue, as NPR’s Stacey Vanek Smith studies.
STACEY VANEK SMITH, BYLINE: Five years in the past, ShantaQuilette Develle Carter-Williams (ph) had a well being disaster. She had a stroke at age 39 and misplaced the usage of her left aspect.
SHANTAQUILETTE DEVELLE CARTER-WILLIAMS: I used to be slightly motionless.
VANEK SMITH: Carter-Williams is a slapstick comedian, author and producer in LA, and she or he could not work in any respect after her stroke. It damage to maneuver.
CARTER-WILLIAMS: So I used to be consuming and, , gaining weight. And I used to be simply actually involved about if I do proceed to maintain this weight on, the chances of getting one other stroke are very excessive.
VANEK SMITH: Her docs urged she tried (ph) Ozempic to assist deliver down her blood sugar and keep away from one other stroke.
CARTER-WILLIAMS: I’d by no means heard of Ozempic, however certain. You know, I’m keen to strive something at this level.
VANEK SMITH: Ozempic is a weekly shot you give your self. It causes the physique to supply insulin, which lowers blood sugar, slows digestion and makes individuals really feel full. Carter-Williams tried it and was amazed.
CARTER-WILLIAMS: You’re not hungry. Like, I really need to set occasions now to be like, OK – to guarantee that I do eat.
VANEK SMITH: Whoa. I imply, you simply, like, neglect to eat?
CARTER-WILLIAMS: Yeah, you neglect. You really neglect to eat.
VANEK SMITH: Carter-Williams’ weight began to drop instantly. Her ldl cholesterol and blood sugar ranges began coming down. But nearly as quickly as she began seeing outcomes, she bumped into bother.
CARTER-WILLIAMS: I used to be going to resume my dosage, they usually had been like, oh, we do not have it.
VANEK SMITH: Carter-Williams began calling in all places, however the one pharmacy she may discover that had any Ozempic in inventory would not take her insurance coverage. So as a substitute of costing her $25 a month, it was going to price $1,600 a month. That was when Carter-Williams realized Ozempic was having a significant second. TikTok, Facebook, Instagram – they’re stuffed with Ozempic testimonials. Elon Musk tweeted that he is on a model of the drug. Comedian Chelsea Handler mentioned on a podcast that everyone in Hollywood is utilizing it.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
CHELSEA HANDLER: Well, so my physician, my anti-aging physician, simply arms it out to anyone, proper?
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Oh.
HANDLER: And clearly, now I can not say her identify.
VANEK SMITH: The FDA has permitted Ozempic for diabetes sufferers, however the dramatic weight reduction it causes has individuals everywhere in the world clamoring to get it.
JORGE RODRIGUEZ: When I first heard about Ozempic, it was really from a affected person of mine.
VANEK SMITH: Dr. Jorge Rodriguez is a gastroenterologist in LA. He says ever since that first second, he is been getting requested to put in writing prescriptions for Ozempic on a regular basis. It is authorized for docs to prescribe a drug like Ozempic for an unofficial use, however Rodriguez sees Ozempic’s reputation as an issue, particularly since it may be actually arduous to search out in lots of locations, and insurance coverage usually will not cowl it, that means solely individuals who can afford to pay $1,600 a month can get it. Another drug referred to as Wegovy – that has the identical lively ingredient – is FDA permitted for weight reduction. Both drugs have been in brief provide.
RODRIGUEZ: Using it in some other approach restricts and harms the individuals that basically profit from it, that are the diabetics.
VANEK SMITH: Also, as a result of the load reportedly comes proper again should you do not take Ozempic each week, persons are keen to pay exorbitant costs and go to extremes to get their arms on it, like going to Canada and Mexico. And no shock, all of this demand for Ozempic has sparked an entire new crop of companies.
RODRIGUEZ: It’s created these form of new clinics and enterprises which can be asking individuals for some huge cash to have the ability to get it.
VANEK SMITH: A raft of telehealth corporations have cropped up that supply dear month-to-month subscriptions to weight reduction companies, which embody entry to Ozempic or an analogous drug. One such service, Sequence, fees subscribers about $100 a month, and it was simply bought by Weight Watchers for greater than $100 million, an indication that the weight-loss business can also be getting in on the Ozempic sport. Dr. Rodriguez says there’s additionally probably a well being challenge right here. After all, Ozempic is a reasonably new drug. The recognized uncomfortable side effects – resembling excessive nausea, dehydration, complications – may not be the entire story. He factors to fen-phen, a wildly standard weight-loss drug from the ’90s.
RODRIGUEZ: Almost all people was on fen-phen, and one of many phens is principally methamphetamine…
VANEK SMITH: (Gasps).
RODRIGUEZ: …Right? – which is velocity.
VANEK SMITH: Still, Rodriguez says, for diabetic sufferers, Ozempic is actually a really promising drug. Shantaquilette Develle Carter-Williams did ultimately handle to lock down a dependable provide lined by insurance coverage, and she or he says she noticed what all of the fuss was about.
CARTER-WILLIAMS: I’ve already misplaced, now, 62 kilos.
VANEK SMITH: You’ve misplaced 60 kilos in six months?
CARTER-WILLIAMS: Yes, ma’am.
VANEK SMITH: Wow.
CARTER-WILLIAMS: And my physique is working otherwise. My blood stress is best (laughter), , so it’s actually life altering. And I wasn’t an individual that regarded within the mirror and was like, oh, I’m chubby; I do not like how I look. No, lady, I bought confidence. I like myself at any weight (laughter). For me, it was hell.
VANEK SMITH: Carter-Williams says individuals have observed her weight reduction and infrequently ask her what her secret is, and when she tells them it is Ozempic…
CARTER-WILLIAMS: They’re like, oh, my God. I’ve been attempting to get that.
VANEK SMITH: (Laughter).
CARTER-WILLIAMS: You know, are you able to inform me how you bought it?
VANEK SMITH: Stacey Vanek Smith, NPR News.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
Copyright © 2023 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our web site phrases of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for additional data.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This textual content will not be in its last type and could also be up to date or revised sooner or later. Accuracy and availability might fluctuate. The authoritative file of NPR’s programming is the audio file.