Medications like Ozempic or Wegovy are in a category referred to as GLP-1, or glucagon-like peptide-1, medicines. The energetic ingredient in Ozempic is semaglutide. Semaglutide is an incretin, a hormone produced within the intestine that helps sign to your mind that you’re full. Semaglutide additionally helps regulate the transit time in your intestine; if meals passes extra slowly by means of your physique, you then really feel full for longer.
For context, GLP-1 medicines have been used since 2005 to deal with Type 2 diabetes. They have been completely studied and acknowledged by the medical neighborhood as an efficient therapy of diabetes. In 2021, semaglutide was accepted underneath the model title, Wegovy, for weight reduction.
One fable that has been circulating across the web is that Wegovy is simpler than Ozempic. In actuality, they’re the very same. They are equally efficient for weight reduction on the similar dosage. The factor is, till just lately, Ozempic was sometimes prescribed at a decrease dose when used for diabetes administration. Wegovy, alternatively, is prescribed with the intention of maximizing the dose to attain optimum weight reduction.
With the rise in demand for these medicines, Ozempic began to be prescribed for weight reduction and never simply diabetes administration, despite the fact that it’s technically solely FDA-approved for diabetes.
Ongoing analysis can also be wanting into new medicines. One is CagriSema, which is a mixture of cagrilintide and semaglutide. Cagrilintide emulates amylin, a hormone that impacts satiety. The second is Retatrutide which is a GLP-1, gastric inhibitory polypeptide (GIP), and glucagon agonist. It’s much like Mounjaro however provides a glucagon agonist, which can assist folks burn extra energy along with suppressing their urge for food.
A giant misunderstanding about this rising class of medicines is that you could take them for some time and simply get off of them. Ultimately, they’re extra of a continual remedy and work most successfully if taken persistently, much like an nervousness or blood stress remedy (humorous how we don’t decide these!). This is necessary to take into consideration earlier than beginning these medicines.