You know you want to lose weight, and you’re considering Ozempic. But you’re not sure if Ozempic is right for you. Is it safe? What kind of side effects are there? If you suffer from obesity, can Ozempic really help you to lose weight, keep it off, and get your life back?

In this post we’ll walk through these questions together.

What Is Ozempic?

Ozempic is a prescription medication that’s being touted as a weight-loss medication. It was originally approved for management of type 2 diabetes. However, studies are now examining whether or not Ozempic can help people to lose weight. To be clear, Ozempic is NOT approved as a weight loss medication. However, some studies show that Ozempic can help patients to lose a moderate amount of weight; and as a result the medication is generating a great deal of buzz. You may have heard people on social media or in certain news articles describing Ozempic as a “miracle” weight loss drug.

How Does Ozempic Work For Weight Loss?

Ozempic can lead to modest weight loss by slowing down how quickly food moves through your digestive tract (a process known as gastric emptying). By reducing the rate of gastric emptying, Ozempic can make you feel full longer; which can lead patients to consume less food.

Ozempic also works to prevent large spikes in your blood sugar levels. When your blood sugar levels swing, you feel more hungry; by reducing these swings, Ozempic can reduce hunger cravings.

Finally, a large subset of patients report side effects of nausea and vomiting, which may reduce hunger. This is not a desirable side effect; but given its prevalence, it may be part of why patients report modest weight loss.

Ozempic’s Drawbacks

It is important to reiterate that Ozempic is not approved by the FDA as a weight loss medication. While it can lead to weight loss as a secondary phenomenon, this weight loss is generally modest. One study found that, of patients suffering from Class 3 obesity (BMI > 40), the average patient only lost 9.2% of their body weight after 6 months. That’s about 28 pounds.

If you suffer from obesity, using Ozempic for weight loss is unlikely to lead to significant long-term weight loss. People who use Ozempic for weight loss, generally do not see the substantial and life-changing weight loss that they hope for and deserve.

Ozempic also causes intense side effects among a large subset of patients. The same study found that 48.6% of patients reported at least one side effect. The most common side effects were nausea and vomiting (36.6% of patients), diarrhea (8.6%) and fatigue (6.3%). 

11.5% of patients were told to either reduce their dose, avoid increasing their dose (a gradually increasing dose is what doctors otherwise recommended in the study), or stop taking Ozempic altogether due to the severity of their side effects.

The final drawback of Ozempic is the cost. Ozempic costs roughly $1,300 per month, and most insurances do not cover it. In order to bring down the cost, some pharmacies are altering Ozempic with a mixture of untested peptides in order to get around patents. This has led to a price drop, but we must stress that the novel combinations of peptides have not been tested for safety or efficacy in clinical trials. In other words, while Ozempic itself carries a high risk of adverse effects, Ozempic mixed with untested peptides may be even less safe in both the short and long term. 

Ultimately, Ozempic is not the most effective, safest, or most affordable way to lose weight. It is often expensive and carries substantial risks. Because we care about you and your long-term health and safety, we recommend that you consider a more effective, safer, and more affordable method for weight loss especially if you suffer from obesity.

Bariatric Surgery: A Better Weight Loss Solution

If you want to lose weight and keep it off, please understand that you have better and safer options than a risky medication that is not approved for weight loss. One powerful option is bariatric surgery. At the Bariatric and Metabolic Center of Colorado, our patients experience weight loss that far exceeds what most people who take Ozempic experience. Most of our patients lose an average of 65-100% of their unhealthy body weight and keep it off. Imagine how that would feel.

Bariatric surgery is also extremely safe. At a certified ASMBS comprehensive MBSAQIP center like the BMCC, weight loss surgery is as safe as any minor outpatient surgery such as gallbladder surgery. In fact, for many of our patients it is an outpatient surgery; they leave the hospital the same day as their surgery. Complications are very rare, and in the rare case that complications do arise our double-board-certified bariatric surgeon personally commits to working with patients to get them resolved.

“The best decision I have ever made was to have this surgery. Not only did I improve my health, I have my life back again with my family.” –Georgette Camacho, duodenal switch surgery patient.

If you’re suffering, don’t wait. Contact our Denver office today.