Patients are being pitted against each other as to who “deserves” to use Ozempic for treatment.

That’s according to one Lunchtime Live listener, Susie, who was speaking about her experience using Ozempic as a form of weight loss management.

Ozempic, a drug originally used to treat diabetes, has garnered a lot of media attention in the past year as some users, including celebrities, have reported that the drug causes drastic weight loss in short time frames.

Patients are now experiencing a worldwide shortage of the medication.

Some medical professionals have expressed concern that using Ozempic for weight loss means patients are “taking on risks without medical benefits.”

Stigma

Susie said this has meant that people using the drug to treat obesity have experienced a lot of stigma – both online and from health professionals.

“When you go into the privacy of seeing your GP, it's one-to-one in a safe environment and you have that chat and they hand you a prescription and they say this is a treatment for you,” she said.

“They go into the pharmacist, we've heard people say words like, ‘This is being saved for our patients who have diabetes, you don't deserve this treatment.’

“The shame you feel at that moment when you're standing there being told we are not giving this to you when your GP already has.

“That has to stop, that is appalling, and stigma is known to perpetuate that patients will not seek ongoing treatment or care.”

A box of diabetes medicine Ozempic in a pharmacy in November 2022. Picture by: ANP / Alamy Stock Photo

Experience with Ozempic

Ashley said she was put on Ozempic when she was the heaviest weight she has ever been – at 22 stone (134kgs).

“I've basically been overweight 14/15 years and I just basically tried everything; I tried to diet, I tried gyms, I tried everything and failed every time,” she said.

“So, 11 months in, I’m now down 6 and a half stone (41 kgs).

“It wasn't like something that I did just because I wanted to lose weight – it was something that I did because I had to lose the weight.”

Ashley reported experiencing side effects such as an upset stomach, nausea, a little bit of vomiting and headaches.

“I’ll be staying on it for at least another year until I get to my target weight, like any medication you’re on long-term, it's a case of coming off it gradually,” she said.

“I'm currently in the process of training my brain to keep sticking to those good eating habits.”

Hollywood Elites

Sheena Mitchell, business owner and pharmacist at Milltown Totalhealth pharmacy said the “Hollywood elite” Ozempic users represents “about 0.01% of the population when we’re talking about patients.”

“The reality is that 60% of all adults in Ireland are overweight or obese, and 20% of children are also living with overweight and obesity,” she said.

“This is not a conversation that I want in any way linked with aesthetics, because this is about health.

“Obesity is associated with type two diabetes, cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease, several types of cancer, pain and musculoskeletal disorders.

“Surely it makes more sense to tackle obesity than it does to have to then treat all of its associated diseases.”