The Skinny Shot Scandal: The 60 Minutes Controversy and The "DIY Wegovy" Trend
174 Pounds Down: A Weight Loss Success Story and This Week's Ozempic & Wegovy News.
Hey folks, welcome to the Semuglutide Swirl! Your trusty Sage has been scouring the internet to bring you the juiciest stories. And let me tell you, there's some good stuff out there. But as always, if you've got a hot tip for the next newsletter, just hit reply.
First up, CBS news is calling it a "trend", but let's call it what it is, the Skinny Shot !
Citing Dr. Franco who himself lost 40 pounds on Semaglutide in 11 weeks and is now busy prescribing it to his patients in Austin:
“It was found that people lose a significant amount of weight and so, you know, be able to, use these generic versions of those to help people get into an overall better fitness. Because people who are on these medications for a year or so, can lose between 15 and 20% of their body weight," says Dr. Franco.
Dr. Franco talks about his own weight loss journey on his Instagram story.
Make Your Own Wegovy?
Meanwhile, Stat News reports that people are turning to the DIY method amid the shortage, mixing their own Wegovy using ingredients from dubious online suppliers:
With a few clicks, Daniel added the chemical to his online cart and ordered it. In less than a week, a vial containing white powder arrived at his house. He used a syringe to measure out sterile water and eject it into the vial to dissolve the powder. Then, with a different syringe he drew about a quarter milimeter of the solution and injected himself.
Stat News goes on to note that at least a dozen websites now sell semaglutide (ozempic) and tirzepatide (mounjaro) ingredients with a disclaimer that they are to be used only for “lab research purposes” and that they are not for human use.
Daily Mail did their own investigation into the “mix it yourself” movement:
DailyMail.com found nearly a dozen websites selling semaglutide, the active ingredient in Wegovy and Ozempic, for between $80 and $300 for up to two months' worth. Two of the websites had completely sold out of the chemical, and one had a tutorial teaching people how to mix the ingredients and inject them.
But Dr Shauna Levy, an assistant professor of bariatric surgery at Tulane University in New Orleans, who sits on the American Board of Obesity Medicine, told DailyMail.com making the medication at home is 'incredibly unsafe on so many levels' and puts people at risk of side effects, unsafe ingredients and overdosing.
Canadians Waiting on Wegovy For 1.5 Years
Meanwhile, the stampede of demand driven by influencers and celebrities is causing anxious patients in Canada looking for Wegovy to go without according to a Global News report:
It’s been a year and a half since Wegovy was approved for use in Canada, but no prescription for the drug has ever been filled here because it is still not available. Novo Nordisk said they had to postpone the drug’s release in Canada due to “unprecedented demand.”
As a result, Tim Horton’s drinking Canadian doctors are turning to prescribing Ozempic, even though it’s not technically approved for weight loss. Ozempic is has no shortages in Canada.
So, you know what that means, Americans are making a road trip to Canada just to fill their prescriptions. And the best part? You can use your US prescription in most Canadian pharmacies. How aboot that, eh?
What Happens When You Stop Wegovy?
NBC news this week reported what happens you stop taking Wegovy or Ozempic, noting:
People who stop taking the drug may notice that their appetites return to the levels they experienced before they took it, said Dr. Holly Lofton, the director of the weight management program at NYU Langone Health. In some cases, she said, their appetites may feel even bigger than they were before they lost the weight.
"When you're at that max weight loss, your body's hunger hormones are the highest," she said. "So if you lose 50 pounds and regain 25, your hunger is the highest when you've lost the 50. And even when you regain the 25, it doesn't go back to baseline; your hunger is higher than prior to losing weight."
A 2021 New England Journal of Medicine study backed this up, saying people regained 2/3rds of the weight loss after stopping Wegovy.
Gizmodo on Shortages and the 60 Minutes Scandal
In the bottom of the news, Gizmodo has their own story on shortages while the non-profit Physicians Committee hit Novo Nordisk, makers of Wegovy with a complaint about a paid 60 Minutes segment that ran during its Jan 1 broadcast.
The committee alleges that doctors appearing in the segment received $100,000+ from the drug maker and that alternative weight loss options weren’t covered.
Novo Nordisk denied the allegations and said they had no control over the content or the doctor’s selected to appear in the segment. 🤔
And finally, CNBC reports on Ro the telehealth company better known for mailing “little blue pills” via USPS is now entering into the GLP-1 game. The Sage thinks this is a wise move! The new Ro body program includes one-to-one coaching with nurses over the year-long period and up to 24 telehealth visits with a doctor.
This Week’s Transformational Tale
Reddit user STIGuy1988 shared this radical transformation after dropping 174 pounds:
“I titrated up to 1mg ozempic for a long time, then when wegovy came out I was moved over and increased all the way to 2.4. I experience no side effects from this med… took me about 18 months”