As has been the start to many of our posts this month, it’s Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, &…
We can’t just talk abt campaigns, rallying cries, signs/symptoms, & 988. Following a yr w the highest aggregate suicide total on record, we have to look at what other factors are contributing to these negative trends.
I was made aware of the Ozempic weight loss craze a few months ago. Ppl dropping 20 – 50lbs & more in a few wks/months. Sounds too good to be true, right? Things that sound too good to be true, usually are.
I started hearing abt physical complications first – loss of fine motor skills, structural changes in the body, etc. But now, w/in the last wk, more & more lived experience stories related to MH complications & suicidal ideation are surfacing. I shared a # of them from diff sources in slides(➡️).
The US FDA has received more than 1,000 reports of adverse MH side effects related to the class of drugs known as GLP-1 agonists to the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS).
GLP-1 receptor agonists, lower blood sugar & suppress appetite by mimicking a hormone in the gut. But Ozempic is used for diabetes, & only OFF-LABEL for weight loss. Bc of that, it doesn’t come w a suicide ideation warning other weight loss drugs do.
GLP-1, travels from the gut to the brain & decreases the activity of the brain’s reward center. That may help explain why some people say Ozempic has decreased their urge to not only to eat, but: drink, smoke, shop or gamble too.
We’re wired w a rewards center for a reason. That cycle of what dopamine does to get us up & going is NEEDED. Do we know this is exactly what’s happening w weight loss drugs like this? No. But logically, something that unnaturally suppresses our urges that KEEP US ALIVE, we have to be cautious abt. Please consider this before you or a loved one hops on the latest trend or puts something in your body. Short cuts (for weight loss in this case) aren’t worth your life.
This drug’s manufacturer says trials show no effect on MH…but they also spent $11mill on meals & travel for physicians in 2022 alone. Let’s be cautious before we’re sold.