So, it's not a surprise that when people stop taking the medicine, they start to feel hungrier, he says. "What the pharmaceutical companies have done is taken this hormone that is naturally occurring and restructured it into a drug," he explains. Kushner also serves on a Novo Nordisk medical advisory board, for which he receives an honorarium. Robert Kushner of Northwestern University, who treats Yolanda Hamilton. "This hormone is telling your brain, I'm full, I don't need to eat anymore," explains Dr. When we eat, GLP-1 is released from our intestines and sends signals to our brain centers that control appetite. Wegovy's active ingredient - semaglutide - is a GLP-1, or glucagon-like peptide-1, which mimics the GLP-1 satiety hormone in our bodies. The rebound weight gain is not a surprise given how the medication works. Many other insurance carriers also determine coverage based on what employers are willing to cover. "Weight-loss drugs like Wegovy may be covered, depending on the member's benefit plan," a spokesperson for the company said. "I'm very frustrated about the weight coming back on in so little time," Hamilton says.īlue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois told NPR that benefits offered by employer plans can vary. And, after a few months of not taking the drug, she has gained back 20 pounds. She now works in a hospital ER registering patients, which requires her to sit most of the day. Her Aetna insurance plan covered the cost of the medication, but when she changed jobs last fall, her new insurance plan through Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois denied coverage. The drug is administered by a once a week injection at home, which Hamilton says is easy to do. "I was very surprised by how good I felt," Hamilton says. Her cravings for sugar subsided, and she felt satisfied from smaller meals. "It gave me more energy," she says, allowing her to exercise and do house chores. She lost 60 pounds and started feeling much better. Hamilton's doctor prescribed Wegovy because she had an elevated BMI, high blood pressure and elevated blood sugar. That's what is happening to Yolanda Hamilton from South Holland, Ill. In fact, a study found that most people gain back most of the weight within a year of stopping the medicine. And when people stop taking it, there's often rebound weight gain that's hard to control. The company also markets Ozempic to treat diabetes, which is a lower dose of semaglutide.īut at a cost of about $1,400 a month - out of pocket when insurance doesn't cover it - many people can't afford to stay on the medication for the long term. There's been such an increase in demand that an FDA database lists the medication's active ingredient, semaglutide, as "currently in shortage." Its manufacturer, Novo Nordisk, says keeping supplies stable is a priority. A landmark clinical trial published in The New England Journal of Medicine in 2021 found that the drug led to a 15% reduction in body weight, on average. That's millions of Americans.Īnd evidence shows the new class of drugs are far more effective than prior obesity medications. Ozempic is approved for diabetes, and Wegovy is for people with obesity who also have weight-related conditions such as high blood pressure or high cholesterol that put them at risk of heart disease. But the injection drug is extremely expensive and when people can't afford to stay on it, they experience rebound weight gain that's hard to stop.įrom TikTok influencers talking it up to celebrities worrying about " Ozempic face," drugs like Wegovy and Ozempic are being touted as weight-loss miracles in a country obsessed with slimness.īut, the drugs aren't intended for cosmetic weight loss. Wegovy has been called "a major breakthrough" given how well it works to reduce body weight.
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