Weight-loss drugs are safe if used correctly, West Palm Beach doctor says

WEST PALM BEACH, Florida. The Journal of the American Medical Association reports that some of the most popular medications available for weight loss, including Ozempic, Wegovy, and Saxenda, may be linked to an increased risk of serious stomach problems in some people.

The research was published earlier this month and highlights drugs that fall into the category of GLP-1 agonists, which are usually taken by injection and were initially developed to help people with diabetes manage their blood sugar. The drugs gained popularity once it was discovered that they were also good for weight loss.

In August, the company behind Ozempic, Novo Nordisk A/S, was sued over the drug that allegedly contributed to the paralysis of a woman’s stomach.

An area neurosurgeon, Dr. Brett Osborn, said that when prescribed and used appropriately, there is not much to worry about.

“You can have constipation, so the intestine doesn’t really get paralyzed,” Osboborn, chief of neurosurgery at St. Mary’s Medical Center in West Palm Beach. “The medication just does what it’s supposed to do and again, if you have good medical supervision, proper medical monitoring, the doses of these medications can be reduced to alleviate this or other side effects side effects that you hear about. And it’s dehydration is an integral part of this constipation or intestinal paralysis

To deal with dehydration and constipation, Osborn recommends that patients using Ozempic or similar medications drink plenty of water and remember to eat and take laxatives if necessary. He recommends a gallon of water per day.

“All of our patients who take Ozempic are encouraged to drink a lot because that also causes some constipation. … It also causes a mineral deficiency, so people can lose that hair. One of the problems with Olympic is that yes , you can become relatively malnourished, so they’re all encouraged to take a multivitamin and try to eat.”

Medications reduce hunger.

“These molecules tell you when to stop eating long term or short term, whether it’s Olympic, whether it’s Wagov, whether it’s Saccenda or whether it’s Monjaro, they’re all GLP-1 agonists,” he said. he declares.

“You inject these things subcutaneously, just under the skin and basically what you do is stop eating.”

BNC

Osborn spoke about the common diet.

“The standard American diet is high in simple carbohydrates, so if you can just imagine, stopping what we eat on a daily basis and minimizing it by 30 to 40 percent, diabetes will be much better controlled.”

He noticed that some people, even at low doses, would develop extreme nausea or stomach paralysis, which is simply gastric retardation.

“Some people get it wrong and say ‘oh, my stomach is paralyzed’. No, it’s not. It just slows down considerably,” he said.

Medications can be life-changing.

“While I don’t like to use the term miracle, yes, in my opinion, these drugs, if used correctly, are potentially one of the holy grails of medicine,” he said. “Why? Think about all the age-related diseases we face, whether it’s diabetes, obesity, cancer or Alzheimer’s. They are all underpinned by high levels of insulin for food choices, poor diet, and relative lack of exercise.”