What happens to your body when you stop taking Ozempic? [Beuzz]

Semaglutide, the active ingredient in Ozempic and Wegovy, can be a powerful tool for promoting weight loss and treating diabetes. It has been hailed as a “miracle” weight loss drug for obese people.

But, as with many medications, it only works as long as it is used. As soon as someone stops their regular treatment with semaglutide, their weight is likely to return immediately.

Over the past year, prescriptions have skyrocketed for Wegovy, which is indicated for obesity, and for Ozempic, an off-label diabetes drug for weight loss. People looking to lose weight, whether for obesity treatment or just to shed a few extra pounds, are flocking to doctors and telehealth providers to ask for a prescription.

But starting the drug carelessly can be harmful in the long run, according to Steven Heymsfield, MD, professor of metabolism and body composition at Louisiana State University. He said it’s “almost a paradigm” in obesity medicine that when a person stops effective weight loss treatment, whether pharmacological or behavioral, their weight tends to rebound.

“There is a warning here: you take this drug and you lose a lot of weight. But you have to stay on it for the rest of your life. Are you ready to do this? And if you make it out, chances are you’ll go back to where you were,” Heymsfield told Verywell.

In a large study published last spring, people who stopped taking semaglutide after regular use regained an average of two-thirds of the weight they lost within a year. The trial was funded by Novo Nordisk, the company that makes Ozempic and Wegovy.

“My excitement is balanced with the experience that these drugs are potentially dangerous and are very powerful and should be treated with respect,” Heymsfield said. “This rebound phenomenon is more than what I have seen in the past. Relapse is universal when people stop treatment for obesity, but this seems to be associated with faster rebound.

What happens to your body when you take Ozempic or Wegovy?

Semaglutide works by increasing the body’s level of the hormone glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1). This hormone stimulates the release of insulin. GLP-1 drugs help lower blood sugar and delay stomach emptying, which helps people feel full longer.

“A lot of people will tell you that if they start taking one of these drugs, they’ll finally know what it’s like to feel full,” Angela Fitch, MD, FACP, FOMA, president of the Obesity Medicine Association, told Verywell. “It’s hard for you to regulate your own eating behaviors if you don’t know what it feels like to feel full.”

When a person takes semaglutide, they are able to eat less food without the body going into starvation mode. Once the person stops taking the drug, their body will treat this calorie deficit as a sign of malnutrition and attempt to regain weight. This could mean the person’s previous appetite will return and their metabolism will drop again, Fitch said.

Any behaviors the person experienced before taking semaglutide, whether it was an insatiable appetite or high blood sugar, are likely to return.

There are many reasons why a person may discontinue semaglutide treatment, such as high cost or inaccessibility due to drug shortage. Some people who take semaglutide report unpleasant side effects like loss of appetite, new distaste for alcohol, and unusual cravings. Within weeks of stopping semaglutide, these reactions should go away.

“Biologically, it affects your urge to consume alcohol in addition to consuming food. When you stop it, that willingness to return to that behavior returns to normal. We don’t have data to show that this getting worse,” Fitch said.

It’s possible that it’s effective for a person to take a break from using semaglutide and come back on it if the weight returns, Fitch said, but there’s no supporting data yet.

What should you do if you want to stop taking the medicine?

If someone chooses to stop taking semaglutide, there is no need to gradually reduce their dose or rate. Once a person stops taking the drug regularly, their body will naturally go through the remaining drug, Fitch said.

If someone is taking the highest dose of Wegovy, for example, it can take between five and seven weeks to completely leave the body. To be on the safe side, the label recommends quitting for at least two months before trying to get pregnant.

Each person’s health picture after semaglutide will be different depending on how much weight they lost, how quickly they lost it, if it was fat or muscle, and if they are fat. exercise or take other lifestyle precautions, Fitch said.

She recommends that those seeking weight loss treatment visit a trusted provider often so they can adjust their lifestyle and care. When a person takes semaglutide and loses weight, it’s important that they continue to eat enough protein and exercise, Fitch said. Otherwise, they might be losing muscle rather than losing pounds of fat.

In some cases, it may be wise for the patient to reduce their dose of semaglutide to see if they can maintain weight loss at a lower dose before committing to stopping the drug.

“I’m a little concerned about some of the episodic care that comes quickly with these types of drugs that aren’t supported long term,” Fitch said.

Is Ozempic a lasting weight loss solution?

Losing weight, even temporarily, can have health benefits. The Novo Nordisk study followed people who took semaglutide for 68 weeks and then stopped. Over the next year, cardiometabolic risk factors including blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol levels increased in participants who stopped taking semaglutide, but remained lower than those in the placebo group.

However, gaining weight back is usually not as beneficial as keeping it off. Weight cycling occurs when a person repeatedly oscillates between high weight and relatively low weight. There is evidence that the more weight cycles a person has, the harder it becomes to maintain their weight.

Semaglutide and other drugs that promote weight loss should always be combined with lifestyle changes, such as eating healthy and exercising more, Heymsfield said. This way, if someone decides to stop taking the drug, they won’t have to deal with more serious health issues.

Also, for some people, the experience of losing weight and gaining it back can be psychologically taxing.

Heymsfield said people with obesity who have tried many weight loss approaches often feel desperate to use a treatment that works. If someone is suffering from depression or other mental health issues associated with their weight loss, a rebound could be detrimental.

Prioritizing semaglutide to treat obesity, rather than addressing vanity, can ensure that those who can benefit most from the drug can easily access it. Ozempic And Wegovy have been on the Food and Drug Administration’s drug shortage list for months.

“I’m very concerned about this rage for these GLP-1 agonists,” Heymsfield said. “These drugs should be used for people who really need them and who have health risks due to obesity and who have tried repeatedly to lose weight, not by Hollywood actors and actresses who are trying to lose 10 pounds.”

Weight loss issues usually don’t resolve after a few years, Heymsfield said. For obese people, this is a lifelong consideration. Semaglutide may be just part of a long-term health plan.

“Keep focusing on those lifestyle changes. Try to learn as much as you can while you’re on the drug,” Heymsfield said. -being on a more formal weight control program, whatever works for you.”