THE DANGERS OF SEMAGLUTIDE, OZEMPIC, WEGOVY AND MOUNJARO WEIGHT LOSS DRUGS – Part I

Doctor Ken Berry, is a board-certified family physician who has treated over 20,000 patients with a focus on reversing hyperinsulinemia, diabetes and obesity. Doctor Berry best sets the tone by stating that, “while it is important for your doctor to explain the benefits of a particular medication, it is also important to understand the unintended consequences of those medications, as well.”

Let’s begin by explaining exactly what Ozempic and Wegovy are.

The common chemical in both Ozempic and Wegovy is known as semaglutide, which is a drug from a class of medicines called GLP-1 agonists. They bind to receptors found on cells of the pancreas that produce insulin to stimulate insulin production and release; therefore, they are involved in the control of blood sugar. Semaglutide also targets the hypothalamus (a part of your brain) by affecting neurons (nerve cells) within the brain that control appetite.

It is believed that these drugs likely work by slowing down the stomach’s natural process of emptying, and, as a result, prevent a steep rise in blood glucose levels after eating. Ozempic and Wegovy also work by binding to the receptors that stimulate insulin release from the pancreas.

In addition to this, they help to reduce the amount of sugar released by your liver. The combination of these effects helps to lower your A1C and blood sugar levels, and may also help reduce your appetite.

Both drugs are marketed by the same manufacturer, Novo Nordisk. They are the same medication with different dosage amounts. Wegovy is a weekly dose of 2.4 mg, while Ozempic was a .5-1.0 mg dose. It was noted that Ozempic did provide some weight loss, but was much lower than Wegovy, because the dosage was 2.5-5x higher. So, Ozempic was increased up to 2.0 mg. This is a cause for concern for many, given that it involves a much larger dose at one time. So, in April of this year, it was announced that Ozempic, since it has the same semaglutide drug as Wegovy, would be available for the off-label use of weight loss – meaning it was approved for diabetes, not weight loss, but could be used for that purpose without the FDA approval studies for it. Off-label usage indicates that there is a benefit of the drug for people in areas it was not created for use.

In early research, it is also shown that these medications shrink fat cells, however, they also INCREASE the number of your fat cells. So, you have more fat cells for your body to fill up! And if you’ve ever dieted, you know just how fast fat cells can fill up when you stop dieting.

AARP released a 2-page article on why no one over 50 should take these medications; and the New England Journal of Medicine, Mayo Clinic and Cleveland Clinic have also stated that they knew in 2020-21 the average weight loss for people was 15-16% in 12-15 months. That’s 20-25 pounds, if you weigh 200, in a year or more.

They also stated that in the initial 3 months, weight loss was 6%, and that 25% of it was muscle and bone loss. This is not what anyone needs, let alone someone over 50. In addition, they saw kidney damage, gastroparesis, vision changes and pancreatitis – all of which were not listed in the drug manufacturer studies.

Another important factor is that there are no long-term safety data on these much higher doses of Ozempic and Wegovy than the initial GLP-1 agonists. So, these medications that are approved for long term use have no long-term use studies to prove that they are safe.

In fact, Dr. Berry says that if you are taking Ozempic or Wegovy for weight loss, you are now the study. It’s called a market analysis. You’re the guinea pig.

Next week we will look at more of what the FDA, French Researchers, European Medicines Agency, Health Canada, and New England Journal of Medicine have to say about these medications.