What actually happens when you leave Ozempic? New study sheds light

People who stop taking the weight loss medications Ozempic and Wegovy are likely to face serious health problems.

A new study found that a majority of people who stopped taking semaglutide, the active ingredient in the blockbuster drugs, regained about two-thirds of the weight they lost and had worsening health markers, including higher blood pressure and cholesterol and an increased risk on heart disease.

Wegovy and Ozempic are known as GLP-1 receptor agonists and lead to weight loss by mimicking the action of GLP-1, a hormone in the brain that regulates appetite and the feeling of fullness.

About 12 percent of U.S. adults report having ever used a GLP-1 receptor agonist, while six percent reported currently using the therapy.

About 85 percent of people who recently started taking drugs like Ozempic stopped taking them within two years, and 71 percent stopped taking them within the first year, either because they had reached their goal weight or because the drugs are too expensive – with a price tag of approximately $1,000. monthly.

Since it exploded onto the market, semaglutide has not only shown success in treating diabetes and obesity, but new research shows it also shows promise in lowering blood pressure and reducing people’s risk of having a heart attack or stroke.

While it’s unclear how stopping GLP-1 RAs affects long-term heart health, a study from researchers at Northwestern University suggests it may increase cardiovascular risk.

But given the high rates of discontinuation and the bad side effects that follow, researchers say it’s essential to investigate whether taking these drugs at all provides lasting benefits and reduces people’s health risks, or whether the downsides of stopping the drugs weigh more heavily. the benefits.

A national survey found that about 12 percent of Americans have ever used one of these medications, while six percent are currently taking Ozempic or Wegovy.

Although the researchers behind the latest study did not conclusively say that patients will need to take these drugs forever to stay healthy, their findings indicate that people taking GLP-1 RAs for weight management and cardiometabolic improvements may need long-term use to achieve the benefits. to keep. .

Discontinuation of treatment was also associated with a similar return in the levels of certain cardio and metabolic health risk factors in patients, which play a role in heart health and diabetes.

The researchers reported: ‘Nearly 30 percent of individuals discontinued semaglutide in the SELECT study, with real-world estimates for GLP-1 RA discontinuation in the range of 50 to 75 percent at 12 months.

‘It is essential that clinicians and healthcare systems identify and implement strategies that link equitable initiation strategies with personalized support for the survival of GLP-1 RAs. This requires insight into the underlying reasons for this [GLP-1 receptor agonists] cessation.’

The report was published in JAMA.

Previous research has shown that the average patient lost more than 15 percent of their body weight after 68 weeks of injections.

However, within twelve months after the end of treatment, approximately 300 patients recovered two-thirds of the weight they had lost.

A British study found that people taking Wegovy experienced rapid weight loss, losing 18% of their weight in 68 weeks. They regained two-thirds of that weight, or 12% of their original body weight, in the year after they stopped the weekly injections. Experts say the drug must be used for a lifetime to keep the pounds off

The researchers added that doctors and patients should also discuss what might happen if therapy is stopped.

Dr. Domenica Rubino, director of the Washington Center for Weight Management and Research, told the BBC: ‘Obesity is not like an infection where you take antibiotics and you’re done.

“It’s no different than high blood pressure or diabetes or the many other chronic diseases we deal with that require you to take chronic medications,” such as statins for heart health.

Although people who stop taking the drugs may experience unwanted consequences, there have been numerous reports of dangerous side effects in people actively taking semaglutide, such as severe nausea and vomiting, suicidal ideation, and stomach paralysis.

The introduction of Ozempic, first approved by the FDA to treat diabetes, and its sister drug Wegovy, now approved for weight loss, marked a huge shift in the way doctors treat obesity.

The drugs have been shown to help people lose about five to 20 percent of their body weight. The drugs’ widespread use has already had an impact on national obesity rates, which have fallen by almost five percent in a year.

As many as five million Americans were prescribed semaglutide in 2023, and nearly four in 10 used it specifically for weight loss, not diabetes management.

Researchers concluded: ‘GLP-1 RA uptake is likely to continue to rapidly increase in the US as coverage indications expand. But the staggeringly high number of discontinuations of GLP-1 RAs should ring alarm bells among physicians, policymakers, and public health experts.”