Live data from Hacker News

Ozempic drug supresses desire to smoke, drink and more?

theatlantic.com

391–400 of 504 posts

Re: Ozempic drug supresses desire to smoke, drink and more?

#391
post #151

I’ve been on Mounjaro since August. Down almost 60lbs, and it’s been a life changer. Have I had some gastrointestinal issues, sure, but expected. I feel great and my brain seems to be functioning as well as when I was in my 20’s. Now, when I go to the bar with friends, I end up having maybe 2 beers and although enjoyable, I don’t feel that light switch turning on which encourages me to drink more. Can I force myself…

If you're interested - not pushing an agenda. Here's what worked for this weird dude to not drink and stay fit. I used to lift and be real fit till about 40. Like bulky-lean looking, bench 400 10x with a 6pack. Had a lot to do with being on the road for work all over the world, and you sit at the gym at the hotel for an hour every night because of nothing else to do, and there are girls there also on business who you…

This is kind of weird because there’s a lot more data to suggest now that dietary fats are almost never the problem when it comes to obesity, and in fact dietary fats are really important for a lot of critical processes (brain function, neuroprotection, hormone synthesis). I get it for caloric restriction though since fat is denser than protein or carbs.

Re: Ozempic drug supresses desire to smoke, drink and more?

#392

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you're interested - not pushing an agenda. Here's what worked for this weird dude to not drink and stay fit. I used to lift and be real fit till about 40. Like bulky-lean looking, bench 400 10x with a 6pack. Had a lot to do with being on the road for work all over the world, and you sit at the gym at the hotel for an hour every night because of nothing else to do, and there are girls there also on business who you…

That last line does not belong on most respectable websites on the internet.

Just imagine all the testing he had to get to reach this conclusion. GP has suffered enough.

Re: Ozempic drug supresses desire to smoke, drink and more?

#393

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Oh my, is retinal detachment a known potential side effect of the drug? Or is that a complication of diabetic retinopathy or some other condition that you already had? This sounds frightening. Hope they were able to reattach it, and hope you're doing alright.

I can’t find the specific study this website cites, but it mentions: > In a 2-year trial among patients with type 2 diabetes and high cardiovascular risk, patients treated with this drug experienced a great incidence of diabetic retinopathy complications (3% vs 1.8%). The absolute risk was greater in patients with a history of diabetic retinopathy at baseline (8.2%[drug] vs 5.2%[placebo]) than those without (0.7%[dru…

Non diabetic, didn’t/don’t have diabetic retinopathy. I had assumed that the detachments were unrelated to Semaglutide but just happened as a freak coincidence in time.

The no apparent reason was a bit of hyperbole, since my vitreous was pulling away from the retina and brought some pieces with it during the process. But as to why that was happening at my current age is unknown. Second was likely related to stress in the eye from healing from the first surgery. But the point was I didn’t take any blows to the head or eye, or any other common cause of retinal detachments.

Re: Ozempic drug supresses desire to smoke, drink and more?

#394
post #304

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I started taking it in November and I’m down 30 pounds and my retina has detached 2x for no apparent reason since then. My drinking is unchanged, except I get full sooner and drink slower. Because of the discomfort.

Oh my, is retinal detachment a known potential side effect of the drug? Or is that a complication of diabetic retinopathy or some other condition that you already had? This sounds frightening. Hope they were able to reattach it, and hope you're doing alright.

Thanks, I am stable for now. There is some vision loss but only in the periphery, my most recent surgery was on Tuesday so it’s not clear how much is permanently lost and how much will continue to return as the eye heals.

Re: Ozempic drug supresses desire to smoke, drink and more?

#395
post #151

I’ve been on Mounjaro since August. Down almost 60lbs, and it’s been a life changer. Have I had some gastrointestinal issues, sure, but expected. I feel great and my brain seems to be functioning as well as when I was in my 20’s. Now, when I go to the bar with friends, I end up having maybe 2 beers and although enjoyable, I don’t feel that light switch turning on which encourages me to drink more. Can I force myself…

>I feel great and my brain seems to be functioning as well as when I was in my 20’s >but my untreated ADHD seems to be getting worse. I had very similar results after taking ketamine for treatment-resistant depression. It eliminated all my compulsive tendencies for getting cheap dopamine hits (food, doomscrolling, etc), reset my tolerance to everything (caffeine, ADHD meds, alcohol), and made my ADHD worse while impr…

Ketamine treatments help people, because ketamine is a dissociative drug. It makes you not feel your suffering, also makes you not feel the positive feelings. That’s why you’re not eg doomscrolling. It doesn’t feel good for you anymore. If you’re not getting treatments regularly, you will be back to suffering in a few months likely. In my opinion, there are better alternatives and more effective treatments than living a life of disassociation.

Re: Ozempic drug supresses desire to smoke, drink and more?

#396

Just a heads up “weight loss” is a poor metric if it comes at the cost of lean muscle mass. It seems that 39% of weight loss associated with Ozempic comes from lean muscle mass which isn’t great. https://peterattiamd.com/the-downside-of-glp-1-receptor-agon...

I’m generally skeptical of pharmaceutical weight loss solutions as a bandaid over the underlying problem, but for this statement to mean anything you’d have to compare it to traditional methods of weight loss.

If you simply eat at a calorie deficit and aren’t taking specific steps to preserve muscle (resistance training and high protein), a lot of the weight you lose will be muscle mass.

Re: Ozempic drug supresses desire to smoke, drink and more?

#397

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is it really a dangerous dependency ? There's been no evidence of anything happening once individuals go off of semaglutide or tirzepatide other than the tendency of gaining weight to the original levels and/or blood sugar readings returning to the pre-medication levels. This is the most common outcome anyone has trying literally any calorie-reducing diet, medication or not. There's no evidence that people are ending…

How dangerous is it to have a new $1k/month bill you need to pay forever? So far there is no indication insurance companies are going to pay for 100 million Americans going on Ozempic who aren't diabetic... Anecdotally, another danger is people confusing less eating with a healthy diet. I know someone on Ozempic...eats less but what is eaten is the same old junk...

> So far there is no indication insurance companies are going to pay for 100 million Americans going on Ozempic who aren't diabetic...

What’s the cost/benefit of weight loss and diabetes control vs $12k/year? I would expect people with high obesity are very expensive to insure and insurance can’t drop people any more. It may be cheaper to pay for ozempic (especially at whatever negotiated rate insurance pays) than to pay for the alternative negative health outcomes.

That and ozempic goes generic in 2031 and mounjaro in 2027 so soon this won’t be a question of $1000/month but maybe $1000/year at which point insurers will probably force customers to take it or pay higher rates.

Re: Ozempic drug supresses desire to smoke, drink and more?

#398
I was about to get on semaglutide and after extensive research I thought "wait, the results won't be much better than the periods of IF I've had in the past, and the reported benefits are similar", and without side effects. Dropping 30 pounds in 3 months? easy to achieve with the Warrior Diet or OMAD versions of IF.

The results are exactly the same... you fill full eating less quantity, cravings disappear after 1-2 weeks, increased focus and enhanced mental state. But yeah, you need some self-discipline, tons of coffee/matcha and water.

I've concluded that semaglutide is not for me. Just like self-discipline in pills, with potential side effects. So better to give IF another go... I'm in the 4th week and dropped 10lbs already.

Re: Ozempic drug supresses desire to smoke, drink and more?

#399
post #325
post #276

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is such a "one weird trick your doctor doesn't want you to know!" anecdote. Mounjaro and Ozempic are generally prescribed in instances where dietary interventions are insufficient and perhaps one of the last resorts before bariatric surgery. If your dietary interventions worked for you -- great! But there is only a certain class of people for which they work for, and it is rude to assume the OP hasn't tried thes…

I was slightly overweight, 22% body fat 6’2” 220, and was suggested semaglutide (generic ozempic) all other standard health metrics in the healthy range. It’s not some crazy last resort drug, it’s basically everywhere and readily available to anyone that want it.

I’m 6’1”, and my goal weight is 210. In theory I should get down to 180, but expect I’d be too skinny. Currently 246, so I have 6-8 months for my personal goal, and at $1200/month, I may self fund for the remaining 3-4 months to hit that goal. Not sure if I’m willing to drop another $6k to hit 180lbs.

Re: Ozempic drug supresses desire to smoke, drink and more?

#400
It’s interesting to me how much of the hostility to this drug has a moral dimension. I am quite fit for my middle age. It’s a relative superpower which confers a degree of status in this world. It’s not why I originally became fit 5 or so years ago but it’s something I increasingly notice or to be clear others notice and comment on.

I think the “fit” of the world get inherently uncomfortable that our relative social currency is being “devalued” if everyone can be like us with an “unearned” pill. And it comes out as hostility and skepticism.

I admit haven’t done much research on this particular topic. History should caution us that serious medication like this often has serious side effects which are not apparent early on. I get that. But unlike many others I don’t “hope” that happens like some kind of moral balancing. I get that reaction. In my gut I have that “I did it with willpower and lifestyle and sweat and these people shouldn’t just get it at CVS.” But that’s just the primate status brain talking.

Not that it impacts the outcome but I sincerely hope these drugs can improve people’s lives without significant negative problems. I can find my relative status elsewhere or better yet try to grow up past such impulses.

Post reply on HN