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Ozempic is changing people's skin, say plastic surgeons

allure.com

61–70 of 131 posts

Re: Ozempic is changing people's skin, say plastic surgeons

#61

It's strange how there is almost never a shortcut to anything. Like a universal law. So now you might get free weight loss without making any effort at all, but you'll also look older in the process? I have to say, my father has been taking it, and I noticed that he does look older all of a sudden...and his weight loss also plateaued. I thought it was just my imagination, but maybe not.

> strange how there is almost never a shortcut to anything. Like a universal law There are win-win tradeoffs. Vitamins, for instance. If you're running a vitamin deficiency, there isn't a downside to increasing your intake of that vitamin. (Curing acute dehydration via IV is another shortcut that just works.) The Ozempic story, for me, has been more about how we almost seem to be reflexively against the idea of a win…

My perception is that we judge fat people as weak and contemptible and therefore a drug is allowing them to cheat their way out of their sin instead of paying the proper penance (diet and exercise).

It's well known that people treat fat people worse; I constantly wonder how aware people are of their own biases?

For what it's worth I've been fat before and I've been in shape before. I have my own biases that are beyond the scope of this comment. Never taken one of these drugs but only because of cost/access; I'm actually curious to experience them. If they work for people, I say they should take them.

Re: Ozempic is changing people's skin, say plastic surgeons

#62

Two guesses: - it's just stretched skin - people get on ozempic but are not eating nutritious diets, so now they are malnourished

This is a challenge for the first hypothesis:

> These are changes he hasn’t noticed in patients who have lost significant weight in other ways—like through diet or gastric bypass surgery—which makes him think it’s unique to GLP-1 usage.

Re: Ozempic is changing people's skin, say plastic surgeons

#63
post #15
post #2

I wonder if using something like Retinol, which is proven to improve skin and make it look tighter, younger, and get rid of blemishes, marks, and sun damage, could be paired with Ozempic to keep skin more healthy along with a good skin routine?

I'm sometimes reminded of a parable of an old lady who swallowed a fly...

The problem is she swallowed everything else too. The obesity is a massive problem that needs to be remedied and yes there may be side effects along the way but literally nothing else works for obesity except roux-en-Y gastric bypass. Palid skin is nothing compared to losing your foot to diabetes.

Re: Ozempic is changing people's skin, say plastic surgeons

#64

Don't these plastic surgeons have a conflict of interest if they perform liposuction? Liposuction is probably wildly more profitable than prescribing a GLP-1 inhibitor.

As the article says, they have patients come anyway to reduce the side effects of GLP-1.

Plastic surgeons are like the bank in casino: they always win in the end.

Re: Ozempic is changing people's skin, say plastic surgeons

#65

It's strange how there is almost never a shortcut to anything. Like a universal law. So now you might get free weight loss without making any effort at all, but you'll also look older in the process? I have to say, my father has been taking it, and I noticed that he does look older all of a sudden...and his weight loss also plateaued. I thought it was just my imagination, but maybe not.

> strange how there is almost never a shortcut to anything. Like a universal law There are win-win tradeoffs. Vitamins, for instance. If you're running a vitamin deficiency, there isn't a downside to increasing your intake of that vitamin. (Curing acute dehydration via IV is another shortcut that just works.) The Ozempic story, for me, has been more about how we almost seem to be reflexively against the idea of a win…

I think it's pretty simple, unfortunately. A lot of folks have this visceral, instinctive horror of fat people, and instead of examining that, they convince themselves that what they actually despise is laziness and gluttony: inner vices expressed outwardly, like a medieval morality play.

But if there's a way to lose weight without major lifestyle change, it threatens that tidy moral barometer. Someone might look virtuous without actually being so. Cognitive dissonance ensues. So they hope and wish for anything to catch out and punish these "cheaters."

Re: Ozempic is changing people's skin, say plastic surgeons

#66
post #33

And if that's true, what is the conclusion? Stay obese to have a beautiful skin (and deal with the associated health effects)?

The article explains that this happens also with patients who aren't obese but are using ozempic to lose 20 pounds. It's an important side effect that ought to be researched.

I'd say a more important side effect that ought to be researched is possible thyroid tumors, including cancer.

> In studies with rodents, Ozempic® and medicines that work like Ozempic® caused thyroid tumors, including thyroid cancer. It is not known if Ozempic® will cause thyroid tumors or a type of thyroid cancer called medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) in people.

https://www.ozempic.com/how-to-take/side-effects.html

Re: Ozempic is changing people's skin, say plastic surgeons

#67

A quick explanation about what Ozempic is would be helpful in this case. Not every country uses the same name for their drugs and the brand names are often very different

That's an interesting remark, considering this is most famous drug on the face of the Earth, and only has one brand name worldwide (in a different dosage it's called Wegovy, and when it's released as a pill it will be called Rybelsus). Its generic name is Semaglutide.

This is the first time I'm hearing about it. It seems here it's only prescribed to type 2 diabetes partients and doctors are strictly prohibited from prescribing it for weight loss.

Re: Ozempic is changing people's skin, say plastic surgeons

#68
post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> These are changes he hasn’t noticed in patients who have lost significant weight in other ways—like through diet or gastric bypass surgery—which makes him think it’s unique to GLP-1 usage.

TFA contains mixed messaging. The part you quoted is discussing face skin, then later, also talking about face skin: > (“We see a similar pattern in other causes of rapid weight loss, including gastric bypass surgery, he says.) In some cases, the loss of subcutaneous fat is significant enough that it impacts a patients’ ability to get injectables .. So which is it? My takeaway was that losing weight fast == problemat…

I had an internship with a researcher who swore skin had different properties between races (not including color). Black populations had a different feel to adipose tissue. I think I could tell but he had examined thousands, he didn’t want to be the guy publishing a paper on that.

Re: Ozempic is changing people's skin, say plastic surgeons

#69

here’s my casual armchair analysis about some thing I know nothing about: Is this correlation instead of causation? I mean, if you’re dumping pounds rapidly and then your skin is all been stretched out…

They aren't seeing it with other rapid weight loss so seems like no however this isn't a scientific study so it's just an observation.

Re: Ozempic is changing people's skin, say plastic surgeons

#70
post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm sometimes reminded of a parable of an old lady who swallowed a fly...

The problem is she swallowed everything else too. The obesity is a massive problem that needs to be remedied and yes there may be side effects along the way but literally nothing else works for obesity except roux-en-Y gastric bypass. Palid skin is nothing compared to losing your foot to diabetes.

I know someone who lost an eye to diabetes, so your comment is certainly not hyperbole.
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