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GLP-1s are breaking life insurance

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Re: GLP-1s are breaking life insurance

#461

Post by DrillShopper »

Aurornis wrote: post #198
aqme28 wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You’re thinking too highly about the incentives of the US healthcare system. Since insurance is tied to your employer (and therefore changing every few years), and most people die on Medicare, there’s not much incentive for insurance companies to pay for preventative care that won’t actually help you for several decades.

> You’re thinking too highly about the incentives of the US healthcare system. Since insurance is tied to your employer (and therefore changing every few years) Most people don’t change jobs or insurance companies every few years. When they do, it’s often within similar regions and industries so the chances of ending up right back under the same insurance company are significant. Regardless, the issue is more complic…

I haven't changed jobs and I've had three different health insurance companies in as many years, all of which needed new prior auths for Trulicity/Mounjaro.

Re: GLP-1s are breaking life insurance

#462

Post by schwartzworld »

DrillShopper wrote: post #294
schwartzworld wrote: post #160

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m curious what your diet is like, especially at the end of the week when the medicine is weakest. If I eat dairy, sugar, etc in the day or two before my semaglutide, I feel similarly.

It's typically a salad for lunch, usually lean protein over a complex carb for dinner (latest this week was slow cooked pulled chicken over brown rice), and typically a piece of fruit and a hard boiled egg for breakfast. The hardest part about this diet for me has been finding sources of protein that get me at my goal with the small sizes of the meals I do eat.

Well that’s pretty clean.

Re: GLP-1s are breaking life insurance

#463

Post by jajko »

nerevarthelame wrote: post #120
firesteelrain wrote: post #24

I was on Mounjaro for two months. I was also dieting and walking 10k steps a day. I lost 25 lb and my A1C went down to 5.0 from 5.7. All my cholesterol numbers were in range. I stopped taking it and lost 25 more. I haven’t regained the weight. People who gain it back did not learn the lesson and did not effectively change their habits. You need the discipline - and a good support system. But if you don’t have that an…

This is akin to saying a severely anxious person should be able to take an SSRI for a few months, learn how to change their thinking, and stay off antidepressants for the rest of their life. So simple. Must be their fault if they can't pull it off. Perhaps that works for some people. I'm glad it seems to have worked for you. But the facts of the world we live in show that it doesn't work for most. "Learn the lesson a…

Very wrong analogy. Anxiety is not something that you gain by buying junkfood due to low budget or laziness or simply being raised with very wrong values re food and health. On the other hand, every single ice cream, pizza, burger with fries, cupcake or beer contributing to resulting weight is a voluntary choice (with some mental drama around).

There is simply no way around the simple fact that there is only 1 way to eating well long term - that is lesser, more healthy portions. GLP1 may show a person what things could and should look like, what is achievable but the path needs to be walked by themselves. The alternative is either lifelong consumption of this chemical with various bad side effects or premature death (or both, to be seen since nobody has a clue).

Re: GLP-1s are breaking life insurance

#464

Post by jandrese »

Aurornis wrote: post #203
petesergeant wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I wonder if there is a point at which it is cheaper for health insurance companies to offer subsidized or even free GLP-1s to patients than pay out for other specialized medications. That the NHS is getting to a place where it’ll provide it, I’d say yes.

Everyone likes to bash the US healthcare system, but at the same time it’s remarkable how much subsidized GLP-1 access Americans are getting compared to much of the world. The paradox of discussing healthcare online.

Not to put too fine a point on it but Americans are one of the primary markets for these drugs because the obesity problem is especially acute.

Re: GLP-1s are breaking life insurance

#465

Post by dfxm12 »

raldi wrote: post #280
aqme28 wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You’re thinking too highly about the incentives of the US healthcare system. Since insurance is tied to your employer (and therefore changing every few years), and most people die on Medicare, there’s not much incentive for insurance companies to pay for preventative care that won’t actually help you for several decades.

Then wouldn’t the government want to subsidize it?

A government for and by the people would, yes. This doesn't describe the US government though.

Re: GLP-1s are breaking life insurance

#467

Post by busterarm »

firesteelrain wrote: post #126
apwell23 wrote: post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

suprised your a1c was only 5.7 despite being obese .

From what I understand you don’t have to be obese and have type 2 diabetes. In my case, I was obese and did not have diabetes but I might have been going down that road

A lot of skinny people with a family history of diabetes find that they can become diabetic/pre-diabetic as they age.

The trick to avoid it is to put on muscle mass, which regulates your blood glucose levels.

Re: GLP-1s are breaking life insurance

#468

Post by snarf21 »

brap wrote: post #243

Just want to share my own experience since were doing it: Took Wegovy (Semaglutide) for about 6 months. Barely lost any weight, would occasionally get nauseous. Then the doc switched me to Mounjaro (Tirzepatide) + Phentermine, and holy shit, I just don’t feel like eating, almost ever. Lost 20kg in 6 months, which is all I needed to lose, never had any side effects. None. I did feel a little weird/buzzed the first tim…

Dieting is hard and we still under emphasize the mental and emotional aspects of it. I've found that the easier to "be good" at dieting during the 30 minutes of weekly grocery shopping then during every hour of every day at the house. I try hard to just never buy things that I'm likely to overeat or are super calorie dense because I know I can't eat potato chips responsibly.

Re: GLP-1s are breaking life insurance

#469

Post by staringback »

potamic wrote: post #440
brap wrote: post #243

Just want to share my own experience since were doing it: Took Wegovy (Semaglutide) for about 6 months. Barely lost any weight, would occasionally get nauseous. Then the doc switched me to Mounjaro (Tirzepatide) + Phentermine, and holy shit, I just don’t feel like eating, almost ever. Lost 20kg in 6 months, which is all I needed to lose, never had any side effects. None. I did feel a little weird/buzzed the first tim…

Did you lose any muscle mass?

They most certainly did, these drugs stop you from eating, not magically burn fat and leave muscle mass alone.

It has the same effect as starving yourself. Go look up pictures of "ozempic face"

Re: GLP-1s are breaking life insurance

#470

Post by adolph »

Is the rise of GLPs yet another case of Neal Stephenson called it again? I'm rereading Anathem and struck by similarities of Allswell and the psychoactive components of GLPs. In the book, Allswell is a drug that gives people a sense of calm and well being, and is genetically engineered into food in a way that puts water fluoridation to shame. Otoh, the lower-caste slines of Arbre are also overweight so maybe the parallels are limited.
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