If your goal is to lose weight with Ozempic or Mounjaro in the new year, your doctor may prescribe the versions of those Type 2 diabetes drugs approved for weight loss — Wegovy or Zepbound.
Interest keeps growing, with millions of Americans getting a prescription for this class of medications in recent years. Oprah Winfrey revealed in December she’s taking a weight-loss drug.
“The medications offer an option for people to manage their weight by targeting some of the actual biology of obesity, which is something that lifestyle (changes) often fail to do,” Dr. Beverly Tchang, an endocrinologist and obesity medicine physician at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York, tells TODAY.com.
“So in that way, it makes it easier for people to achieve their New Year’s resolution goals.”
Tchang is an advisor for Novo Nordisk, the pharmaceutical company that makes Ozempic and Wegovy.
Patients can expect to lose about 15% to 20% of their body weight as the drugs reduce their appetite, based on results from clinical trials funded by the pharmaceutical companies, but the treatments can come with side effects, most commonly nausea, diarrhea, vomiting and stomach pain. Much more serious side effects are also possible.
They’re also expensive without insurance — more than $1,000 per month. Weight-loss drugs are not covered by Medicare and often not covered by commercial health insurance.
They’re intended to be used long-term in addition to a healthy diet and regular exercise.
Here’s a user’s guide for Wegovy and Zepbound:
How to get a prescription for a weight-loss drug
The first step is to talk with your doctor to find out if you’re a candidate and to see if there are other considerations when it comes to side effects or long-term concerns, Tchang says.
She recommends starting with a primary care physician or visiting the American Board of Obesity Medicine to find a certified obesity medicine doctor.
Wegovy and Zepbound are approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration…
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