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Almost a Year In--Ozempic Journey so far split

System
System Posts: 1,920 MFP Staff
This discussion was created from comments split from: Almost a Year In--Ozempic Journey so far.

Replies

  • chris_in_cal
    chris_in_cal Posts: 2,546 Member
    Oprah just announced the she's using GLP-1, and that her company Weight Watchers International is rolling into prescribing Ozempic, and their platform will now support people who are on the medication.
  • Theoldguy1
    Theoldguy1 Posts: 2,497 Member
    Oprah just announced the she's using GLP-1, and that her company Weight Watchers International is rolling into prescribing Ozempic, and their platform will now support people who are on the medication.

    Following the Benjamins.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,458 Member
    Wait. Oprah owns Weight Watchers? I'm so out of the loop.
  • Retroguy2000
    Retroguy2000 Posts: 1,869 Member
    Wait. Oprah owns Weight Watchers? I'm so out of the loop.
    She bought 10% of WW, then marketed it to her followers to make about $400M profit from it.

    https://www.investopedia.com/news/oprah-makes-bank-weight-watchers-windfall/
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,458 Member
    Wait. Oprah owns Weight Watchers? I'm so out of the loop.
    She bought 10% of WW, then marketed it to her followers to make about $400M profit from it.

    https://www.investopedia.com/news/oprah-makes-bank-weight-watchers-windfall/

    well...!
  • chris_in_cal
    chris_in_cal Posts: 2,546 Member
    “Easy way out”… that statement always makes me sad. We are working hard to lose the weight, regardless of medicines or surgeries. 😕

    The OP bravely put out her experience, her truth, and they wholesale dismiss it. Safely unwilling to engage. It is the most important conversation right now, with those many braying from the sidelines.

    It is the conversation now. Irregardless of their dismissiveness.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,458 Member
    edited December 2023
    I don't care if Oprah buys the freakin' government and then makes herself president.

    I don't care that she's making money off one of her investments. I think she's proven over many decades of public work and life that her heart is generally in the right place. She deserves any kind of help for her own personal struggles and she certainly deserves to make money off it.

    She is doing what she's always done. She is trying to help people. A lot of people who are obese need help. What's the problem? If someone is struggling with a life-threatening illness like obesity, give them any kind of help that's out there, I say.

    I do think this drug could cause problems, but that's a different discussion. Hopefully people learn to eat differently and then get off it...but I'm not sure it will work out that way.

    [edited by MFP staff]
  • Theoldguy1
    Theoldguy1 Posts: 2,497 Member
    PAV8888 wrote: »
    Given what is publicly known about her weight history why would anyone assume that Ophrah does NOT have to struggle to avoid regain?

    Reminds me of the non trivial number of people who didn't know me back when I was obese and who have commented "well YOU don't have to worry about your diet".

    Yeah, I think this is a very big Truth.

    I don't care if Oprah buys the freakin' government and then makes herself president.

    I don't care that she's making money off one of her investments. I think she's proven over many decades of public work and life that her heart is generally in the right place. She deserves any kind of help for her own personal struggles and she certainly deserves to make money off it.

    She is doing what she's always done. She is trying to help people. A lot of people who are obese need help. What's the problem? If someone is struggling with a life-threatening illness like obesity, give them any kind of help that's out there, I say.

    I do think this drug could cause problems, but that's a different discussion. Hopefully people learn to eat differently and then get off it...but I'm not sure it will work out that way.

    It will be interesting to see the long term issues around this drug, if people can effectively make behavioral change go off it without gaining the weight back.
  • sollyn23l2
    sollyn23l2 Posts: 1,788 Member
    “Easy way out”… that statement always makes me sad. We are working hard to lose the weight, regardless of medicines or surgeries. 😕

    The OP bravely put out her experience, her truth, and they wholesale dismiss it. Safely unwilling to engage. It is the most important conversation right now, with those many braying from the sidelines.

    It is the conversation now. Irregardless of their dismissiveness.

    Sure. Because we get raked over the coals, called names, and screamed at over the internet when we do respond to these kind of posts. So we started to ignore them. Congratulations.
  • chris_in_cal
    chris_in_cal Posts: 2,546 Member
    Again, a pertinent, brave, vulnerable, humble original post. No one will touch it.
  • Retroguy2000
    Retroguy2000 Posts: 1,869 Member
    edited December 2023
    I don't care that she's making money off one of her investments. I think she's proven over many decades of public work and life that her heart is generally in the right place. She deserves any kind of help for her own personal struggles and she certainly deserves to make money off it.

    She is doing what she's always done. She is trying to help people.
    Where you see altruism, I see a pusher and a grifter.

    I think it's cynical the way her interview with her new position on the drug comes out in sync with her company's new GLP-1 platform, which was obviously a coordinated plan. I think it's cynical that she is effectively promoting the drug for life regardless of being overweight or not, and oh look, her company offers a couple of subscription plans for $23 for support, or $99 for access to the drug (but excluding the cost of the drug), per month, for life. Plus all the shares she has in the company.

    Maybe she is genuinely trying to help people, but when there is such a large financial reward at the same time (and the convenient change of heart recently about this), it reminds me of the saying:

    "It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends on his not understanding it."
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,458 Member
    edited December 2023
    ...and the salaries of thousands of other people...she definitely has created a monster that needs to be fed.

    I get it, I can see your point, (and she is friendly with Dr. Oz. :wink: ) He probably developed the drug. . .it has his name.

    It still has the potential (maybe) to help a lot of people lose weight. I don't see how she could possibly separate her own struggle with weight from the empathy she has for other overweight people. It's a complicated topic, but I prefer to think she's doing it for good rather than for nefarious profit. Pretty sure she'd be okay financially if this hadn't happened.
  • Theoldguy1
    Theoldguy1 Posts: 2,497 Member
    ...and the salaries of thousands of other people...she definitely has created a monster that needs to be fed.

    I get it, I can see your point, (and she is friendly with Dr. Oz. :wink: ) He probably developed the drug. . .it has his name.

    It still has the potential (maybe) to help a lot of people lose weight. I don't see how she could possibly separate her own struggle with weight from the empathy she has for other overweight people. It's a complicated topic, but I prefer to think she's doing it for good rather than for nefarious profit. Pretty sure she'd be okay financially if this hadn't happened.

    Dr Oz doesn't have the background to develop such a drug.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,458 Member
    Theoldguy1 wrote: »
    ...and the salaries of thousands of other people...she definitely has created a monster that needs to be fed.

    I get it, I can see your point, (and she is friendly with Dr. Oz. :wink: ) He probably developed the drug. . .it has his name.

    It still has the potential (maybe) to help a lot of people lose weight. I don't see how she could possibly separate her own struggle with weight from the empathy she has for other overweight people. It's a complicated topic, but I prefer to think she's doing it for good rather than for nefarious profit. Pretty sure she'd be okay financially if this hadn't happened.

    Dr Oz doesn't have the background to develop such a drug.

    Oh, for Pete sake. I was being sarcastic. :flowerforyou:
  • thelissakaye5006
    thelissakaye5006 Posts: 9 Member
    I only know three people who have taken Ozempic, and all three of them had gastrointestinal reactions and wished they hadn’t taken it. I work in safety pharmacology, along with the three I know who have taken it. All 3 also work with me in various positions. All 3 were normal bodyweights, I don’t think any worked out or dieted prior, and none were diabetic. I however am morbidly obese, and will never even consider using it after seeing what all three of them went through on it.
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 14,307 Member
    edited January 2
    So why were they taking the drug if they were non diabetic normal weight people who had neither dieted not exercised before?

    Am I missing something obvious or should I continue to bang my head in despair for the world?
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,304 Member
    I know quite a few people (several dozen, still a small number overall) who have taken Ozempic, mostly diabetics who are taking it for blood sugar control.

    Some have had minor side effects,which usually settle over time.

    I guess 3 is a very small sample size so it is possible to have statistical anomaly whereby those 3 all have difficult side effects to an atypical level.

    (like Pav I am lost as to why the 3 people mentioned were taking it though :* )
  • sollyn23l2
    sollyn23l2 Posts: 1,788 Member
    I know quite a few people (several dozen, still a small number overall) who have taken Ozempic, mostly diabetics who are taking it for blood sugar control.

    Some have had minor side effects,which usually settle over time.

    I guess 3 is a very small sample size so it is possible to have statistical anomaly whereby those 3 all have difficult side effects to an atypical level.

    (like Pav I am lost as to why the 3 people mentioned were taking it though :* )

    A big part of the difference is dosage. People taking it for weight loss use much higher dosages than people using it for blood sugar control. It still boggles my mind that ozempic works for weight loss through it's gastrointestinal affects (i.e. delayed gastric emptying and decreased appetite) but people are surprised that it has gastrointestinal effects.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,458 Member
    First post. Telling a partial story about three people having horrible side effects. Seems a little suspicious. Maybe they will elaborate on why the people took it, especially if they work in pharma. Surely someone in the industry would know better than to take something not necessary....?
  • chris_in_cal
    chris_in_cal Posts: 2,546 Member
    sollyn23l2 wrote: »
    It still boggles my mind that ozempic works for weight loss through it's gastrointestinal affects

    Kind of. GPL-1 directly effects the pancreas, then what the pancreas does after that impacts the gastointestinal system. But it's all connected.
  • Melwillbehealthy
    Melwillbehealthy Posts: 894 Member
    I take it for T2D. I take a much smaller dose than I used to. i.e. .5 mg. I want to stop completely but am scared to stop because of the diabetes. Seeing an endocrinologist tomorrow and will ask him. I’ve been on it for 11 months. At one point my doctor put me on 1.5 mg, so I don’t think higher doses are just for weight loss people.
  • Melwillbehealthy
    Melwillbehealthy Posts: 894 Member
    edited January 26
    Still taking it after doctor’s advice..
  • SafariGalNYC
    SafariGalNYC Posts: 1,579 Member
    edited January 26
    Theoldguy1 wrote: »
    PAV8888 wrote: »
    Given what is publicly known about her weight history why would anyone assume that Ophrah does NOT have to struggle to avoid regain?

    Reminds me of the non trivial number of people who didn't know me back when I was obese and who have commented "well YOU don't have to worry about your diet".

    Yeah, I think this is a very big Truth.

    I don't care if Oprah buys the freakin' government and then makes herself president.

    I don't care that she's making money off one of her investments. I think she's proven over many decades of public work and life that her heart is generally in the right place. She deserves any kind of help for her own personal struggles and she certainly deserves to make money off it.

    She is doing what she's always done. She is trying to help people. A lot of people who are obese need help. What's the problem? If someone is struggling with a life-threatening illness like obesity, give them any kind of help that's out there, I say.

    I do think this drug could cause problems, but that's a different discussion. Hopefully people learn to eat differently and then get off it...but I'm not sure it will work out that way.

    It will be interesting to see the long term issues around this drug, if people can effectively make behavioral change go off it without gaining the weight back.

    My endocrinologist advises her female patients that they are seeing ozempic use alter hormones levels (LH & FSH) , delay ovulation and to avoid use a few months prior if planning a pregnancy.

  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,458 Member
    SafariGal, that's kinda scary.