The popular weight-loss drug Wegovy reduced the risk of serious heart problems by 20% in a large, international study that experts say could change the way doctors treat certain heart patients.
The research is the first to document that an obesity medication can not only pare pounds, but also safely prevent a heart attack, stroke or a heart-related death in people who already have heart disease — but not diabetes.
The findings could shift perceptions that the new class of obesity drugs are cosmetic treatments and put pressure on health insurers to cover them.
There’s gotta be negatives to this right?
Like, what are the side effects and long term consequences?
This is mostly anecdotal and I am not a medical doctor. In my small circle of family and friends, I know several people who have taken or are currently taking Wegovy and similar drugs for weight loss and/or diabetes like Mounjaro and Ozempic.
All of them have experienced severe nausea when starting on these drugs. After a few weeks/months of use along with figuring out what they can eat and how much they can eat, that tends to subside. However, any time they eat too much or eat too much of the wrong thing, it will make them sick.
Two people have ended up with complications. One ended up having to have their stomach pumped because their digestive system basically went into hibernation, food stayed in their stomach for too long, and it caused a whole bunch of problems. They were taking Ozempic.
The other person stopped taking Wegovy abruptly (insurance suddenly decided it would no longer pay and the stuff is otherwise prohibitively expensive) and ended up in the hospital due to severe intestinal pain that did not respond to any treatment. After about 4 - 6 months, they seem to be back to normal, though.