We talked to the Spaniards who have tried the Russian mountain of Ozempic

After the media explosion of the so -called “medicines for diabetes that lose weight”, we have spoken with three people who carry approximately One year using semaglutida, the active substance of Ozempic and Wegovy (The brand launched by the Ozempic manufacturer for the general public), in order to know your real experience beyond noise.

From 160 to 105 kilos: “It has been a change of life”

Pilar, Alicantina, 65, began her treatment with Ozempic over a year by medical prescription. “I have a fairly considerable weight, I reached 160 kilos during the pandemic. My knees hurt, I went to the doctor and the endocrine advised me to try with Ozempic“He explains.

The result was overwhelming: 55 kilos less in a year. “I lost a lot of weight, I had some times dizziness and that, but nothing out of the ordinary,” he says. After a year of treatment, Pilar left it and recovered 20 kilos, until reaching the current 125.

Recently he tried to resume the treatment, but he has encountered two problems: on the one hand, “he has not sat as well as the first time”; On the other, “Ozempic is very scarce, the pharmacy does not give it to you.” Then we will go with the matter of shortages.

Pilar points out that the drug radically changed its relationship with food: “When you take Ozempic you don’t have that anxiety you have when you don’t take it. It takes away the desire to eat sweets especially and processed products.”

Jorge, 38 -year -old Andalusian, has been using Wegovy for months (the specific version for the weight control of the semaglutida) by private route. With a height of 1.79 cm, its initial weight was 95 kilos. It is currently at 85.7.

“I started taking it because due to an injury I won in a period of three or four months about 12 kilos,” he explains. “To play sports again and be in a physical state similar to the one before the injury, the first thing I had to do was lose all that weight.”

Unlike Pilar, who received his medicine for social security, Jorge agreed to him through a private specialist: “He made me analysis to verify that everything was in order, and we started with a dose of 0.25 mg, the pen of 0.25”. Its monthly cost is around 180-190 euros.

The side effects soon appeared: “I started noticing in the first food intake. I click the dose at 8 in the morning and already at noon food I noticed that it was hard for me to eat.” Jorge describes a constant feeling of satiety and even some rejection of food: “Meals with a lot of fat, with a lot of sugar, sauces, heavy carbohydrates … They were meals that did not feel well.”

Clara, 36 years old and resident in Madrid, began using Ozempic thirteen months after several failed attempts with traditional diets. “I tried everything: oto, intermittent fastingcounting calories … I lost 3 or 4 kilos at most and then recovered them with interest, “he says.

Starting from 87 kilos, he has managed to go down to 69. “The first month was a bit hard for the nausea, but then I got used to And now I barely have side effects, just some occasional constipation, “he explains.

Unlike Jorge and Pilar, Clara obtained the medicine by an alternative route. “A diabetic relative gave me a pen to try and then I got the recipe through a doctor friend,” he admits. “I know it’s not right, but I was desperate.”

For her, The most shocking thing has been the change in their eating habits: “It is as if someone had turned off a switch in my brain. I no longer constantly think of food, or obsess myself with chocolate or fried potatoes.”

The expert’s voice: beyond the “insulin that thinns”

The Dr. Alicia Taboadasubspecialized family doctor in cardiovascular risk and endocrinological diseases, clarifies: “Ozempic is not an insulin, as many people think. It is a LPG-1 (peptide similar to type 1 glucagon) that in principle was for the treatment of diabetes, but it was discovered that it had an effect on weight without affecting glucose levels.”

As explained, these medications “They act delaying gastric emptying, which has a feeling of satietyalready cerebral level they take away that need to eat. “However, he warns:” This drug will help you lower weight, but if you do not change habits you will have rebound effect, because very few people can afford to be putting this drug all your life. “

The doctor has noticed an increase in consultations related to these medications: “has increased a lot. Many people want that ‘insulina’ that makes you lose weight. That is why Ozempic has ended in the market and diabetics have been affected. “

Side effects and relationship with food

The three interviewees agree that they experienced side effects, especially at the beginning of treatment. “I had a little anguish, dizziness, a vomit once and headache,” says Pilar. “I went to the doctor, he told me it was normal.”

Jorge describes a feeling of “rejection of food” and “discomfort if I exceeded me a little, like empacho.” Clara adds: “I got 24 hours without hunger, the body simply asked me.”

The relationship with food changes radically. “It takes away your desire to eat sweets and processed products,” explains Pilar. Jorge coincides: “The main effect is that it takes away your cravings, the typical craving of six in the afternoon of something sweet.”

The three interviewees agree on The importance of combining exercise with exercise and food changes. “Totally,” says Pilar. “The endocrine tells you: if you get Ozempic and you don’t make a diet and don’t walk, it’s not the miracle.”

Jorge has maintained an intense regime of exercise: “I have continued and resumed high intensity sport with six weekly training”, which has accelerated its weight loss: “The loss has been brutal, practically 9 and a half kilos in three and a half months.”

Asked about whether I would recommend the treatment, Pilar does not doubt: “I would advise him because I did very well and lost a lot of kilos. But everyone has to know.”

Jorge is more cautious: “I would tell you to consider your goal very well. If your goal is to lose 5 kilos, maybe you can lose them in a few months with exercise and balanced diet. “But he acknowledges:” If you have tried many types of diets and methods and none works, because it is aware that it has side effects. “

A common concern is what will happen when abandoning the medication. Pilar experienced it in the first person: after leaving it, he recovered about 30 kilos.

Jorge, who plans to leave it in a few months, is already preparing: “My future I see it having to mentalize that these cravings will probably come back. I have to be prepared to minimize the rebound effect“

Dr. Taboada is clear: “Ozempic is like a gastric ball. If they put a gastric ball, of course, do not eat. But the day they take it away, you eat again. With ozempic it is the same: you click something that takes away your hunger, but when you leave it, you will gain weight again If you have not changed habits. “

Shortages and beyond the “miracle”

The popularity of these drugs has caused supply problems that mainly affect diabetic patients for those who were originally developed.

“There is a lack of supply,” confirms Dr. Taboada. “That is why Ozempic had to restrict it only to diabetic patients.” Pilar has suffered it in his own meats: “The pharmacy does not give it to you. Then we are there in that fight.”

Dr. Taboada insists that, Although effective to lose weight, these medications are not a magical solution: “If you do not change the way of eating, you continue fating. Normally these people who have obesity are a genetic thing, it has a tendency to gain weight all your life.”

The message is clear: Semaglutida can be a useful tool, but it must be part of a broader approach. “These drugs are phenomenal to help that patient learn to make changes in their eating way,” concludes the doctor, “but I never do a prescription without tracking a patient who commits and we are changing habits.”

All the names of the interviewees for this report except that of the doctor have been modified to her request to preserve their anonymity. None wanted to facilitate photos of your physique to avoid being recognized.

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