'Ozempic weight loss' TikTok craze, diabetes drug harder to get
MILWAUKEE - A popular social media trend promises help with weight loss, but the recent craze involving the use of the prescription drug Ozempic off-label is making it harder to get for those who need it.
On TikTok, the hashtags "Ozempic" and "Ozempic weight loss" reveal videos with millions of views.
Ozempic is FDA-approved to treat diabetes, but videos show people using it for weight loss, too.
People are asking about it at Hayat Pharmacy in Milwaukee.
"We get questions about it every single day," said Hashim Zaibak, CEO and founder of Hayat Pharmacy. "We get phone calls. A lot of times, pharmacists are the easiest, the most accessible, the front door of health care for a lot of people."
Social media has opened the door for prescription drug window shopping.
"Since all these TikToks have been very viral, of course, the national demand for these medications has gone up," said Zaibak.
Zaibak said Ozempic is in a class of medications that help lower blood sugar for people with diabetes.
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"But one of the side effects – or side, maybe, benefits – is that it makes the person lose weight," said Zaibak.
Though he said the exact way it works for weight loss is unknown, the medication is thought to slow down digestion and make people feel more full.
Zaibak said other drugs in this class, called GLP1 receptor agonists, are FDA-approved to be prescribed for weight loss for people with high enough BMIs but not Ozempic. Doctors can still prescribe Ozempic for weight loss off-label.
That high demand is contributing to a manufacturing shortage.
"They probably didn’t expect the demand to be this high," said Zaibak. "See how this one here is in manufacturer back order? There’s zero of this one."
"If you’re a patient with diabetes, and you need that medication to control your blood sugar, then you have a competition now with people who are using it for weight loss," said Zaibak.
While medications like Ozempic are trending, Zaibak said other options never go out of style.
"Talk to the doctor," said Zaibak. "Talk to the pharmacist. The exercise, watching what you eat, those are the first steps before taking the medication."
Ozempic can have side effects, commonly nausea, vomiting and rarely, pancreatitis and kidney problems, which are more serious.
The shortage is expected to last through the end of 2022.