“Just walking out from my apartment to my mom’s car, I’d have to sit for 10 minutes just so I could catch my breath,” she said. She previously weighed more than 400 pounds, used an oxygen mask and slept in a recliner because she couldn’t breathe while lying flat. Jackson-Williams credits her 180-pound weight loss to a combination of taking Ozempic and working out. But it does prevent overeating because you do get sick if you eat too much,” said Alam, who works for the Defense Department in Washington, D.C. “You still have to make adjustments to your diet and exercise. To manage his prediabetes, Arnob Alam said he does a 30-minute cardio workout almost every day - an increase from two to three times a week before he started Ozempic - and has started lifting weights. But most likely, he said, the benefits “probably still outweigh the risk.” Ozempic may enable people to exercise more “Are we going to see that pop up with millions and millions of patients on these medications?” he asked. There’s also a possibility the drugs might lower bone density or raise the risk of thyroid cancer, which has been detected in animal studies involving Ozempic, Grunvald said. Eduardo Grunvald, an obesity medicine physician at UC San Diego Health, said he’s waiting on the results of trials to see if Ozempic and Wegovy reduce the risk of heart disease, as is the case with Trulicity, another weight-loss medication in the same class. But Ozempic has been on the market for less than six years, and Wegovy for two, so doctors and patients are learning in real time what it’s like to use the drugs for extended periods.ĭr. Ozempic and its sister medication, Wegovy - approved for weight loss for people who are obese or overweight with weight-related medical conditions - are considered long-term or lifelong treatments.

Jackson-Williams lost 180 pounds while taking Ozempic. I can’t sit and watch TV like I used to,” she said. Jackson-Williams said that losing weight has led her to feel more energetic and less inclined to be stationary.

Most of those interviewed said that rather than being a cure-all, Ozempic has kick-started lifestyle changes, such as enabling them to exercise in ways they couldn’t before. But his weight has dropped from about 310 pounds to 230 while taking Ozempic, he said. Matias said that because of his diabetes, he still has to be careful about eating foods high in sugar or carbohydrates.

Brain injury out of work 2 years