Cheri Ferguson has switched over to an Olympic pen from a vape pen.
Seven weeks ago, Ferguson recalls, “I thought, ‘You’re doing something about your weight; leave your vape at home,'” he said. Since then, she adds, she hasn’t picked it back up.
Ferguson is one of many users of Ozempic and comparable weight-loss medications who claim to have experienced a change in their interest in addictive behaviors like smoking and drinking.
Ferguson, a lifelong smoker, started Ozempic 11 weeks ago to shed the 50 pounds she had acquired as a result of the Covid-19 epidemic, which had caused her to become prediabetic.
In an effort to stop smoking, she resorted to vaping last summer, but she soon discovered that it was much more addicted. She said that after beginning Ozempic, that altered. Ferguson described the feeling as being like “someone just came along and turned the light on, and you can see the room for what it is.” “And all of these cigarettes and vapes you’ve smoked throughout the years don’t look good anymore. It’s very bizarre. It’s quite bizarre.
The impression, according to Ferguson, was similar to “someone just came along and turned the light on, and you can see the room for what it is.” “Additionally, you no longer like the way that all of those cigarettes and vapes that you’ve smoked throughout the years appear. It’s really strange. It’s very strange.
To learn more about semaglutide’s long-term impact on hunger, Tronieri is conducting a clinical investigation. Semaglutide is the generic name for Ozempic, which is approved for treating diabetes, and Wegovy, which is approved for helping people lose weight. She has conducted several lifestyle change experiments, but never had subjects express this level of sentiment towards drinking.
On the other hand, when it comes to semaglutide, “people sort of describe, You know what, I’m just not really interested in it anymore. She said, “I don’t feel like drinking.
When they inquire as to whether the medicine may be to blame, she responds, “There is some reason to believe that could be one of the effects, but there is not enough evidence to say so with certainty.”
This problem is being researched at the National Institutes of Health by Dr. Lorenzo Leggio. He just released a study with a group of scientists demonstrating how semaglutide decreases rats’ alcohol consumption.
Because they have an impact on the brain as well as the stomach, medications like semaglutide, which belong to the GLP-1 analogue class, may affect interest in substances like alcohol, according to Leggio.
“We believe that at least one of the mechanisms of how these drugs reduce alcohol drinking is by reducing the rewarding effects of alcohol, such as those related to a neurotransmitter in our brain, which is dopamine,” the man stated. Therefore, these drugs could make drinking alcohol less enjoyable.
Leggio said his team is researching if semaglutide affects fentanyl use disorder in order to determine whether their effects go beyond those of drinking and smoking. People using Ozempic have claimed that it has assisted them in stopping compulsive behaviors like nail-biting and online shopping.
The brain systems that control addictive behaviors often “have a great deal of overlap,” according to Leggio. Therefore, it’s likely that drugs like semaglutide may aid those struggling with a range of addictive behaviors by working on this particular brain process.
He stated that further studies, particularly those involving humans, are required to demonstrate the effectiveness of semaglutide and comparable drugs.
But not many are actually in progress. One set is being conducted at the University of North Carolina and examines the impact of semaglutide on cigarette and alcohol usage.
Christian Hendershot, an associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry and the Bowles Centre for Alcohol Studies at UNC Chapel Hill, who is in charge of the trials, stated in an email to CNN, “We don’t yet have the clinical data necessary to draw conclusions.” “It does seem very evident from the responses to people asking about our studies, especially from a number of medical providers, that many patients are getting some pretty important side effects from taking these medications.
“To see this extent of anecdotal clinical data emerging prior to any human work being published,” he continued, “is a relatively unprecedented situation.”
The manufacturers of Ozempic, Wegovy, and Mounjaro, Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly, respectively, stated that they are not actively researching the potential for addiction with these medications.
“They have their hands full with obesity and related metabolic disease,” said Evan Seigerman, a pharmaceutical industry analyst who tracks the businesses for financial company BMO Capital Markets.
Despite a significant demand, the market for addiction medications, particularly those for alcohol use disorder, hasn’t been very lucrative for pharmaceutical businesses. According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, more than 29 million Americans had an alcohol use problem in 2021; yet, data by financial company TD Cowen indicated that less than 5% of these individuals received medication therapy.
When they first hit the market, pharmaceuticals like Vivitrol weren’t widely used because doctors might not have been experienced with using medication to treat alcoholism, according to Cowen.
Another medication is Antabuse, a tablet that makes individuals feel awful if they consume alcohol while taking it. According to Cowen’s study, compliance is a challenge since people may simply stop taking the medication if they want to drink.
Leggio stated that the absence of pharmaceutical company-sponsored studies for addiction therapies is a significant issue for the profession, adding that he was unhappy but not shocked to learn that they weren’t researching GLP-1 medicines for addiction.
However, tests will be required to demonstrate that the events recounted by Ferguson and many others are genuine side effects of the medications.
Ferguson said that since beginning Ozempic, she had shed 38 pounds. She claimed that the drug’s ability to calm her frequent thoughts about food, vaping, or booze is more significant to her.
