• stoly@lemmy.world
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    7 months ago

    It’s a diabetes drug and weight loss is just a fun side effect. I don’t know about any shortage though.

    • PolarisFx@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      7 months ago

      Not in the US, but production is limited and there have been pretty bad shortages in Canada and Australia. They had to put an export ban on Ozempic because so much of it was being sold to Americans, in Canada we pay $160US, while the same box sells for $970US in the states.

      Im a diabetic, and earlier in the year we had a hard time getting it due to all the off label use.

    • Sarmyth@lemmy.world
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      7 months ago

      Sounds like it’s functioning as a means of reducing the development of type 2 diabetes. Mission failed successfully?

      • stoly@lemmy.world
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        7 months ago

        I am reminded of Fen-Phen, which was big in the late 90s.

        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fenfluramine/phentermine

        Everyone and their mother got on it and lost tons of weight. Then suddenly it came out that, shockingly, drugs have side effects and some can hurt your heart. Suddenly there’s a flurry of lawsuits and a perfectly good drug is removed from the market because the public abused it.

        • Sarmyth@lemmy.world
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          7 months ago

          This could be just like that. If it is more harmful than it is already known to be, then the widespread adoption should highlight that faster.

          If there are supply issues, as others have mentioned, widespread adoption and profitability will hopefully cause an increase in production.

          It would have to be pretty bad for you to be worse than the detrimental health effects of being 300lbs+

          • stoly@lemmy.world
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            7 months ago

            That’s where I was on the whole fen-phen thing. I recall speaking to a couple doctors (in casual conversation) who thought that the lawsuits were stupid and that it was, indeed, good for the morbidly obese to have options like this. Me, personally, I believe that a bunch of lawyers got dollar signs in their eyes and decided to go after the big bucks.

            I guess the FDA can be persuaded with enough pressure.