If you take Ozempic, make sure you are eating plenty of protein and do resistance training to avoid cardiac muscle damage
https://www.ualberta.ca/en/folio/2024/11/weight-loss-drug-found-to-shrink-heart-muscle.html
Studies have found that Ozempic is contributing to thinning of the heart muscle.
**Caveat…this is not a knock on Ozempic post, I realize many people benefit from Ozempic in treating their diabetes. This is a FYI post so people can stay safe while taking it if they choose to.
We know that Ozempic does not just suppress appetite or shrink fat cells. Quite the contrary, it actually reduces muscle mass. Your heart is nothing but cardiac muscle. The heart is also unique in once the muscle “dies”, it does not come back. You got what you got, and you gotta take care of what you got. (Record number of got’s level achieved 🥳)
The best ways to protect your heart if you are taking Ozempic is to eat PLENTY of protein, vitamins, and minerals. This helps avoid depletion. Also, resistance exercise. Either lifting weights or using resistance bands. Making sure your heart is being exercised ensures the muscle stays strong. You also must make sure your skeletal muscle mass is protected hence the resistance bands and weight lifting.
I was in my dermatologists office a few weeks ago and one of the women there I was working with told me every female in the office was on a compounded version of Ozempic and to get it via insurance they all ate sugar prior to taking a blood test for pre diabetes which qualified them (the office insurance manager managed this process). Taking it for weight loss is a much higher dose than for diabetes. She was telling me about how they got all their friends on it too. They were all enthralled with the weight loss and are taking no precautions to maintain muscle. They also aren’t being supervised by a doctor, they are getting a pack of shots monthly and administering themselves. I asked her about side effects and she was rattling off nausea, constipation, dizziness, headaches etc. but it was all worth seeing the scale go down and not being hungry. I asked her about changing diet and she said no, you don’t have to, you just lose weight since you don’t eat and have to be reminded to eat. This type of abuse always ends badly. Also, ironically the services they offer for weight loss like Cool Sculpting are losing revenue but they are having people come in that have sagging skin on their legs and arms and are now opting for cosmetic services like leg fillers and body laser tightening. There is going to be a lot of products geared to GLP1 use. Food lines, supplements, cosmetic products and procedures etc. It amazes me that none of these people even consider the long term harm they could be inflicting on themselves.
Dr. F, this is a brave and compassionate post. As your readers we must remember you are a physician who often writes about politically charged matters, and not the reverse. I pray for the day when Ozempic becomes irrelevant. Fifty years ago, few people were obese. This was done to us by malevolent forces. Go MAHA!!