Ozempic hit the market in 2017 as a drug for patients with diabetes, but now it’s being used as a quick fix for weight loss. LA Times wealth reporter Andrea Chang wrote about why, within months of being prescribed the drug, users are following up with a trip to the plastic surgeon. Chang joined host Lisa McRee on “LA Times Today.” 

Patients began using Ozempic for weight loss in 2022, and its popularity has only grown. 

“People started noticing that one of the side effects of taking the drug, which you inject into your stomach once a week, is rapid weight loss. So suddenly there was a run on the drug. All these people who were not diabetic were going to their doctors to get a prescription, running to the pharmacy, pumping it into their stomachs, and then within a few months they’re down 20, 30, 40 pounds with no change their diet or exercise,” Chang said. 

The drug suppresses users’ appetites, or causes food aversions. It can also cause gastrointestinal issues when a user does eat. One of the other side effect, Chang pointed out, is excess skin after losing weight. 

“The two main plastic surgery associations in the country started noticing in recent months they’re seeing a spike in facelifts. And they thought it might be because more people have been using Zoom during the pandemic, but it might also be because of so-called ‘Ozempic Face,’ which is the term that people have given to people who have lost so much weight that now their skin is loose, you get sunken cheeks, your wrinkles are more pronounced. That’s making a lot of people who’ve been on Ozempic... many months later, they’re now headed to the plastic surgeon to get those effects corrected,” Chang explained. 

One Ozempic user Chang spoke to is receiving injections into her face to restore volume, as well as undergoing an arm lift and a breast lift. Another user named took Ozempic as medication, but it also helped her reach a weight loss goal. 

Chang said the preponderance of Ozempic has also exposed cracks in the body positivity movement that has been popular the last few years.

“For a lot of recent years, we’d go into retail stores and you’d see plus-sized mannequins and advertisements geared towards people of all body sizes. But given how popular Ozempic and Wegovy and Mounjaro have been, I think it’s shows that behind the scenes you can say I love my body, but for most people they still want it to be thin,” she said. 

Patients who take Ozempic may need to stay on the medication forever if they want to keep the weight off. And it can cost $900 a month without insurance.

“Studies have shown if you go off it, you’ll bounce back and regain most, if not all, of the weight. It’s tough, but, at the same time, the cost has come down. The pharmaceutical companies are trying to make it even easier to take. They’re working on new versions, including pill versions, which I think will make a lot of people even more interested in it, because now you don’t have to inject yourself,” Chang concluded.

Click the arrow above to watch the full interview.

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