DR MAX PEMBERTON: I took Ozempic to control my appetite and discovered it had another incredible side effect: alcohol completely lost its appeal

There’s no doubt that new weight loss medications like Wegovy are revolutionizing our treatment of obesity. After years of failing to tackle the obesity epidemic, medicine has finally offered patients something that appears effective.

More drugs are on the way to compete with Wegovy – which contain semaglutide, the same active ingredient found in the type 2 diabetes drug Ozempic – and Mounjaro is already available at some pharmacies.

However, this is not the only thing these medications can potentially help with. There is growing evidence that the group of drugs to which Wegovy and Ozempic belong, called GLP-1 agonists, can also help people with other things, such as reducing their alcohol consumption.

I have even experienced firsthand the effect Wegovy has on people’s desire to drink alcohol as I have taken it. Let me explain why I, as someone who has never been overweight, ended up using it.

A few years ago I fell on cobblestones and broke my foot. It was a complicated fracture and after five operations and specialist physiotherapy I still had pain when walking.

My surgeon suggested I try growth hormone injections and I found a doctor who prescribed them. Within weeks the pain was gone and I was able to walk without limping for the first time in two years.

But at a price. I developed an insatiable appetite. After a meal I still felt hungry and could eat loaves of bread – yes, plural – as a snack.

The doctor thought this side effect would probably improve with time, but in the meantime he could give me an injection to curb my hunger. It was semaglutide, the active ingredient in Wegovy. I used it at a low dose for about eight weeks and it worked wonderfully.

But then I noticed something very strange. Not only does the drug stop you feeling hungry (in fact, you feel quite full even if you’ve eaten very little), it also makes chocolate, cake, and other treats seem, well, less of a treat . They just lose their appeal.

And it wasn’t just food, it was alcohol too. I don’t drink much, but even a glass of wine with dinner would go completely untouched. It simply had no appeal. It’s hard to describe, but that little feeling of happiness when you take a sip of alcohol was not there. It was like drinking water.

Since then, several overweight friends have used Wegovy and reported the same thing happening. People who have enjoyed a drink before can suddenly take it or leave it.

And it’s not just alcohol. One patient, who occasionally used cocaine, noted that she found herself not wanting to touch it at all. And a patient who had problems with gambling told me that taking Wegovy seemed to have cured him.

Now I must emphasize that these are anecdotal reports and that Wegovy is not licensed for use in the treatment of addiction or dependence. However, this effect has certainly made doctors interested that these drugs may have a role beyond weight management.

In a series of case studies published in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry in November 2023, patients who had an alcohol problem and were prescribed Ozempic (licensed for diabetes) or Wegovy (the same drug but for weight loss) reported an occasional reduction of their alcohol consumption.

This was so striking that the patients’ drinking had changed during follow-up to such an extent that they were no longer classified as having an alcohol problem.

So how can something that helps you lose weight also make you want to avoid alcohol? It’s a question that has intrigued doctors and scientists.

We know that these drugs not only curb hunger, but also work on the brain’s reward pathways. This is why foods like cake and chocolate, which stimulate these pathways, may lose their appeal for people taking one of these medications.

But these reward pathways are also involved in many other things, including those related to addiction and compulsive behaviors like gambling.

GLP-1 drugs reduce the release of dopamine – a key chemical in reward pathways – thereby reducing the buzz people get from previously ‘rewarding’ behaviors, such as excessive drinking. I have great expectations for these drugs.

But for now, they are incredibly useful for those who have trouble controlling their food intake and are overweight or obese – especially, I think, those who use food as a ‘reward’.

I think such medications hold the key to helping people finally gain weight and improve their relationship with food.

I’m so passionate about this that last week I launched a start-up offering this drug as part of an online weight management program. Patients can complete an online consultation and if they qualify for the program, Wegovy will send them directly to their door.

Setting up this business has been a true labor of love. There are (rightly) many rules surrounding prescribing via the internet and we wanted to make sure we fully comply with these. There have been a lot of hoops to jump through.

But I think it has been worth it, because if we can help people improve their relationship with food, their physical and mental health will improve too.

Many people really struggle to lose weight just through dieting and exercise, but until now we’ve had little else to suggest.

Now we finally have something to offer that can make a difference.

Getslimmr.nl

The King is said to be finding peace among the 5,000 ‘healing yew trees’ on his Norfolk estate following his cancer diagnosis. Connecting with nature has been shown to help people feel clearer and less anxious, promote relaxation, and give them something to focus on outside of their diagnosis and treatment.

We’re not all ADHD like Sheridan

Sheridan Smith, 42, has revealed she has just discovered she has ADHD. She joins a long list of celebrities who have also been diagnosed. She has said that it “helped to understand a lot of things” in her life.

I’m happy for Sheridan, but concerned that an epidemic of overdiagnosis of the condition is looming. We rush to pathologize every little quirk, to medicalize problems and struggles.

In recent years, the criteria for diagnosing many mental health problems, including ADHD, have broadened. It means that more and more people are developing the condition.

Labeling can have a dramatic effect on how people see themselves and the efforts they make to change their behavior. Too often, a diagnosis means that people feel they no longer need to take responsibility for their actions: labeling them in this way removes the incentive to work to change their lives.

Six in 10 people think social media has had a negative effect on British children, a survey has found. The burning question is: have the other four in ten gone crazy?

Looking at the horrific cases of bullying, harassment, grooming and tragic suicides thanks to social media, it seems impossible not to conclude that these platforms that fuel hate and body-shaming are having a negative effect on children. That is why I support the campaign to ban smartphones for young people under the age of 16.

There will be pushback from social media companies that make obscene amounts of money getting young people to click and like, but it’s telling that so many tech entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley are turning away their own children’s smartphones. They are not willing to take risks with their own children. Just other people’s.

Dr. Max writes for…

Can a touch of vapor rub help cure depression? Scientists put forward the theory after a study on the role of scents in treating a bad mood. Researchers asked people to sniff aromas, such as cinnamon, coffee, lavender and vapor rub, and think of an associated memory. This helped people access positive memories and stop negative thoughts.