PSYCHIATRISTS have started prescribing Ozempic and Wegovy to offset weight gain from anti-depressants and antipsychotics – despite weight loss shots’ links to suicide

Some psychiatrists have started doling out Ozempic to offset the weight gain caused by antipsychotics and antidepressants.

A survey of 13 leading mental health facilities across the country found that nearly half recommended the diabetes drug-turned-fat-loss drug to their patients.

Some medications used to treat schizophrenia, anxiety and depression change the way the brain and hormones work together to control people’s appetite – in extreme cases, patients can gain up to 30kg.

But there are growing concerns about the side effects of Ozempic and its sister drug Wegovy, which have been linked to a small but unproven risk of suicidal thoughts.

At the same time, the enormous enthusiasm for the weight-loss injections has led to a dangerous shortage of diabetics who need them to manage their condition.

Seven of the facilities reported that their doctors were not yet ready to prescribe the injectable obesity treatments, citing uncertainties about safety and side effects, the report said. New York Times.

One of the patients prescribed it by her provider is 35-year-old Amanda Romero from North Carolina.

She took the antidepressant Lexapro before switching to Prozac and said the drugs helped quell her intrusive thoughts about the well-being of her daughter, who was undergoing cancer treatment.

But no matter how many miles she logged on her Peloton or on walks around her neighborhood, she couldn’t drop the weight she gained on the medication, which eventually totaled 75 pounds.

She said: ‘I just thought, what happened to me?’

The Wegovy she was prescribed in February for her medication-related weight gain made her so nauseous that she took a pregnancy test. Despite the discomfort, she eventually lost all the weight.

Clinical trials of Wegovy and Ozempic, both versions of semaglutide but at different doses, screened for depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts or behavior, meaning all patients with these conditions were excluded.

At the same time, Wegovy’s drug information label includes a small section that reads: ‘Suicidal behavior and ideation have been reported in clinical trials of other weight management products. Monitor patients treated with WEGOVY for emergency and worsening depression, suicidal thoughts or behavior, and/or unusual changes in mood or behavior.”

The label also instructed patients to stop taking the medication immediately if they experienced these symptoms.

Reports that the drugs increase suicidality are purely anecdotal, but the European Medicines Agency launched an investigation last summer into the link between anti-obesity drugs and suicidality after three patients in Iceland reported suicidal thoughts or thoughts of self-harm.

Dr. Ilana Cohen, a psychiatrist at Sheppard Pratt in Maryland, told the New York Times that neither she nor her colleagues will prescribe the shots to their patients because of the link discovered in Europe, adding that “these drugs really don’t work well have been studied or designed’. for this population.’

Similar reports in the US have received more attention in recent months and are piling up in the Food and Drug Administration’s adverse event reporting database.

A total of 265 reports of suicidal ideation and depression from people taking these or related medications have been received by the FDA’s Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS), and 36 of these reports describe a death by suicide or suspected suicide, according to Reuters.

The FDA carefully analyzes the reports to find a possible pattern between suicidality and the drugs, or to determine if those symptoms are caused by another factor.

Losing weight usually causes a boost in self-confidence and pride. More often than not, being physically healthy improves mental health. At the same time, it is estimated that people who are obese are also obese with a 55 percent greater risk of developing depression over the course of their lives compared to non-obese people.

Among those patients was 22-year-old Lisa Wood, also from North Carolina. She lost 30 pounds with Wegovy, but suffered from suicidal thoughts all the time.

Mrs Wood said: ‘I was driving and thought, ‘What if I just pulled the wheel on this bridge? It didn’t occur to me that it was Wegovy.’

Another patient who said the drug drove them to commit suicide was 53-year-old Ohio mother of four Dawn Heidlebaugh.

Mrs Heidlebaugh, who works in the real estate industry, revealed that she started taking the drug every Sunday and that on Tuesday she would feel lethargic, depressed and sometimes suicidal – believing her family would be better without her.

Her symptoms lasted for a few days and then returned shortly after her next injection. It was only when she skipped a dose that she stopped experiencing the disturbing symptoms.

Because she had no history of depression, Ms. Heidlebaugh said, “I knew it was the drug.”

Dr. Eric Turner, a former medical official at the FDA who reviewed psychiatric drugs, said Ms. Heidlebaugh’s experience was significant given her lack of history of mental health problems.

He said: ‘That makes it harder to explain away the suicidality. It makes every occurrence of those safety signals more credible.”

The reason behind weight gain when taking antidepressants and antipsychotics is not fully understood.

However, researchers believe it is a function of the drugs stimulate appetiteespecially sweet or fatty foods, because they change the way the brain and hormones like insulin and leptin work together to control hunger.

There is also evidence that the drugs alter the body’s metabolic processes, changing the way it stores calories and uses energy. People may also use food as a way to cope with their mental health issues, which also contributes to weight gain.

Weight gain can be a significant deterrent for people from taking their psychiatric medications, which can lead to untreated mental illness and distressing symptoms from hallucinations to mania.

There is also concern about weight regain after stopping the medications.

Many doctors hesitate to prescribe it to people who are also taking psychiatric medications because these people may be on injections for a lifetime. Or at least until the next generation of shots comes out in pill form.

The injectable drugs are wildly popular despite the high price tag – more than $1,000 per month – with more than five million prescriptions in the US alone by 2022.