From intense cravings to 20-pound weight gain and endless snacking, patients have revealed the unpleasant reality of quitting Ozempic.
The successful weight-loss injection, which has been taken by millions of Americans across the country, has transformed the lives of obese people, helping them lose about five to 10 percent of their body weight in three months.
The drug, whose demand has increased by 300 percent since 2020, works by suppressing hormones involved in hunger, keeping you full longer.
But the drug – known as a GLP1 agonist – has recently come under fire for a host of reported side effects, including suicidal thoughts, intestinal injury and even weight gain from its use.
Some experts have warned that those taking the drug must continue taking it for life or risk reaching a weight higher – and more harmful – than where they started.
Now DailyMail.com has heard from several patients who told of the enormous difficulties that followed when they stopped taking the medication.
Artemis Bayandor, 41, from Illinois, says she is now about 20 pounds heavier than before she started using Wegovy. She lost 15 pounds while taking the drug for six months, but quickly regained all the weight and extra weight
Among them is 41-year-old Artemis Bayandor, from Illinois, who was initially happy to have lost 15 pounds with a six-month course of the drug in August 2021.
But just a month after coming off it, she regained all the weight she lost — and over the next few months, she piled on another 20 pounds.
Mrs. Bayandor revealed it ABC7 That she used coupons to receive the medication for $25 per month.
But six months later she was told the coupons were now invalid and she would have to pay $1,400 for her monthly dose – while insurance refused to cover it.
Ms. Bayandor, who works as a flight attendant for United Airlines, couldn’t afford the new high price and decided to go cold turkey.
Today, she weighs 246 pounds – 16 pounds more than the 230 pounds she weighed before taking Ozempic.
Ms Bayandor also revealed that her energy levels are now lower than before and her appetite has become ‘insatiable’
Ms Bayandor said her appetite had become ‘insatiable’, causing her to constantly snack and take larger portions at dinner.
Losing weight is now ‘impossible’ and she is plagued by constant lethargy.
Ms Bayandor said: ‘The food noises and so on… they came back straight away and they were louder than before and more difficult (to manage).
“It felt like (my hunger) was worse.
‘I’ve never been a snacker and an overeater, so it felt like it was even worse.
“As soon as I get off it, I realize, ‘Oh no, this little portion isn’t enough. I need more. I’m still hungry.’
Another patient with a disappointing experience is Meredith Schorr, a nurse in Arizona.
The 25-year-old gained 50 pounds during the pandemic while helping treat Covid patients in an overloaded hospital ward.
When adjustments to her diet and exercise regimen failed, she was given a prescription for semaglutide – the drug in Wegovy and Ozempic.
Ms Schorr said she lost 50 pounds in 11 months but then stopped taking the medication to try to conceive. But after five weeks off the drug, she had regained ten of the pounds she had lost.
Meredith Schorr, 25, from Arizona, said she lost 50 pounds while taking semaglutide — the drug used in both Ozempic and Wegovy — for 11 months (before and right after). She gained 10 pounds back, but said she managed to keep most of the weight off
“I didn’t realize how hungry I would become if I didn’t do it for five to six weeks,” she said GMA.
‘Initially I gained about 5 kilos, but it kind of gave me a wake-up call of: yes, I have to continue with my healthy lifestyle and all those changes.
“I refocused and made sure I was making healthy choices.”
Other patients have told DailyMail.com that since stopping the drug they have been forced to adopt a rigorous exercise routine to avoid regaining the weight.
Sam Tejada, 36, out Floridalost 60 pounds last February with two GLP1 agonists – Ozempic and Mounjaro.
Sam Tejada, 36, from Florida, lost 25kg after taking Ozempic and then Mounjaro. He gained a few pounds back after coming off the medication, but says a change in his daily life – now involving more exercise – has helped him keep the weight off.
Mr Tejada, who founded the wellness company Liquivida, told DailyMail.com that not only had he reduced his weight from 216 to 178 pounds, but he had also gained muscle mass.
However, within a month of stopping the drug, he noticed his weight starting to gain again. which he attributed to the return of his appetite.
He quickly ramped up his workout routine, hitting the gym four to five times a week, instead of his normal twice-a-week regimen.
Mr. Tejada also wanted to start the morning actively and enjoy a 20-minute walk with his dogs.
“I gained back a handful of pounds, but it wasn’t anywhere near the 60 pounds I lost,” he said.
A British study found that people taking Wegovy experienced rapid weight loss, losing 18% of their weight in 68 weeks. They regained two-thirds of that weight, or 12% of their original body weight, in the year after they stopped the weekly injections. Experts say the drug must be used for a lifetime to keep the pounds off
‘For me it was easy to avoid gaining the weight again because I changed my mindset.
‘My mindset used to be just fast-paced, going sixty miles an hour – if I’m hungry, I just grab something and eat it.
“But after the medication, it was more like, okay, don’t just let me grab something, let me think about this and think about what I need to do to make sure I’m making the right choices.
‘I haven’t had any major setbacks and am now more active than ever before. My energy level has definitely increased a lot too.’
Several studies have warned that patients taking the weight-loss drugs are at risk of regaining all the weight they have lost once treatment ends.
A study from Britain that followed 340 obese people found that patients lost 18 percent of their body weight after just over a year of taking the drug.
But after they finished treatment, they quickly regained most of the weight they lost – with their body weight only six percent lower than their starting weight.
Doctors say Ozempic does not treat the underlying cause of overeating, causing many to return to their old diet as soon as they stop taking the medication.
The drug also burns both muscle and fat, reducing the amount of calories a person’s body burns per day.
This means that patients who stop taking the drug and then return to their old diet will regain their weight more quickly – as long as this requires less energy than muscle.
Doctors warn people taking the drugs should exercise regularly to accelerate fat loss and maintain muscle mass.
They also tell people to change their eating habits so that they are easy to maintain once they come off drugs.