There seems to be no end in sight to the popularity of so-called 'skinny jabs', with the likes of Ozempic and Wegovy still proving to be all the rage. Major celebrity names, including Sharon Osbourne, Elon Musk, and Oprah Winfrey, have all admitted to using weight loss jabs at some point, but while there are plenty of supporters, there are arguably just as many critics.
The World Health Organization recently teased a massive U-turn on its recommendation of semaglutides, and while there's no denying these injections can have some impressive results, we're warned about side effects ranging from 'Ozempic breath' to a potential mental health crisis.
We were similarly told that it's possible we'll put the weight back on when we stop taking Ozempic, which has been reiterated by former user John Kane. As reported by the Irish Independent, Kane had led an active life in his '30s, but after years of entertaining with lavish lunches as part of his job, his weight had climbed to around 19 stone in his '70s.
In his own words: "I didn’t think about it too much but then someone said to me, ‘you can’t come on this walk with us. You just won’t be quick enough’. Socially, you start to lose out."
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Kane took part in a clinical trial where he was given liraglutide, a medicine similar to semaglutide. Starting with a few struggles, Kane explained: "You do have issues getting used to it, mainly things like constipation, but within a week or two I was fine."
Settling into his new liraglutide lifestyle, a few diet changes also meant he'd dropped to under 14 stone within a year: "I had been pre-diabetic, and I wasn’t anymore,” he recalls. “I even managed to do the Camino walk [in Spain].:
However, after spending €275 (about $310) a month for a year, he decided to stop taking it due to the financial burden. It was here that he noticed his appetite was worse than ever: "I had really put a lot of effort into the last two years, and was determined not to put back on the weight. But whether I liked it or not, even watching my food, the weight just started to creep back up. Half the weight I’d lost, I put back on over six months."
Discussing his situation, Kane continued: "If you come off this and you’re putting up the weight, mentally you hit the rocks. It was really affecting me. I’m not one to be depressed, but it really bit into me. At the end of the six months, my wife said, 'Jesus, go back on it'. So financially, we were like, ‘let’s just bite the bullet'."
Describing it as a 'constant lifestyle change', he concluded: "If you’re on this and it’s working, and you give up, the shit’s going to hit the fan. No one has the will to overcome the genetic stuff [condition of obesity]. They then brought out semaglutide, which was about €140 and more manageable [financially]."
According to Dr Emma Cunningham, owner of Dr Emma Clinics, most people will go one of two ways once they've hit their goal: "Some come off it cold turkey – others go on a maintenance dose, and wean off that way.
“We are sort of steadfast in our approach that you can’t be solely reliant on the drug. You need to be using this as an opportunity to address your lifestyle. Our most successful patients will have really gotten on board with healthy eating and exercise.
“For a lot of people, the weight loss allows them the time to get the mindset right, because they’re seeing the results quite quickly and they’re motivated to keep and make that change.”
As for Kane, he's been on the medication for eight years and is now on a maintenance dose of 1mg a week with no plans of stopping again.