Is ozempic approved for weight loss?

[Tuxedo]

Hey, everybody. I’ll tell you right now that I don’t have diabetes, but my body mass index is on the verge of normal. I weigh 72 kilograms at a five-foot height. High cholesterol and sugar. I can’t say that I feel too bad. But walking long distances is difficult for me. The doctor looked at my tests and prescribed ozempic for weight loss. I have been given the smallest dose so that the body is accustomed. I haven’t eaten since 6:00 and 10:00 in a few weeks, keeping the interval between dinner and breakfast. Also, I gave up pastry, but it is difficult to eliminate sweets from the diet. The doctor said that ozempic is needed just for this. The medication should significantly reduce my appetite and kill my desire to eat cakes or chocolates. For curiosity, I looked at the information about ozempic class. It is quite a powerful drug with serious side effects. And I read that this drug doesn’t seem to be officially approved for obesity. It turns out it’s only for diabetics. Is this true or not? Is ozempic approved for weight loss? Isn’t the doctor taking too radical measures to treat my condition? What do you think?

 

[Janette32]

Hi Tuxedo. Ozempic is the brand name for Semaglutide and it's made by Novo Nordisk. The same company also manufactures Semglutide under the name Wegovy (same medication, same company, slightly varying doses in their injector pens). Wegovy received FDA approval in 2021 for the treatment of weight loss.
Ozempic does not have that approval, because the company probably wants to make more money by selling the more expensive Wegovy pens to weight loss patients.
That said, most doctors prescribe Ozempic for weight loss because it is more readily available, cheaper and it is de facto the same medication by the same company.
I am getting my Ozempic prescription from a telemedicine service called QuickMD, because my primary care doctor does not have any experience with this medication and will not prescribe it to me.
Hope that helps