It’s like an episode of Black Mirror. There’s a drug that helps people with a life-threatening illness survive—but it’s been co-opted by other communities because there’s another beneficial side effect, one that’s intertwined with vanity.
For Greg [who lives in Missouri and asked to remain anonymous for the story], this isn’t fiction. “I’m on Ozempic for type 2 diabetes,” he shares with Vogue. But since semaglutides (the class of drugs that include weekly injections Ozempic and Wegovy and daily tablet Rybelsus fall into) were discovered to have an off-label side effect of extreme weight loss through appetite suppression, nausea, and mimicking feelings of fullness, the drug is hard to get your hands on—even for those who are prescribed it for a disease. “Attempting to get it can be quite complicated, it’s like going on a scavenger hunt to find your own medicine.”
Other people on Reddit (both with and without diabetes) have shared their struggles filling the prescription, too. “I’ve been on Ozempic since March and had to stop about six weeks ago,” a New York-based account who is “about ten to 15 pounds from my goal weight” shares. “I live in New York City and have called pharmacies in New York and New Jersey and they all say there’s a nationwide shortage.” Somebody else added “I called 32 pharmacies this morning in a 100 mile radius and not one of them had it in stock.”
Neil Paulvin, a New York-based longevity and regenerative medicine doctor, confirms that he frequently has to counsel patients who aren’t able to get the drug. “There are no withdrawal symptoms [if you’re unable to fill your Ozempic prescription], but weight gain and increased appetite can often be seen,” he says. “Each patient will react differently after going off the medication but there are no proven side effects.”
The shortage has now become a global issue, with the governments of countries like Australia and Canada warning their citizens to expect delays. The FDA cautions there’s also counterfeit Ozempic that’s popping up on the market as well. Back at home, the FDA’s Drug Shortage Database confirms there are shortages for semaglutides due to “increased demand for the drug.”
Parent company Novo, which makes three different varieties of semaglutides , announced in November of last year that it is reorganizing its production lines to prioritize keeping up with the Ozempic demand.
“The majority of America is concerned about their body image,” Paulvin says. “People want to use these medications to lose weight because it will make them thinner, and in turn, ‘healthier.’”
Greg needs the drug to actually be healthier. “I’m currently the 1 mg dose [of Ozempic] because I can’t get the 2mg dose consistently,” he says. “As a diabetic, it does infuriate me to know that there is a shortage of medicine that highly benefits me and that there are people who are using it [for weight loss] have different options [when it comes to losing weight]. But I also know that losing weight is hard, so I try to give them the benefit of the doubt.”
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