Comment by willio58 | Hacker News Reader

Comment by willio58 | Hacker News Reader

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While I 100% agree that GLP-1 antagonists won’t lead most to making actual changes to their behaviors with food outside of forcing them to not over-eat when actively taking the drug, I am not so sure about your hot take here.

A woman I know has been on this stuff for a couple years now and while she has plateaued for about 6 months, her current weight is now in a healthier spot.

It’s crazy what losing some weight can do to people’s mental health too. Like her home is more organized, she’s more active with walking (doesn’t hurt anymore), she just overall describes not fearing food anymore.

And now for the bad news, her insurance no longer covers it. It’s kind of insane but apparently this stuff has a black market, like she buys it from one of her coworkers like it’s some sort of street drug.

In summary I think we need more time to see but from what I’ve heard this does seem to be a long-term solution similar to insulin shots if you had to compare to something existing.

I agree that obesity can be a chronic condition for many people, especially when combined with societal pressures causing mental harm.

> And now for the bad news, her insurance no longer covers it.

This is one of the reasons why I think these GLP-1 drugs are going to be classified by insurance as a temporary tool to help people improve their health. Rather than a long term medical necessity like insulin.

> I think we need more time to see

I agree with this statement, we definitely need more time. We don't fully understand the long term effects of GLP-1 in large populations.

I'm in the camp of, if its possible to use GLP-1 as a ramp to building sustainable habits and then wean off the drug, then as many people as possible should be weaned off.

There is also a nexus with the reward system of the brain in general, and semaglutide definitely seems to have effects similar to ADHD medication in these respects. It also seems to help alcoholism for the same reasons - it helps reduce the underlying dysregulation in the reward system that keeps people in that loop.

Probably this will be the next patent-ever greening strategy pursued after the weight loss thing.

It’s an absolutely wild drug in medical terms. “The white whale” is an understatement here. It literally is a white whale for multiple whole fields of medical science.

Speaking of the effect in the brain, a rare but real side effect in many people is anxiety to the point where they have to discontinue the med. I wonder why.

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