For what I know its sales are only limited by how much they can produce. Figuratively everybody everywhere wants Ozempic but the supply is limited and the prices are too high (could be even higher though - people would still buy).
I think a big problem is that pharmacists have to be sure they can _continue_ giving it to a new patient.
If they’re waiting for Wegovy because it’s covered by insurance, unfortunately the pen is fixed dose on those.
Also, the supply constraint seems to be the injector pens, not the drug itself. Personally, I think the scarcity is intentional, or we'd be getting this stuff in vials and using regular syringes. Unless I'm misinformed, I don't think there's any bottleneck in the manufacture of semaglutide itself.
Almost certainly the case. I get semaglutide in a monthly vial for $250/month (off insurance). They provide regular syringes & wipes, but also recommend you order some spare in case any of the needles break (they are super thin). I know someone else getting Wegovy on insurance, and it's all pre-drawn injectors.
> The starter doses are hard to find. The larger doses are not.
My friend's experience was the opposite. When she moved to the higher doses, CVS was often unable to get it in, and she's had to ask her provider put in orders for the lower doses a few times because that was what they could get. I don't know specifically what does she's on though (I swear she said 7.5 once, which is close to the 8 you mention).
They ship you some vials and a syringe. The name brand Ozempic just comes in autoinjector form like an epipen.
You do need to research though (dropping two articles below). Orderly uses Hallandale pharmacy out of Florida., in fact a lot of the online clinics do. As an example, several clinics (such as Henry Meds) was selling "sodium semaglutide" (aka salt semaglutide) ordered through Hallandale that didn't really work for lots of people and there's lots of mix reviews based around that - not everyone was aware of what version they were getting. Also - not everyone is going to properly measure their dosage, which is why the pre-filled injectors the Novo brand provides is important.
FDA Article: https://www.fda.gov/drugs/postmarket-drug-safety-information... NPR Article: https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2024/06/07/g-...
You can't order from the pharmacy directly, you need to go through a clinic to get a prescription and have it ordered, but this is the price the clinics pay, before they add their services on top of it.
https://partner.hallandalerx.com/pricing/2024-glp-1-pricing-...
Ah that's unfortunate. I guess I shouldn't have concluded my experience was true everywhere. My insurance (PPO from a tech co) doesn't cover Wegovy even with approval (my PPO from a prior tech co did), so my doctor suggested that since I'm going out of pocket and I'm not at the max dose, going with the Ozempic 8mg pens but dialing less than the max would let me stretch it out further. If she's on Wegovy and paying out of pocket, you might pass along this info regarding Ozempic. This assumes she's not at the max dose, though. If she is, it's not cheaper.
I am a 44 year old who has already had a heart attack (prevalence of Lp(a), not directly lifestyle related), but I am 30ish pounds overweight. My GP and my cardiologist both want me on Wegovy, but my insurance won't cover it. Fortunately, I'm spared from paying $1,000/mo by not being able to find it even if I wanted to.
There is no shortgage of semaglutide but there is a shortage of the delivery method. IIRC most of the hit drugs like viagra or ADHD medicine had a high chance of being just meth when bought from a pharmacy in Mexico.
28 pills Tadalafil (Cialis) = $30
https://www.farmaciasguadalajara.com/tadalafil-5-mg-28-table...
Amphetamine is hard to find in stock legally in Mexico and I've never seen shops claiming to sell that kind of pharmaceutical illegally. Meth pills? Sounds like a myth.
Every year Americans go to the border expecting Mexico to have a crazy free for all market for illegal pharmaceuticals and they are always left disappointed. What Mexico is good for are cheap over the counter versions of drugs that are annoying to get in the US like birth control (and dick pills) for no good reason.
Disagree, there have been a number of reports of the popular tourist drugs not being pure. In the case of Xanax/Adderall type drugs, they have found Fent/Meth in them. There are a few studies/reports like this over recent history. If the cartel is wanting to control avocados, why not create counterfeit drugs that are not pure?
There are definitely many pharmacies that advertise these types of drugs with a handy doctor to write a Rx if its needed.
I keep trying to get into one of the Cleveland Clinic trials for the drugs that rewrite your liver's instructions to prevent it from making Lp(a), but I haven't had much success with timing so far. If I do get into one of those trials, I want to get a tattoo with a "Genetically Modified Organism" logo :-D
I'm in great shape right now, in the middle of my healthy BMI range, would there be any benefit in using it for me ?
Not that I would, just curious.
https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/30/health/liraglutide-alzheimers...
> A small clinical trial suggests that drugs like Ozempic could potentially be used not just for diabetes and weight loss but to protect the brain, slowing the rate at which people with Alzheimer’s disease lose their ability to think clearly, remember things and perform daily activities. The results need to be borne out in larger trials, which are already underway, before the medicines could receive approval for the disease.
Note: I'm not a doctor, just someone who has been prescribed a similar medication.
If you don't need to fundamentally change your relationship with food, I don't see why you'd want to take it.
You are hinting that if only Novo Nordisk invested more in their production facilities, they could see much larger profits than their already astronomical ones they are seeing today.
Except that if Eli Lilly manages to scale up before them, and everyone can buy tirzepatide instead of semaglutide, then Novo Nordisk's customer base could dry up overnight.
Because there are very good, fairly obvious reasons to prefer Ozempic over an amphetamine for weight loss.
I am really not the type to seek a “weight loss drug” so I don’t know the state of mind of those who do (big fan of the Maintenance Phase podcast!), it just seems to me if people want focus and weight loss at the same time they might want to consider it.
I see some “it’s an amphetamine” like that means it’s obviously bad. But I guess we all know that “glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists” are totally fine, sure. I think I would posit that amphetamines are more well understood, but I’m no expert.
Certainly I could have realized it would lead to weight loss, I just never really thought of it that way. I can’t be the only one, and I am simply surprised it’s not a part of the broader conversation.
adderall also has some extermely intolerable side effects for a lot of people
This doesn't have to happen. Many people (including me) happily stay on the same dose for years.
Most common fix is take magnesium supplements (threonate is best, oxide worst), but in general Adderall/Vyvanse effects are unusually sensitive to your diet.
People have used amphetamines and other stimulants for weight loss pretty much forever. The reason responsible medical professionals don't prescribe them for such (anymore) is because the risk/reward profile is bad. That doesn't mean it's bad if you need the stimulant -- that changes at least the reward side of the risk/reward tradeoff, so it's totally reasonable to come to a different determination.
The addiction potential for most amphetamines is through the roof and the side effect profiles are fairly intense and mostly negative for a lot of people.
Yes, we do know that amphetamines are bad for weight loss and we know that GLP-1is are good for weight loss. This isn't because amphetamine bad, GLP-1i good, but because we've done clinical trials and determined this to be true.
Here's the thing... Unless you (err, uhm) need an amphetamine, they really have nasty side effects and can lead to serious health problems.
IE, in the 1960s and 1970s they were used for weight loss, and they were pulled from the market for good reason. You can go do the digging needed to find out why, but the cliff notes reason is that amphetamines increase risk of heart attack, and for many people cause amphetamine psychosis when used for extended periods of time.
You'll both love this Joe Rogan Guest:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUsJIcqwARk
>>Norman Ohler is an author and screenwriter whose books include "Blitzed: Drugs in Nazi Germany," "The Bohemians: The Lovers Who Led Germany's Resistance Against the Nazis," and "Tripped: Nazi Germany, The CIA and the Dawn of the Psychedelic Age."
He talks a lot about the history of the making of and marketing and use of meth from its discovery and used by nazis, military, cia, etc...
Its fantasic.
You will also get these effects with caffeine and cocaine.
> The pharmaceutical company Rexar reformulated their popular weight loss drug Obetrol following its mandatory withdrawal from the market in 1973
> In 1994, Richwood Pharmaceuticals acquired Rexar and began promoting Obetrol as a treatment for ADHD
It's worth reading https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obetrol to understand why it isn't promoted for weight loss. In general, amphetamines are easily abused and can lead to long term health problems.