Teresa Shepherd said she lost 90 pounds while taking an off-brand version of the drug Ozempic for around eight months. Shepherd, who lives in Florida, told " Good Morning America" she has been able to maintain her weight loss two months after stopping the medication.
Describing her experience maintaining her weight loss after stopping semaglutide, Shepherd said, "Absolutely people can get off of it and do it, and I wouldn't be scared to get off of it." Teresa Shepherd, of Florida, said she lost 90 pounds while taking a semaglutide compound for around eight months.
If you stop taking Ozempic, the weight you lost will likely return, fast. People who ceased use of semaglutide gained back, on average, a full two-thirds of the weight they had lost on the drug within one year, according to an August 2022 study, the Wall Street Journal reports.
What happens when you stop taking Ozempic? Weight loss caused by GLP-1 agonist drugs is not always permanent. In clinical trials, people who stopped taking semaglutide regained the majority of their prior weight loss within a year.
How Long Can You Stay on Ozempic (semaglutide)? A person can stay on Ozempic® so long as they are tolerating the medication and it is deemed appropriate by their treating provider. There is no specific time frame when someone should stop taking Ozempic as it is a medication that is intended for chronic (long-term) use.
Some individuals may actually gain more weight after stopping an obesity drug than they initially lost, Conde-Knape added. Studies have similarly shown weight rebound in people who stop taking Ozempic.
It's been hailed as a “miracle” weight loss drug for people living with obesity. But, as with many medications, it only works for as long as it's used. As soon as someone stops their regular course of semaglutide, their weight is likely to come right back.
You'll need to stay on the drug to keep seeing weight loss effects from Ozempic. If you stop taking it, you will most likely regain the weight you've lost.
“Some people don't have an awareness that this might have to be a medication that will be lifelong,” Dr. Alexandra Sowa, a doctor and NYU School of Medicine clinical instructor, told the Wall Street Journal. “Like any medication, when you stop taking it, it stops working,” Dr.
The full beneficial effects of Ozempic on your heart require you to take your medication on a long-term basis. Your doctor may combine Ozempic with other diabetes medication to further reduce your blood sugar levels or for added benefits.
Stop using Ozempic® and get medical help right away if you have any symptoms of a serious allergic reaction, including swelling of your face, lips, tongue, or throat; problems breathing or swallowing; severe rash or itching; fainting or feeling dizzy; or very rapid heartbeat.
An early study of 2,000 obese adults compared people using semaglutide plus a diet and exercise program with people who made the same lifestyle changes without semaglutide. After 68 weeks, half of the participants using semaglutide lost 15% of their body weight, and nearly a third lost 20%.
The FDA recommends that the dosage of semaglutide medication must be increased to its effective level of 2.4 mg during the 16 to 20 weeks of the therapy to include its weight loss benefits and other advantages and to reduce the impact of common side effects like gastrointestinal disorders.
How long does Ozempic (semaglutide) stay in your system? Ozempic® stays in your system for a little over a month when taken at the highest dose of 2 mg.
“Ozempic face” is a term for common side effects of the type 2 diabetes medication semaglutide (Ozempic). It can cause sagging and aging of facial skin. A doctor may recommend lifestyle modifications or facial fillers to treat these effects.
Why You Regain Weight After Stopping Semaglutide. The reason you're likely to regain weight after using semaglutide medication is that the drug is not a cure for metabolic factors that cause regain after weight loss. But, here's what can help…
For people who are trying to lose weight, whether or not they need to, Ozempic will flush out of your body and you'll go back to where you were, Sadhu said. There's no withdrawal and you don't need to taper off the drug, although you may feel hungry again and regain the weight.
Semaglutide improves postprandial glucose and lipid metabolism, and delays first-hour gastric emptying in subjects with obesity. Diabetes Obes Metab.
You're more likely to experience these side effects with higher doses of semaglutide. That's why your healthcare provider will raise your dose slowly over a few weeks to minimize these effects. For most people, these side effects should improve over time as your body gets used to the medication.
The starting Ozempic dosage is usually 0.25 mg once weekly. This dose isn't intended to have an effect on your blood glucose. Instead, it's meant to help your body start adjusting to digestion-related side effects.
"This medication has led to significant amounts of weight loss, but when it stops, patients have reported gaining up to two-thirds of that weight back," Sutton said, citing published research.
How much weight will I lose with Ozempic? About a third of people who take Ozempic for weight loss will lose 10% or more of their body weight. Most people should expect to lose at least 5% of their starting body weight when using Ozempic for weight loss.
Common Side Effects of Ozempic
“The most common side effects are gastrointestinal in nature: nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and constipation.” While the majority of people who take Ozempic will most likely experience these symptoms at some point during their treatment, they should subside over time, continues Dr. McGowan.