“There's a warning here: You take this drug and you lose a lot of weight. But you need to stay on it for the rest of your life. Are you willing to do that? And if you get off of it, the chances are really good you're going to go right back to where you were,” Heymsfield told Verywell.
If you take Wegovy or Ozempic to lose weight, will you need to keep taking the drugs indefinitely? Yes. As with many chronic conditions, most people who use the drugs for diabetes or weight loss will need to keep taking them to keep benefiting from them.
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.
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.
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.
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.
As soon as someone stops taking the drug, their body fat and former appetite tend to return. Experts recommend working with a provider versed in obesity medicine to create a plan for improved lifestyle and long-term adherence to the drug.
Semaglutide (Ozempic, Wegovy, Rybelsus) can cause side effects that some people are unable to tolerate. Following dosing guidelines can help manage these side effects. Nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea are the most common semaglutide side effects.
“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.
Since it is a weight loss drug, you should not use Ozempic if you are at a maintenance weight or underweight. Ideally, you should not take Ozempic if you do not have diabetes, or if you're pregnant, breastfeeding, or planning on becoming pregnant.
It's normal to eventually hit a point where your weight loss slows down, especially if you're not working on keeping or building up your muscle mass. Losing muscle along with fat slows your metabolism and can slow down your weight loss.
Many have reported losing substantial weight after taking the trendy drug semaglutide, which has the brand name Ozempic or Wegovy. But plastic surgeons say they're seeing a rise in patients coming in with saggy, loose skin that appears after dramatic weight loss — a phenomenon known as "Ozempic face" or "Ozempic body."
The drugs also come with a warning that they may increase the risk of thyroid cancer, acute pancreatitis, gallbladder disease, low blood sugar, kidney injury, damage to the eye's retina and suicidal thinking or behavior.
For most people, stopping Ozempic cold turkey is not recommended. When to stop Ozempic is an individual decision you should come to with the help of your healthcare provider. If your health provider agrees it's time to stop taking Ozempic, they will provide you with instructions for tapering off your dose.
Will Ozempic or Wegovy reduce belly fat? The answer appears to be yes. That Novo Nordisk-funded study of almost 2,000 overweight or obese adults without diabetes also found their visceral fat — the type that accumulates in the belly — was reduced from baseline with semaglutide, along with their total fat mass.
So, on average, with the recommended starting Ozempic dose of 0.25 mg, a 500 to 1000 calorie reduced diet, and exercise 3 times a week, you can expect to lose 3-5 pounds in the first month of treatment, which works out to about 3% of body weight for most overweight or obese individuals.
“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.
On the PBS, Ozempic costs Australians about $42 a month (four weekly injections). On a private prescription, the cost is about $132 a month.
No specific foods need to be avoided while taking Ozempic and there is no fixed Ozempic diet or meal plans — one less thing for you to worry about! For certain people, carbohydrates, sugary, high-fat, heavily processed and calorie-dense foods are off-limits when dieting.
Medicare covers Ozempic for Type 2 diabetes
Medicare prescription drug plans might cover Ozempic, but only to treat diabetes. In 2021, Medicare spent over $2.6 billion to cover Ozempic prescriptions. Because it's an outpatient prescription drug, Ozempic falls under Medicare Part D.
Many people who take Ozempic also experience weight loss, although it is not FDA-approved for this purpose. Other GLP-1 agonists that are alternatives to Ozempic include Byetta, Victoza, Tanzeum, Trulicity, and Mounjaro.