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.
“GLP-1 medications [like Ozempic] are designed to be taken long-term,” explains Dr. McGowan. “They are chronic medications for the treatment of chronic conditions (both diabetes and obesity).”
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.
You start feeling those usual hunger pangs again, and consequently, you may start eating more to satisfy that hunger. An increase in your consumption can lead to the regaining of weight that was lost. A 2022 study found that most individuals gain weight back a year after stopping the medication.
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.
Studies have shown that semaglutide injections like Ozempic are good for weight loss but experts warn once people stop taking the drugs, they regain most of the lost weight.
Stopping Ozempic
Meanwhile, these are “not medications that our body becomes addicted to, there are no significant withdrawals and no significant major rebound effects,” emphasized Dr. Warriner. In her patients with diabetes, Warriner has also observed a return of increased appetite over time.
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.
The most common side effect with Ozempic is nausea and occurs in about 15% to 20% of people. Others include vomiting (5% to 9%), diarrhea (8%), stomach-area pain (6% to 7%), and constipation (3% to 7%).
"Chronic abdominal pain and unpredictable digestive symptoms such as nausea, diarrhea, fullness or constipation can take a significant toll on your mood and energy levels," Laurie A. Keefer, an academic health psychologist and the Director for Psychobehavioral Research within the Division of Gastroenterology at Mount ...
You may need a higher dosage of Ozempic
(With time, these side effects lessen or go away as your body gets used to Ozempic.) The same holds true for Ozempic's weight loss results. People taking higher doses of Ozempic tend to lose more weight.
If Ozempic wasn't mainstream before, it definitely is now – Jimmy Kimmel joking about A-listers using the drug during the 2023 Oscars proved as much. Elon Musk and Amy Schumer have admitted to taking the weight-loss drug while other celebrities, such as Khloé Kardashian and RHOBH star Kyle Richards, have denied it.
For people with type 2 diabetes who take Ozempic to manage their blood sugar, halting treatment may cause blood sugar to rebound to around pre-medication levels, says Beverly Tchang, MD, an endocrinologist and an assistant professor at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York City.
Ozempic is also used off-label for weight loss. In particular, it can help reduce the amount of belly fat. This is because Ozempic works by making you feel fuller for longer, which can help you resist overeating by controlling cravings and hunger.
Ozempic can cause nausea and vomiting if taken after eating foods high in fat or sugar. It is recommended that you take Ozempic before meals, rather than after, to minimise any potential side effects from eating high-fat or high-sugar foods.
Still, Ozempic and other GLP-1 medications will be most effective for weight loss and blood sugar control when combined with a healthy diet and regular exercise. Generally, eating healthy foods and avoiding foods high in sugar, calories, and unhealthy fats while taking Ozempic helps.
It is a once-weekly injection using a prefilled Ozempic pen. If you take too much Ozempic, you could develop severe hypoglycemia (low blood sugar).
In rare cases, the use of Ozempic may cause anxiety and mood swings, irritability, shakiness, and confusion. However, when you take other medications along with Ozempic, it may escalate anxiety or mood change. Hence, discuss these potential issues with your physician beforehand to avoid any side effects.
(No member of the Kardashian family has publically said they use Ozempic.) Ozempic is the brand name for the medication semaglutide, which treats diabetes by balancing out hormones like insulin.
It's used to lower blood glucose (sugar) levels in adults with Type 2 diabetes. The starting dose of Ozempic is 0.25 mg injected once weekly for 4 weeks. Then, your dose is moved up to 0.5 mg once weekly.
Patients trying to lose weight with either drug should work with a dietitian for a guided meal plan, but in general, they should aim to eat 1,200 to 1,800 calories a day depending on their initial weight, Rubin says.