Author: Gary Jackson

Are the New Weight Loss Drugs Too Good to Be True?

Orlistat is available in pill form as a prescription medicine (Xenical) and as a reduced-strength, nonprescription medicine (Alli). It works by preventing your body’s absorption of dietary fats, thus reducing the total amount of calories your body retains. Phentermine works by affecting the central nervous system, leading to appetite suppression and, consequently, weight loss.

1. They may make you feel less hungry by keeping any food you eat in your GI tract for longer.
2. But it’s sometimes used off-label for weight loss since it’s the same drug as Wegovy.
3. In another study, people who took the drug liraglutide (sold under the brand names Saxenda and Victoza) lost more weight (about 17 pounds) than those on orlistat (about 7 pounds) over seven months.
4. Naltrexone-bupropion may be a good option for people who want to lose weight and quit smoking.
5. While some of them are only approved as treatments for type 2 diabetes, all of them can make people lose weight.

Mounjaro vs. Ozempic

While some of them are only approved as treatments for type 2 diabetes, all of them can make people lose weight. Talk to your doctor about whether they recommend you try an injectable weight loss drug along with diet and exercise to improve your health. Similarly to semaglutide, liraglutide is also a GLP-1 agonist medication that helps to control blood sugar levels. Liraglutide was originally approved by the FDA to treat type 2 diabetes. In 2014, it was approved to treat obesity under the brand name Saxenda. Liraglutide, along with semaglutide, are considered first-line treatments for obesity, especially in people with type 2 diabetes.

Mounjaro works similarly, but it acts like two hormones instead of one. Moreover, certain drugs may exacerbate existing health problems or pose risks for those with specific conditions. People with high blood pressure should exercise caution when considering the use of weight-loss drugs. This is because certain weight-loss drugs have the potential to increase blood pressure and lead to heart problems. Zepbound (terzepatide) is an injectable weight-loss medication for adults with obesity.

Side Effects of Orlistat

But you also may have lots of questions including whether they really work and how. You might also wonder how these medications – including Mounjaro, Ozempic, Wegovy, and Zepbound – compare to each other and why you might choose one over another. Some are oral medications (taken by mouth) while others are self-administered once-a-week injections. Taking these drugs for a year can mean a loss of total body weight of 3% to 12% more than that lost with lifestyle changes alone.

Appointments at Mayo Clinic

They haven’t been studied in people who’ve had pancreatitis in the past. Some weight-loss drugs influence eating habits by reducing appetite or altering taste perceptions. While this may aid in weight loss, it’s crucial to monitor any changes in nutritional intake and ensure that you are still receiving essential nutrients. In the pursuit of weight loss, some individuals turn to medications to aid their efforts. While certain drugs can support weight loss, it’s crucial to understand how they work, the potential side effects, and the overall health implications. At the maximum dose in initial clinical studies, 70% of adult participants who took Qysmia lost at least 5% of their body weight in one year.

Which drugs are good for weight loss?

It never hurts to explore what can be possible, and it’s never too late to start feeling good. If you haven’t lost at least 5% of your body weight after taking the full dose of a drug for 3 to 6 months, your health care provider will probably change your treatment. How long you take a weight-loss drug depends on whether the drug helps you lose weight. If you’ve lost enough weight to improve your health and you haven’t had serious side effects, your health care provider may suggest that you take the drug long term.

In rare cases, people have had serious liver injury while taking orlistat. Zepbound is a dual-acting glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist. If prescribed Imcivree, your dose may depend on your kidney health. It’s important to rotate the area where you inject Imcivree to prevent injection site reactions or scarring on the skin. Qysmia is categorized as a Schedule IV controlled substance because it contains phentermine.

Medical Professionals

But losing 5% to 10% of your total weight and keeping it off can have important health benefits. For example, it can lower blood pressure, blood sugar levels and levels of fats in the blood called triglycerides. That only adds to the frustration of people struggling with their weight — of whom there are many. Most are available by prescription only and none are meant to replace a healthy diet and exercise plan. But for people who have been unable to control their weight through other means, these medications offer hope for a healthier life. The medications have inspired a lot of hope but also intense debate.

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Even if those initiatives fail, the cost of the blockbuster weight loss medications is expected to come down in the future. Several contenders are already in development, as pharmaceutical companies race to find better drugs for weight loss. For example, AstraZeneca recently spent $2 billion to license an experimental pill that might have fewer side effects than the injectable treatments. One of the most widely prescribed drugs of its kind, metformin is yet another medication approved by the FDA for the treatment of type-2 diabetes. However, the drug is also often prescribed off-label to moderate weight loss. Like other drugs on this list, metformin is thought to help regulate appetite.

People who took bupropion reported greater energy and suppressed appetite, leading to the happy side effect of weight loss, which research confirmed. Not every weight-loss treatment is right for every person or every kind of weight-loss issue. Costs and dosages will vary depending on individual medical and insurance factors. It’s always important to talk with your doctor about weight-loss goals and medical history to determine which treatment is right — and safe — for you. These drugs are generally considered safe, but they do have possible side effects.

Research has shown that, when combined with a healthy diet and exercise regimen, orlistat can yield anywhere from 3 to 5 percent weight loss over the course of a few months. MCT oil is, well, oily, and as such may be hard on some digestive systems. Gas, bloating, cramps, and diarrhea are all common side effects. And it is still a form of fat, which means that taking too much can cause weight gain and raise overall fat and cholesterol levels. They may make you feel less hungry by keeping any food you eat in your GI tract for longer. This makes it take longer for you to feel hungry again after a meal, so it’s easier to eat less.