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Some people are reportedly taking a novel approach to using the blockbuster weight loss drug — and a handful of doctors even say they're doing it themselves.
In an interview with USA Today, Florida-based neurosurgeon and longevity influencer Brett Osborn said he chooses to "microdose," or take small amounts, of weight loss drugs to access other health benefits like lowered blood sugar and cholesterol.
A diabetes drug by definition, the Novo Nordisk-manufactured Ozempic and its sister weight loss drug Wegovy belong to the class of medicines known as GLP-1s, which is believed to mimic the gut's feeling of fullness.
Both use the active ingredient semaglutide and come in different dosages, generally starting at a quarter-milligram or half-milligram, in pre-loaded pens.
That raises an interesting question: how exactly are people "microdosing" drugs that come as one-off injections? USA Today neither answers that question nor shares a microdosing schedule for the drugs.
While it doesn't appear that Osborn himself microdoses Ozempic for the express purpose ofweight loss, he told the newspaper that it can also help those who want to keep off the pounds they shed with the help of the drugs.
"The medications are not to be stopped," the doctor said. "You just keep the gas pressed, albeit [at] smaller amounts, and that weight loss will be maintained."
Osborn is joined in his endorsement by cosmetic dermatologist Aria Vazirnia, who said that he's seen increased interest in taking smaller doses of the drugs as they've increased in popularity.
"Often in managing weight, there's so much stigma and bias from both the clinician side and the patient side that often people's brains want to try to tell them that they can outsmart the system," the Beverly Hills-based specialist said. "They'll feel better about the fact that they're on a medication if they go to a smaller dose, and, really, what we need to get to the root of is, let's make this patient feel whole from the beginning, that there's nothing wrong with using a medication."
Strangely, neither Vazirnia nor Osborn explained exactly how this supposed microdosing works, though we reached out to both for more details.
If we had to wager a guess, though, we'd hypothesize that they're suggesting patients use compounded semaglutide, the unauthorized "generic" version of Ozempic and Wegovy that patients dose out themselves.
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