Weight problems sufferers made to really feel like ‘second-class residents’ as demand for Ozempic soars

People battling persistent weight problems are going through stigmatisation as they attempt to receive the much-vaunted drug Ozempic amid shortages in Ireland and elsewhere, in accordance with docs.

The medicine, a weekly injection initially designed to deal with sort 2 diabetes, has been touted by celebrities and social media influencers as a “miracle drug” for weight reduction.

Ozempic, and its sister drug Wegovy, are model names for the energetic ingredient semaglutide, which mimics a hormone launched after consuming, and induces a sense of fullness.

Users eat much less meals, and drop extra pounds. But the surge in demand, partially brought on by superstar endorsements and numerous enthusiastic TikTok movies, has led to constricted provides.

“Unfortunately stigma is not new in the area of obesity, most of my patients are used to it,” says Dr Conor Woods, a guide endocrinologist, who has prescribed Ozempic to “hundreds” of weight problems sufferers.

He says that pharmacies are having to prioritise diabetes sufferers for entry to the scant shares of Ozempic. “I am getting feedback from obesity patients both struggling to access the drug, and feeling a little bit second-class citizen in the pharmacy trying to get reasons why they can’t get the drug.”

Sheila Swift is aware of that feeling all too nicely. The weight problems affected person from Tallaght in Dublin has shed six stone in weight since beginning to take Ozempic in September 2022.

But as the celebrity of the drug elevated, she has discovered it more durable and more durable to acquire. Sheila needed to journey to Northern Ireland for her final batch, which she present in Newry. She presently has yet one more dose remaining, and is unsure the place, if in any respect, she’ll get her subsequent month’s prescription.

“I don’t know if I’m going to get it,” Sheila tells Sky News. “I’ve one week left on the injection that I have and then that’s it. I’m now on the hunt, driving around Ireland like somebody who’s looking for illegal drugs to try and find a pharmacy who might be sympathetic, who might give me my next month’s supply.”

During her seek for Ozempic final month, Sheila was at her fourth pharmacy when, she says, she overheard the pharmacist say to a colleague “we’ve none in stock, but it wouldn’t matter, it’s only for diabetes patients”.

“She hadn’t asked if I was diabetic,” Sheila says. “She just looked at me, and said ‘no you’re overweight, so you’re not getting this drug’.”

Dr Woods says that Ozempic has “worked for the majority of my obesity patients”, and Sheila says it has been a game-changer for her well being.

“I feel amazing,” she tells us. “I’m happier in myself. I’m physically able to do more, I can run up and down the stairs rather than taking one step at a time. Ailments I had with my knees have fallen away. I feel amazing.”

In some methods, the drug has been a sufferer of that success. There are a whole lot of tens of millions of views of movies posted underneath the #ozempic hashtag, and celebrities like Twitter boss Elon Musk have credited the medicine with dramatic weight reduction.

Former prime minister Boris Johnson has described taking Ozempic to cease his late-night “cheddar and chorizo” fridge raids. “So for weeks I jabbed my stomach, and for weeks it worked’, he wrote in his Daily Mail column. “Effortlessly, I pushed apart the puddings and the second helpings. I will need to have been shedding 4 or 5 kilos every week – perhaps extra.”

Mr Johnson eventually stopped taking the drug due to side-effects (which can commonly include nausea, diarrhoea and vomiting), but that hasn’t stopped the huge surge in demand for Ozempic.

Its manufacturer, Danish company Novo Nordisk, says that it expects shortages to continue for the rest of the year. “We are working arduous to resolve these challenges,” the company said in a statement, adding that it has “considerably elevated manufacturing capability”, with its factories running on a 24/7 basis.

It added that Ozempic is “licensed by the European Medicines Agency for the remedy of sort 2 diabetes. Novo Nordisk doesn’t promote or immediate any off label use of its merchandise”, which refers to its use as an anti-obesity medicine.

Pharmacists in Ireland say supplies are distributed on a monthly allocation basis. “Pharmacists do not know,” says Kathy Maher, who runs a pharmacy in Duleek, Co Meath. “It’s virtually like Christmas morning on the primary of the month, after I see what comes within the deliveries from my wholesalers.”

Read extra:
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Controversial diet drug takes over the internet despite health warnings
Wegovy weight loss jab to launch at UK pharmacies

Kathy says most days she’ll obtain telephone calls from sufferers searching for Ozempic from as much as 100km away. “They’re ready to journey. It’s actually difficult, actually upsetting for individuals if they cannot get the drug they should deal with their situation.”

It can often be galling for diabetes and obesity patients struggling to access the medication to see influencers and celebrities bragging of its benefits.

Sheila says: “I’ve seen a variety of TikTokkers and Instagram individuals saying they’re taking this drug. So I assumed they’re simply telling their weight-loss story, however I by no means realised there have been as many celebrities taking it.

“When you look at the celebrities, who can have chefs at home cooking for them at home, who have personal trainers, they have more time, they have more finances available… they don’t need to be on a drug like this. And it’s not a fast drug, it’s very slow going.

“I do not know why for those who’re not extraordinarily chubby you’d put your self by way of it.”