Diabetes medication might help addiction

[1yeartogo]

amp.cnn.com/cnn/2023/06/01/health/weight-loss-drugs-addictive-behaviors/index.html

I’m really interested in this. This article mentions vaping, drinking, and shopping, but other articles also mention things like compulsive gambling. I find this super interesting and hope they formalize these studies.

[krystee]

Having taken a weight loss shot for a bit, I can see this. I felt like it didn’t make me feel full as much as it quieted the part of my brain that is always wanting more (food, in my case). The intrusive thoughts about wanting to eat were just gone.

[basilosaurus]

I have questions. It's great if it reduces drinking desire for those who already need the medication, but I can't see it being a viable avenue for research. It's making an already niche market even more niche. Substance use disorder and diabetes/weight mgmt. Beyond the research, then it's a slog to get insurance to pay for it.

It was already very difficult to get vivitrol (mentioned in the article) covered for patients. That's the monthly injectable form of naltrexone. They'd cover the daily pills, but compliance goes way down. Yay for-profit healthcare. Anecdotally I saw more compliance with daily naltrexone vs Antabuse (also mentioned) as the latter could have really unpleasant side effects even without drinking.

[basilosaurus]

Jun 2, 2023 7:07:14 GMT -5 krystee said:

Having taken a weight loss shot for a bit, I can see this. I felt like it didn’t make me feel full as much as it quieted the part of my brain that is always wanting more (food, in my case). The intrusive thoughts about wanting to eat were just gone.

I've not taken it, but from reading the big thread on ml, that's where my thinking was going, that it works somehow in a desire/control way.

[EvieEthelGarland]

I have T1 diabetes and have been taking ozempic for 18 months.  I live in a wine region and wine tasting is the most common friend hang out/chill date night. Most of my girls trips are to other wine regions. My desire for any alcoholic beverage has dropped through the floor. With everyone spending more on groceries because of inflation, my year over year spending is down. I still enjoy wine, but I have maybe a glass or two a month vs a bottle a weekend. I'm actually a little sad when I think of all the great wine I have in my house but no desire to drink, but my A1C is in range for the first time since diagnosis and I'm down 40lbs so it's a good trade off. 

This could be an exciting development for addiction medicine and I hope it's looked into more. And that the cost comes down. 

[sent]

Darn, I was hoping this would be about regular old school pills that I take to regulate my A1C. Regardless, if the data shows that the iinjections can treat diabetics and addicts, I'm sure the drug manufacturers will turn up production to get the product out into the hands of more patients before the patents run out. I think that's how it works.

[suburbanzookeeper]

I started with two months of Mounjaro and then have been on compounded sema/b12 since December for PCOS/Crohn's disease control specifically in dealing with the slowing of my GI and balancing hormones with a side of weight loss.

I wasn't a big drinker before but we literally haven't touched alcohol in the house since we started. Maybe 1-2 drinks socially out a month, if that. There is a lot of discussion about in the groups related to the drug about the pleasure receptors in the brain seemingly not getting "tickled" in the same way they used to for more ways than just food/sweets.

[dancelnow]

Also on Ozempic and I can definitely see this side of it. I went on it for binge eating causing weight gain and it does curb the addictive feeling. My dose doesn’t stop it, but it at least gives me the mental time and space to try to make a better decision.

I understand the need for these medicines for diabetes management, but if there are more legitimate uses, hopefully the increased demand will lead to increased production.

[nothingcontroversial]

Jun 2, 2023 12:47:41 GMT -5 dancelnow said:

I understand the need for these medicines for diabetes management, but if there are more legitimate uses, hopefully the increased demand will lead to increased production.

This is where I am at with it.

My father is a Type 2 Diabetic and he was actually on Ozempic for his diabetes before the shortages happened. Now he has trouble getting it. My dad doesn't read a lot of internet news, so he didn't know anything about its popularity for weight management. He was perplexed as to why this drug suddenly wasn't available at his pharmacy. He asked his doctor about this.

The doctor said to my dad, "Did you lose any weight after you started taking the drug?"

My dad said, "Well, yes, I lost 20 pounds after I started taking it!"

His doctor said, "Well, that's why it's hard to get now!"


At the same time, I'm actually pre diabetic myself. I am trying to make my own lifestyle changes to try to bring my own A1C down. I have never been prescribed any of the drugs referenced in the article. However, my thought is that if these drugs are helping to prevent any pre diabetics from actually developing Type 2 Diabetes, then isn't that contributing to diabetes management in its own way?

My dad's family has a long, long history of struggling with obesity. One of my uncles kept losing and regaining significant amounts of weight. Every time that he put the weight back on, he ended up even heavier than before.  He ended up having A LOT of health problems. I really hope that these new developments in pharmaceuticals don't have long-term effects, and if so, that they are able to increase production. 

[pixy0stix]

On the flipside, ozempic can cause severe depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts.

While I think all aspects of the drug should be explored, I'm not a fan of the media for fixating on this when there is a chance that the opposite of a good outcome might happen as well.