‘Ozempic Wall’: Patients Are Hitting Weight Loss Plateau

While the injections can help people lose as much as 14 pounds, experts now suggest that many users are hitting the “Ozempic wall,” with the drug’s effects wearing off after a few months. 

However, it has become a prevalent weight loss method in recent years. 

Various studies carried out on diabetic drugs suggest the active ingredient, semaglutide, can help users lose weight. 

When asked about his weight loss journey back in 2022, Elon Musk replied to a fan on X saying he was taking Wegovy (per NDTV). 

According to a report from The Daily Mail, users of the injectable drugs may start to hit the Ozempic wall after as little as six to eight weeks. 

“As lighter people burn less calories, weight will always plateau over time, as with any weight loss intervention,” he told The Daily Mail.

“The amount of calories consumed will eventually balance with less calories burned to lead to a new steady weight,” he said.

Others have put on significant weight once they stopped using the drugs.

Many saw a significant portion of the weight they had lost return. Others had an increased chance of developing type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

According to NPR, the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) has received an increase in Ozempic patients experiencing mental health issues, such as depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts.

This worrisome revelation has already led many organizations and even governments to look into why this may be happening. In the summer of 2023, the European Medicines Agency revealed it would be looking into these specific side effects.

However, other serious side effects that affect one’s body can also occur, such as inflammation of the pancreas and kidney failure.

According to the 55-year-old, he “out-ate” the drug’s effects and put on over 40 pounds while still taking Ozempic. 

While everybody differs in their Ozempic experience, as everybody has completely different bodies and health systems, experts do say that there could be a few reasons why these specific people are struggling to lose weight — even when using a weight loss drug.

Slowly, doctors will then increase the dosage for their patients. For those using the drug and not experiencing weight loss, this may be because they simply need to receive a higher dose.

Increasing dosages to the correct one that your body corresponds to could take several months. Therefore, experts stress that patience is key.

Experts have long explained that people will only lose weight if they make these changes while also using drugs like Ozempic. Therefore, you can’t expect to lose weight just by using the drug alone.

A weight loss drug can make you feel full — but it won’t get rid of these food cravings. Therefore, people can still keep on weight, and even gain weight, while using these drugs if they cannot deal with their cravings.

“Unrealistic expectations of a weight-loss cure have been driven by social media, not science or medicine, and by marketing rather than public health,” he told The Daily Mail.

This is why many experts argue that weight loss should occur in small steps over an extended period, during which time people create healthy and sustainable lifestyle choices to avoid relapse. 

In fact, Ozempic is so highly sought after that Costco is going to start selling prescriptions of the drug through its partnership with Sesame, a direct-to-consumer healthcare system and marketplace.

Last year, Costco and Sesame first teamed up to offer Costco members cheaper healthcare alternatives. Its first service was offering online health checkups to members, starting at $29.

“It wasn’t what we initially thought would make sense to offer for Costco members who were coming to Sesame,” he said. “But we realized pretty quickly, just by looking at what people were curious about, that there was a clear unmet need here.”.

Not likely. There have been unfavorable reports of Ozempic in the past — and none of them have quelled the popularity that the drug has. Therefore, allegations of an Ozempic wall may not impact the drug’s reputation at all.