Ozempic, Mounjaro and Wegovy all share five major side effects for people taking them
Three of the most popular drugs people take for weight loss all share five major side effects that some of the people taking them will experience.
Virtually no drug is without side effects and for many people taking them there'll be pretty much no problem at all, though there will always be an unlucky few who just don't have such a good time.
Professor Giles Yeo previously told LADbible that work would be done on identifying the 'non-responders' who found the drugs didn't work for them, and the 'hyper-responders' who were most likely to have a side effect.
The big three when it comes to these drugs are Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro, though there are others available and in development to cater to what has become an increasingly popular market.
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Despite it having the biggest name recognition, Ozempic is not actually a weight loss jab and you won't be prescribed it for that on the NHS, you'll only get it for diabetes.
If you get a semaglutide weight loss jab prescribed, then it'll be Wegovy instead.
What are the drugs?
Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro are all drugs which have been found to suppress a person's appetite which means they'll end up eating less and can lose weight.
Both Wegovy and Ozempic are semaglutide-based drugs developed by Novo Nordisk, while the main ingredient in Mounjaro is something called tirzepatide.
The drugs originated as a treatment type 2 diabetes, though their impact as an appetite suppressant has resulted in them gaining significantly more popularity.
The NHS can prescribe you Wegovy or Mounjaro for weight loss, while they won't do that for Ozempic despite the brand name being so closely associated with weight loss drugs.
People can also buy the drugs without a prescription, and Dr Yeo previously told LADbible that about 95 percent of people taking the drugs for weight loss were 'getting it privately' rather than through a prescription.
What impact do they have?
These drugs are injected into the body and mimic a naturally occurring hormone which boosts insulin secretion, hence why they're used for treating diabetes, but they also send a signal to the brain that you're full and it's time to stop eating.
Studies have indicated that people taking Wegovy, the semaglutide drug Novo Nordisk developed specifically for weight loss, resulted in an average weight loss of 14.9 percent of the patient's body weight over 68 weeks when taking the drug alongside making lifestyle changes.
People on Ozempic had an average weight loss of around seven percent, which makes sense since it's not designed to be a weight loss drug unlike Wegovy.
Meanwhile, over the course of 72 weeks people on Mounjaro were able to lose up to 22.5 percent of their body weight.
Of course, losing this much weight can come with some problems as well, since despite their well documented positive effects they're not a wonder cure for weight.
Dr Yeo pointed out that losing this much weight this quickly meant you'd be losing muscle mass as well as fat, which leads to some dramatic changes in physical appearance.
What's happened to celebrities on the drugs?
Several famous faces have used the drugs and had varying degrees of success with them.
It's likely that the celebrities who have enjoyed the best experience with jabs have kept fairly schtum on using them and are hoping that you'll think they've just been hitting the gym a bit more lately.
Jeremy Clarkson explained that he'd not had the best of times on Ozempic, having been 'sick a lot' and put on weight in his six months of taking the drug, and had since switched to Mounjaro to give that a try.
James Corden also tried Ozempic and didn't have the experience he was hoping for, explaining that losing your appetite doesn't matter when 'nothing about my eating has anything to do with being hungry'.
Amy Schumer said she'd been left 'bed-ridden' by Ozempic but had a better experience with Mounjaro, while Sharon Osbourne said she'd been taking Ozempic and it had done the job she hoped for.
What are the five common side effects?
If you're taking these drugs then the chances are you won't get side effects and will have a pretty good experience with them, but there will always be some people who are 'hyper-responders' and will feel the impact a bit more.
The five most common side effects you're likely to experience with Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro are:
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Diarrhea
- Constipation
- Abdominal pain
There are a number of other side effects you might get, but they're much rarer than these main five and as such you're far less likely to get them.
Both Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly, the company behind Mounjaro, have said their top priority is 'patient safety' and recommended that people experiencing side effects to contact their healthcare provider.
Novo Nordisk said: "Patient safety is of the utmost importance to Novo Nordisk. Wegovy (semaglutide injection) and Ozempic (semaglutide injection) are prescription only medicines.
"Treatment decisions should be made together with a healthcare provider who can evaluate the appropriateness of using a GLP-1 based on assessment of a patient’s individual medical profile.
"Our GLP-1 products have a long history of use in treating type 2 diabetes (over 19 years) and obesity (almost 10 years), supported by robust clinical data. The known risks and benefits of semaglutide medicines are described in the SmPC and we continuously collect safety data on our marketed GLP-1 medicines and work closely with the authorities to ensure patient safety.
"As part of this work, we continue to monitor reports of adverse drug reactions through routine pharmacovigilance. Nausea, diarrhoea and vomiting were most frequently reported during dose escalation, most were mild to moderate in severity, of short duration, and resolved without permanent treatment discontinuation.
"We recommend that any patients experiencing side effects while taking GLP receptor agonists including Wegovy or Ozempic report them to their healthcare provider and via the MHRA Yellow Card scheme: https://yellowcard.mhra.gov.uk/."
LADbible has contacted Mounjaro maker Eli Lilly for comment.
Joe Harker