Would Taiwan pharmacies sell the pills or need something from doctor?
Maybe a woman’s slimming shop?
What are prices without NHI?
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Very interesting.
The obesity medications help overcome a biological mechanism that kicks in when people diet, triggering a coordinated effort by the body to prevent weight loss.
“That is a real physical phenomenon,” Aronne said. “There are a number of hormones that respond to reduced calorie intake.”
Ozempic and Wegovy are two versions of semaglutide. That drug mimics a key gut hormone, known as GLP-1, that is activated after people eat, boosting the release of insulin and slowing release of sugar from the liver. It delays digestion and reduces appetite, making people feel full longer.
And there are always drawbacks.
Though the drugs appear safe, they can cause side effects, some serious. Most common reactions include diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, constipation and stomach pain. Some users have developed pancreatitis or inflammation of the pancreas, others have had gallbladder problems. Mounjaro’s product description warns that it could cause thyroid tumors, including cancer.
There are other downsides: Versions of semaglutide have been on the market for several years, but the long-term effects of taking drugs that override human metabolism are not yet clear. Early evidence suggests that when people stop taking the medications, they gain the weight back.
Plus, the medications are expensive — and in recent months, hard to get because of intermittent shortages. Wegovy is priced at about $1,300 a month. Mounjaro used for diabetes starts at about $1,000 per month.
I think this is huge. As big as Viagra years ago.
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Already boosted Denmark’s GDP and made Novo Nordisk Europe’s largest public company .
it should have great health benefits and reduce rates of diabetes hopefully.
Of course pharma companies love it…1 pill everyday for rest of your life if you can avoid the side effects.
THESE GLP1 mediators will have more and more options soon so cost should come down substantially.
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Please don’t take these for weight loss.
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It’s bizarre, and depressing, to observe the lengths that some people will go to in order to avoid just eating proper food and doing some exercise.
But yeah, pharma companies are going to have a field day with this, and it wouldn’t surprise me if TPTB start up a nudge campaign to promote these drugs. Dieticians are going to love them because they will - it seems - allow people to go on “calorie restriction” diets without experiencing the usual disastrous outcomes (creeping obesity and eating disorders). I wonder what disastrous outcomes they’ll have instead of the traditional ones.
Yeah. Not eating because you feel full but actually your body needs food cuz that’s how it sustains itself = fast track to malnourishment and plenty of other health problems
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metaformin already works well for this. Ever since I started taking them I’ve had less hunger pangs. Used to be I felt like I had to constantly eat, was hungry ALL THE TIME even if I ate a lot. Only thing that would have fixed it was an all you can eat buffet.
It lowers blood sugar by decreasing insulin resistance. However it also causes me to have the run damn near all the time if I don’t take imodium. It’s taken my A1C level pretty much down to the normal range though.
They tend to work extremely well though. 15% to 20% weight loss in a year. In fact these GLP1 drugs could have a very beneficial impact on human health and also health budgets as obesity is the cause of so many serious diseases.
What’s better for many, being thinner with lower risk of just about any serious disease or trying the usually fruitless diet advice that many have tried and failed to follow. It’s kind of a no brainer for many fat people. Not seen a lot about the side effects but of course for some people will not be appropriate.
How much is Ozempic in Taiwan?
Here’s a related Reddit discussion:
https://www.reddit.com/r/taiwan/comments/11rxflv/does_anyone_know_if_ozempic_semaglutide_is/
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I strongly suggest no-one takes these as over-the-counter items. The side-effects have the potential for very serious issues in the long-term and so if you are taking them you need some blood-work monitoring - which means having a friendly doctor getting you tested and looking at the results.
Looks like in Taiwan ~$9000/month/2 pens/weekly injections/get from doctor or weight loss clinic/not covered under NHI unless prescribed for diabetes/frequently sold out.
1/3 the price of USA.
I’m alright as I’ve been able to stick to my goal weight of 86 kilos or less. But I know someone who really should consider something drastic like this.
Because it’s literally against the law in the us for the government to make deals with pharmaceutical companies to get them cheaper, so they charge whatever they want.
Nhi makes the negotiation, so it ends up cheaper even if the nhi doesn’t cover it.
I checked with the doctor about how to get NHI to pay for Ozempic for you, and he said your A1C would need to be above 10 for at least a year despite treatment (meaning you are taking a normal dose of metaformin).
So if your type 2 diabetes is that bad, NHI will pay it, otherwise you have to pay for it yourself which isn’t that cheap… as NHI won’t pay for off label uses.
I should mention metaformin does suppress appetite enough that it should keep your weight under control. I think it has an off label use as a weight loss med as well. The problem is, if you have IBS, metaformin will aggravate it (and I have no idea if Ozempic will as well).
Seem like insurance companies could spend less by springing for a gym membership and personal trainer to coach strength training for a few months. Takes care of the blood glucose and bone mineral density at the same time.
It might help to just quote texts from social media, or at least a screen shot. Having to click through several nested profiles is annoying (and in some cases, gives the computer AIDS).
But NHI should help pay for a gym membership…
It might not always deal with obesity (you can’t outrun a bad diet), but it would help with health consequences of obesity.