I'm not a medical doctor or nutritionist, so I can only pose questions. These are based on my observations from clients, family, friends, and stories I've heard/read in the media. I know that not everyone is impacted the same way and results/side effects vary according to how much is used and other individual variables. My goal isn't to judge or sway - I have no way of knowing if ozempic would be good or bad for you-, it is simply to bring more nuance, information, and conversation to the topic, so that people can make a decision with true informed consent. I won't discuss the medical side effects and will instead stay in my lane of mental and emotional health.
- From a psychology perspective, will the lack of muscle (strength) impact your daily life, long-term goals, values? (Ex: Being an active parent, grandparent) You can workout to gain muscle, but how successful will that be when functioning at a calorie and nutrient deficit? Knowing that building muscle gets increasingly difficult with age, how does the significant muscle loss during ozempic use impact overall health? How will it impact quality of life? What effects does lack of muscle have on bones, joints, ligaments, skin, and organs over time?
- Ozempic partially works by decreasing the derived pleasure from eating (and drug use), so with this innately comes a decrease in ALL pleasure, resulting in a generalized anhedonia. How will this impact your overall quality of life? How can you combat the general anhedonia (lack of interest in all things that bring you pleasure)? Sure you can force yourself to engage in things that bring you joy, but will you be fully present? As a therapist, my wishes are that everyone can be fully present in every moment, finding joy as often as possible. In the mundane, the good, and the bad.
- Starving yourself puts your nervous system into a prolonged/perpetual fight, flight, freeze state. Leaving you on a short fuse, quick to anger, burn-out, etc. Also decreases cognitive functioning. What are the day-to-day repurcutions of this on your relationships? How can you manage the "hangry"? Would eating high quality healthy fats help? If that puts you in extended ketosis, what is the impact of that on your hormones, organs.
- Which facets of your life will taking ozempic improve? Notice if your answers stem from one main category (physical appearance) or if they span the board and encompass: emotions & mental health; physical health; relationships; vocation; finances. For some, it is likely that losing weight will allow them to have more confidence (improve mental health), participate more freely in certain activities, and improve their physical health. But be real with yourself about if all of that just stems from 'looking better', having a specific physical appearance, or if it is deeper. ( If the answer to how will this improve my __(relationships)__ always starts with ‘well if I look better I'll ___' that might be a sign.
- How will you know when to stop? Like all good things, there is a point at which it goes too far. Do you trust yourself to know where that line is? Is there a risk of developing an eating disorder and/or body dysmorphia?
Again, I don't know your specific situation, I don't have a dog in the fight. I just wanted to highlight some of the gaps I see in the conversation and add more to the decision tree. My hope is that each person has enough information to make truly informed, confident choices. And this admittedly is not a conclusive list but I hope that it at least opens some doors for more thorough exploration.
