Unlike many people who did not find anti-obesity drugs Ozempic and wegovyDanielle Griffin had no problem getting them.
The 38-year-old information technology worker, who lives in New MexicoI had a recipe. His pharmacy had the medications. And his health insurance covered all but $25 to $50 of the monthly cost.
For Griffin, The hardest part of using the new medications was not the access. It was discovering that the highly promoted medications didn’t really work for her.
“I’ve been using Wegovy for a year and a half and I’ve only lost 13 pounds,” said Griffin, who watches his diet, drinks plenty of water and exercises regularly.
“I have done everything right without success. It’s discouraging.”.
In clinical trials, most participants who took Wegovy or Mounjaro to treat obesity lost an average of 15% to 22% of their body weightup to 50 pounds or more in many cases. But about 10% to 15% of patients in those trials were “nonresponders” who lost less than 5% of their body weight.
Now that millions of people have used the drugs, several obesity experts told The Associated Press that perhaps 20% of patients may not respond well to the drugs.
It’s a little-known consequence of the rise of obesity drugs, according to doctors who warn anxious patients not to expect universal results. “It’s about explaining that different people have different answers.”said Dr. Fatima Cody Stanford, an obesity expert at Massachusetts General Hospital.
The medications are known as GLP-1 receptor agonists because they mimic a hormone in the body known as glucagon-like peptide 1.
Genetics, hormones and variability in how the brain regulates energy can influence weight and a person’s response to medications.Stanford said.
Medical conditions such as sleep apnea can impede weight loss, as can certain common medications, such as antidepressants, steroids, and birth control.
“This is a disease that comes from the brain,” Stanford said. “The dysfunction may not be the same” from one patient to another.
Despite such precautions, patients often feel upset when they begin receiving weekly injections but the numbers on the scale barely budge.
“It can be devastating,” said Dr. Katherine Saunders, an obesity expert at Weill Cornell Medicine and co-founder of the obesity treatment company FlyteHealth.
“With expectations this high, there is a lot of room for disappointment.”.
That was the case for Griffin, who has battled obesity since childhood and hoped to lose 70 pounds using wegovy. The medication helped reduce his appetite and lowered his risk of diabetes, but he saw little change in weight.
“It’s an emotional roller coaster,” he said. “You want it to work like it does for everyone else.”
Medications are usually prescribed along with changes in eating behavior and lifestyle.
It’s usually clear within a few weeks whether someone will respond to the medications, said Dr. Jody Dushay, an endocrinology specialist at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.
Weight loss usually begins immediately and continues as the dosage increases. For some patients, that just doesn’t happen.
For others, Side effects such as nausea, vomiting and diarrhea force them to stop the medications, Dushay said.
In such situations, patients who were counting on the new weight loss medications may think they are out of options.
“I tell you, it’s not the end,” Dushay said. Trying a different version of the new class of medications may help.
Griffin, who did not respond well to Wegovy, has started using Zepboundwhich attacks an additional hormonal pathway in the body.
After three months of using the medication, he has lost 7 pounds. “I hope it’s slow but steady,” he said.
Other people respond well to older medications, experts said.
Changing your diet, exercise, sleep, and stress habits can also have profound effects. Finding out what works usually requires a doctor trained in treating obesity, Saunders said.
“Obesity is such a complex disease that it really needs to be treated very comprehensively,” he said. “If what we are prescribing doesn’t work, we always have a backup plan.”