Madison Burgess struggled with her weight for most of her life.
The 25-year-old was referred to her path to her goal of losing 50 pounds.
Ms Burgess, a native of Michigan, was considering steps to reduce the stomach and reduce the number of people able to eat when Ozempic and similar drugs exploded in popularity in 2023.
In March 2023, she signed up for Claya, an online weight loss treatment platform, and virtually met with the doctor who prescribed her Ozempic.
Injectable drugs are administered once every four weeks, with dosage starting at 0.25 mg and usually increase every four weeks, with a maximum of 2 mg.
Ms Burgess began with the lowest dose and saw immediate positive results. Her body’s inflammation subsided, her appetite was subdued, and she lost five pounds in her first week.
Three months later, the doctor increased the dose to 1.7 mg. This is a standard procedure when patients are well adapted and may benefit from the boost.
However, Ms. Burgess began experiencing debilitating side effects, including nausea and severe stomach pain. She was vomiting and occasionally had diarrhea and constipation.
Ms. Burgess’ goal was to lose 50 pounds with the help of Ozempic. Since launching in 2023, she has lost 60 pounds
“I realized this wasn’t okay. This isn’t the way I wanted to lose weight,” she said.
At that time, she and her doctors accepted her with no side effects when they took medication micromedication, or a starter dose of less than 0.25 mg.
Since then, Ms Burgess has lost 60 pounds.
It is not clear how many people personalized their treatment to microdoses, but for Ms Burgess it was a life-changing hack.
Dosages of Ozempic and similar drugs, including Wegovy, Mounjaro, and Zepbound, are intended to increase very slowly about every 4 weeks.
said Katie Sorensen, a nurse practitioner who specializes in GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic, who was not involved in Burgess’ treatment. parade: “Microdegeneration strategies have several attractive benefits, such as helping to reduce side effects and allowing you to customize the dose to the minimum effective dose for individual patients.”
Microdoshing regimens are not approved by the FDA. This is because we can’t say for certain that patients are enjoying the complete benefits of GLP-1 drugs shown in recent clinical trials,” Sorensen said.
If an individual experiences weight loss with small doses, it may be because it is what scientists call “superresponders.”
The term describes a particular group of people who achieve a significant weight loss when taking these medications.
Research has shown that most people need to stay in semaglutide or similar drugs indefinitely to keep their weight down, but it is not clear whether those rules apply to microdoses.
However, studies on the long-term effects of drugs are beginning to suggest that you must continue taking it regardless of the dose.
Madison has not disclosed the dosage he is currently taking, but in the two years he microdosed Ozempic, he has not experienced any adverse side effects.
Her appetite has returned, but the food noise has eased.
She said: “I am now a big advocate for microdoshing. Staying slowly and low is my motto and I think it’s better for long-term outcomes.
“It was absolutely amazing.”
Burgess began microdegeneration of Ozempic when high doses made her sick
A UK study found that those who used Wegovy experienced rapid weight loss, losing 18% of their body weight over 68 weeks. They regained two-thirds of that weight, or 12% of their original weight in the year after dropping a weekly shot.
I saw these first five pounds melt the motivated Ms Burgess to make the most of her medication. After lowering her dose, she decided not to stall her weight loss, and also made a priority to eating more fiber and protein.
She said: “I don’t think you can ride a GLP-1 drug, and it will change everything completely.
“It’s just a tool. Especially if you’re going down it in the end, you need to create sustainable, healthy habits to make progress in the long term.”
Many people who stop taking medication will regain some or all of the weight they have lost, and some people will weigh more.
A study last fall found that the majority of people who stopped taking semaglutide, the active ingredient in Ozempic, have regained about two-thirds of their weight loss, worsening health markers, including increased risk of blood pressure, cholesterol and heart disease. I knew it had done.
Approximately 12% of US adults report that they have used Ozempic or another similar medication to lose weight, while 6% indicate that they are currently using treatment.
Approximately 85% of people who recently started drugs like Ozempic stopped using them within two years, and 71% stopped within the first year. monthly.
Shots have also been shown to increase the risk of life-changing and even fatal effects.
Experts have raised concerns about common weight loss medications like Ozempic, which could potentially lead to blindness.
Research has shown that these injections cause inflammation and lead to conditions that restrict blood flow to the eye, resulting in severe and sometimes irreversible vision loss.
The drug has also been shown to cause stomach paralysis. This has been shown to be a condition in which the stomach muscles do not function properly, delayed food drainage into the small intestine, and reduced blood flow to the colon causes inflammation and inflammation. Damage to the intestinal layer.
A Dailymail.com investigation last year revealed that at least 160 people died while taking Ozempic. Although none of the deaths have been proven directly caused by injection, experts say reports indicate cases suspected to have played a role.
