Semaglutide weight loss side effects and precautions

Ms. Chen is a teacher in her 30s. She has been out of shape since giving birth and her weight has increased significantly. Although she has tried to adjust through diet and exercise, she has always been unable to persist due to work and family reasons. , which caused her to give up on herself a little bit. Not long ago, Ms. Chen heard from a friend that there was a "weight-loss injection" called semaglutide. It only needed to be injected once a week. It had few side effects and could reduce weight quickly, so she purchased it through online shopping. Some.

Just after the second injection, Ms. Chen felt that her appetite had obviously worsened. She felt full every time she ate not much, and she was less likely to feel hungry. After using it for 2 weeks, she measured her weight and found that she had lost about 5 pounds. This still made her very happy. Although she usually had some dizziness, palpitation and other discomforts, she didn't take it to heart. However, after Ms. Chen injected semaglutide for the third time, she developed obvious stomach discomfort, accompanied by severe nausea and vomiting. At the same time, due to eating too little, Ms. Chen often experienced symptoms of palpitation and cold sweats. Finally, she fainted during a lecture and was rushed to the hospital by her colleagues. The doctor diagnosed her as a hypoglycemic reaction and promptly replenished glucose. Ms. Chen's symptoms were quickly relieved.

After asking the doctor, I learned that Ms. Chen was injecting semaglutide injections, and all of Ms. Chen's current discomforts were caused by this kind of compression. Ms. Chen was very surprised. Didn't it say that this drug has no side effects? Why does it have such a big reaction on myself? The doctor explained to Ms. Chen that semaglutide is not actually a weight-loss drug. It is a second-line drug for the treatment of diabetes. Although it has the effect of suppressing appetite, it is not currently approved for use in the treatment of obesity in our country. It is only used to treat obesity. It is over-packaged as a "miracle weight loss drug", and although this drug is easy to use, it also has many side effects. Improper use can easily induce a series of adverse reactions such as nausea, vomiting, and hypoglycemia. Therefore, the doctor advised Ms. Chen not to inject semaglutide anymore. This method of losing weight solely by relying on drugs is very unhealthy and not suitable for Ms. Chen. Finally, Ms. Chen followed the doctor’s advice.

1. What is semaglutide? Why is it used to treat obesity?
Obesity is one of the most serious health problems currently. Statistics show that the proportion of obese people under the age of 60 in the world has reached 300 million, and the data is still increasing. Excessive obesity can easily put a burden on multiple organs in the body such as the heart, lungs, and liver, and is an independent cause of diseases such as hypertension, coronary heart disease, hyperlipidemia, and diabetes. Therefore, using effective means to lose weight has become an important factor for many people. human needs.

With the increasing demand for weight loss, many drugs are also packaged as "miracle weight loss drugs", and semaglutide is one of them. Especially because of its ease of use and obvious weight loss effect, it is also known as the "miracle weight loss shot". ”, but is that really the case? Not really.

Semaglutide is a new long-acting glucagon-like peptide-1 analog agonist. It is essentially a prescription hypoglycemic drug that reduces glucagon secretion by stimulating insulin secretion and reducing glucagon secretion. Blood sugar is mainly used to treat patients with type 2 diabetes, especially for adults with type 2 diabetes associated with cardiovascular disease. Clinical studies have shown that it can effectively lower blood sugar levels and reduce the occurrence of cardiovascular diseases such as coronary heart disease and myocardial infarction. Risks, so why can it be used to lose weight? This is because in addition to its hypoglycemic effect, semaglutide also has the following three effects.

1. Suppress appetite and reduce food intake

Many clinical studies have found that diabetic patients after regular injections of semaglutide will suffer from varying degrees of appetite loss, and pharmacological studies have shown that because glucagon-like peptide-1 receptors are widely distributed in the central nervous system, through injection of semaglutide Meglutide can effectively activate the glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor in the central nervous system, thereby reducing the signal transduction of food intake, making patients lose appetite and less likely to feel hungry.

2. Inhibit gastrointestinal motility and produce a feeling of fullness

Intestinal cells also contain a large number of glucagon-like peptide-1 receptors, and pharmacological studies have shown that semaglutide can activate the vagus nerve by activating glucagon-like peptide-1 receptors in intestinal cells. Increased nerve excitability causes the intestines to send signals to the brain to reduce food intake, and can reduce gastrointestinal motility, which will increase the patient's feeling of fullness and reduce food intake.

3. Reduce fat deposition

Pharmacological studies have shown that injection of semaglutide can regulate the storage effect of peripheral adipocytes on lipids. It can activate sympathetic nerves, thereby stimulating brown adipose tissue thermogenesis and adipocyte browning, thereby reducing adipocytes' storage of lipids. The storage effect, thereby indirectly producing the effect of weight loss.

2. What are the adverse reactions of semaglutide injection?
Many obese patients are overly dependent on drugs because they cannot adhere to exercise, diet and other methods to lose weight. Many unscrupulous manufacturers take advantage of this mentality to guarantee semaglutide as a "miracle weight loss drug" with no side effects. However, In fact, this is not the case. As a long-acting glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist, semaglutide is associated with many adverse reactions, among which the following four reactions are the most common.

1. Gastrointestinal reactions

Because the intestine also contains a large number of glucagon-like peptide-1 receptors, gastrointestinal reactions caused by semaglutide are very common. A clinical study of more than 4,000 people showed that after injection of semaglutide, Adverse reactions such as nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and diarrhea occur in up to 20% of the population. Although most patients have mild reactions that can be relieved after symptomatic treatment, a small number of patients will suffer from severe nausea and vomiting or severe diarrhea, resulting in fluid loss and Electrolyte imbalance can lead to arrhythmia, shock and other adverse reactions, so it is not suitable for all diabetic patients.

2. Hypoglycemic reaction

Hypoglycemic reaction is an adverse reaction that may be caused by all anti-diabetic drugs. Patients will experience symptoms such as palpitation, chest tightness, cold sweats, and general weakness. If not corrected in time, it may even lead to serious adverse reactions such as shock and loss of consciousness, especially when the drug is taken. Semaglutide is most commonly used in combination with other anti-diabetic drugs, and since semaglutide itself has an appetite-suppressing effect and a sense of satiety, it will cause patients to actively reduce eating, so there is a chance of hypoglycemic reactions after injection. Also higher.

3. Heartbeat speeds up and load increases

Some patients experience an increase in basal heart rate after using semaglutide, which can lead to an increase in cardiac output. This adverse reaction has little impact on people with normal heart function, but it can be detrimental to people with chronic heart failure or congestion. Use with caution in patients with heart failure.

4. Risk of inducing thyroid malignant tumors

Animal experiments show that after injection of semaglutide in mice, it will cause a dose-dependent and treatment duration-dependent increase in the incidence of thyroid cell tumors. There are also clinical reports of the use of semaglutide. Cases of worsening of thyroid tumors have been reported, so semaglutide is contraindicated in patients with past medullary thyroid cancer or other thyroid malignancies.

3. Can Semaglutide diagnosis help you lose weight? Which obese people is it useful for?
First of all, it needs to be stated that semaglutide is not currently approved for the treatment of obesity in my country. This means that in China, semaglutide can only be used as a hypoglycemic drug and cannot be used to treat any form of obesity.

In June 2021, the U.S. FDA approved semaglutide for the treatment of adult patients with a body mass index greater than or equal to 30, but it is only suitable for the following two conditions.

1. Patients with diabetes and obesity

Adults with type 2 diabetes and a body mass index greater than or equal to 30 are the main target group of semaglutide, which takes advantage of its dual effects of lowering blood sugar and lowering body weight, thereby achieving dual control of weight and blood sugar, but It should be reminded that this weight loss effect is limited, and nearly 50% of patients will regain weight again after 1 year. Therefore, simply using semaglutide for weight loss is unhealthy.

2. Type 2 diabetes patients with high body fat percentage

Clinical studies have shown that semaglutide has an obvious effect on obese patients with high body fat percentage, but it has no obvious effect on obese patients who are not very heavy or have a body mass index of less than 27. This may be due to the effect of semaglutide on obese patients who are not very heavy or whose body mass index is less than 27. Blood lipid metabolism and fat accumulation have certain effects.

4. Pay attention to these 4 points when using semaglutide scientifically.
It is emphasized again that semaglutide is currently only approved for the treatment of type 2 diabetes, so it is not recommended to be used to treat obesity, and due to its many side effects, scientific medication must be used to avoid adverse reactions. It is recommended Everyone should take medication under the guidance of a doctor, and pay attention to the following 4 points when using semaglutide scientifically.

First, pay attention to the dosage and method of drug injection

The currently commonly used semaglutide in clinical practice is a one-time injection, which contains about 2 mg of semaglutide. It is clinically recommended to use it step by step, starting with a small dose, and gradually adjusting the dose according to blood sugar levels.

First of all, it is recommended to start with 0.25 mg per week, and increase to 0.5 mg per week after 4 weeks of treatment, and monitor blood sugar changes at this dose. If the effect is not good, it can be adjusted to 1 mg per week, but this is the maximum currently recommended clinically. Dosage, it is not recommended to inject more than 1 mg per week;

Secondly, because the metabolism rate of semaglutide is slow, it must be injected at a fixed time every week, but it can be injected at any time of the day. It does not need to be administered according to meal times. If the time cannot be fixed, two injections are required. The interval must be greater than 48 hours;

Finally, if other types of anti-diabetic drugs are used in combination, it is recommended to adjust the drug dosage based on monitoring blood sugar changes, but focus on adjusting other anti-diabetic drugs and do not adjust the dose of semaglutide at will;

Second, pay attention to the adverse reactions of drugs

Semaglutide has many adverse reactions, among which the main ones are gastrointestinal adverse reactions, such as nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, etc. It is recommended that patients with the above symptoms can be treated symptomatically, with gastroprotective, acid-suppressing, gastric-stimulating Motivation and other symptomatic treatments; secondly, a very small number of patients will develop allergic reactions such as rash, itching, difficulty breathing, etc. after using semaglutide. In this case, it is not recommended to continue using it and go to the hospital for treatment in time; thirdly, low Blood sugar reaction. When semaglutide is used in combination with sulfonylureas, it is easy to induce hypoglycemic reactions. Therefore, attention must be paid to monitoring blood sugar changes and adjusting the medication plan according to blood sugar levels. Finally, some studies have shown that injection of semaglutide can induce acute There is a risk of pancreatitis, so patients with acute and chronic pancreatitis, gallstones and other diseases should use it with caution.

Third, pay attention to the medication for special groups of people

It is contraindicated for minors under 18 years of age. There is a lack of clinical data and the safety is unknown. It is contraindicated for pregnant and lactating women because there is a lack of relevant research data. Animal experiments have shown that semaglutide has an impact on the reproductive function of female mice. Therefore, women who are preparing to become pregnant should not use it. It is recommended to switch to other drugs; it is recommended that the elderly start using it at a lower dose and strengthen blood sugar monitoring; it is contraindicated in patients with medullary thyroid cancer, multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2, thyroid malignant tumors, acute pancreatitis and other diseases; it is contraindicated in patients with It is contraindicated in patients allergic to meglutide.

Fourth, pay attention to cooperate with non-drug intervention

It needs to be reminded that whether it is treating type 2 diabetes or obesity, it is unscientific to rely solely on drugs. Especially when semaglutide is used alone to treat obesity, it is very easy to induce weight regain, so it must be combined with exercise on the basis of drugs. Non-drug interventions such as diet, healthy routine, etc. can achieve the purpose of treating both the symptoms and root causes, which can not only improve the therapeutic effect of drugs, but also reduce patients' dependence on drugs.

5. Summary
To sum up, semaglutide is a hypoglycemic drug, and its use as a weight loss drug is not currently approved in my country. Therefore, people who want to lose weight should not use it as the main means of weight loss; secondly, semaglutide Peptides have many side effects, which can easily lead to diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, hypoglycemic reactions and other side effects. Therefore, you must observe your body's reaction at any time during taking it, and if it occurs, you must respond to your doctor in time.