Semaglutide is the microcosm for the failed American insurance system

Have you gentlemen considered becoming farmers? Physically active career, free food?

 

Obesity is definitely a problem but knowing several diabetics I am concerned when these drugs are being used for just weight loss while diabetics are having trouble getting them.

Getting older does make it much harder to lose weight and staying shape. While I’m not dealing with obesity I’ve been dealing with other age related health problems and decades of martial arts are taking a toll on my joints. That in turn makes it much harder to do stuff like run to keep in shape. It’s difficult but not impossible to change eating and exercise habits.

 

Starting with a small backyard garden will keep you physically active and mentally relaxed, providing you with some fruits and veggies that are 20x better tasting and fresher. But the cost may not necessarily be lower (could actually be more expensive) than purchasing from grocery stores, depending on what you choose to grow.

 

I work 60-80 hours a week. I have a few hours of personal time a week that gets diverted to my family. It’s bogus.

 

Do you know him personally and how he lives his life or are you just making grand assumptions from a post?

 

Grand assumptions? We have information from the first post.



This is how conversation works. @Two Sandwiches gave us some info about his life and how he's come to gain weight. And I gave some feedback on it.

 

I kicked the idea around. Never got very far with it.

I've done a bit of backyard gardening and Amiga is spot-on.

My last big attempt was during Covid. I had a couple in-ground gardens going and pots all over the place. Buying bagged soil for the pots wasn't cheap. And then the watering... what a PITA. But the food... at least 20x tastier.

Maybe next year...

 

That wasn't feedback. Did he ask for help? It was admonishing him because, as many do, you made the assumption that being overweight is due to lazienss and can be fixed just by trying harder. He was discussing the difficulty many have in getting this prescription drug and the system as a whole...not asking for your advice as to why he's overweight.

 

Yeah bro. He's looking for help.

I am 6'2"-6'3", and over the last 2 to 3 years, due to bad habits and a new job (100 miles one way to work... sometimes more), I have gained a substantial amount of weight. I'm currently at my heaviest ever, sitting somewhere between 265-270. While I carry it fairly well, I don't like being fat and I judge myself constantly for it. I'm far more comfortable around 215, when a large shirt will hang off me.
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From @Two Sandwiches's profile, he's 36. That's the time to wake the **** up when it comes to health. I've had good friends who have had heart attacks and died in their early 40s. Do you realize how young that is? And it's becoming the norm more and more.

This is personal for me, because I see it happening to people I love. And I won't not say anything to people who need to get their **** together. Our society allows people to get massively overweight and we all pay for it in tears and dollars. I feel like on this board, we're a little closer than some random strangers so I can get right to the point.

So, @Two Sandwiches - I'm sorry if I subverted your original intent. I think these appetite suppressing medicines are a great way to start your journey to better health. But at the end of the day, you have to make sacrifices to keep yourself healthy. Think about seeing your grandkids grow up. Think about not slowly asphyxiating to death in a hospital bed in your early 60's, because that's the magic number for a lot of these Boomers who beat the **** out of their bodies for decades.

 

Have you ever seen any picture or video of MJ eating? I think that’s the key.

 

I’m mildly dyslexic and it comes out in a lot of post here. It’s occasionally a problem with my work that requires a lot of precise language at times. Dealing with it is the same as like trying to stay in shape. Have to work at it diligently and sometimes need help like having others proofread your work.

 

Not minimizing your frustration, but are we still blaming the insurance system?

I'm not a great fan, but I would defend them here if you are still angry at them.

 

Bro.

 

Having lived in several different western nations that have socialized medicine - and I can tell you that it is not as wonderful as Americans believe - and further the USA’s system is better than Americans b**** and complain about.

The largest issue is that the rest of the world gets to free ride off of the science and research the USA does… the high prescription prices in the USA allow the rest of the world to pay little. That should be changed.

However - a lot of this America’s fault based on who they vote for. For example, one of the things that has made America great is that homeownership was affordable and realistic…. That will not be the case soon as corporations, investment firms and individuals buying and renting out homes are making that not possible. Yet Americans will fight for the right to bear arms that murder thousands of people every year.

 

Semaglutide is approved by the FDA for use in people with diabetes. It has not been clinically tested by the FDA for weight loss. The overwhelming anecdotal evidence is that it works for weight loss, and doctors are allowed to prescribe it off label, but it has not been approved for that. The drug manufacturer can try and get it approved any time they like and then your insurance will probably grudgingly cover it. But they wont do it because they are making money hand over fist and currently cant make enough to meet demand.

Most of your issue is actually with the drug company and the FDA drug approval process, IMO. If it was approved by the FDA for weight loss, they would have to cover it for weight loss. But without clinical trials, no "proven" efficacy, they are totally within normal standards and practices to not pay for an extremely expensive drug for off-label uses.

The only people who can fix that is the drug companies by submitting it for trials, but the economics from their standpoint doesn't make it worthwhile for them. Maybe in 5 or so years when demand starts to slack.

I'm also fairly sure in an insurance-free health system, like the NIH, semaglutide would never be available for weight loss, as those systems are MUCH more cost conscious than our profligate setup. There would be instructions to start you on something like the phentermine that you are taking and if that doesn't work ramp you up through newer, more expensive drugs sequentially.

I think the big issue with phentermine was the fenfluramine that they used to pair it with. Pretty sure the fenfluramine was the culprit in that combo and phentermine is to some degree suffering from guilt by association.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fenfluramine/phentermine

 

Incorrect.

Also the vast majority of insurance companies exclude weight loss drugs from their pharmacy plans even though the drugs are approved specifically for weight loss. This is an insurance problem.
https://www.fda.gov/news-events/pre...reatment-chronic-weight-management-first-2014