AARP Hearing Center
I Take a Medication for Weight Loss — Here’s What I’ve Gained
A newer class of drugs is making it easier for some to shed pounds — and I’m one of them
Glenn Harvey
I have always been a man of appetites. Whether it be food, wine, or whiskey, I have craved it, consumed it, relished it. It’s why my friends nicknamed me “Turbo.”
Once you hit middle age, it comes time to pay the price. The bourbon stings. The cigar coughs linger. The pasta, cheese and medium-rare rib eyes make their mark, inside and out. By which I mean to say, at 56, I was overweight.
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Overweight again, I should say. Fifteen years ago, I was also out of shape and in declining health, until I went on an aggressive diet and exercise program and lost 70 pounds. I looked and felt great. But slowly, surely, I put all that weight back on my 5-foot-10 frame. Just before summer of 2024 began, the bathroom scale read 259.6 pounds — do not print that I was 260.
I wasn’t having it.
In the past three months, I’ve lost nearly 40 pounds — I still have about 25 more to go. This time around, though, the weight loss journey has been different. Turns out a slower metabolism and sore knees make shedding pounds tougher.
I’m watching my diet and exercising more, but I’m also taking a prescription GLP-1 drug (that’s short for glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonist) called tirzepatide, the active ingredient in Zepbound (federally approved for weight loss) and Mounjaro (for type 2 diabetes).
It’s been shockingly effective. Almost immediately, I stopped craving food and alcohol. Most surprising: I stopped obsessing about food and alcohol. This has had several knock-on effects, including giving more time in the day to work, play and think.
Doctors tell us these GLP-1s — others in the category include Ozempic and Wegovy — aren’t “miracle drugs.” But for me, it’s been pretty darn close.
So long, appetite. Hello, energy
I don’t know if my experience is typical within the universe of people who use GLP-1 drugs, but I’m typical within the dozen or so people I know and have talked to who are on them.
The most obvious reaction to the weekly shots is the simplest: I’m just never hungry. Because of this, I don’t think about food until it’s time for a meal. Some people describe this effect as silencing the “food noise,” or the constant, intrusive thoughts about what to eat and drink. In fact, I’ll often look at my watch in surprise. “I forgot to eat!” Trust me, this is a thing I’ve never said to myself before now.
Once I start eating a meal, I become full very quickly. For most of my life, feeling full was not something that made me stop eating — or I ate so fast I didn’t realize I was full until well after cleaning my plate. Now, though, if I try to push through being satiated, I will be hit with an immediate, low-level nausea. It’s a very effective portion control measure.
In fact, nausea is the most common side effect of these medications. Some friends told me stories about how this alone kept some from staying on GLP-1s. A close friend’s father stopped his GLP-1 usage after a few weeks because he had overwhelming nausea and stomach pains. Luckily, I haven’t experienced that.
Most surprising is that I have had high energy. Part of this is from getting healthier, I’m sure. But it seems to go beyond that. I have plenty of energy for exercise — weight workouts two to three times a week (it’s important to make sure you don’t lose muscle mass during the weight-loss process) and cardio once or twice in that same time span.
The more people I’ve talked to, the more my experience seems typical. A dental assistant friend has lost 30 pounds. A coworker has been taking a GLP-1 to help impulse control on the advice of his therapist — which he says has worked tremendously well.
The biggest champion I’ve found for a GLP-1 drug is Tom Montgomery, 67, who runs a small private investment firm in Dallas and is a friend of a friend. Montgomery says he’s been gaining weight for 30 years because he’s an over-eater. In April 2023, he went on Wegovy.
As of August, he’s lost 75 pounds. “I had zero side effects from it,” he says. “No nausea, no constipation. Also, I never lost my hunger. But I almost immediately lost what I call my stress-induced cravings.” His blood pressure, cholesterol and other key health markers have improved across the board.
“A lot of people don’t want to talk about whether they’re on [a weight loss medication],” he says. “I say, well, I needed help, and I use Wegovy. And to me, it’s been a miracle drug.”
Still, there are barriers
That’s not to say everything is easy with these medications. At first, I was not comfortable injecting myself, as these drugs are usually taken via a subcutaneous route, like with insulin shots. Needles creep me out.
I’ve found a way to move past this, but for those who can’t, know that researchers are investigating a GLP-1 pill for weight loss, and clinical trial results are so far promising.
And while my side effects have been minimal, these medications have been linked to more serious issues in some, including gallbladder problems, pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas) and stomach paralysis.
I don’t want to gloss over the high costs, either. Price seems to be one of the biggest hurdles people (in the U.S., at least) have with taking the GLP-1 plunge — and perhaps a reason many people stop taking the drugs after initial success. The medications can cost more than $1,000 a month, and private insurance coverage can be spotty. Medicare does not cover medications for weight loss, but will cover GLP-1s if they are prescribed for other federally approved indications, like type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
David D. Kim, assistant professor of medicine and public health sciences at the University of Chicago, studies the long-term economic impact and equity of health interventions — the value these drugs have to individuals and society itself. “The value means, basically, bang for the buck,” Kim says.
Recent research suggests the benefits of GLP-1s extend beyond weight loss. They may be able to reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke in people with heart disease, curb complications in individuals with chronic kidney disease, improve symptoms of sleep apnea — even slow cognitive decline in adults with Alzheimer’s.
Still, Kim says, “if the out-of-pocket cost is over $1,000 a month — for the insurer or the patient — then a lot of people think, yeah, this is not good value.” This could change as drug companies, insurance plans and patients react to new studies and fast-changing market dynamics.
What I have gained
The miracle for me isn’t the weight loss. I’ve lost weight before, although as noted the GLP-1 drug has been a tremendous help at my age and with my health profile. The miracle is that it has made me think about my self-worth in a way not connected to my weight.
Yes, I’m happy I’m finally fitting in my clothes again. But I’m more astonished that I have more time in the day to do my job, to read, to work on my house or my health or my relationships.
I simply had no idea how much time I spent thinking about food and alcohol. (These were intertwined for me.) And many of the activities that are associated with the pursuit of more food and drink — going to bars, gambling, staying up late — have been greatly curtailed.
Will I keep pricking myself once I’ve hit my goal? I know for some people, they look forward to going off GLP-1 drugs only to find themselves gaining the weight back. Others find they now have the discipline and routine to lead healthier lifestyles without the aid of these drugs. I’m not sure where I’ll land, but I plan on taking my weekly doses for some time into 2025. After that, we’ll see.
Either way, this means saying goodbye to “Turbo.” Which I’ve finally decided is fine. I just need a new nickname. You know what’s a cool nickname? “Slim.”
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