When Dr. C. Michael Gibson, cardiologist at the Harvard Medical School, goes to cardiac disease meetings, cannot help but notice a change.
“We will sit for dinner and half the meal, we will remove our dishes simultaneously,” said dr. Gibson. “We look at each other and laugh and say:” You too? “”
They share what is becoming an open secret: they have been looking for their weight for years, but now they are taking the new obesity drugs manufactured by Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk.
Dr. Robert Califf, former head of the food and drug administration, claims not to recognize his colleagues hardly. So many now are so thin.
“It seems good,” he says he tells his cardiologists during conferences and meetings.
There are no studies that document the percentage of doctors who take drugs. But the doctors “are a good Tornasole map test for highly effective drugs,” said dr. Califf. If the doctors who read the articles that describe the results of the clinical test hurry to obtain a new drug, it is an indication that is really promising.
The use by his colleagues from Wegovy and Zepbound reminds him of the use of statins, drugs that lower cholesterol in their first days. Cardiologists, who were more familiar with the consequences of high levels of cholesterol, were among the first to take drugs in large numbers.
Many new cardiologists and diabetes specialists, like many of their patients, had risk factors for heart disease. Or their blood sugar was insinuating themselves. Or only the physical tension of transporting an excess weight has made everyday life onerous. They say that he likes their new aspect but also their new health and energy. In a sense, they feel like members of a club.
Four years ago, dr. Darren McGuire, cardiologist of the University of Texas Southwestern, was fighting with obesity and type 2 diabetes. So he started taking Ozempic, the drug of Novo Nordisk diabetes that is sold with the name of Wegovy for obesity . He later went to Mounjaro, from Eli Lilly, who is sold as a zepbound for obesity.
He lost 30 percent of his weight and put blood sugar under control. Now, he said, “you feel better than ever.”
It is also affected by the number of colleagues who seem to use drugs.
“People seem quite different,” said dr. McGuire, which is part of the consultative advice for Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly. “It’s incredible.” He described an important diabetes specialist, Dr. John Buse of the University of Northern Carolina, who “has reduced”.
Not really, said Dr. Buse. But, he said, “I lost 25 percent of my body weight and it completely changed my life”. He had fought with his size from childhood, earning, losing and then gaining weight.
When he had a diet, “he would be crazy hunger,” said dr. Buse. With Wegovy, he said, his weight went down without effort until he achieved his goal. So his appetite returned, which was frightening. But instead of resuming kilos, he maintained a consistent weight while continuing to take the drug.
Like other patients, he discovered that taking drugs has eliminated most of his desire to drink alcohol. Before starting Wegovy, he often had two or three drinks with dinner. Now he has one or none.
Dr. Buse, who is a consultant to Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly, said he had not often asked people during diabetes meetings if they were taking one of the drugs but that “there are people who have changed a lot”. He said he would “bet dollars on donuts” who were at weight loss.
Some cardiologists are still “in the closet,” said dr. Gibson.
One is a cardiologist in Boston. He said that the person who prescribed Ozembic for her was also a cardiologist who was taking him. He asked not to be identified because he had told only a few people who were in drugs. He was trying to keep his medical information private, even if he suspected that his colleagues could guess. He added that he was quite sure he knows who else was taking one of the drugs.
“Yes, you can definitely say it,” he said. “And when you go to dinners, you can definitely see. We eat, like an eighth of our meal. I know what’s going on here. “
Doctors know they are privileged.
Initially, Dr. Buse’s health insurance paid for his Wegovy. But soon Northern Carolina stopped paying for obesity drugs for state employees, so he paid pocket. With a list price of $ 1,349 per month, it was an important expense.
So, during a meeting in Europe, he asked a colleague to prescribe Wegovy for him and obtained a six -month supply. Dr. Buse was able to buy Wegove for a quarter of what costs in the United States.
Doctors also know how to support themselves and navigate in the medical system better than many of their patients.
Dr. McGuire insurer initially refused to pay for his drugs. “I had to appeal,” he said. “I have a relationship with a general practitioner and I know when to continue pushing.”
His insurer agreed to pay.
Dr. Gibson said that his insurer had paid without problems and that he wanted to discuss his decision to take Wegovy openly. (Recently went to Lilly’s Zepbound, also covered by his insurance, because it arouses an even greater weight loss.)
“Many people are from the mental set that it is shameful, that it is a traitor to use a drug,” said dr. Gibson.
But the drug of obesity has changed his life, he said: “It’s the greatest thing I’ve ever done.”
And also Zepbound, powerful for what it is, is only the beginning, said dr. Gibson.
“There are 120 new agents coming,” he observed, referring to drugs in clinical studies. “I look forward to those who could also have better security and effectiveness.”