People are ‘microdosing’ Ozempic – and doctors have a surprising take on whether it’s healthy

People who want to be teeny-tiny are taking a picture with tiny-sized Ozempic.

Weight-loss drug “microdosing” is becoming more common, according to doctors — and that’s not always a bad thing.

“It’s basically a tailored approach to dosing Ozempic to meet the needs of the individual,” board-certified family physician and obesity medicine specialist Dr. Britta Reierson.

“Now, what we worry about is when this is happening without any guidance from a medical professional.”

Weight-loss drugs like Ozempic have sparked a frenzy in Hollywood and beyond, despite reports of unwanted side effects, resulting in drug shortages and, in turn, the creation of outsider dupes.

Now, patients are flocking to specialists to get a prescription for the drug to take in smaller doses, boasting of their progress online.

Neurosurgeon and longevity expert Dr. Brett Osborn told USA Today that he even microdoses weight loss drugs, explaining that it can be helpful for those who lost a significant amount of weight on the standard dose and want to keep the pounds off with less medicine. .

“Medications should not be discontinued,” he said. “You just keep the gas down, albeit in smaller amounts, and that weight loss will be maintained.”

Dr. Aria Vazirnia, a lipedema surgeon with the Advanced Lipedema Treatment Program at the Roxbury Institute, blames social media for fueling interest in drugs like Ozempic, even among people who don’t necessarily need it.

“I think a lot of it has to do with social media,” he told USA Today. “It’s been with the celebrity scene… People have talked about it on podcasts. So there’s a lot of interest in it.”

Obesity medicine specialist Dr. Alexandra Sowa, founder of SoWell, said she has seen an influx of people seeking microdoses to administer once a week.

She suspects the increase may, in part, be related to “Ozempic shame,” a term coined to describe the stigma surrounding the drug’s use as a weight-loss aid.

“Often in weight management, there’s so much stigma and prejudice on both the clinician’s side and the patient’s side that often people’s brains want to try to tell them they can beat the system,” she told the media.

“They’re going to feel better about being on medication if they go to a lower dose, and really what we need to realize is, let’s make this patient feel whole right from the start, there’s no nothing wrong with using a medication,” she continued.

Additionally, the very high costs of weight loss drugs may cause some cash-strapped users to ration their supply without proper medical guidance.

Experts are now concerned that patients with Ozempic prescriptions will try to microdose at home, which could cause an adverse reaction, Osborn warned. Patients should always consult their doctors before taking new medications or changing dosages.

“Never blame the medication for this. It’s not the medicine’s fault,” he says. “The burden is on us as physicians to be able to modify the dose.”