Kerry Toneguzzi has tried everything to lose weight.

From low-calorie and liquid diets to Weight Watchers, nothing worked. In 2007, she had bariatric surgery and lost 100 pounds 91裸聊视频� only to gain it all back.

When she was diagnosed with diabetes in the fall of 2020, her doctor suggested she try Ozempic 91裸聊视频� a drug approved in Canada to treat diabetes, with a frequent side effect of weight loss.

91裸聊视频淚n the beginning, I didn91裸聊视频檛 think it would ever work for me because nothing really had worked for me,91裸聊视频� Toneguzzi, 55, said.

But it did. The Ottawa-area insurance underwriter lost 115 pounds over about two years. What she finds even more remarkable is that she hasn91裸聊视频檛 gained any of it back.

91裸聊视频淔or me to maintain my weight for a year, it91裸聊视频檚 a win,91裸聊视频� she said. 91裸聊视频淭his drug has given me a second chance at life.91裸聊视频�

Like Toneguzzi, many Canadian obesity specialists and endocrinologists are welcoming Ozempic as a drug that actually works in treating what they say is a genetic, medical condition.

91裸聊视频淲e91裸聊视频檝e failed to have success in pharmacotherapy until now,91裸聊视频� said Dr. Sean Wharton, an internal medicine specialist who runs a weight and diabetes management clinic in Burlington, Ont.

With the advent of Ozempic, people living with obesity finally have a drug that can make a difference and can be an alternative to bariatric surgery, he said.

But Ozempic has gained notoriety in recent months, with celebrities singing the drug91裸聊视频檚 praises and many people posting success stories in weight loss they attribute to the drug.

Demand for Ozempic in Canada has risen steadily over the last year, according to the Neighbourhood Pharmacy Association of Canada, which represents most of the major pharmacy chains in Canada, as well as many community drugstores.

The problem with that, some doctors and pharmacists say, is that Ozempic isn91裸聊视频檛 intended for patients who want to drop a few pounds of 91裸聊视频渃osmetic weight.91裸聊视频� Plus, people who need Ozempic likely need it for life 91裸聊视频� studies have shown that once they stop taking it, the weight often comes back.

91裸聊视频�(There) should be no question about that. Nobody should think that they91裸聊视频檙e using this for short term and going to stop it,91裸聊视频� Wharton said.

91裸聊视频淭his is a forever medication because (obesity is) a genetic disease.91裸聊视频�

Ozempic costs between $200 and $300 per month in Canada. Its manufacturer, Novo Nordisk, also got Health Canada approval in 2021 for a drug called Wegovy. Ozempic and Wegovy have the identical active ingredient 91裸聊视频� semaglutide 91裸聊视频� but Wegovy is a higher dose to specifically treat obesity.

Health Canada has also approved Wegovy for people who are overweight and also suffering from a serious weight-related condition such as hypertension, diabetes or obstructive sleep apnea.

Semaglutide works by acting like a hormone called glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), which promotes insulin production and also stimulates part of the brain that controls appetite. Patients take it by injection once a week.

Because Wegovy is not yet available in Canada 91裸聊视频� and Novo Nordisk has not given a date when it will be 91裸聊视频� some doctors are prescribing Ozempic at higher doses for their patients suffering from obesity.

Dr. Ehud Ur, an endocrinologist at St. Paul91裸聊视频檚 Hospital and Vancouver General Hospital, said it91裸聊视频檚 important to look at Ozempic and Wegovy as a medical solution to treat a life-threatening medical condition, in conjunction with changes to diet, exercise and sleep habits.

91裸聊视频淢ost people don91裸聊视频檛 understand that obesity is not a cosmetic problem. It91裸聊视频檚 a significant disease. People with obesity will have a 10, 15, 20-year reduction in their life expectancy because of their weight problems,91裸聊视频� said Ur.

But on the front lines of primary care, family doctors have been fielding a growing number of pleas from patients who want an Ozempic prescription, even though they91裸聊视频檙e not suffering from obesity, said Dr. Iris Gorfinkel, a family physician in Toronto.

91裸聊视频淧eople who are coming to me as a family doctor 91裸聊视频� are people who, you know, they91裸聊视频檙e struggling with the belly fat, they91裸聊视频檙e not even diabetic, they91裸聊视频檙e not even pre-diabetic and they91裸聊视频檙e asking for the drug,91裸聊视频� she said.

Shelita Dattani, vice-president of pharmacy affairs for the Neighbourhood Pharmacy Association of Canada, also practices on a family health team that is dealing with patients looking for Ozempic as a 91裸聊视频渜uick fix91裸聊视频� for weight loss.

91裸聊视频淚91裸聊视频檝e had people ask me, I91裸聊视频檝e had friends ask me 91裸聊视频� 91裸聊视频榶ou know, I have a wedding coming up91裸聊视频� or 91裸聊视频業 need to be in a bikini91裸聊视频� or whatever it is,91裸聊视频� Dattani said.

Gorfinkel and Dattani both say those requests require thoughtful conversations with patients about weight loss and other measures they can take.

91裸聊视频淥besity is a holistic problem. It is a biopsychosocial problem,91裸聊视频� Gorfinkel said.

Those conversations take a lot longer than just saying yes and writing a prescription, she said.

Gorfinkel also worries about potential side effects.

According to Novo Nordisk91裸聊视频檚 Ozempic information website, the most common side effects include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation and abdominal pain.

Those symptoms go away after a few weeks, said Ur.

The website also lists more serious potential side effects including inflammation of the pancreas, gallbladder problems, kidney problems and low blood sugar.

It also notes that studies in rats showed thyroid tumours. Both Ur and Wharton said there91裸聊视频檚 no reason to believe that would happen in humans.

The health risks of living with obesity often outweigh the potential risks of taking the drug, they said.

91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 important to understand who are the appropriate patients to treat because not everyone is a candidate for Ozempic,91裸聊视频� Ur said.

91裸聊视频淭he simple point to make is that in any treatment in medicine you91裸聊视频檙e balancing risk against benefit.91裸聊视频�

Gorfinkel said she would consider prescribing Ozempic along with lifestyle changes if the patient met the medical criteria for obesity.

But so far, that hasn91裸聊视频檛 happened.

91裸聊视频淚 have yet to prescribe it to any patients,91裸聊视频� Gorfinkel said.

91裸聊视频淚91裸聊视频檓 extremely skeptical. I worry tremendously that if I do prescribe it what may happen is that when they come off of it, they may experience significant weight gain.91裸聊视频�

When asked if Ozempic and Wegovy are meant to be taken for the rest of patients91裸聊视频� lives, Novo Nordisk Canada said in an email, 91裸聊视频淛ust like other chronic diseases, type 2 diabetes and obesity both require long-term management.91裸聊视频�

91裸聊视频淒ecisions about the appropriateness and duration of any medication should be made on an individual basis in consultation with a health-care professional,91裸聊视频� spokeswoman Amy Snow said.

Toneguzzi, who has started a Facebook group in Ottawa for others who are considering Ozempic, has no illusions that the drug is anything short of a lifelong commitment to help maintain her weight.

She also wants to help others be realistic in their expectations, noting that along with taking Ozempic, she worked hard on her weight loss, including a 91裸聊视频渧ery regimented91裸聊视频� approach to her diet.

91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 not a miracle,91裸聊视频� she said.

91裸聊视频淚t wasn91裸聊视频檛 just the medication. I had to change my complete lifestyle.91裸聊视频�

91裸聊视频擭icole Ireland, The Canadian Press