Dear Jido,
My husband has been thinking about using Ozempic to lose weight, and I’m feeling conflicted. On one hand, I want to be supportive of his journey to get healthier, but on the other hand, I’m worried about him taking a medication for something that could be addressed with lifestyle changes that includes regular exercise and eating better. I fear that this is a shortcut that won’t last and can lead to additional health problems in the future. How can I express my concerns in a constructive way without making him feel unsupported?
Signed,
A Worried Wife
Dear Worried,
Right up front, let me say that I am a medicine minimalist. I believe that Hashem has created the body with an amazing ability to protect and repair itself. Certainly there are traumatic conditions that must be treated with outside intervention or there might be inborn genetic tendencies that need to be regulated. Obesity might be one of them.
Overeating is not.
If your husband is looking for an easy way to lose weight rather than by curbing his appetite, then certainly Ozempic is the answer. But, although Ozempic is FDA approved (based on results of clinical trials in 33 countries), there can be serious side effects (PLEASE – check out their website!) As we’ve seen with Covid treatments, many other modern “cures” have had serious consequences, includinguse of this drug, chas v’shalom.
If he has a family history of being overweight due to a thyroid condition or other, I would certainly not recommend messing with body chemistry with a miracle drug that has not been proven successful against specific abnormalities.
I agree with you 100 percent that exercise, proper diet, and self-control are the keys to good health. That’s my opinion. It seems to be yours, too. If he won’t appreciate a commonsense approach, let him speak with some of the respected doctors of our beloved community. I am sure they will advise caution. Jido