The New Addiction Treatment We Found By Mistake
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- Опубліковано 4 вер 2023
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It's no secret that substance use disorders can wreak havoc on peoples' lives, so anything that we could do to mitigate those cravings and addictions is really important. Which is why it's such good news that research into drugs like semaglutide, AKA Ozempic and Wegovy, show that this medicine can reduce cravings for all kinds of substances. And the weirdest part? We figured that out by accident.
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www.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/a...
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti...
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36066...
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti...
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🎉
Hopefully the cure's prices don't sky-rocket then become more expensive than the actual drugs.
What about gastric paralysis? You should also mention negative side effects to this drug too
Wont be long before people can do as much cocaine as they want anywhere anytime and no repercussions whatsoever.
Monoclonal antibodies show promise for treating addiction to meth.
Anecdotally, I can say that my Dad still drinks, but I think he is drinking slightly less than before he started the medication for his diabetes. My parents lost quite a bit of weight on ozempic, but they've stabilized now. They still have much smaller appetites than before though. Just wanted to say, to anyone thinking it, this is not a miracle cure for addiction. My dad is still a heavy drinker and refuses to stop.
That's still a treatment of addiction. Hopefully, one day he sees the effect his drinking has on his life (if it's negative).
But as someone starting to work in addictions (still have lots to learn) recovery to him might be drinking less instead of never drinking.
He could try disulfiram, that stuff makes you violently ill if you drink.
The problem with Ozempic is that you have to take it for life, because you will regain the lost weight when you stop using it, unless you change your lifestyle. That their weight loss has stabilized, may be due to taking less Ozempic.
When you have type 2 diabetes and take Ozempic (often in combination with insuline), that lowers your weight and reduces your A1C. And then the doctor will tell you you can take less Ozempic (which reduces the risk of going too low on sugar (hypoglycemia)). But the result of taking less Ozempic is also that you will no longer lose weight.
The only way out of taking Ozempic for life would be to change their lifestyle, but in doing so the obvious first step is to stop consuming alcoholic beverages (even more important than stopping the use of sugar).
His liver may make him stop, eventually. And one way or another.
Both of my grandfathers died from alcoholism... one from liver failure and the other from gastric hemorrhaging Alcoholism in my family skipped a generation and got me and a cousin instead. The cousin killed himself and I got sober with a lot of help from AA. It is possible.
@@SansNeural That's great that you've been able to stay sober :) Congrats!!!
I started Ozempic in May, 2023. I can tell you that after abusing alcohol for pain relief for YEARS, I have little interest in drinking alcohol. I went from 7 to 10 ounces of tequila a night to drinking a beer or celebratory shot once or twice a week. I've looked lost 2 dress sizes (prolly mostly water weight) and continue to lose weight. We shall see... thanks for sharing.
Whats going on with your pain?
I am glad to hear it is helping - I can 100% sympathise with your situation, severe chronic pain, that healthcare can't (or won't) address, doesn't leave people many places to go to make life bearable. If you don't mind my asking, how are you coping pain-wise, now that you are no longer self-medicating? Sending love and solidarity
Im super pleased for you...!!!
Wish I could take that, but I don't have health insurance 😣
Congratulations! Best wishes for your continued journey
The biggest thing I noticed while on Ozempic for my diabetes is how it just stopped my food addiction almost entirely. I used to have really obsessive thoughts about food that would just hijack my brain. But I just walked away from tortilla chips and queso after just a few chips. It’s like I’m a whole new person.
Kinda scary
Everyone becoming a healthy zombie in the future
@@eSKAone-would one really be a zombie if they are happy and healthy?
This is the dumbest take possible. Someone losing interest in food isn’t a “health zombie”. That would be someone becoming obsessed with calorie counting. This person lost an eating disorder, they didn’t gain a new one.
Same for me. I’ve had an endless appetite my entire life until now. Now I can take or leave food at any time.
Substance addiction is such a difficult thing to treat because it feels like medications are targeted at different things/doses for different people so it's a lot of trial and error, similar to depression/anxiety treatment. Especially since there's a behavioral aspect which is difficult to study.
True, but just like metal health drugs, even helping 25% of the population is a huge step. Even if we have some issues with side response, it can still help a lot of people.
@@luged 100%
Yeah it requires a lot of trial and error, but being in the mental health field, specifically seeing a lot of patients with addictions I don't think only using medication would be the most helpful thing. Unless you want the person to be using the drug for life, you need to be able to help them find ways of dealing with it and having people that help their recovery.
There’s no evidence that SSRI/SNRIs have any real effect in treating and managing depression compared to a placebo, while at the same time leaving the patient with a whole laundry list of side effects with a good chance that they’ll persist indefinitely…some of which can be fatal. It’s literally the big pharma version of Russian roulette. Psychedelics ,entactogens, and dissociatives on the other hand have shown real promise in treating and even curing depression, PTSD, and addiction with no lasting side effects when used in a clinical setting.
@@cencent2189 Yeah, there's no one fix-all so it's a combination of things. Mental health is a big one of them, especially based on how long someone has been using. It's crazy how big the opioid dilemma is now in the US.
Even taking a small step towards effectively treating addiction is huge! All the small steps will eventually get us there.
and that includes steps that only work for a small population! even if this rarely works, it could be a life changer for the people it *does* work on.
@@jotch_7627 not to rain on the parade, addiction is certainly a terrible thing, but this isn't a magic bullet. it's expensive (at least in the short term while under patent), but much worse, it's addictive in its own way. in the same way that people who stop taking it generally gain the weight back, people taking it for addiction therapy may see a return to addictive impulses and the level of reward they were accustomed to before. it would be up to the individual to abstain, the same as it is for someone who has sobered up simply through will power, but without the continued use (which does have side effects) , you may be back to square one with cravings.
i'd also be concerned about people overdosing on some substances because if they stop taking ozempic after a long enough time when their tolerance has gone down, as is frequently the case with people who fall off the wagon, they risk inadvertently overdosing by taking the dose that worked for them last.
@@jotch_7627and it provides evidence for where to focus in order to expand the effect to the larger population.
I want to know if they did “rat park” type experiments or “isolated rat in a cage” type experiments. HUGE differences in addiction when you don’t isolate social animals.
Also, I’m kinda worried about the future legal status of these drugs. For example: soon as psilocybin was shown to reduce alcoholism, long-term, with an 80% success rate, psilocybin became a schedule 1 drug (meaning it is a felony to use & has absolutely no medical uses). What’s to stop the DEA from doing what they did to psilocybin when it showed its anti-addiction effects?
My Mother(R.I.P.) was on a regular dose of Sildenifil for Pulmonary Hypotension, & it extended her life by many years in conjunction with oxygen & other medicines. I will always be greatful for the extra time I was granted thanks to modern medical science. These researchers & scientists deserve all the appreciation the world can give them. I will forever be in thier debt. Thankyou.
❤
For women, it's still widely used for it's original purpose.
For Men, it's a whole lot harder to get approved for heart use bc insurances think they want it recreational
@@jupiterskiss just like for men, ins pays for viagra and penis pumps...but ins doesn't wanna cover contraceptives even if they're needed for other hormonal issues :)
qq some more
Something here that I find concerning is that, as you've described it, it doesn't just inhibit reward mechanisms for substance intake; it inhibits reward mechanisms for everything. As someone who's already struggled with motivation and finding interest in and enjoying things that's kind of a scary prospect, especially from a drug that has such huge potential for widespread administration for other health issues.
I could even see that backfiring in cases of addiction. Some addictions maintain themselves because everything else all but stops feeling good so if you were to cause a blanket reduction in how good EVERYTHING feels for someone with such an addiction...
Hmm, that _does_ sound like a potential pitfall... I have a similar issue with lack of motivation. It's all I can do to simple get out of bed & occasionally eat something. Actual enjoyment of life seems like a pipe-dream... when I think about it at all. I only eat 2 meals a day, yet, I'm fat on less than 1500 calories a day. I'm increasing the amount I exercise, but so far, no changes.
It has been used in some very small early phase trials in Depressive Patients (A group characterized by an often blunted reward response) and initial trial & anecdotal clinical results have been promising thus far. With that being said I think Depression is also listed as a possible side effect for this drug, so it may just come down to the individual I'm wondering
@@pezz2345 Yeah well lot of "early phase" trials say things and nothing happens, calling what is currently out "promising" is extremely deceiving. Depressive patients should focus on Ketamine, ECT or TMS if standard treatments do not work. Not waste time and money on your garbage "early phase trials". I can give you just as many "early phase" trials saying it increases Anhedonia.
@@pezz2345oh the irony
I think it is more linked to the chemical reward system of the brain.
The proverbial instant high from narcotics as opposed to the long lasting feeling of accomplishment one gets from accomplishing personal goals.
LONG term studies have shown this drug may cause depression in some people not most people.
I'm hoping that further studies and clinical trails prove this to be more effective than the current state of mRNA technology.
Once again we see that the most effective medicines are derived from nature.
Addiction with mental health problems can also be treated with psych drugs. As a bipolar, I completely lost my craving for alcohol once I got my meds dialed in. So many people with addictions invariably have mental health issues that the alcohol is self medicating.
I still find it hilarious how many huge scientific discoveries weren’t even being looked for and just completely stumbled upon
Yes, I hope some anti-aging drug is also stumbled upon.
@@PoeLemic There have been a number of them. The discovery of Penicillin was a complete accident. A petri dish was accidentally contaminated with Penicillium fungus. Before the researcher tossed the dish out he noticed how the fungus was killing everything else in it. Next thing you know we have one of the most important antibiotics of all time.
Yeah, but at the same time it's not miraculous. Scientific method and general curiosity makes researchers investigate odd occurrences and reports.
science starts with observation
Shows how important accidents are
Shortages on this kind of medications (injectable insulin control/weight loss) is still ongoing, and I can confirm, it is EXTREMELY stressful and difficult to deal with shortages.
It's also single-handedly propping up Denmark's economy. Novo Nordisk is supporting the entire country's economy at this point.
@@valfreyaaurora4922 Wow!
It’s on the drug companies to manufacture more. I guess there’s no sweet profit in that though.
There wasnt supply issues until it became a weight loss tool.. thanks 😠
@@annenelson5656 demand is outpacing supply - it should catch up - but the more things that are treatable with the drug - the higher the demand goes
Diabetes, weight loss, heart disease, addiction - what’s next?
Since starting Rybelsus 6 months ago I’ve lost 40lbs and I went from obsessing about certain foods, just constantly in a “I want this, I need to restrict this” obsessed mentality to completely disinterested. I also used to drink pretty regularly, I don’t think I’ve had alcohol in 5 months now, I just literally have 0 desire to have any. I never connected the dots on that one, that it could be the medicine.
Thats strange ... and kind of scary ... and congratulations! Hope you find good things to do with all the extra time and energy.
Addiction ruins so many lives, so many families. This is a godsend.
Hopefully this is the trip of the iceberg and there will be more breakthroughs in the treatment of addiction.
I went from 217lbs to 180 in less than 4 months. But I am also on the keto diet. Ozempic makes this diet easier to maintain. I had a serious eating disorder for sugary foods, and I'm a type 2 diabetic. Now I don't, and now my insulin(long acting) injections went from 60 units to 25 in that time.
If your doing keto you should check out the channel "Dr. Boz". She has a lot of good keto information.
Nice! Thankfully Metformin was able to do that for me. Ozempic isn't available in my country yet, so I don't know what I would have done if I had to go on something like that instead of the more readily available medications
You lost almost 40 lbs in 4 months? You DO realize that that's not healthy right?
Parasites?
I'm taking ozempic for diabetes, and have noticed that it helps the impulsive aspects of my adhd.
Would you mind elaborating on that? I'm not diabetic (though both types run heavily on both sides of my family) but am very strongly ADHD-C.
Interesting! I came here because I was curious about the drug and ADHD. Do you take stimulant medication? If so, are the effects of the ADHD med altered? How do you feel it impacts your executive functioning? Does it inhibit your ability to get really excited/focused on a new thing?
Hyperfixation superpowers become subdued though. 😢(Wotdyamean I can’t try absolutely everything anymore!?)
ADHD isn't real.
@@snakejucelol lmao cope harder
After I started taking Ozempic for type II diabetes this past spring I've lost 20kg. Not only did it cut my appetite down by around 50%-60% (depending on the day), but foods that I loved before (that were not good for me) now taste awful. Additionally, for me, it virtually eliminated hunger pains. I can still tell when I'm hungry, but that pain I used to feel when even a little bit hungry is no longer there and I can easily ignore it. It definitely changed my relationship with food and if I had an addiction to my favorite foods (which I probably did) it definitely broke it.
I didn't start taking it lose weight, it was only to help manage my diabetes, but that has definitely been a pleasant side affect.
I'm coming back to this channel after a long hiatus, so maybe they've been around for ages, but I really like this host's presentation style. Clear, effective, emotive.
I couldn’t help it. When this video first described how with animal testing it showed reducing desire to drink alcohol, all I could see was 2 rats lounging at a bar and one saying “yeah, I’ll have a cup of tea” or some other ludicrous thing.
I have my own story. The woman I'm with has diabetes and is an alcoholic. She has reported exactly what is talked about in this video.
I wish her all the luck she needs to break the habit, & if this drug is helping, awesome! Congrats on her lowering her booze intake.❤ My Mum was an alcoholic, & she didn't have this drug to help her. She had to break her addiction the hard way: simple abstinence & will power.😢
@@DrachenGothik666 The woman I'm with also did it the hard way. She was stone cold sober (and she did it with absolutely no support). The drug merely helps with the cravings, which she still has.
"the woman I'm with" is an interesting label.
@@danm8004probably not a native English speaker
@@danm8004 It's because we feel like we're married but our situation doesn't allow for it.
"There are currently no approved medications for cocaine or methamphetamine addiction."
I love how cleverly worded this is. For those who know, it's almost implied that effective treatments like ibogaine are miscategorized as schedule-I controlled substances in the US when they could be administered to applicable patients to change and save lives as is currently the case in other countries.
Iboga, Be prepared for a scary ride. But I have seen Heroine addicts cured after a session on two and they never got the withdrawals. I wanted to get off Effexor which was hard so I was like oh well maybe its going to work. I was surprised that all the withdraws symptoms from SNRI not existent. I hope this comment helps people as I seen it work with my eyes and I went through it as well. Did it in Mauritius. Its like a rest button which i cant explain. I had my first joint after that and I hated it as it overwhelmed me and felt like i smoked chronic for the first time and then just kept everything behind me.
I wonder what could help me to not smoke cigarettes
Make your quit date a year from now.
Ok, figure out , if you only were to allow yourself 1 cigarette a day, what is your favorite time to smoke? For me it was the morning.
Take time, make time for that one.
Enjoy the nicotine high. Feel it in your tongue, the tips of your fingers. Then don’t have another for 24 hours. Then you get the first hit head rush, the thing you were looking for.
Anything after that is just chasing the dragon, and a waste of time and money.
So, just one a day is enjoyable.
After a few months of just one a day, you may not even want one.
But smoke it anyway, until your quit date.
I also got what a called a HAND HOBBY.
For me it was crocheting 🧶.
I made a bunch of tiny leaves that eventually I would turn into scarfs and a dress. Tiny squares . Two minutes each, the same amount of time to smoke a cigarette.
Also, be prepared to brush the teeth and tongue whenever the urge to smoke. Hand to mouth motion.
Have extra toothbrush around.
Give it time, but plan to give it up.
Start tomorrow stopping by restrictions to actually feel the effects of nicotine again.
When I quit, I could taste nicotine coming out of my pores, bones and blood for weeks!
Weird!
@@TheWorseyhello,
Thank you for your comment. Would you mind explaining a bit more if that medication helps with opiates?
Say someone wants to try stopping opiate medication to see if it can be lived without but may still need it.
Would that person be able to take opiates in the future if they choose to?
Thank you so much for your kind reply. 😊 😊😊😊😊
@@TheWorseyalso how is it different from suboxon? Thank you again
At 2:02 delivery cadence is off. It should be read out loud “glucagon like peptide 1” in one breath, not “glucagon like peptide 1”. Glucagon and GLP-1 are similar, but different polypeptides.
Chill, probably just a breath needed at an inopportune moment.
@@LordWaterBottle nope, bottle lordy. It’s clear she inserted the pause at the ‘dash’ to make it clear ‘peptide 1’ is a name of an example of glucagon. This is untrue. The dash is there to describe the molecule GLP-1, which is different from glucagon, but similar in structure/origin.
@@jisyang8781 @jisyang8781 I clearly heard an in-breath in that pause. I have no idea what you're on about. Yes it probably should have been pre-recorded, but I do not belive it to be an intentional error. I also did not hear breath in during that small gap between "hormone" and "called." Additionally, the context of the name of the polypeptide being bolded in video, and the more commonly used acronym being stated directly after together imply the intention to give the name correctly.
Also separately, we don't know what her prompt read like. There could have been a linebreak at the hyphen, which would give anyone reading it a brief pause while they move their eyes back left.
@@LordWaterBottle chill buddy. You were wrong, now you’re lying. Don’t fool yourself you know exactly whai I was talking about. I heard it you heard it everybody heard it. It being the inserted pause, always used to signal what follows shortly is a description of what just said. Basic English grammar, basic English cadence.
@@jisyang8781 did you actually go back and listen to the whole sentance? Say it out loud with her.
I really like that it's being referred to as a treatment for addiction instead of a cure
They said the same thing for painkillers.
@@dirtymfnsanchezI agree, that's the only cure, but I'm so happy that there's addiction treatment medications now
@@dirtymfnsanchezStrongly agree, but this will definetly help people who arent quite ready for the hard work of changing themselves yet but need to be sober.
@@dirtymfnsanchez You absolutely nailed it with that one.
@@dirtymfnsanchezIt's not as simple as making better decisions. The majority of people with addictions have PTSD they're trying to self medicate. As someone that is working with people with addictions, it goes further than just good decisions.
Edit: ofcourse people should seek treatment but addiction is also life-long and in some people it has genetic factors that perpetuate it. This isn't to mean that people can't recover but that it's a very hard process
Another diabetic drug, Trulicity, is in the same class of medications. Same side effects are being found. I’ve lost 35 pounds so far on this. Suppresses your appetite. It has taken a lot of my sugar cravings away as well. I’m type 2 diabetic and went from an A1C of 11 to 5.8 within 6 months after starting this. My other addiction is pasta, and we have an Olive Garden about 5 minutes away. This also has been seriously cut from this as well. Really excited to read about it’s potential for addiction treatment.
That A1C drop is fantastic. Way to go!
Semaglutide has been helping my binge eating disorder like crazy. I’ve lost 50lbs over a year and a half and I am so thankful for that.
I was wondering if it could help me with mine-thanks for sharing your experience!
I take 1.5mg a week for weight loss and I can tell you that when I was on 2mg, the two times I drank (during the holidays, I don't have an addiction) my blood sugar dropped drastically and I got sick. I reduced my dose to 1.5 and no longer get sick drinking wine or whatever, but I also don't get buzzed or the feelgoods, so it's basically a waste of calories.
This is a super interesting finding, glad you brought attention to it. I just want to add - there's an insinuation made here that drugs we have for addiction necessarily make people sick when they use. While that is true of disulfram in particular, naltrexone (also approved for alcohol addiction) works differently and does not induce illness when a person uses alcohol, and instead helps to reduce cravings by its mechanism of action in the brain. I think it's important to point out, as many people who could benefit from medications to assist with alcohol use/cravings only think of disulfram, when in fact there are other options out there with different effects.
I dont think theres gonna be a widespread practical use of this drug for addiction but I think the information we’re learning from this event can help us understand addiction as it affects our bodies.
I was put on metformin for pre-diabetes and I started hating the taste of sodas and I was drinking a lot of soda a day I lost like 40 pounds alone on that. I no longer even drink sodas. I’m no longer pre-diabetic and I’m finally back at a healthier weight.
0:43 I have to say the term "side effects" is a marketing term which manipulates people into believing that the KNOWN EFFECTS of a drug are "unintentional." This manipulation allows the minimization of KNOWN EFFECTS to be marginalized; sold as essentially unintended, therefore not nearly as harmful as those effects of THE SAME DRUG, which are not downplayed. This is not just manipulative in many cases.
This mechanism is basically the same as naltrexone, a opioid receptor antagonist, working for addiction-related conditions, primarily alcohol addiction. It inhibits the reward pathways in the brain, making the thrill of drinking alcohol something just mundane. Now, somewhat that is considered controversial by the general public but not by physicians, obesity on higher levels typically coexist with food addiction behaviors, so it shouldn't be that surprising that a drug that treats food addiction is also effective for other forms of addiction.
It could be that or it could be more related to the effects of something like Glucagon on the body that inhibit hunger production. A lot of people that are obese aren't addicted to food but it's a summation of different factors that affect it.
I say that having my best friend be addicted to food and having learned a bit about what makes people gain weight (as I also want to since I've been underweight my whole life)
Contrave combines naltrexone and the atypical antidepressant bupropion to treat obesity and has been approved for years. I'm not familiar of any studies on combination therapy though.
@@feline.equation Naltrexone is FDA approved for the treatment of alcohol use disorder.
Mm I think using the word "thrill" is a bit... it's unhelpful framing. We now that draws people, is primarily pain dampening. Our brains are very messy, and this same effect is seen in studies which show that painkillers don't just dampen physical pain but emotional pain as well (anacdotally, we get headaches when we're stressed, and downing some advils still helps that)
I mean not to say that there aren't binge party drinkers just in it for the thrill--sure, but when the topic is Addicitons big a, I think maybe it's worth considering the pharsing we use because of the broader scope on that topic. (But perhaps I'm just being finicky because the people I know personally who have had addiction problems were all trauma victims of one variety or another, in my family intergenerational trauma is unfortunately a big role)
@@feline.equation I've previously taken naltrexone for alcohol abuse. It made my depression worse - absolutely no joy left in life. I can't imagine it would help people who are suicidal.
Speaking of dopamine. Since I've started treating my ADHD with prescribed Adderall, I've had basically no interest in drinking alcohol at home. I had a minor habit of that before. The boredom that made me do that isn't a factor anymore.
I mention this because Adderall also increases one's dopamine level. It really seems to be behind both addiction and boredom.
junkie talk
@@vapandreiyour statement is uncalled fori, I mean we are watching a video about medication possibly for addiction… what in the world would compel you to so rude to 1) a total stranger & 2) someone who is talking about addiction & their experience? I’m guessing you’re in no way an educated professional or an expert authorized to diagnose people based on a paragraph someone may write sharing their personal observations ….keep your ignorance to yourself and go fly your bias flag somewhere else… Boo 😒👎🏽
Do you have ADHD? How do you manage it? @@vapandrei
Perfect timing!!! I have to write a discussion in my psychology class regarding biopsychology!! I had to find a recent article, video, or some media on something related to hormones, agonists, antagonist, axons, addiction, dopamine, etc!!! Thank you scishow!!
even short term relief from addiction can be the difference between stopping and not infact i would argue that the early stages of recovery are the most important
Super interesting to hear! This might be a great candidate for additional medication when using psychedelic assisted psychotherapy for addiction treatment. Semiglutide to lower the cravings, psychedelics and therapy to get the mindset right! Looking forward to seeing more research on this!
One of the complicating factors in treating addiction is that there are psychological as well as biochemical motivations to consume these substances. That could be part of why the preliminary results are mixed. A medication like this would be a wonderful tool, but the psychological issues that caused the individuals to seek out these substances in the first place must also be addressed. As usual, we need to treat the whole person.
Wow this has the potential to help lots of people 😮 Thanks for the news SciShow!
Antabus (disulfiram) was originally tested as a candidate for a drug against intestinal worms. But this was back when you were expected to taste/test the things you made yourself and at the time you were also allowed to drink a beer at work for lunch and the the two guys working the project pretty soon found out that drinking alcohol while you were on disulfiram made you pretty misserable.
As someone with treatment resistant depression and anxiety that self medicates with a certain powder far more than I even want to anymore, I can only hope that something like this is proven sooner rather than later
I’ll add hopes for you. I am on an antidepressant. Before, I had lost 40 pounds in 5 years. Within 2-3 weeks of starting medication, I gained it all back with no change in eating or exercise habits. 😢
@@sophierobinson2738lexapro will do that
Special K?
Boy i can't wait for this to be only available for $5,000 per pill
It’s a shot
@@BoringTroublemaker cool. A dose. You knew what i meant
@@spiderplant well, I mean if you want to be technical, it’s currently available for about $900 per shot, but I get your over exaggerated point.
Problem is it seems to effect all dopamine signaling instances. Seems like increased depressive episodes to me.
That was my take, “Not sure I don’t want anything to be rewarding anymore…”. 😬
Wait: is this an experience you had, or a concern that this might happen?
My stepmom was talking about starting this medication to lose weight because she's lazy and doesn't wanna put in the work herself. But after learning that it can decrease her alcoholism, I'm all for it.
If you are overweight with addiction, this drug sounds too good to be true! Crazy how far we continue to go in medicine. But I like that this video made it clear that it’s still a small amount of anecdotal cases. Very fascinating
it made clear that it MAY be a small amount, but it could actually be a good chunk. That's why we need studies
@@kbin7042 yes I am in agreement haha i also think it’s worth studying that aspect as well, but I think there is value in also recognizing it’s not the majority of folks experiencing this. My comment wasn’t negating the hope
Psylocibin had a similar effect for me about alcohol and coffee, just kinda forgot they were a thing, and even though I have a couple of bottles in the fridge, haven't touched them in months
Me too
I think it definitely needs to be looked at more for addiction. I used to be a weekly wine drinker 4 or more glasses on the weekend for 30 years. It may not be considered "alcoholic' status but it interfered with my quality of life. Craving it and consuming it and the effects of having a hangover which put everything on hold for at least one day after. I took Wegovy and lost a lot of weight but the first thing I noticed was I no longer craved alcohol at all and when I tried to drink it it didn't have the same taste or effect and I couldn't drink more than 1 glass so I stopped altogether. I've been off Wegovy since June 2022 and the cravings still haven't returned and I never in a million years would have ever thought I wouldn't be a weekly wine drinker. My quality of life from the weight loss and from no longer caring about alcohol or having my weekends revolve around it have been a complete blessing on every level.
Now we all just need to know about those human trials. I have 2 people in my life struggling with addiction and are obese. Even if it can only help them a little, I would love to get them some help.
As a SUD Counselor, I find this information very fascinating. Going to do more research. Thank you.
That's really cool. A side effect of one of my meds is lowering addiction. I haven't had any issues with addiction, and it's not really a thing in my family, but I noticed it made alcohol taste worse than it already does.
Really interesting report. I just started Ozempic for T2D. It is making a big difference for me. I have had to reduce my fast acting insulin intake & had an overall reduction in my daily BG. I don't drink or smoke. I used to drink 35 years ago, then just quit. I do get cravings once in a great while for beer. I wonder if this will have an impact on this. Well done. Thanks you
One side effect id like to warn people about with ozempic, and that is gastroparesis. As the med says, it slows stomach emptying. However, it can slow it down so severely in some people that their stomach can no longer contract to move food into the intestines, causing extreme pain, nausea, and often vomiting the food up. In severe cases the gastroparesis requires tube feeding, as in can no longer eat enough by mouth to live, and have an implanted tube feed you to sustain you instead. I have a feeding tube for gastroparesis unrelated to ozempic, but I just want people to know this risk before they take the medication, because it can be severely life altering, and there’s no way to predict if it will or won’t happen to you. Ozempic absolutely has great amazing benefits for folks who need it! Not discounting that at all, just want people to be more risk aware.
I remember reading about this drug in Science Daily in 2020 where they were saying it might be useful for weight loss before it blew up big. It's crazy how much of a panacea the drug seems to be.
My dad, seemingly overnight, stopped drinking all alcohol. He said he just stopped wanting too. He started Ozempic around that time.
Nice to see Rose back!
Hi Rose!
Very cool!
It sounds like since it basically numbs your reward center, it will make you unable to enjoy anything, not just drugs. Meaning you would feel less pleasure when doing normal things such as eating and socializing. Which would probably lead to MAJOR depression. I don't know all the details, but I feel like that is something to watch out for.
France was facing an opioid epidemic in the 80s/90s that they managed with buprenorphine
Fun fact:
Methylphanadate was first used for weight decrease.
Can comfirm, as I am heavily underweight.
Heavily underweight...lol
I've been on semaglutide for 8 weeks for type 2 Diabetes and I'll tell ya, I stopped eating chocolate. I used to LOVE chocolate, and I still do, but I don't NEED chocolate. I can use logic to determine if and when to have cake, cookies, candy. It's really cool!
Fact check: sildenafil wasn’t being studied for chest pain (aka angina) it was being studied for pulmonary hypertension which is high blood pressure in the lungs- sincerely an Aussie pharmacist
Your fact check is wrong, Sildenafil was originally researched for angina, then used for ED, and THEN widely used for pulmonary hypertension
The use for Pulmonary hypertension is the most recent one.
Sincerely - A Colombian physician
@@cristian0523 Regardless, Pfizer will always be known for their long standing side effects.
My understanding is that it was developed for increasing coronary blood flow and the other things came after that.
I am on Ozempic, (in fact went to the doctor's today, and he is proud of my weight loss with it) And now I see this video It might be a thing for me too. Now I don't drink often, but when I do, I usually feel fine after 2 drinks. But now I noticed my tolerance is much lower to the point I get woozy after 1 drink. I never put it together, but it does have some base of truth.
Ozempic
Question: what is your body fat percentage. A recent met study found that the majority of the weight lossed on Ozempic was muscle mass and contractive tissue, resulting in a person's fat percentage going up. Wondering if you were able to avoid that side effect?
@@woodchuck003 Can you link the specific study? I would be interested in reading that, since what you suggest is very similar to effect of rapid weight loss, perhaps the study focused on people who ''self administered'' Ozempic instead of having a plan with doctor.
@@dirtymfnsanchezyou do know that both losing and maintaining weight loss is more complex than that, right? Like yes, technically weight loss is caused by consuming fewer calories than your body uses, end of story. But there's a) a massive psychological aspect and b) evolutionarily the body wants to store fat because it protects against periods of starvation, and when you starve it the body fights to hold onto as much weight as possible, and immediately tries to regain the lost weight at any opportunity.
@@minnybri2010they're trolling in replies to a few comments. Don’t waste your time with them
Thank you for covering this.
Fascinating! I continue to marvel at the remarkable complexity of the human body.
The way this works worries me about what happens long term. We might find that that the glucagon analog at 1000's of times more than the body normally gets could turn out a very bad thing.
You're right, we should fund bigger studies to see if that's an issue at all, or if it's nothing to worry about and the drug will help a lot of suffering people live fuller lives
We can find out many things. We already know that addiction is pretty much the worst thing possible for many human beings.
A lot of them are already using drugs that have the worst side effects... living in literal misery and then dying in agony.
Even if this is purgatory it would be better for many because they are in hell.
The biggest problem from my point of view is that this does not cure anything, you need to take it for rest of your life or revert to state before taking it. (or maybe worse?) Welcome to the subscription based healthy weight and now even pay big pharma 1000$ a month to not be addicted..
@@princeofexcess Agreed, for this purpose it is likely the better choice. But as a fad weight loss drug to those that it's not necessary... That could be a very different story.
@@ladislavseps4801 That is a worry as well, yes. Great point. We already have that in many other medical procedures being pushed today.
Psilocybin has been thoroughly tested and offers the same type of results in regards to addiction 😅
For sure
I was prescribed wegovy in 2022 for weight loss. I was 212# (my heaviest). I didn’t make any life style changes though the medication did make it hard to eat and when I did eat, my portions were tiny. I still ate the same variety of junk food. I had been gaining 5#/week before starting the med. I tried to exercise but I struggle with ADHD so I’d rather lick strangers toe nails than do a boring treadmill or elliptical. I was on the med about 5 months before stopping. I got down to 185 and stayed there even with the diet change (getting back to normal appetite). The weight stayed off over a year until I developed an eating disorder. I’m now down to 145-150 due to extreme calorie deficit. I struggle with food sensory issues and I suspect arfid but don’t have health insurance to confirm. I’m freezing constantly. My heart rate goes through the roof if I go from laying down to sitting to standing. My vision gets spotty and I get dizzy. It’s not from low blood sugar because I eat enough for that, just not enough for weight maintenance. Funnily enough, I am finally the goal weight my doctor set for me at the start of the course of treatment with Wegovy. All I had to do was eat less than 1000 cal per day. Never mind doing so is ED territory for me and my body does better a lil plumper….my period is totally wonky now too. Not enough fat to keep it regular.
Before my weight gain, I was considered overweight (at about 160#). Do overweight folks typically have average body fat %? 30% is pretty normal and healthy I would say. But that doesn’t matter. Height/weight says obese. Health doesn’t matter. How I feel in my body doesn’t matter.
This is awesome, but a lot of people need mental health treatment. A lot of my destructive behavior, including addiction, decreased drastically after starting therapy and getting medicated for my ADHD/anxiety/depression. Many times the addiction is a symptom of a deeper problem.
The problem with alcohol addiction though is that it's VERY dangerous to stop so even if this does reduce cravings people would still need medications to help with withdrawal issues like seizures, delirium tremens and so on but for people who have addictive traits and "binge drink" rather than drink every day this sounds promising-same with for Cocaine addiction and Methamphetamine addiction, it sounds promising-i hope something comes of this
There's a ramp-up, you don't just go straight to full medication.
Wait, I can't believe I've never heard of the dangers of stopping. Delirium tremens?? What even is that?
@@P4StalotTerrifying hallucinations, like living nightmares. You can also have seizures in withdrawl and most people have severe anxiety
@@monke3552 this is awful. I hope most people know about this. I feel like it's really easy to become an alcoholic in college... At least I had a lot of friends who were.
@@P4Stalotthe delerium is basically very scary hallucinations and delusions. You can also have grand mal seizures which can be fatal, you have to be very careful when coming off of alcohol
Semaglutide also completely resolved my IBS. Was amazing until it wasn't available
This is wonderful!!!
This was very well done.
I think a chemically effective treatment for addiction will involve multiple routes of effect. And effective addiction counseling and life changes are always going to be ila part of full treatment.
Nice to know I can combat obesity AND any lingering addictions I might have with a single drug. Nice!
Btw none of this is medical advice, talk with a doctor. But it's not that simple, as a future nurse if you want to lower your weight I'd say increasing your muscle mass is the fastest *Long Term* weight loss. While as a social worker (Senior practicing student) learning more about addictions, it takes a lot of work and a support network to be able to treat addictions long term.
That’s the kinda mentality health care workers do not want their patients to have. If you compare the course of treatment to riding a swing, the medication and treatment is the shove you get at the start. Without actively kicking your legs to stay in motion, you’ll eventually get back to where you started from. Especially for chronic afflictions like addiction and obesity, you’ll want to be staying “in motion” on your own for your entire life, outside intervention can only help so much without intrinsic motivation to get and stay better
I’m doing it now and I feel fantastic; I’m dropping kgs that have been impossible to shift without ozempic, and I’ve completely stopped smoking on it too. People can proselytize all day about how it’s ‘better’ to just make lifestyle changes and get support, but the truth of it is that many people simply don’t have access to the support networks needed and struggle to do it on our own, living a sedentary lifestyle for so long can make increasing exercise feel like literal torture, and it’s especially worse when you have other chronic conditions and neurodivergencies that impact mobility and motivation, and make drugs and comfort foods feel necessary just to function. I’m not saying that ozempic is a miracle drug that will cure all, but it absolutely is an incredibly useful tool for those of us who really do struggle with cravings, and over eating, inability to exercise, etc it works immediately to reduce hunger and cravings, it takes away that constant pull you feel toward food and other substances, and leaves your mind free to focus on other things, and the boost in confidence you get when you notice the weight coming off gives you the motivation that you need to start engaging in healthier habits that just seemed hopeless and unattainable before.
@@unistudent4002 Yeah a lot of people (including myself) talk a lot about support networks and changing your life but not everyone has that or can do that immediately. I'd recommend talking to your doctor and seeing ehat the effects if you're taking it long term will be in your body. I just worry that you might end with your bowels and stomach not moving as it has happened to some people.
I'm really glad it's been helping you with your life right now and that is something people in the medical field shouldn't forget about, it can help you a lot
There are posts on Reddit about what happened when they stopped taking the drug. They reported having a large appetite and feeling hungry almost all the time. It seems like it's the kind of drug you'll need to be on for the rest of your life.
We need generics for this stuff yesterday, and to give medicare the ability to negotiate prices even before that. Everyone is going to want this stuff.
I'm a type 2 diabetic in Australia. For most of 2022 it was almost impossible to get. There was 1 time I asked my pharmacist and he had just got his delivery of ozempic and they send him only 2 pens. Now in the last 3 months supply has returned and I'm able to get again and I'm hoping this whole situation doesn't happen again.
I want to see a sci show episode on Amanita Muscaria for addiction. It was insane how much it curbed my alcohol cravings for days after drinking Amanita tea. It can apparently help with those harder drugs you mentioned, too.
What? Microdosing? Because I've only heard about it being a hallucinagen used by "berserkers" in the past.
Don't mix them up!
Take my anecdotal evidence with a grain of salt, but a friend who was abusing the extremely addictive Meth felt way less craving and smoking meth after I gave him a half-strength psilocybin mushroom tea during a camping trip.
The irony is that drug addiction will probably be cut by taking drugs.
Yesss!! This is so true. It happened to me. I used to drink three or four beers when I went out. Now I can’t even finish one. I start and then I just forget I am drinking it. I have no interest in it. It is amazing.
It's neat to see how different things can have multiple effects, as long as you know what the risks associated with it can be. I've been on things "for the side effects." I was taking an antidepressant for the drowsiness, as well as managing nerve pain that made it hard to sleep. But it turned out that it gave me terrible nightmares after a few months which had the opposite effect. Then I took GABA to help with sleep, and it ended up allowing me to focus more and that didn't help too much with sleep. In the few years following that, I was since diagnosed with ADHD which explains why GABA helped, and POTS, which explains why I'd have nightmares and wake up sweaty, as that class of drug is not recommended for anyone with POTS unless it's the last option. Turns out my doctor had it backwards. She thought my ADHD symptoms were coming from lack of sleep, but it was my ADHD that was causing my difficulty with sleep. Now if I need help sleeping, I use a melatonin based product, or tea, as caffeine also causes me to get tired.
Wow you sound allot like my partner. It's kinda convoluted the different interactions between symptoms, drugs, side effects, etc. They were on duloxetine to help with fibromyalgia, didn't work for that now they are on pregabalin, which works for that, but went back on duloxetine because when they were on it their mood was so much better. They were also on something in-between that caused horrible nightmares and acting then out. But they also have pots from her ehlers danlos syndrome, nighttime urinary incontinence, sweating and nightmares though not as bad of nightmares as the drug they had been on. I think the nightmares and incontinence has to do with disautonomia symptoms like pots along with drug side effects. We also suspect they have ADHD, but the other conditions have really taken precedence in getting treated.
At least with the drugs they are on now they aren't depressed and aren't in debilitating pain, at least most of the time.
With how it bridges satiety and dopamine/reward, I wonder if more research could find a dosage that might be effective in treating eating disorders (most likely requiring being paired with therapy). Eating disorders are complex, but maybe shaking up your baseline might give someone the chance to reset their habits/emotions around food?
Interesting angle, considering it's being used to treat obesity, but that makes sense! I wonder if it would impact the dopamine reward from depriving oneself of food.
@@minnybri2010seems extremely risky to put anyone other than someone who is obese and suffering from BED on a drug with weight loss indications. I would expect that low body weight is a serious contraindication and would be dangerous.
There are other medications that control dopamine reactions (such as naltrexone)
It might be useful for binge eating disorder. But not for other eating disorders since it causes severe lack of hunger
As a recoevring addict I'd like to add that addiction is not only a physical need after a while. I needed to use in order to deal with everyday life. It wasn't about physical dependence. I hope this medication can help people sober up, but in my experience you need to treat the spiritual problems. Treating symptoms won't help long term...
Seriously. I’m autistic and when everything gets too overwhelming, alcohol or benzodiazepines always dulls things down to a manageable level. But, I’m severely looked down on by my family. They think I’m an addict when it’s just not the case. I go for long periods of time without drinking when I stay at home. It’s just when I’m out in a social situation that I’d like to be medicated to prevent a meltdown.
I recently started Mounjaro after the last 3 years of struggling with hormonal imbalance, pcos and binge eating. In 3 years I managed to put on nearly 30 kgs and I only just turned 22 years old. I started Mounjaro 3 weeks ago, and my god, it has changed everything for me. From that first injection I have felt stable, my appetite is completely gone, I eat only what I think my body needs, I feel more energized than ever and I’m working out again every day. For the first time I feel like the concept of being healthy is not an un achievable goal to me. I have not experienced any side effects so far and I don’t wish to speak for others, but to me this drug is life changing.
Great video! One note: you said "honing in" when the correct phrase is "homing in" in this instance.
There's already a shortage of ozempic and people with diabetes need it. I know addiction is just as serious but there are loads of effective treatments that insurance companies just don't want to pay for, and this expensive diabetes med is cheaper
Ozempic is not a finite resource like water. These off label uses will hire or create factories to make their product, and this was never the real cause of the ozempic shortage. Wegovy faced the same shortages ozempic did because of industry-wide greed motivated breakdowns and supply chain issues. In the supply chain, unrelated drugs are competing for the same machines and components like pipettes. Many people making more semaglutide will only cause a shortage if they do it as cheaply as possible causing high risk of these factories being shut down, which is what is happening now.
Isn't cancer one of the side effects Ozembic has to list on its TV ads?
It says you shouldn’t take it if you have a history of a certain type of cancer. But here’s a secret - everyone is going to get cancer eventually unless they die of something else first…
i would get SO MANY ads for ozempic back when its main use was for diabetic treatment. interesting that this is what became of it!
I look forward to updates on this.
With how it works with the dopamine receptors this might actually be a particularly useful ADHD medication too. For someone that hasn't quite found his right medication, this could be a great option in a few years.
As someone with ADHD who has taken a glp-1 med, I personally haven't seen any change in my ADHD symptoms, just my food-related dopamine seeking. But I'm one person, so 🤷
@@lindsayf9225 That's unfortunate! That being said, what works for some people might work for others. A lot of people get benefits from the medicine that's already out there, whereas others not so much. More options and more research and it could well be viable for a few different things by the sounds of it.
Always trial and error finding the right medication though - I fully sympathise with that, too!
as someone with a mild eating disorder and dopamine seeking tendencies (no adhd but autism) it may help me and I hope to try it in the future @@lindsayf9225
I thought it said it decreased overall dopamine production. Wouldn't that make ADHD worse?
I started Mounjaro last year. I started Vyvanse this year. I find this, combined with a daily cup of coffee, to be a killer combo. This destroys all of my nootropic hunting in my 20's. I'm super good now :D
Mounjaro 15MG
Vyvanse 70MG
1 Cup of Regular Coffee
In every Wegovy group I am in, there are bunches of people who report that they stopped their addiction while on this medication. Many stopped cold turkey and had no side effects.
Isn't addiction characterized by having withdrawals? When you do something so much that it becomes detrimental?
I’ve lost 50 lbs on Wegovy and I have noticed I do drink far less. I thought it was because getting too full when you are on this class of drugs does causes nausea and too much liquid makes that worse, at least for me.
I can say that I took ozempic for 3 months and it absolutely took away my addiction to food. Not kidding I am addicted to eating particularly sweets. I had to stop taking it because it made me nauseated 24/7.
I wonder what side effects we'll see a decade from now
So are we destroying people's capacity to experience pleasure or gratification?
I am on ozempic for type 2 diabetes and I definitely noticed that drinking alcohol suddenly became disgusting for me.
I was on saxenda for a while which is similar, (for weight loss but ultimately it just completely removed my appetite and eating made me sick) and a side effect was I no longer enjoyed beer. That was a pretty big deal at the time and it just kinda made it unenjoyable.
It feels strange that this seems to only focus on the positives. This the addictive impulses one has come back when you stop the drug. That is to say, if you get on the drug, you're on it for life $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
As someone who is addicted to food, I can say that, for me, not only have the cravings and hunger pains gone away completely with Wegovy, the terrible depression i would get from dieting is gone too.
This could help so many people, I hope one day we can treat substance use disorder easily
Problem is now diabetic patients cost are through the roof because it's used for weight-loss and a lot of insurance has stopped covering it
This research is extremely important and interesting!
Is there one to make me hungrier? I am too thin but I just can't shove enough food in me, my apetite is below the deck.
😂 me too. I could never take this drug.
Have you tried weed? It's common for people on chemo with no appetite to use weed to help them eat
@@K_End weed makes me feel weird and paranoid and dumb
@@K_End I'm not gonna do drugs bruv, I don't even drink or smoke. (I mean recreational/mood altering)
I've been on Ozempic for 5 months for type 2 diabetes. It has helped lower my A1C. I was about 10 pounds overweight and it lowered my weight. I used to drink a fair amount of beer. Now I don't care so much about drinking, I've lost my desire for it, but that could also be attributable from my wifes' "strong" encouragement to stop! My marriage means much more to me than drinking beer!