Most users of blockbuster weight-loss drugs like Wegovy quit after three months- as users report debilitating symptoms and high costs READ MORE: Rush to purchase Ozempic for that perfect summer body By Luke Andrews Senior Health Reporter For Dailymail.Com Published: 22:20 BST, 21 June 2024 | Updated: 22:21 BST, 21 June 2024 e-mail View comments One-third of people taking blockbuster weight-loss medications like Wegovy give them up within the first month, and nearly 60 percent quit after three. That's according to a new analysis of weight-loss drug prescriptions for 170,000 obese and overweight adults written from 2014 to early 2024 by The Blue Cross Blue Shield Association.
Experts raised concerns over the figures, saying someone needs to take the drugs for at least 12 weeks to achieve 'clinically meaningful' weight loss — or losing at least five percent of body weight. The researchers did not investigate why so many quit early, but it may be due to the wide array of unpleasant side-effects some users report, such as indigestion, nausea and suicidal thoughts, as well as the cost of the drugs or difficulty filling prescriptions because of frequent shortages. Many patients quit obesity medications before achieving clinically meaningful weight loss- or losing at least five percent of their body weight, data suggests The analysis searched databases for prescriptions for Saxenda — or liraglutide — and Wegovy — or semaglutide — written between 2014, when Saxenda first bec.
