Woman Lost 90 Pounds With a Drug Similar to Ozempic
She went from weighing 209 pounds to 120 with the help of the shot.
If there is one diet trend of 2023, it is undoubtedly the rise of GLP-1 injectors, most notably Ozempic, Wegovy, and Mounjaro. While it might seem as though these medications, formulated to treat diabetes, are new additions to the market, GLP-1s have been around for years. Danielle Payton, 33, claims to be one of the longest-serving patients on one of these medications, discussing her multi-year-long weight loss journey in a new interview.
Payton tells Daily Mail that she weighed 209 pounds and was prediabetic when she went to see her doctor to discuss a breast reduction. The doctor informed her that unless she lost weight, not only would they not be able to operate, but she would suffer more chronic illnesses.
The doctor told her she had to get down to 165 pounds. They prescribed Victoza, approved by the FDA to treat Type 2 diabetes in 2010, to help her manage her prediabetic condition. Little did she know it would change her life.
"I was given a shot and told, 'This is going to stop you from getting diabetes. The side effect is you might lose a little weight,'" she said.
"I was not told, nor did I even think, that I could lose between 80 and 90 pounds. Ever," she said. Now, nine years after her first shot, she weighs just 120 pounds.
She adds that there were other changes, including her taste buds changing, her appetite decreasing, and her overall relationship with food changing. "It's not that I changed my diet, per se … it's that the shot actually changes how you look at food, what food becomes attractive to you, at least in my experience," Payton noted. "It's a mind game."
She is now more conscious of only eating when she's hungry. "The shots basically taught me to do that," she said. However, there were side effects, including constipation, nausea, and nausea, most of which subsided.
According to her doctors, Payton will most likely need to continue taking Victoza for the rest of her life to avoid developing diabetes."[Victoza] is part of my daily routine, and my daily routine is what keeps me from getting progressively sicker, so as much as it sucks, it's also what keeps me going," she said.
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However, there was a drug shortage last December, and she missed her shot for several months and ended up gaining 15 pounds. "I was freaking out. I was like, 'You guys don't need it. You're just doing this to get thin, and I'm doing this so I don't get diabetes,'" she said."Really take into consideration that people actually need this medicine and that there are other ways that those people can lose weight," she said. "Please stop taking the supply that's left in this country because it is dwindling by the day. And we don't know whether we'll be able to get the next script."
