(WGN Radio) – The latest microdosing trend isn’t shrooms or acid. It’s Ozempic.
The injectable drug and others like it have become extremely popular in recent years as a way to manage diabetes and lose significant weight. In recent months, it’s become desirable among those who don’t necessarily need a full dose of the medication, but want to reap some of the benefits.
Health influencers have started sharing their microdosing regimens on social media, the New York Times reports, saying it can help users lose a few pounds while avoiding the drugs’ more undesirable side effects (nausea, vomiting, stomach pain and constipation, among others).
One endocrinologist told the Hollywood Reporter that her patients have started asking about microdosing Ozempic as a way to thwart Alzheimer’s.
The microdosing movement could also be driven by the desire to save money. Ozempic and other GLP-1 drugs, like Wegovy, Mounjaro and Zepbound, are pricey – about $1,000 per month without insurance.
Dr. Jeff Bohmer, medical director of the emergency department at Northwestern Medicine Central DuPage Hospital, said he understands the temptation to “microdose” in order to stretch out a month’s supply over a long period of time, saving you a bit of money.
“I see why there’s a drive to do it, it’s certainly less expensive,” Bohmer said in an interview with WGN Radio. “I can see why there’s a push for it, but there aren’t a lot of great studies to support it yet.”
Dr. Bohmer talked more about Ozempic side effects and answered other health questions in his WGN Radio interview. You can listen to the full segment below:
Microdosing GLP-1 drugs is “experimental and unauthorized,” write UCLA internal medicine doctors Eve Glazier and Elizabeth Ko. Because there’s so little research into this unauthorized way of taking the drug, they advise speaking to your doctor before you try any sort of off-label use.
