When Dr. C. Michael Gibson, a cardiologist at Harvard Medical School, goes to heart disease meetings, he cannot help observe a change.
“We will sit at dinner and half of the meal, we will promote our dishes at the same time,” Dr. Gibson said. “We look at each other and we laugh and say, ‘And you? ‘
They share what is becoming an open secret: they have been trying to control their weight for years, but now they are taking the new obesity medicines made by Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk.
Dr. Robert Califf, a former head of the Food and Drug Administration, says he does not recognize his colleagues. So many are so thin.
“It looks good,” he says he tells Cardiologists’ colleagues in conferences and meetings.
There are no studies to substantiate the percentage of doctors taking drugs. But doctors “is a good puddle test for drugs that are extremely effective,” Dr. Califf said. If doctors reading the documents describing the results of the clinical test are rushing to take a new drug, this is an indication that it is truly promising.
The use of Wegovy and Zepbound reminds him of the use of statins, drugs that reduce cholesterol in their early days. Cardiologists, who were more familiar with the consequences of high levels of cholesterol, were one of the first to receive drugs in large numbers.
Many young cardiologists and diabetes experts, as well as many of their patients, had risk factors for heart disease. Or their blood sugar crawls. Or only the natural executive of over -weight transfer made daily life ongoing. They say they like their new appearance, but also their new health and energy. In a way, they feel like members of a club.
Four years ago, Dr. Dr. Darren McGuire, a cardiologist at the University of Texas southwest, was fighting with obesity and type 2 diabetes. He then began to take ozempic, the drug Novo Nordisk Diabetes sold by the name of Wegovy for obesity. He later changed to Mounjaro, from Eli Lilly, who is sold as a Zepbound for obesity.
He lost 30 percent of his weight and took his blood sugar under control. Now, he said, “he feels better than ever.”
It is also struck by the number of colleagues who seem to use medicines.
“People look quite different,” said Dr. McGuire, who is on Counseling Councils for Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly. “It’s amazing.” He described a prominent diabetes, Dr. John Buse of the University of North Carolina, who has “shrunk”.
Not enough, said Dr. Buse. But, he said, “I lost 25 % of my body weight and completely changed my life.” He had struggled with his size from childhood, winning, losing and then gaining weight again.
When he ran, “he will go crazy,” said Dr. Buse. With Wegovy, he said, his weight fell effortlessly until he reached his goal. Then his appetite returned, which was frightening. But instead of recovering pounds, he maintained a steady weight as he continued to take the drug.
Like other patients, he found that taking drugs excluded most of his desire to drink alcohol. Before starting Wegovy, he would often have two or three drinks with dinner. Now has one, or none.
Dr. Buse, who is a consultant for Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly, said he did not often ask people in diabetes if they received one of the drugs, but “there are people who have changed a lot”. He said he would “bet dollars in donuts” that they were in weight loss medicines.
Some cardiologists are still “in the closet,” Dr. Gibson said.
One is a cardiologist in Boston. She said that the person who prescribed Ozempic for her was also a woman cardiologist who took it. He asked not to identify because he had only said a few people in the drug. She was trying to maintain her medical information privately, though she suspected her colleagues could have guessed. He added that he was sure he knew who else took one of the drugs.
“Yes, you can definitely say,” he said. “And when you go to dinners, you can definitely see. We eat, like, the eighth of our meal. I know what’s going on here.”
Doctors know they are privileged.
Initially, Dr. Buse paid for his Wegovy. But soon North Carolina stopped paying for obesity drugs for state employees, so she paid out of her pocket. At $ 1,349 per month, it was a significant expense.
Then, at a meeting in Europe, he asked a colleague to prescribe Wegovy for him and took six months. Dr. Buse was able to buy Wegovy for a quarter of what it costs in the United States.
Doctors also know how to support themselves and browse the medical system better than many of their patients do.
The insurer of Dr. McGuire initially refused to pay for his drugs. “I had to appeal,” he said. “I have a relationship with a primary care doctor and I know when to keep pushing.”
His insurer agreed to pay.
Dr. Gibson said his insurer had paid without a matter and wanted to discuss his decision to take Wegovy openly. (Recently changed to Lilly’s Zepbound, which is also covered by its safety because it causes even greater weight loss.)
“Many people are in the mind that is ashamed, that it is cheating to use a medicine,” Dr. Gibson said.
But the drugs of obesity changed his life, he said, “It’s the biggest thing I ever did.”
And even Zepbound, powerful as it is, is just the beginning, said Dr. Gibson.
“There are 120 new agents coming together,” he said, referring to drugs in clinical trials. “I look forward to those who may have even better security and efficiency.”
