Katie's Story

Katie Schottman is one of 12 million Americans currently taking one of these GLP-1 weight loss drugs.

"I've lost about 50 pounds, and it's been life-changing for me," Schottman told CBN News.

Along with a renewed sense of confidence, she feels no longer addicted to sugar.

"So, it's not something you crave like, 'Oh, I need a piece of chocolate,' or something like that," she said. "You don't have that craving anymore."

Katie's results appear typical as patients average losing 10 to 20% of their body weight.

Best-selling author and physician Don Colbert, MD, author of the new book, Live Long and Strong, told CBN News GLP-1 drugs can help patients who struggle to lose weight, especially those dealing with obesity and type-2 diabetes.

"Some people cannot control their appetite," Colbert said. "These GLP-1 receptor agonists lower insulin levels. So eventually, that appetite, it just puts it out. You're not being controlled by your appetite."

That's because these drugs mimic natural gut hormones that target brain receptors, which can communicate messages and changes to the body.

"Ozempic turns off one key appetite hormone," Dr. Colbert said, "Mounjaro or Tirzepatide turns off two key appetite hormones, and then the new one's coming out, the Retatrutide, which comes out probably next year, turns off three."

In addition, Colbert described how patients experience slower digestion.

"So food sits in the stomach longer, and so you feel fuller longer," Colbert explained.

Benefits Besides Weight Loss

Katie's GLP-1 use led to other health improvements.

"My A1C has gone down a lot," she said. "My cholesterol, that has gone down. My heart rate is actually even slower now. Another big thing that probably a lot of people would appreciate is people who snore. No more snoring. It completely went away."

Other benefits can include a lower risk of heart attacks, strokes, sleep apnea, or kidney disease.

A Cleveland Clinic study also showed GLP-1s reduced the risk of progression of breast, lung, liver, and colorectal cancers by up to 50%.  Lead study author Mark David Orland, MD of Taussig Cancer Institute, Cleveland Clinic, told CBN News the study tabulated information from over 150 different hospital systems.

"What we were able to look at in particular are patients that had early stage cancer, so stage one to stage three, and look in particular if those that initiated a GLP-1 receptor agonist, such as let's say Ozempic or Wegovy, had a decrease or change in the degree of metastatic progression or stage four disease," he said. "So we did this across seven different solid tumors.

Dr. Orland said what they found was "quite interesting."

"I think one thing that I could actually report is patients that are on GLP-1 receptor agonists and have early-stage cancer shouldn't be as worried about that stage four progression," Orland said.

This drug class often lowers inflammation, which has been found to minimize joint pain and the effects of Alzheimer's disease.

Red Flags

While the benefits of GLP-1s are many and seem to be growing by the day, there are a number of red flags, including various side effects such as nausea, constipation, and acid reflux. Patients also often notice temporary bouts of fatigue when starting the drug.

Doctors note less common side effects that can be more serious, including pancreatitis and gallbladder problems. GLP-1 users are also advised to consume at least 90 grams of protein daily, or risk muscle and bone loss.

Demand for these successful drugs means the search is on for cheap, easy-to-obtain versions. Matthew Knight, MD, told CBN News the demand has turned the online marketplace into "the wild west."

"If you spend any time on social media, you'll see a ton of these ads aimed at consumers," Knight points out.

These ads usually promote compounded versions of the drugs, which are custom-mixed and not FDA-approved.

"It really is up to the patient, up to the consumer to verify who's compounding it," he said. "What's their track record? Do you know where it's from? I mean, is it from the United States or is it from out of the country? Is it pure? Does it have other things in it?"

Knight advises that the better approach would involve supervision from a health care professional.

"You need an exam," he said. "Somebody needs to know what other medications you're taking, and somebody needs to follow your progress. And you also need an exit plan. Because at some point you're going to stop taking these medications, and you need to know what's going to happen then."

GLP-1s are available in pills or shots. Katie has received an injection once a week for the last two years and is ready to start tapering-off the drug. That will happen with the help of her physician, Joanne Lopes, MD, FACS.

"Gaining some weight back is fine, but you just don't want to get back to the point that you were before you started the GLP-1s," Dr. Lopes told CBN News. "It goes back to changing that behavior, not relying just on a medication to help you keep that weight down. So you still need to learn better eating habits, healthier eating habits, and also implementing exercise into your lifestyle."

While maintaining their weight is possible when no longer taking the drug, studies show, within a year, most patients gain back two-thirds of the weight they lost. Subscribe for free to Breaking Christian News here

Related Articles:

• Popular Weight Loss Drugs Also Help Users Lower Risk of Heart Disease, Diabetes, Perhaps Even Alcohol Misuse
• Healthy Diet and Lifestyle Better Medicine than Pills and Surgery, Doctor Says
• See How This Christian Couple Lost 150 Pounds: 'We Feel 20 Years Younger'

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