Millions have been on GLP-1s for 3-5 years. We’re the largest uncontrolled experiment in medicine.
Been thinking about this a lot lately. I started Ozempic in early 2020 for T2D, so I’m coming up on 5 years now. My cousin just started tirzepatide last month and she’s all excited, asking me tons of questions. And it hit me… there are literally MILLIONS of us who’ve been on these drugs for 3-5 years now, and we’re basically just figuring it out as we go.
Like yeah, there were clinical trials, but those were what, a few thousand people max? Under controlled conditions? Now we’ve got everyone from diabetics to people who want to lose 15 lbs for a wedding on these things. Different doses, different combos with other meds, different eating patterns.
I’m not trying to be alarmist or anything – honestly the medication changed my life and my A1C has never been better. But sometimes I wonder what we’re gonna find out in another 5-10 years. Are there long-term effects on the pancreas we don’t know about yet? What about being on it for decades?
My doctor just shrugs and says the benefits outweigh the risks for now. Which like, I get it, but also feels weird to be part of this massive real-world experiment. Anyone else think about this or am I just overthinking?
I mean, you could say the same thing about metformin back in the day, or statins. Every medication goes through this phase where long-term data comes from real world use. The difference now is social media makes us way more aware of it. I’ve been on semaglutide for 2.5 years and honestly I try not to spiral about the what-ifs. My endo told me they’re monitoring everyone carefully and if concerning patterns emerge, we’ll know pretty quick given how many people are on these meds. That’s actually reassuring to me – safety signals would show up fast with this many users.
Nah you’re not overthinking it at all. I work in pharma (not for Novo or Lilly tho) and this is absolutely a valid concern. The post-marketing surveillance is huge but it’s also reactive, not proactive. We won’t know about issues that take 15-20 years to develop until we’re already there.
That said, I’m still on tirzepatide myself lol. 38F, been on it for 18 months. I figure the alternative for me was bariatric surgery or staying at 320 lbs, so I’m picking my poison. Just going into it with eyes open, ya know? Getting all my labs done every 3 months and actually reading them.
MetforminMax makes a good point about the large numbers actually helping us spot problems faster. But I also think about the people mixing these with other peptides or doing compound versions from sketchy pharmacies. THAT’S the part that worries me more than the actual FDA approved versions. Like the official drugs at least have some oversight and tracking. My doctor mentioned she’s seeing so many patients now who started on compounded sema from online clinics and have no idea what dose they’re actually getting. That’s scary.
I’ve been on this journey since 2019 with Ozempic and yeah, sometimes it feels weird. But tbh I try to remember that staying where I was had KNOWN risks – like I was headed for dialysis and amputation territory with my numbers. At least with GLP-1s the risk is theoretical at this point. My kidneys have actually improved according to my recent labs. I guess we’ll see what happens but I’m not losing sleep over it. Definitely think it’s smart to stay informed and keep up with research tho.