I see a lot of posts on tumblr about how horrible ozempic is. I always feel weird disagreeing. But I think it's important to talk about why I disagree.
Ozempic is not, as many people, including my previous doctor, would say, an appetite suppresant. It is a GLP-1 agonist. The primary function of an agonist is to bind to its respective organic compound to promote secretion of hormones - in this case, insulin. Its presence in the body also decreases glucagon. GLP-1, like most hormones, is complex, and what it does to the body is complex. A side effect of increased GLP-1 activity is reduced appetite.
The reduced appetite is a *side effect* not the purpose, and for people like me who take ozempic to treat for diabetes, it's been life-changingly helpful.
I do not want a world in which ozempic is banned because it's a "weight loss drug" because it's not. I do not appreciate the posts about how serious the side effects are, because it's the safest diabetes medication on the market. I do not consider people posting things with the tag "anti-ozempic" to be my allies, because that reductive view on medicine is the same all or nothing mentality as doctors that refused to treat me for ten years because I was fat.
Has Novo Nordisk done some shitty things regarding advertising and scarcity? Yes they have. Is using ozempic for the sole purpose of weight loss bad? Absolutely. But I think it's really, really important that we stay clear and consistent about why.
Taking away life-saving medication from people with a debilitating lifelong condition in the name of thinness has and will kill people. Fatphobia is often also ableism. Ozempic helps people like me, people with diabetes, live their lives. And the fact that my voice has been drowned in a sea of healthy people complaining about "ozempic face" is the problem. The fact that Novo Nordisk started marketing their product as a weight loss medicine knowing they wouldn't be able to keep up with demand is the problem. Ozempic itself is not the problem.
What is it with diabetes that makes people think they know more about it than the people who have the disorder. People hear the word diabetes and flock to compete with who can be the most ableist.
Found a video of a girl showing off Diet Soda detector strips (if there's any diabaddies that see this and want it I can link them, they're super helpful), and half of the comments were "you're diabetic you should just be drinking water..." First of all, not only are you just wrong, but you seriously expect diabetics to just never enjoy themselves? Ever?.
Saw another comment under a video about type 1 saying "you did this to yourselves. you ate too much sugar and you got yourself into this situation." And it's just so funny because they're Wrong™️. Type one diabetes is autoimmune and fully hereditary, and not at all effected by diet.
I mean, I know the answer. It's diet culture. People on their fancy diets think they're a superior human being because other people are "unhealthier" than them, and they hear diabetes and think "big fat and lazy with a bad diet" and think they're allowed to walk all over them since they're so superior. Despite the fact that it's a completely false stereotype that doesn't apply to most diabetics.
And btw please do not come under this post saying "but other disorders have that too" this is a vent post about diabetes. Do not derail.
eating sugar is not a primary cause of diabetes. eating junk food is not a primary cause of diabetes. when you make jokes about "getting diabetes" over sugary, junk filled food, you are enforcing stereotypes that end with diabetics developing deadly eating disorders or experiencing medical abuse and neglect. Yes, it is that deep. Stop making diabetes jokes, you look like an uneducated bigot
For millions of people managing type 2 diabetes, mornings begin the same way — a needle, a dose, and a quiet mental note to do it all again
So that article turned out to be AI. No I did not know that at the time I posted it. Yes I did find out a few hours later (in this case, there is substantial evidence that the people who called AI in the comment section were correct).
No I did not deal with it immediately, because I've been dealing with severe medical issues for months.
(Get your shots. Post-viral syndromes like long COVID are brutal. Also, get your shots because some people, like me last year, CAN'T get COVID or flu vaccines because of the medical complications it would cause. Any year you CAN get vaccinated, DO get vaccinated.)
I'm leaving it up so that this full information and context is here when anyone tries to navigate to the original post.
Also because the headline itself is true and I can verify that part, at least, independently (and had while creating the original post).
Here's another, much better source:
FDA Approves Weekly Basal Insulin for Adults With Type 2 Diabetes
-via JAMA Network (medical journal), April 17, 2026. doi: 10.1001/jama.2026.2111
Of course, that's paywalled, because most academic sources are these days (derogatory). So here's the source I found that best seems to have the best lay reader explanation (but which unfortunately does not have a preview image that works with tumblr's embedded link formatting)
Awiqli: FDA Approves First and Only Once-Weekly Long-Acting Basal Insulin for Adults With Type 2 Diabetes
What Is Awiqli, and Why Does It Matter?
Awiqli (insulin icodec-abae) is a once-weekly long-acting basal insulin injection approved by the FDA for adults with type 2 diabetes. It helps lower blood sugar levels when used along with a healthy diet and regular exercise. It is taken as a subcutaneous (under-the-skin) shot with a prefilled FlexTouch pen on the same day every week.
Type 2 diabetes is a condition in which the body has trouble controlling blood sugar levels. If it isn't well managed, it can lead to serious complications like heart disease, kidney damage, nerve problems, and vision loss. Many people need insulin to control their diabetes, which often means giving themselves daily injections to keep their blood sugar in a healthy range.
Awiqli is the only long-acting man-made insulin (U-700) in the U.S. that is designed to last an entire week. Its active ingredient, insulin icodec-abae, loosely attaches to a blood protein called albumin, forming a reservoir that slowly and steadily releases insulin into the bloodstream. This lowers blood sugar levels in the same way as human insulin. Because of this slow, steady release, Awiqli provides a consistent dose of insulin icodec-abae and maintains a stable blood sugar-lowering effect throughout the week.
This approval matters because this medicine reduces the number of basal insulin shots from seven to one per week, offering a more convenient option that can be tailored to individual needs and routines.
-via WebMD, March 27, 2026. And that matters, because how easily you are able to take your meds determines how often you are able to take your meds, which with type II diabetes in particular (as well as plenty of other conditions) is often:
the difference between being pain-free and developing nerve damage
the difference between keeping your mobility and losing it
the difference between keeping you leg and losing it
the difference between keeping your life and losing it
So that's why this is a reason for hope.
That's why this matters. This will save people's lives.
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(And that is why we need to do everything we can to make sure every single person in the world can access this medication when needed - fuck corporate patents, lives are more important)
More details on how that post mixup happened after the readmore if you're curious:
So, frankly and painfully, the specific AI article I originally linked did a better job of explaining the difference this will make in people's lives better than any legitimate medical source than search engines were giving me, especially if I wanted to link an article that wasn't behind a paywall. And I hate that it was better than anything else my search engine would give me!! That's a problem due in large part to Google and other tech companies intentionally ruining their search algorithms for greater ad visibility and an informational monopoly.
But, yeah, that's why I went with it over other sources despite the major red flag and general terrible practice of the article not having a specific author credited. (Which isn't always an AI thing, to be clear, sometimes it's just a shitty media outlet thing, as has been the case since long before generative AI.)
