Featured Image Credit: TikTok/madison_lydia
Topics: Health, Social Media, TikTok
Gerrard Kaonga
A woman has listed the severe side effects she experienced after taking Ozempic, before switching to microdosing it.
While some people rely on the tried and tested method of a good diet and consistent exercise for weight loss, others consider more drastic methods like surgery and weight loss pills.
But the latest trend has people turning to an injection marketed for people with type 2 diabetes to help them manage their blood sugar levels.
This is referring to none other than Ozempic, which has been popularized by celebrities including Sharon Osbourne and Amy Schumer as a weight loss tool.
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Known as semaglutide, the drug was approved in 2017 by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to help diabetics.
Michigan 25-year-old Madison Burgess has detailed her experience with the drug on her TikTok page and continued to share her journey on social media.
Burgess insisted she had tried a whole host of other avenues in the past, but her sweet tooth would always result in her falling short of her goal of shedding 50lbs.
Back in 2023 she signed up with Claya, a digital weight loss and wellness company, which put her in touch with a doctor who virtually prescribed Ozempic.
After some quick success in the first few weeks, Burgess praised the drug but a few months later she began exhibiting painful side effects.
After three months she reported feeling nauseous, vomiting and having fatigue.
While such side effects are common, Madison told Parade they were so severe she couldn't eat anything.
These debilitating side effects came after her dosage was increased to 1.7 milligrams.
Normally the medication is administered weekly with dosages starting from 0.25mg for the first four weeks before increasing every four weeks to the upper limit of 2mg.
After returning to her doctor, it was suggested that Burgess should consider micro-dosing Ozempic and lowering the dose so that it falls below the recommended amount.
This proved to be beneficial for the 25-year-old who says she is now a ‘big advocate of microdosing'.
She has added: “Going slow and staying low is my motto nowadays and I think it’s better for long-term results.”
According to Medical News Today, there is a little clinical evidence to show that microdosing Ozempic is effective for weight loss.
The health website writes: "Ozempic microdosing has not been studied in clinical trials, so it’s not clear how well it works compared with the drug’s recommended dosages. Reports of Ozempic microdosing are mainly anecdotal."