Retatrutide, not yet approved by the FDA, is the latest wonder drug to shed pounds despite warnings from doctors
Physicians see the drug as a promising potential solution for people struggling with obesity, but strongly warn patients that they are seriously risking their health by using it without oversight from doctors and government regulators. Yet these warnings often go unheeded.
“All of these medications should be monitored and prescribed in a medical situation where the doctor or the clinic is partnering with the patient on a complete plan” including “monitoring their lab [work], their vital signs, their response”, said Dr David Shafer, a plastic surgeon in New York who takes the drug. “It’s really the self-prescribing and unknown usage that is leading to a lot of the problems.”
Retatrutide could work well in helping people lose weight – and potentially have other health benefits – because whereas Ozempic targets one receptor, and tirzepatide, sold as Mounjaro and Zepbound, targets GLP-1 and the receptor GIP, the newer drug is a “triple agonist”, meaning it targets those two receptors and glucagon, which speeds up the body’s metabolism and helps it break down fat cells for energy.
23 Comments
ramble81@lemmy.zip · 6 pts · 3d
I don’t doubt it. My insurance doesn’t cover GLP-1s for any reason, including other medically necessary ones. With prices approaching $1,000/mo, and people seeing the efficacy of them, it’s no wonder they’re turning to cheaper options.
Photonic@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 3d
The problem is that people don’t know whether they are getting a real product or not. That can be a harmless substance at best and laced with dangerous toxins and methamphetamine at worst.
ramble81@lemmy.zip · 4 pts · 3d
Correct and probably one of the biggest reasons they’re taking that route is insurance isn’t covering it or it’s too expensive. Same with insulin.
Earthwormjim91@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 3d
This one is NOT even approved yet. There is no way to get it outside of the grey market unless you are in the trial for it.
ramble81@lemmy.zip · 2 pts · 3d
I’m referring to GLP1s in general.
Earthwormjim91@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 3d
The article is literally about people that are already on GLP-1s, but want to see even more progress so they jump to the grey market for the newest thing.
GLP-1s in general are easy to get and pretty cheap. You can get semaglutide (Ozempic/WeGovy) from several telehealth pharmacies for like $70 a month.
ramble81@lemmy.zip · 0 pts · 3d
Cool story and I’m adding to it by noting that insurance and cost issues are affecting more than just this one.
Earthwormjim91@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 3d
GLP1s are cheap and easy to get. Cheaper than what you save from eating less food when you're on them, and you can get them easily online from the myriad of telehealth companies.
That's not what this article is about though. This article is about people specifically jumping to the grey market to get retatrutide because they want more progress than they're getting on the legal GLP-1s.
Photonic@lemmy.world · 0 pts · 3d
I don’t doubt that obesity is a real disease but there are many people who are taking the black market stuff when they are just overweight and looking for a way to lose weight without having to diet or exercise. That is incredibly stupid and reckless and I don’t think we should be understanding of those people.
jumping_redditor@sh.itjust.works · 0 pts · 2d
that's an issue with testing being expensive, and is extremely easy to fix (build more labs)
Photonic@lemmy.world · 0 pts · 2d
Stuff coming off the black market generally doesn’t get tested
jumping_redditor@sh.itjust.works · 1 pts · 2d
what's stopping the purchaser from getting it tested?
Photonic@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 2d
Time, money, knowledge, fear of getting caught, etc.
I think you’ve got it backwards. You really can’t have people order shit through dubious sources off the black market and then have everyone test whether they actually got a product or not. People need to take GLP-1 agonists for a long time, you have to test every batch, for every person etc.
Better to have a few big QCs at the source than millions of tiny QCs with a high risk of bad quality stuff as well as stuff slipping through.
jumping_redditor@sh.itjust.works · 1 pts · 2d
GLP-1 agonists last years in a controlled environment so I think it's reasonable to buy in bulk every few years and get them tested then.
What crime is it to possess a peptide? selling and distribution is fairly obviously one but possession?
Photonic@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 1d
Not everyone has that kind of money.
It’s a crime to buy a counterfeit substance that is still under patent.
Earthwormjim91@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 3d
This isn't just any GLP-1 though like semaglutide or tirzepatide.
Reta has not been approved at all yet. There is no non-grey market way to get it unless you are in a clinical trial.
RobotToaster@mander.xyz · 5 pts · 3d
If people can't get GLP drugs legitimately, then of course they will go to the grey market, and since all the peptides cost roughly the same to manufacture, it's obvious they will go for the newest and most powerful.
Earthwormjim91@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 3d
This is about one specific drug that is not even out of clinical trials yet. There is no way to get reta. Getting semaglutide or tirzepatide is comically easy through the million telehealth companies.
Reta you can only get on the grey market, in powder form, and you have to compound it yourself.
RobotToaster@mander.xyz · 2 pts · 2d
I understand that.
My point is, the main reason people go to the grey market is because it's far more accessible because it's far cheaper.
And once they go to the suppliers they are all the same cost, so it seems obvious to go for the "best".
Earthwormjim91@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 2d
The grey market isn’t that much cheaper. The telehealth companies are so ridiculously cheap today. And those are not the grey market.
You can get semaglutide for less than $70 a month all in, which is cheaper than what you’ll get on the grey market when you factor in all the consumables you also have to buy like bacteriostatic water to compound it yourself, needles, alcohol pads, etc.
RobotToaster@mander.xyz · 1 pts · 2d
I assume that's from a compounding pharmacy? We don't have the same access to those in the UK, here the lowest you will find it for is £200
Earthwormjim91@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 2d
That is. There are a thousand compounding pharmacies now and they're all competing on price.
If you don't have those in the UK then yeah I get your argument about the cost pushing people to the grey market.
OozingPositron@feddit.cl · 1 pts · 2d
How did this weight losing craze not happen to stimulants like lisdexamfetamine dimesylate? Or maybe it did happen?