Ozempic and other GLP-1RAs - impact on ME/CFS

Dr Ruhoy, from memory, is someone who jumps on ever bandwagon, and the article says she's about to have a book published. Cort's articles also tend to be overenthusiastic about every treatment anyone is hyping. Until there is research evidence, I reserve judgement.
 
Been on Wegovy for 6 months and I do have 10% less weight to carry so obviously I’m using a bit less energy moving around. but it hasn’t had any noticeable impact on my pain, sleep, orthostatic, cognitive symptoms.

To give an example my rule is to not go back upstairs during the day as it uses a lot of energy. Since losing some weight i find it doable to get back upstairs if needed only when I’ve not done anything much during the day. But If I’ve been out or done some house chores I still find I’m semi crawling having to make a big effort to get upstairs at the end of my day.
 
It seems like these drugs are promoted for a lot of health complaints. But do we know enough about long term safety?

And even in the short term it seems these medications can cause harm.

Given that a whopping one in eight American adults have now tried a GLP-1 agonist, we have a huge sample size for these type of drugs already, which means their side effects are already quite well understood.

https://edition.cnn.com/2024/05/10/health/ozempic-glp-1-survey-kff
 
Does anyone have any idea about which type (GLP-1 vs Dual GIP/GLP-1 receptor agonists) might be safer for keeping muscles intact and or which could possibly be more potent against neuroinflammation?
 

If GLP-1 Drugs Are Good For Everything, Should We All Be on Them?​


Funnily enough one of the people mentioned here w.r.t. to studies showing dramatic benefits across all different things is Ziyad Al-Aly. Given what we've seen in terms of his quality in epidemiolgical research in Long-Covid and his VA cohort, where we know his statements aren't very sensible, I wouldn't be surprised if something similar has occured here, but who knows.

A recent meta-analysis (https://bmcmedicine.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12916-025-04200-0) suggested that these drugs essentially only work as long as you're on them in terms of reducing body weight and that as soon as people go off them they largely just gain the weight again (as is the case for many other body weight interventions).
 

Glucagon-like Peptide-1 receptor agonists as emerging therapeutics in bipolar disorder: a narrative review of preclinical and clinical evidence​


Abstract​

Bipolar disorder (BD) is a chronic and disabling psychiatric illness characterized by complex pathophysiological mechanisms. Traditional treatments often fail to address these multidimensional processes, highlighting the need for novel therapeutic strategies. Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RAs), widely used for metabolic disorders, have emerged as promising candidates for a range of neuropsychiatric conditions due to their broad neurobiological effects. This narrative review synthesizes preclinical, clinical, and real-world evidence evaluating the therapeutic potential of GLP-1RAs in BD. These agents modulate neurotransmission, reduce neuroinflammation and oxidative stress, enhance mitochondrial and neurotrophic function, and improve insulin sensitivity and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis regulation. These mechanisms are implicated in the neurobiology of BD, and preliminary findings suggest benefits across core psychopathological domains and common comorbidities, including depression, anxiety, mania, cognitive dysfunction, weight gain, and substance use disorders. While human data—particularly in BD populations—remain limited, evidence points to potential adjunctive benefits, especially in individuals with metabolic or cognitive vulnerabilities. Given their pleiotropic actions and established safety profile, GLP-1RAs represent compelling candidates for drug repurposing in BD. Well-powered, controlled trials are needed to confirm efficacy and safety, identify optimal subgroups, and evaluate long-term outcomes.

A lot of buzzwords in this abstract but no data.
 
There is some thought and anecdotal evidence that GLP1 meds reduce impulsivity somehow. This seems to have possibilities for use with various addictions, possibly ADHD and I can see how it might help with bipolar.

People seem to want something which works for one thing to cure everything these days. It’s a weird phenomenon. Maybe because the snake oil sellers are always listing CBD/Mushrooms/crystals as a cure for all of - “Depression, tiredness, split ends, brittle nails, cancer, autism, HIV, inflammation, bad juju and dank vibes” now real meds also have to cure all ills?
 
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