@daily
Daily conversations from the Swell team about what's happening in the world.
Deborah Pardes
@DBPardes · 2:16
#VoiceYourOpinion | Are drugs to lose weight meant for everyone? OPRAH makes a case to destigmatize use
Can we afford to keep on taking these drugs? And also the question about health, what weight is okay for your body? What weight isn't? These are all big questions people ask themselves a lot throughout their lives. But the main opinion I want to hear from you today is when someone like Oprah Winfrey takes the stigma away from using drugs to lose weight. Does this mean that anyone could use drugs to lose weight, or do you think that there's a limit?
Believe it or not, why are we paying attention now? Because Oprah talked about it. I worked in the bariatric center, the weight management center, and you have all cases, you have some patients that truly, truly, truly like to lose weight medically without any medication, without any drugs, and that will have the stamina, the willpower to do the diet. But unfortunately, you do have some patients that, believe it or not, it's a sickness
Deborah Pardes
@DBPardes · 0:51
But this particular question around do drugs help? Are drugs okay for everyone? I just wonder what this is going to mean for people psychologically. Are they more apt to start taking drugs because someone like Oprah is really open about it. I don't know. We'll continue this conversation and thank you
There have been some cases that unfortunately, patients cannot take. So, yes, people are starting to basically be more taking drugs. They are seeing a quick solution, fast solution. But in the long run, what people don't know, they don't realize eventually the drug stops working. This is just at the beginning. Again, it works. Yeah, but not for the long run. The long run, the obvious issues have to be addressed
Angela Kaye
@AnngieKaye · 3:02
People would love to call someone fat and say, you need to lose weight. But then if they actually do something to lose weight, it's like, well, you cheated. Who wouldn't cheat, if you will, if we're being called all kinds of names and are not being accepted in society for being a certain way. So why not get the cheat code and become more acceptable? So it's just like catch 22. It's like, how dare you?
Erica Jean
@HeyItsErica · 3:23
So far, Ozempic has been helping her along with exercising and being mindful of her eating. Ozempic is like a supplement, and she actually started losing more weight. She says that losing it really fast because sometimes the medicines can cause you to lose real fast is not healthy. It should be a gradual thing, and you shouldn't be focused on weight loss all the time. Your goal should just be health. The weight loss or the positives that happen with you
Deborah Pardes
@DBPardes · 0:26
Hey, Ange, I just want to thank you for adding your perspective. And it is so personal, and body shaming is so personal. And the fact that you identify with her is just so helpful, because some of us can grandstand about our theoretical feelings, but those are opinions. And that's why I'm asking for people to give their life experiences. It really enriches the this conversation
Deborah Pardes
@DBPardes · 1:01
I was wondering if maybe at one point, Eric, you could do a separate swell on diabetes and medication and your journey because there's so many people who are always looking to understand people's journeys around the latest innovations. I know that some people really control their diabetes absolutely with food, but some people can't. So sometimes people feel ashamed that they can't do it with food and they have to do medicines and all that complicated stuff
Erica Jean
@HeyItsErica · 2:32
And then all of a sudden, we're told, okay, you can't eat that anymore. Put it down. You have to hurry up, flip the switch, and change your life. That's very hard, because remember, a lot of us have been eating a certain way for several decades, and myself included, even though I wasn't what you would call a junk food junkie, I actually always preferred sugar free stuff. But I was just weird like that
Evelyn Phipps
@LadyFi · 2:13
They want a quick scheme or a quick way to lose weight. There is no quick way to lose weight. I mean, even if you have surgery, you still have to take all kinds of medicines and supplements for the rest of your life. And you have to try to maintain, not stretching what they've already taken out. And you're left with this smaller part. Now you have to not stretch it or be sick. I hate this
Deborah Pardes
@DBPardes · 1:29
And we were trying to replace the whole system so that we wouldn't give them cocktails for diabetes. And the rice industry clamped down on me. I'm not kidding. It was like the mafia. And we had gone to some pretty interesting meetings, and things were shut in our faces. All this to say that there's a real systemic problem with food distribution that leads to a lot of ignorance and a lot of situational illness. Really profound. I really appreciate your voice here
Evelyn Phipps
@LadyFi · 1:19
Wow. You know what? You just put that in my head. I didn't even think of it like that. With WIC, you get rice, you get juice, you get some vegetables and stuff. Now peanut butter, just high quality stuff that. Well, not even high quality, but stuff that's going to cause diabetes. Wow. I mean, you were an advocate before your time, and I can imagine how they clamped down on you
Tanya Coles
@MsColes77 · 4:24
One thing I've learned as I get older is that sometimes you've got to try some different things to lose weight, like the traditional calories in, calories out, go to the gym, burn enough calories to keep yourself in a calorie deficit so that you can lose weight. As you get older, your metabolism changes, your body changes
Swell Team
@Swell · 0:15
So even if she's got premium plus major magnifico insurance, she's asking her licensed physician, which all of us should do before we make this kind of decision, to write a prescription that is originally intended to treat diabetes, which has the side effect of weight loss among many, from diarrhea to cancer, thyroid, trauma, all kinds of problems. Nobody's talking about that, though. But we are, right? Thank you so much for your post. Two other scenarios
You. Hey there, everyone. Okay, I'm going to speak directly to that question. I do know someone close that doctors prescribes them a medication. I don't know what it is, but a medication that makes them not as hungry, they can't eat as much. So they can lose weight. So it doesn't make you lose weight from it, but it makes you not eat as much. Right. So what's that mean with that?
And the topic of weight loss worldwide is not new. And the topic of using drugs to meet an immediate need. For those of us living in the west is not new either. I'm so grateful for this conversation because it's important. How we think about and function in our society is important. And I want to thank you for listening to my opinion. And I thank you for your opinion as well. Have a good day. Bye