You may have heard about Ozempic, a medicine for type 2 diabetes approved by the FDA in 2017. This medicine is for use with diet and exercise to improve control of blood glucose levels in people with type 2 diabetes. Ozempic is also used to reduce the risk of major events like heart attack and stroke in people with type 2 diabetes and heart disease. The active ingredient, semaglutide, is also found in other products. Do not take Ozempic with other medicines that contain semaglutide. Ask your health care provider about all of your medicines to make sure that you take only one semaglutide medicine.
How Does Ozempic Work for Type 2 Diabetes?
People who have type 2 diabetes have an increased amount of sugar in their blood, also called blood glucose. Increased blood sugar happens because your body’s insulin doesn’t work as well as it should. Ozempic helps to keep your blood sugar levels from getting too high. In your body, this medicine acts like a hormone called GLP-1. It stimulates your body to make more insulin after you eat, prevents your liver from releasing stored sugar, and slows the movement of food through your body.
How Was Ozempic Studied for Type 2 Diabetes?
Clinical studies were conducted to test if the medicine was safe and effective for people with type 2 diabetes. In one study, the effect of Ozempic on major events like death from heart disease, heart attack, or stroke was studied among people with type 2 diabetes and heart disease. Other studies looked at the effect of the medicine on blood glucose control over time. A blood test called hemoglobin A1c or HbA1c provides a measure of your blood glucose levels over the past 2 to 3 months.
Ozempic was studied alone and with other medicines for type 2 diabetes. Ozempic was compared with a placebo containing no medicine and against other type 2 diabetes medicines, including exenatide, insulin glargine, and sitagliptin. The studies included people who were White, Black, or Asian, including those who identified as Hispanic or Latino.
What Benefits Were Seen With Ozempic?
Among people with heart disease and type 2 diabetes, fewer people (6.6%) who took Ozempic 0.5 milligrams or 1 milligrams each week over about 2 years had major events (including stroke, heart attack, or death from cardiovascular causes) than people who took placebo had (8.9%).
Before getting the medicine, most people in the studies that looked at lowering of HbA1c had uncontrolled diabetes with an average HbA1c of around 8% and an average body weight between 196 and 220 pounds.
Two studies looked at the effect of Ozempic against placebo. Both the 0.5-milligram and 1-milligram doses led to a greater reduction in HbA1c than did placebo among people who did not take other medicines for type 2 diabetes. Similar results were found in another study that included people who took basal insulin (insulin degludec, insulin detemir, insulin glargine, or NPH insulin) with or without another medicine for type 2 diabetes called metformin.
Similar results were also found in a study of people who took metformin and/or a different medicine for type 2 diabetes called a thiazolidinedione (pioglitazone or rosiglitazone) and got either Ozempic or sitagliptin. Both the 0.5-milligram and 1-milligram doses led to a greater reduction in HbA1c than did sitagliptin. Likewise, both the 0.5-milligram and 1-milligram doses led to a greater reduction in HbA1c than did insulin glargine in a different study of people who also took metformin with or without a medicine called a sulfonylurea (glimepiride, glipizide, or glyburide). In another study of people who took metformin with or without a sulfonylurea or another medicine for type 2 diabetes and got either Ozempic 1 milligram or exenatide, people who got Ozempic had a greater reduction in HbA1c than did people who got exenatide.
How well a 1-milligram dose worked as compared with a 2-milligram dose was studied in people who were already taking metformin with or without a sulfonylurea. The higher dose led to a greater reduction in HbA1c than did the lower dose.
Neither ethnicity nor race affected how well Ozempic worked. The same was true for age, weight, gender, and duration of having type 2 diabetes. People in these studies that lasted at least 30 weeks lost weight with Ozempic. The average weight loss ranged from 7 pounds to 9.2 pounds with the 0.5-milligram dose, 10.3 pounds to 13.2 pounds with the 1-milligram dose, and 14 pounds with the 2-milligram dose. Your results may differ from what was seen in clinical studies.
What Types of Drug Interactions Can Happen?
Because Ozempic slows the movement of food through your body, the absorption of medicines that you take by mouth may be slowed. This means that the medicine that you take by mouth may take longer to work. Tell your health care provider if you feel that your other medicines are not working as well as they used to work.
Because Ozempic stimulates your body to make more insulin after you eat and prevents your liver from releasing stored sugar, your blood glucose level may get too low (hypoglycemia) if you also take certain medicines such as insulin or a medicine called a sulfonylurea. In one study, people who had an HbA1c of 8% or less reduced their insulin dose by 20% before starting Ozempic. Check your blood sugar and tell your health care provider if your level goes too low. Make sure that you have access to a sugar source, especially when you first start using the medicine and if your dose is increased.
How Can I Get Ozempic?
To get this medicine, you need a prescription from a health care provider. Only obtain Ozempic from a reputable pharmacy because counterfeit medicine is a problem. Check the image of real and counterfeit medicine, which can be found on a statement from the manufacturer. Call 800-727-6500 if you suspect that the medicine you have is counterfeit.
How Do I Use Ozempic?
Ozempic is a liquid that is injected under the skin once a week on the same day each week. You can change the day of the week you use the medicine, but make sure that at least 2 days pass between doses. Choose a different place to inject yourself each time. You may use the skin around your stomach, thigh, or upper arm.
The medicine comes in a prefilled injection device called a pen. You will need to attach a new needle to the pen each time before you inject yourself. Make sure that you do not inject the medicine into a blood vessel or muscle. You can ask your health care provider to show you how to use the pen before you use it for the first time. If you did not get a document called Instructions for Use, ask your pharmacist for a copy. Read this document before using the medicine for the first time and refer to it any time you have a question about how to use the medicine.
How Can I Tell if Ozempic Is Working?
You can tell if Ozempic is working because your blood glucose levels and HbA1c will fall. In the studies, HbA1c lowering was noted as soon as the first month after starting Ozempic, but further reduction may occur in the next few months. Your health care provider may wait to check your HbA1c until you have been taking the medicine for 2 or 3 months. If you need further lowering of HbA1c, your health care provider may increase your dose or add or switch to another medicine for type 2 diabetes.
How Can I Prevent Side Effects or Tell if a Side Effect Is Happening?
Side effects like nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea occurred in more patients who received higher Ozempic doses. Talk with your health care provider about when you may need a higher dose. You may be able to use a lower dose if you are able to lower your blood sugar with food choices and exercise. Talk with your health care provider about choices you can make that may help improve your blood sugar levels.
This medicine slows the movement of food through your stomach. If you have nausea or vomiting, try eating smaller meals slowly. You can also try avoiding foods that are fried, greasy, or sweet; eating bland, low-fat foods like crackers, toast, and rice; and avoiding lying down after eating. Try to stay well-hydrated by drinking plenty of clear liquids and eating foods that contain water like soups and gelatin.
Reports of side effects by patients are very important and are used to add information to the prescribing information that is used by people who prescribe medicine. For example, reports of a condition where your intestine cannot push food and waste out of your body (ileus) have been received. You don’t need to be certain that something you experienced was caused by a medicine. If you experience anything that you think may be caused by Ozempic, you can report it by calling 800-FDA-1088.
When Should I Stop Taking Ozempic?
Nausea and vomiting are common side effects of this medicine. If you have nausea and vomiting with severe stomach pain that will not go away and may radiate to your back, stop Ozempic and call your health care provider right away. You may have a condition called pancreatitis. Make sure your health care provider knows if you develop this condition. Ozempic was not studied in people who had pancreatitis, and the medicine is not recommended to be continued for people who develop it.
Talk with your health care provider if you want to become pregnant. This medicine should be stopped at least 2 months before you become pregnant. After your last dose, Ozempic takes about 5 weeks to leave the body.
Is There Any Cost Assistance Available?
If you have commercial or private insurance, check out the Ozempic savings card. If you have Medicare or no insurance, check out the Patient Assistance Program. You may pay nothing for Ozempic, but you must meet certain criteria. These criteria are found on the website. You can enroll for the program online. People who either have or are eligible for programs such as Medicaid, Low Income Subsidy, or Veterans Affairs (VA) benefits are not eligible.
