The Crazy Things I Hear About GLP-1s

I do not look at social media. No TikTok, no Facebook, no Instagram… none of that. (That’s how I didn’t know I was on a GLP-1 until a year after being on Trulicity!) I am, however, on YouTube. We could call that a form of social media, but it is much more than that so I squint and say, “Not really social media.” It’s a game I play with myself.

Anyway, because I watch a slew of GLP-1 videos on YouTube, I learned that TikTok is banning or has banned a bunch of GLP-1 accounts. They have migrated to YouTube and all of a sudden, I am seeing some pretty strange things on many of the channels recommended to me.

I thought I would share some of what I’m hearing. I will not be calling them out by name or channel, however, which is a whole lot kinder than an entire crowd of people on there.

Fat Loss as a Sport

This was from a couple of people who came from TikTok. It was blatantly clear why they had to move their content.

Apparently, weight lifters and others in the sports realm are using GLP-1s in order to lose weight quickly. Some are doing it as they get ready for competitions. Others take them to make weight for weight lifting, wrestling, or boxing. Several more sports have to be a certain weight in order to participate, as well.

<sarcasm> I’m thinking these medications were not made for this type of off-label usage. </sarcasm>

Of course, they are all getting the compounded semaglutide or tirzepatide, not the name brand. Although, I would not put it past a gymnastics physician to prescribe Wegovy or Zepbound to the championship gymnasts. Or swimming physicians. Or, or, or.

This really is a scary aspect of the medications I had not given any thought to until watching these sports videos. The trainers (yes, the trainers!) are teaching “students” (people watching YouTube) how to buy, dose, inject, and titrate (incorrectly and dangerously) these medications. They also describe what to eat, which is a normal thing for a trainer to do, but gearing it towards eating as few calories as possible while focusing on building muscle.

Someone asked about hypoglycemia and the “trainer” said (I kid you not), “Oh, low glucose isn’t dangerous or anything, just eat a little more.” I almost threw my remote at the TV hoping it would hit him. And no, I did not comment on this gem. Instead I blocked the channel from ever being seen again. And for those who do not know, hypoglycemia can kill.

When blood glucose is low, the body doesn’t have the fuel to function the right way. If blood glucose drops really low, the person is not able to function because physical and mental changes occur. They can have seizures or become unconscious. If severe hypoglycemia does occur, quick action is needed. If not, it can lead to death. (emphasis mine)

MedSpa Idiots

Yeah, I am name-calling.

I watched no less than six videos of people talking about their “MedSpa” experiences.

Common themes:

• No MD on staff
• Getting compounded GLP-1s the same day as they walk-in
• No need for labs
• No education regarding how to inject
• No education about where to inject
• No education about changing injecting locations or why
• No education about the pattern of losing weight
• No talking about titrating up
• Encouraging dosing themselves depending on how hungry they were for the week (including “if it’s not working” go ahead and go up to 30mg tirzepatide if you need to… I nearly fainted)

• Told they could go on and off their meds without a problem (specifically those using them in sports)
• Giving the expectation they will lose all the weight they want to lose in a couple of months
• No nutrition advice, not even to focus on protein and drinks lots of water
• No discussion of side effects
• No knowledge of how compounded GLP-1s and their prices vary at different locations.
• Half of them had to “reconstitute” their medication

I’m thinking I need a post correcting all these errors.

Do Any of These People Get Side Effects?

I’m really curious what folks do when they get side effects. Do they just Google to see what to do? Who do they talk to in order to get the correct advice? Dr. Google?

What if they have serious side effects and don’t know how abnormal that is and to seek help. I have to think that those people who are beginning to sue Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly got their meds from MedSpas and just were totally ignorant about when to get help before things got serious. (I have a lawsuit post in the making.) It just seems too odd that so many people suing have had hospitalization experiences that just popped up randomly. I fault the MedSpas, not the Pharma companies. Maybe the Internet crazies, too.

I do not blame TikTok from banning these folks. I hope YouTube does the same thing.