I’m on Ozempic. Please stop making me feel bad

I’m not afraid to get personal online: I’ve written about couples therapy, scheduling sex, and getting diagnosed with herpes. But I’m terrified to admit that I take Ozempic—in fact, I’m so scared, I’ve put off writing this for weeks, during which I deeply regretted pitching in the first place. Despite this fear, I know that what I have to say is important, so I’m seeing it through. In return, all I ask is for you hear me out…and complain on Reddit later.

You’re probably sick of hearing about weight-loss injections like Ozempic, the diabetes drug that’s gone viral for allegedly being misused as a celebrity get-thin-quick hack. This isn’t exclusive to snarky parts of the internet, either: The injections are literally being advertised on the New York City subway, a fact about which many people—and celebrities like Sophie Turner—are openly upset.

Obviously, I understand. I’ve written endlessly about the harms of diet culture, glorifying thinness, and “well-meaning” body shaming. Being forced to face any of the aforementioned phenomenons on your commute can be triggering, especially if you’ve recovered from an eating disorder, which Turner and I both have. No one should feel they need to change their appearance or lose weight if they don’t want to, but—and I know this is a polarising take—I do think people have a right to do those things if they want.

These medications exist, and are prescribed, for a reason. Countless people depend on them to treat a wide range of chronic conditions, which can and often does include type 2 diabetes, but pre-diabetes, obesity, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), and binge-eating disorder too. (I was personally prescribed it for pre-diabetes and obesity.) So if someone decides, along with their doctor, that taking Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro, Saxenda, or Trulicity is the right treatment plan for them, following this medical guidance should not and does not inherently make them a “bad person” who’s “stealing medication” from “people with diabetes” who “actually need it.” And they do not deserve to have countless critics who denounce the drugs’ use wishing harm upon them (more on that below).

Especially since most of this judgment comes from people who don’t understand these meds. If such is the case for you, I’d like to clarify a few things. First and foremost, I technically take Wegovy, which is the same medication as Ozempic; they’re just brand names for semaglutide in different doses (think of it like Advil Extra Strength versus Motrin, and how they’re both ibuprofen). Ozempic is FDA-approved for the treatment of type 2 diabetes, but Wegovy was developed and FDA-approved for the treatment of obesity—and a higher dose. This means that taking Wegovy for weight loss is using it exactly as it’s intended, and not “stealing” from anyone. Second, what do you think happens if you don’t treat pre-diabetes? It becomes real type 2 diabetes. Should I wait until I get it so you will approve of my taking Ozempic then? (This was sarcastic.)

Ozempic is also not the same thing as insulin, which is often a medical necessity for diabetes type 2, while GLP-1 meds are supplemental treatment that helps increase insulin sensitivity. Even doctors don’t believe in declaring that certain groups “require” these drugs more than others. “It’s really difficult to say someone needs a medicine more than another person when they both have indications for these medicines,” Spencer Nadolsky, DO, an obesity and lipid specialist physician and the medical director of the online weight-management program Sequence, tells Glamour. “Both those with type 2 diabetes and with obesity have immense benefit from these medicines. I don’t think it’s fair to say one group is taking away from the other.”

You might also be wondering why I don’t just diet and work out the “old-fashioned way.” If so, I think it’s very cute of you to assume that I, along with everyone else on these meds, haven’t spent our whole lives trying to do just that. Before starting Wegovy, I spent 18 months working with an endocrinologist on drastic lifestyle and diet changes, and I mean drastic: I cut out sugar and carbs, started running, and sliced my daily caloric intake by at least half. Did my AC1 levels improve? No! Sometimes they even got worse, while my weight stayed exactly the same. Such has been the case for me during my entire life, and for many other patients currently taking GLP-1 agonists (the umbrella medical term for injections like Ozempic, Wegovy, and Mounjaro).