PART TWO of today's GLP-1 piece: Questions for (and answers from) a woman who says the new anti-obesity drugs have changed her life

How she feels about sourcing them on the grey market, whether she's told her friends about her use, and other fascinating tidbits...

(Second of two parts)

Earlier today, I posted a piece explaining why the GLP-1 anti-obesity/diabetes drugs may be so important.

Medicine has overpromised and underdelivered for at least a generation, if not since the post-World War 2 era, when new antibiotics and sanitation made hospitals safer and drug companies and scientists created whole new classes of cheap small-molecule medicines. Chronic conditions from asthma to heart failure suddenly had treatments and hope, even if it was not always fulfilled.

Since at least the 1990s we have faced in the opposite pattern, spending more and more for tinier and tinier improvements in a system everyone seems to hate. As I have written more than once, the signal event this century in American healthcare is the opioid epidemic, which exploded not just because of Purdue Pharma but systemic changes that encouraged increased opioid prescriptions.

The GLP-1s are a throwback to an earlier, more optimistic era. Barring disastrous long-term side effects, they at least have the potential to slow the obesity and metabolic disease epidemic that has done so much damage to American health.

I am not generally optimistic about American medicine or drug development. But it is hard not to be optimistic about the GLPs.

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(Cynicism, when it’s required (usually). Optimism, when it’s warranted. With your help.)

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So this morning I ran the firsthand account of a woman about to lose her hundredth pound on a GLP-1, after decades of fighting and losing a battle against her weight.

Her email was long, so I decided to hold the questions I’d asked her (and her answers) for a second post. Here they are.

If you have not read the original post, I recommend you read it first, though if you are knowledgeable about the GLPs these questions may stand on their own.

The questions, and answers, are unedited.

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Q: Have you seen any of the other personality-related effects Eugyppius (a Substacker who wrote about how GLP-1s had increased his energy and focus as well as helping his weight) mentioned?

A: Other than sweets/carbs I don’t really have an addictive personality. I’ve never drunk, smoked, etc. I can’t say my get-up-and-go has improved —I wish. I was surprised at how much it changed Eugyppius and happy for him. I’m never surprised anymore at what these drugs do for people.

A thought: Eugyppius is on retatrutide (Note: the newest and apparently most potent of the GLP-1s). Semaglutide and tirzepatide (earlier generations of GLP-1s) are known for making people feel sluggish even though they curb cravings. Adding glucagon, which retatrutide does, is known to improve the tired, sluggish feelings. Reta also is better at reducing visceral fat, which is why the gym boys love it so much.

On a tangent. My question is what has caused us to lose the ability to produce GLP-1, GIP and glucagon (the hormones these drugs mimic)? Is it processed food, pesticides, contaminated water, polyester clothing…? Something we did in the mid-twentieth century has messed up our hormones.

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(Hopefully the drugs aren’t THIS effective. From the days when Stephen King terrified us with his novels and not his political rants.)

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Q: How much does your regimen now cost? Do you have any desire to get the prescription brand-name version of these peptides, or are you satisfied sourcing them directly?

A: I pay less than $20 a month. If costs were less than $100 a month I would switch to name brand. Crypto is a pain. Ordering on the gray market has some serious risks: losing money to a scam, getting peptides that are not what they are supposed to be, getting sterile medicine, customs seizures, figuring dosage, making sure that my medicine is properly stored and sterile, etc.

I like not having to deal with a doctor. [emphasis added] At some point I became the expert for myself. Although I would listen to medical advice, in regards to this medicine, I know more about it than a doctor who hasn’t been on it. That said I would never presume to be an expert on it for anyone else.

Just yesterday a friend (the only person in my life who knows my meds are gray) who’s been paying $450 a month for name brand asked about teaching her how to buy gray. I will only point her in directions. I cannot feel responsible if she loses money, gets bad product, over doses, etc. And I will not buy for anyone else, that’s called drug dealing.

Some people are not detail people and wouldn’t be suited for going gray. Novo and Lilly (Note: the companies that sell prescription GLP-1s) would make so much money if they’d simply lower their prices to where these drugs are accessible to everyone.

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(Then everyone would have more money for donations to Unreported Truths! Support my work with a one-time donation!)

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Q: Can I use your story - ideally with your name?

A: You can use my story but not my name. I’ve told you a lot here I’ve never told anyone else. Until recently I didn’t tell anyone I was on tirzepatide because when I started there was a real stigma against these drugs.

Whenever I have lost a significant amount of weight everyone immediately asks “how did you do it?” They’re hoping I found an easy solution because everyone wants to lose weight. Ten years ago it was 100% diet and exercise, not what anyone wants to hear.

Now we have these miracle drugs. The drugs not only solve the hormone problem they are also such a mental revelation. We’ve been told our whole lives we weren’t trying hard enough, we were slobs, just get off the couch and put down the fork!

Now we know it’s not our fault.

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(But not subscribing IS. So get off the fence and do it!)

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(Second of two parts. Part One is below.)