Zepbound users discuss weight loss after preliminary research touts effectiveness
Pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly that new preliminary research indicates its medication Zepbound helps patients lose more weight in a shorter time frame compared to Novo Nordisk's Wegovy.
According to Eli Lilly, the study showed that both medications offer significant weight loss benefits, but people treated with Zepbound lost more weight than those on Wegovy after 72 weeks of treatment, the company noted.
Barbara Strecker-Gaudreau told "Nightline" she has tried many weight loss drugs, including Wegovy, over the years. She said Zepbound seems to work best for her.
"I've been trying to lose weight for so long," Strecker-Gaudreau said.
She mentioned that she was on the highest dose of Wegovy available in 2022 but did not see any results. After her insurance stopped covering the medication, she said her doctor switched her to Mounjaro (which is also made by Eli Lilly). In June, her doctor switched her again to Zepbound.
Strecker-Gaudreau -- who exercises and changed her eating habits -- said she has lost over 60 pounds this year and feels great. She can run, her blood pressure is good and her heart rate is healthy, she noted.
Inspired by her mother's progress, Strecker-Gaudreau's daughter Alexis said that she decided to turn to Zepbound too. Alexis also works as an affiliate for a telehealth company that provides drugs used for weight loss. She also changed her lifestyle through exercise and nutrition.
"Within the first week, I lost weight, and by the first month, I lost 10 pounds, so I was lucky," Alexis said. "My life has changed not only externally but internally, so I want to help others feel the same."
Zepbound is a medication containing tirzepatide, which the preliminary study showed to be more effective for weight loss than Wegovy, which contains semaglutide. This preliminary study, which hasn't been peer-reviewed, was created by Zepbound maker Eli Lilly. Both medications are antidiabetic, or used to treat diabetes.
Tirzepatide and semaglutide mimic gut hormones that we produce naturally, according to Dr. Katherine Saunders, an obesity medicine physician with FlyteHealth Medical and Weill Cornell Medicine. These hormones are increased or they're released after we eat and serve several functions.
"One of them is to tell the brain that we're full and we've eaten. So what patients notice with these medications is that they feel less hungry, they feel full faster, and they stay full for longer," Saunders said.
Saunders noted that several medications are actually combinations.
"That's because weight regulation is so complex that there are multiple different pathways involved, and sometimes targeting one is not as effective as targeting two pathways at the same time," she said.
In response to the study, Novo Nordisk, the maker of Wegovy said in part: "Wegovy is the only obesity medicine proven to reduce the risk of major cardiovascular events such as death, heart attack, or stroke in adults with known heart disease and with either obesity or overweight."
The conversation surrounding weight loss has swept through the nation, with eye-catching ads popping up on television and flooding social media platforms.
These drugs can offer the possibility of weight loss assistance for those who have struggled to lose weight in other ways. However, like all medications, these can have side effects. The main side effects associated with both Wegovy and Zepbound are nausea, vomiting, stomach upset, constipation and diarrhea.
Experts caution that lifestyle changes should also be considered when taking these types of medications.
"These medications are designed to be used along with lifestyle interventions, like working with a dietitian, figuring out a sustainable way of eating, physical activity and behavioral interventions," Saunders said.
