Testing weight loss medications for potency | Here’s what we found

RALEIGH, NC (WTVD) — Medical injectable drugs are becoming more readily available. You can get the drug through a doctor, medical spas, or even online. However, you need to do your research before buying weight loss pills.

Raleigh business owner Nina Hazelwood decided to try weight loss pills after struggling with her weight and trying just about every diet out there.

“Vitamins, gummy shakes, you name it. I tried literally everything. I would lose weight but then what would happen was I would go back to my old habits. normal to eat, I would get even more, ” he said.

At her heaviest, Hazelwood weighed 230 pounds. She said she felt so bad that she went to her doctor and had a full panel of blood and lab work, but those results don’t show any health issues preventing her from losing weight.

“I talked to him about the medicine and he said, ‘I’ve heard amazing things; it gave me a shot.’

Hazelwood offered its own idea — a weekly snapshot of weight loss injections.

“I actually did Mounjaro for one month and my insurance didn’t cover it, so it was $1,100. That wasn’t something I could afford. Mounjaro combination .”

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Combination vaccines are significantly less expensive than FDA-approved GLP-1 drugs. The FDA placed drugs on the national shortage list and allowed certain drugs to make what are known as compounded versions.

Hazelwood went to a weight loss clinic to get Tirzpatide compounded.

“I had a little nausea, but I had a really good doctor who walked me through the process and answered all my questions.”

Hazelwood said almost everything was done, and it was such a success that her husband Derek joined the show.

Derek said: “It took a month for it to start working. He felt comfortable using the weight loss clinic again. “I do a lot of research to get started. Therefore, I felt very confident that I asked the doctors the questions I thought were necessary and also the pharmacies where the drugs were going, the certainty of who they were. “

He visited his doctor at approx.

Derek not only lost weight, but it changed his entire life.

“I was like, ‘Okay, now I’m paying for this medicine. So if I’m paying for this medicine, why am I going to eat this? Why am I going to eat this ice cream?’ So, it really changed my thinking and my desires or what I wanted.”

Derek lost 65 pounds with weight loss injections. His wife Nina also successfully lost 78 pounds.

The couple said losing weight got them back into the gym. Derek, who is a firefighter, said he was able to do the 9/11 stairs challenge for the first time.

“I’ve never felt better,” Derek said.

Testing weight loss medications

With the popularity and availability of weight loss pills growing, ABC News purchased Semaglutide and Tirzepatide from three different websites. The group bought 11 samples in total without providing a prescription that ABC News had without speaking to a doctor.

Orders went through in minutes.

ABC News sent 11 samples to be tested by a lab to see how much active ingredient each contained.

Lab results show six contain between 90-110% of the listed active ingredient. The various types that the lab specified are accepted as industry standards.

One sample did not have the active ingredients listed on the label.

Local medicine was very inconsistent. Both bowls contained less than 90% of the listed active ingredients. Although the other two had more than 250% of the listed strength, which can lead to extreme symptoms such as fainting, nausea and pancreatitis.

ABC News shared the results with the three companies and one declined to comment, the other two did not respond.

“Unfortunately, the difference between the actual strength of the medicine and what is published on the internet is not unusual at all,” weight loss doctor Charlie Seltzer said.

Seltzer says it’s about how easy it is for people to get weight loss vaccines.

“This is a powerful medicine and now the customer can go online and buy it, even if it is not the right medicine for them without a prescription, without care. It’s crazy,” Seltzer said.

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Concerns related to weight loss drugs

Ron Gill lives in the Triangle and understands those concerns. He said when his doctor ordered it, he hoped his insurance would cover the $1,000+ monthly cost.

“My health insurance won’t cover it, Ozempic or anything.”

After the rejection, she went online again and found a subscription-based weight loss program.

“I did some research and saw reviews on them and I didn’t see anyone having any problems with it. I looked at a few different ones and what the purpose of see what it is and what the costs are. I didn’t have to pay all these costs,” said Gill.

After the actual interview, Gill was sent in the mail one month of Semaglutide.

“You get one month and then once you do well, they order you three months at a time.”

Gill lost 10 pounds in the first month, and he just posted his next three-month supply.

“I can eat now and get full and stop eating where before I couldn’t. I don’t crave candy snacks at work like I used to and that kind of thing. My goal is to lose 60 pounds,” Gill. said.

Doctors said that regardless of whether you get your body weight injections from the key is to research it and talk to a doctor or medical professional to make sure that the shots are right for you, as they can be and best practices when it comes to losing weight. .

ABC News looked at the safety of combining weight loss drugs in its investigation called Shot in the Dark: The Weight Loss Injection Wars.

ABC News also looked at what the end of the shortage of Semaglutide and Tirzepatide could mean for people who depend on many types of drugs. Ending the shortage could result in the FDA denying certain pharmacies the compounding of active ingredients.

This is a big deal for those on the combined versions, because if they are successful with it and it ends, they worry about what that means for their weight loss journey.

Gill said he would be one of the people affected.

“I hope they don’t do that because I wouldn’t be able to afford Ozempic since that costs $1,200 a month for it.”