When Dr. C. Michael Gibson, a cardiologist at Harvard Medical School, goes to a heart disease conference, he is unable to notice the change.
“We sit at dinner and sit mid-day meals, and we push the plate off at the same time,” Dr. Gibson said. “We look at each other, laugh and say, 'Are you too?' ”
They share what is becoming an open secret. They tried for years to control their weight, but are now taking new obesity drugs manufactured by Eli Lily and Novo Nordisk.
Dr. Robert Caliph, former chief of the Food and Drug Administration, says he has little recognition of his colleagues. So many people are very thin.
“It looks good,” he says he told fellow cardiologists at conferences and meetings.
No studies document the proportion of doctors taking medication. But doctors are “a very effective drug-friendly litmus test,” Dr. Caliph said. If a doctor who reads a paper describing the results of a clinical trial is in a hurry to get a new drug, it shows that it is truly promising.
His colleagues' use of Wegovy and Zepbound remind us of the use of statins, a drug that lowers cholesterol in his early days. The cardiologist who was most familiar with high cholesterol results was one of the first to take high doses of drugs.
Many new, thin cardiologists and diabetes specialists, like many of their patients, had risk factors for heart disease. Or their blood sugar levels were creeping up. Or the physical tension of carrying excess weight has put a burden on everyday life. They say they like not only their new looks, but their new health and energy. In a way, they feel like members of the club.
Four years ago, Dr. Darren McGuire, a cardiologist at the University of Texas Southwest, suffered from obesity and type 2 diabetes. He then began taking Ozempic, a Novo Nordisk diabetes drug sold under the name Wegovy for obesity. He later switched to Murjaro from Eli Lily, who is sold as a zepbound due to obesity.
He lost 30% of his weight and controlled his blood sugar levels. Now he said, he “feels better than ever.”
He is also impressed by the number of colleagues who appear to be using the drug.
“People look quite different,” said Dr. McGuire, who is on the Novo Nordisk and Eli Lily advisory board. “It's amazing,” he said of Dr. John Bues of the University of North Carolina, a well-known diabetes expert, “it's reduced.”
Not at all, Dr. Beauz said. But he said, “I lost 25% of my weight, which completely changed my life.” He struggled with his size since childhood, gained, lost, and weight again was increasing.
When he went on a diet, he “will be crazy hungry,” Dr. Buse said. At Wegovy, he said his weight had dropped effortlessly until he reached his goal. Then his appetite returned, which was scary. But instead of regaining the pound, he maintained a consistent weight when he continued taking the medication.
Like other patients, he discovered that taking medications would eliminate most of the desire to drink alcohol. Before he starts Wegovy, he will often drink two or three drinks with dinner. Now he has one or nothing.
Dr. Buse, consultant for Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly, doesn't often ask people if they're taking one of the drugs at diabetes conferences, but asking “someone has changed a lot” He said there wasn't much. He said they were taking weight loss pills “bet on the donuts.”
Some cardiologists are still “in the closet,” Dr. Gibson said.
One is a cardiologist in Boston. She said that the person who prescribed Ozempic for her was also a cardiologist for the female who was taking it. She asked not to be identified as she only told the small number of people who were taking the medication. She suspected that her colleagues had speculated, but she was trying to keep her medical information private. She added that she is sure she knows who else is taking the medication.
“Yes, I can definitely say it,” she said. “And when you go to dinner you can definitely see. You eat an eighth of the meal. You know what's going on here.”
Doctors know they are privileged.
First, Dr. Buse's health insurance paid for his Wegovy. But soon North Carolina stopped paying for obesity medications for state employees, so he paid out of pocket. It was a list price of $1,349 a month, which was a huge expense.
Later, at a meeting in Europe, he asked his colleagues to prescribe Wegovi for him, and got a supply of six months. Dr. Buse was able to purchase Wegovy for a quarter of its US cost.
Doctors also know how to advocate for themselves and navigate the healthcare system better than many patients.
Dr. McGuire's insurance company initially refused to pay for his drugs. “I had to appeal,” he said. “I have a relationship with my primary care doctor and I know when to keep pushing.”
His insurance company agreed to pay.
Dr. Gibson said he wanted to discuss his insurance company's payments without any problems and his decision to take Wegovy openly. (He recently switched to Lily's Zepbound, which is also covered by his insurance.
“Many people have the idea that it's embarrassing and that using drugs is a cheating,” Dr. Gibson said.
But obesity pills changed his life, he said: “That's the biggest thing I've ever done.”
And even Zepbound, even if it's just the beginning, Dr. Gibson said.
“120 new agents are coming,” he noted, referring to the drug in clinical trials. “We look forward to those who may be even more safe and effective.”
