Diabetes treatment has added benefit of helping overweight people shed kilos
A treatment for Type 2 diabetes is helping those who are severely overweight shed kilos.
The simple injection style pen has helped Victoria's Lily Pentensuzzo drop a third of her bodyweight.
At her heaviest, Ms Pentensuzzo weighed 137kgs.
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Lily Pentensuzzo lost 58kg on the treatment. Nine
She was diagnosed as borderline diabetic and was prescribed Ozempic as treatment.
Three years later, Ms Petensuzzo has dropped 58kg.
"I was wearing size 26 and I'm wearing now size 14," she said.
Just like an insulin pen, Ozempic is administered by the user at home weekly.
According to Dr Catherine Bacus, the drug works to slow users' guts down, making them feel fuller for longer.
It allowed Ms Petensuzzo to follow a low calorie diet without being constantly hungry.
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Ozempic is like an insulin pen. Nine
Ms Petensuzzo said she felt "so much better" on the treatment.
While Ozempic is currently fully TGA approved and on the PBS for treating Type 2 diabetes, it has not yet been approved for treating obesity.
Doctors like Dr Bacus hope it will be approved soon.
"Eventually we'd love to see this listed on the PBS for the treatment of obesity," she said.
Like most weight loss treatments, health professionals advise the drug must be combined with diet and exercise to achieve long term results.
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