| The problem isn't prescription in the US, the problem is whether or not someone's insurance will cover weight-loss medications as they're expensive. If you have the cash, Mounjaro was easily available to you in the US already for weight-loss, and finding a doctor to prescribe it wasn't (much of) a problem. The various subreddits concerned with this certainly talk about whether or not insurance should be legally compelled to cover obesity. Just to tack this on to "what's the gold standard", the gold standard is GLP-1 receptor agonists, and nothing before that has been anywhere near as effective without serious side effects. Things have basically been stimulants (phentermine, ephedrine), bulking agents (like fiber), things that mess with fat absorption (orlistat, which prevents it; olestra, which is a fat substitute), or treatments that reduce the active area of your stomach (bypass, stapling, sticking a balloon in your stomach). All are either ineffective or come with really bad side-effects. GLP-1 receptor agonists are really the only game in town, like Viagra was when it came out. The evolution has basically been (as I understand it): * Liraglutide / Victoza / Saxenda (works OK) * Semaglutide / Ozempic / Wegovy (works well) * Tirzepatide / Mounjaro / Zepbound (works great) In each case, they've been a diabetic medication that turns out to be great at weight-loss. |
Lilly has the so-called "Triple-G" shot in trials right now. Retartrutide shows even better weight loss potential than Tirzepatide