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Someone who’s 18 wrote that they’ve been struggling with weight and binge eating, and they’re asking about semaglutide — the drug behind brand names like Ozempic and Wegovy — as an option. They’ve gained a lot of weight in a short time and are worried because their BMI is now about 35. The note sounds urgent and scared: they’ve tried many things, their eating disorder keeps getting worse, and they want to know if a medication like semaglutide could help. Semaglutide is a medicine that copies a natural hormone your gut makes after you eat. That hormone sends signals to the brain that help reduce appetite and slow how fast food leaves your stomach. In people with obesity it can lead to weight loss because it reduces hunger and helps you eat less. It’s given by injection under the skin and is prescribed for people with certain health conditions or high body weight; different brand names target either diabetes or weight management. What the research shows so far is that semaglutide can cause significant weight loss compared with placebo in clinical trials of adults with obesity or overweight. Those trials usually enroll hundreds to thousands of adults and last many months. However, most big trials exclude people with active eating disorders like uncontrolled binge eating, or they handle those cases carefully. That means we don’t have strong, generalizable evidence for how semaglutide works for someone whose main problem is an active binge-eating disorder. There are reports and smaller studies suggesting appetite-reducing drugs can help some people with binge-eating behaviors, but the evidence is mixed and not definitive. Why this matters is practical: if someone is gaining weight rapidly and struggling with binge eating, a drug that reduces hunger could help reduce calorie intake and break a cycle of episodes. But medical treatment for weight when an eating disorder is present usually needs to be part of a broader plan that includes therapy (like cognitive behavioral therapy), nutritional support, and close medical monitoring. A prescriber will want to know the full mental-health picture because starting a medication without support risks missing the root issues causing bingeing, and eating disorders can complicate medication effects and follow-up. There are important caveats and risks. Semaglutide can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and in rare cases more serious problems like pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas) and gallbladder issues. It can affect mood in some people, and its safety for teenagers and very young adults is being studied carefully. Most doctors won’t start it without evaluating for an eating disorder and will prefer a coordinated plan with mental-health professionals. Also, access and approval depend on the person’s age, health conditions, and local regulations; it’s prescription-only. If someone is actively bingeing or feeling out of control around food, the first step should be to reach a healthcare provider or an eating-disorder specialist to get a safe, supervised plan. Bottom line: semaglutide can help with weight by reducing appetite, but for an 18-year-old with an active binge-eating disorder it’s not a simple fix — it needs careful medical and psychological evaluation before considering treatment.
Source: r/Semaglutide