Patients travel more than 1,000 miles to get prescriptions for weight-loss drugs amid national shortages and a race to lose weight by summer.
Doctors told DailyMail.com they are struggling to meet demand for Wegovy and Ozempic, while the FDA reports that Mounjaro and Zepbound are expected to be out of stock until at least July.
Dr. Angela Fitch, an obesity medicine expert in New York City, said she has had patients fly from as far away as Florida, Virginia and Ohio to fill their prescriptions.
She has also had other people drive to her from Maine, a distance of about 400 miles, or a seven-hour drive.
Marlee Bruno, who works at Medspa Mind, Body and Soul Medical in Pensacola, Florida, told DailyMail.com that people are looking to increase their weight loss goals to get ready for the beach.
Among those who used Ozempic to lose weight was Real Housewives of Orange County star Emily Simpson, 47, who lost 40 pounds on the drug last year.
Pictured above is Anna from Alabama, who lost 50 pounds after using Wegovy last summer.
Among patients struggling to complete a script is Tara Dykens of Massachusetts, who said finding Zepbound was “very frustrating.” ‘I didn’t want to spoil it. “I didn’t want to skip doses,” she added.
Other patients have begun posting tearful videos on social media as they fill their prescriptions or empty boxes worrying about getting their next dose.
Ms Bruno told DailyMail.com that some patients have had to drive out of state to receive their doses at her clinic.
“We try to send it to patients, but this increases costs and some of them want to get the brands mentioned,” he said.
“We have patients who drove from here to Alabama and Mississippi to look for Mounjaro, so it’s at least a hundred miles.”
Due to shortages, pharmacies can make compounded versions (or their own doses) of the medications.
But many patients still opt for the brand-name versions because they believe they will be more effective in losing weight.
Those who have previously used drugs to prepare for summer include Real Housewives of Orange County’s Emily Simpson, 47, who lost 40 pounds on the drug and was so sure she posted a photo of herself in a bikini.
Patients share their frustration over not being able to get their doses of Wegovy, Zepbound and other weight loss medications online.
British TV personality Charlotte Dawson, 31, showed off her incredible 19-pound weight loss as she prepares to get her bikini body ready for her vacation eight months after giving birth in her latest Instagram post on Saturday. She has not confirmed if she used any weight loss medication.
Others who used weight-loss drugs to get into a bikini last year include Anna from Alabama, who lost 50 pounds after taking Wegovy.
When asked what was behind the increase in demand, Bruno placed the blame on the approach of summer.
“We’re in Florida, where it’s practically summer already,” she said, “and people are starting to put on their bikinis and really want to take medication so they can lose weight quickly.”
“It is possible to lose a significant amount of weight quickly with these,” he added.
‘As standard, patients lose about 1 pound a week, but it tends to be a little more than that.
“After three months, they may have lost at least 12 pounds of fat, which is a significant loss and makes many patients feel much better.”
However, he warned against “double dosing” to try to speed up weight loss, saying this would lead to “terrible side effects” for patients, such as problems with bowel movements, diarrhea and constipation.
Among the patients caught in the shortage is Mrs. Dykens, who is having difficulty getting her Zepbound prescription.
She told GMA, “I think on any given afternoon I tried to contact 20 to 25 pharmacies.” [to get the medication].’
The above shows how Zepbound works and how Wegovy works.
Zepbound, a revolutionary new weight-loss drug, is in short supply across the United States, health officials say
Another patient named Hannah Rose, a resident of Washington state, said she had been searching every pharmacy up to 100 miles from where she was trying to get doses.
“On Saturday, not one in a hundred miles was [Zepbound]’, he said, ‘but today they had it in two stores!’
Another patient, named Celeste and from the US, posted a tearful video online this month when she managed to fill her Zepbound prescription.
And patient Tiana, also from the US and who lost 40 pounds on the drug, described it as a “mission” when she drove 8 miles to a CVS to take her doses.
Eli Lilly, which is behind Mounjaro and Zepbound, has said shortages of its drugs could last until 2025.
The group’s vice president, Rhonda Pacheco, said: “In the short term, we will be in this limited availability, which may cause delays in some of the doses for both Mounjaro and Zepbound.”
“We’re working very hard every day to make sure we ramp up that capacity as quickly as possible to get these medications into patients’ hands.”
Lilly plans to open a new manufacturing plant in Concord, North Carolina, before the end of the year to boost production.
Novo Nordisk, which makes Ozempic and Wegovy, opened a new manufacturing plant in Clayton, North Carolina, last year to expand supply.