r/science • u/Wagamaga • Feb 12 '25

Neuroscience The first clinical trial of its kind has found that semaglutide, distributed under the brand name Wegovy, cut the amount of alcohol people drank by about 40% and dramatically reduced people’s desire to drink

https://today.usc.edu/popular-weight-loss-diabetes-drug-shows-promise-in-reducing-cravings-for-alcohol/
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u/HegemonNYC Feb 12 '25

Did you lose any ‘positive’ activities? Like did you also lose interest in (healthy) sex with your partner, or hobbies/sports that excited you? Do you still enjoy a really delicious steak or brownie, but now it’s in moderation? Or is there a general loss of lust for life, both good and bad

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u/km89 Feb 13 '25

Not the person you're responding to, but: I am on Zepbound, which is another one of the GLP drugs.

My experience lines up with others' experiences here. Pretty much anything I'd want that could be even remotely considered "obsessively" has been changed in the same way. Food, weed, sex, reading, staying up late, video games--I enjoy them all just as much as I did before, but I can put them down when it's time to put them down.

For me, there has been no loss of positive activities. It's just that my brain no longer latches onto them like "you liked that, so that's all you want to do for the next 12 hours straight."

I can (and did just last week, actually) go out to a steakhouse and get a nice steak... except now I have leftovers for lunch the next day. I still enjoy brownies, ice cream, cake, whatever--but now I have a little, say "that was good," and don't feel compelled to eat it all until it's gone.

I don't know if "moderation" is really the right word. It's not so much that I'm feeling like "I want more, but I know I shouldn't." It's that doing these things "in moderation" gives me just as much satisfaction as doing them to the extreme used to--and crucially, doing them to the extreme gives me no more satisfaction than a normal amount does. I'd even argue that I enjoy life more now than I did before.

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u/HegemonNYC Feb 13 '25

That’s quite interesting. I’m physically fit, but have some poor habits that come from that addictive reward pathway. As you said, the ‘you liked that so do it for 12 hours’ pathway. It’s fascinating that there is a hormone that regulates this reward seeking.

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u/HCisco Feb 13 '25

Personally I didn’t lose any positive activities or a list for life. Everything tastes just as delicious as before, I’m just happier with less. Like when I used to drink I could never just stop at one drink, or if I did it would take active effort which ate up brain space. Now I’m totally happy (if not happier) with one drink. Same with food, I still like all the same things but I don’t have cravings the way I used to and am happy and satiated with a fraction of whatever it is I’m eating. So for me GLP1s have been life changing and I’m actually happier than I used to be since all the noise in my head is gone. I’m envious of people for whom this lack of noise is the norm bc no matter how hard I tried over the last 30 something years I could never get rid of the noise myself even if my habits themselves were disciplined.

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u/HegemonNYC Feb 13 '25

Do you know what it would be like to stop taking them? Would that food noise or drive to keep drinking return? And if you were to be on these drugs long term, are there downsides other than cost?

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u/ExternalPanda Feb 13 '25 edited Feb 13 '25

Do you know what it would be like to stop taking them? Would that food noise or drive to keep drinking return?

Not them, but I've actually interrupted my Wegovy treatment because it's quite expensive, so I can chime in. There is something life changing in experiencing a healthy, "normal" relationship with food (I haven't really experienced the effect with other binge activities, unfortunately) and knowing it's possible and attainable, but, at least for me, it wasn't enough to sustain those habits after stopping the medication.

I'm now back to overeating, snacking, and eating really fast. I'm more aware of those impulses now, so I can actually try and control them, but the magic with Wegovy was that there was barely any struggle, the impulses sort of just went away.

And if you were to be on these drugs long term, are there downsides other than cost?

There are side effects, I didn't have any, but a friend who's also found through it has quite a bit of nausea. They also mentioned that the effect seems to be getting weaker for them, and they're already at maximum dosage.

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u/Dogsnamewasfrank Feb 13 '25

Most people who *need* a GLP-1 will need it for life. Some people do have side effects (like any med) but for most, the long term effects are net positive - better heart, kidney, liver, and brain health. Semaglutide has been studied in people for over 20 years, so it has long term data.

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u/Not_That_Magical Feb 13 '25

Stuff like this makes me wonder if it would help people with Prader-Willi syndrome

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u/Pregxi Feb 13 '25

I worried about that as well as I take testosterone from cancer and wasn't sure whether it'd impact my libido but I haven't noticed any changes there. Food tastes even better, honestly. My brain just seems to know when to stop.

I use to drink like a 2 liter of diet pepsi a day. I still drink a fair bit but it seems like it's even helped with that addiction. I use to get sick if I didn't have pop every few hours.

This could be a placebo but it even seems to make things like salads taste better. I'd use to say I wouldn't want to waste a meal on just a salad but now it tastes closer to my favorite foods. Oh, and water tastes good, or doesn't feel like a chore? Maybe because I'm drinking less pop but when I drink water I don't get that feeling that I'm missing out because I'm not drinking a pop. Water would basically trigger the need for pop.

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u/InsuranceToTheRescue Feb 13 '25

Nothing like that, no. It's entirely satiety. Take food as an easy example. When I go to a restaurant I used to eat the whole meal and that would be dinner/lunch/whatever. I wasn't hungry, but I wasn't really "full." Like, if you think to Thanksgiving or Christmas where we have big, rich meals, at the end you're kinda sitting there, your stomach is full, and you've got that feeling kinda like, "Welp, I'm done with food for a bit. Can't eat anymore. Time to chill on the couch or take a nap."

I get that "I'm done with food for a bit. I can't eat anymore." feeling after half a burger and a few fries now. I still like the burger, it tastes just as good and I enjoy it just as much, but I'm done with it much quicker. It's been the same with booze. No effect on libido or my weed habits.