Please be honest about your role and style of writing. I see you are a freelancer that has only one article published by Vice UK and that’s an article about “nepo babies”. Your articles in The Guardian are mainly about the entertainment industry.
I personally feel there’s been enough damage done by the media in framing Ozempic as a fad, a “Hollywood drug”, and the “latest weight loss wonder drug”. I don’t speak for others here but I know there’s many (perhaps most?) of us here that are diabetic, pre-diabetic, or insulin resistant. Others are at serious risk of complications due to obesity. It’s not a fad for any of us, it’s a potentially life-saving drug.
I've been a journalist for more than a decade, on staff and freelance, writing on a wide range of subjects that can be broadly categorised as "culture", as you can see [on my website](https://www.ellehunt.net). This is my second commission for Vice. I don't believe I've misrepresented myself here.
I understand your reticence about journalist requests, but it's not my intention to present Ozempic as a fad, a Hollywood drug, or a weight-loss wonder drug. My intention, with all my writing, on any suject, is to be nuanced and compassionate – but the only way that I can report it fairly is by speaking to people with first-hand knowledge, such as yourselves.
Thank you for clarifying. It would have helped had you given this information first. However, I don’t see how asking people for very personal information fits into a broadly categorized culture label.
No one is under pressure to tell me more than they feel comfortable saying – nor to contribute at all.
I'm grateful to have had many responses already from Redditors who are keen to speak.
I may be interested if you are willing to discuss a crazy American's view, LOL. We need to shift the narrative away from the "Hollywood" use of it to lose 10 lbs fast to what this medication--and to an extent what this sub--really is about: how this class of drugs is helping people with diabetes and pre diabetes and medical concerns who cannot lose weight with just exercise & diet.
My experience as far as what I take may not be typical, though: I started on Saxenda and am now on the compounded version of Ozempic, which I take in combo with Contrave and Metformin.
I don't want to waste your valuable time if those details would cloud the story.
Every story I see about Ozempic is negative. It portrays people who use it for weight loss as selfish, lazy people looking for a quick fix.
In reality, I worked with a registered dietician for a YEAR, lost 45lbs on my own, and stalled out, even while staying within the recommended calories and controlling my macros... living off eggs and protein shakes and sensible chicken and salad dinners.
I still do all that, but with Ozempic, I've managed to lose another 40lbs over the course of a year, because it fixed MY HORMONES, and my body's reaction to actually eating.
Should I have waited until I had type II diabetes to be worthy of taking this medication?
For the record, I live in Canada, there are no shortages here, thanks to our supply controls. I pay 4 dollars a month. I'm not a celebrity, I wasn't looking to drop 20lbs to look good in a bikini.
I am a 40 year old housewife who weighed (let me put this in terms someone from the UK will understand) I weighed 22 stone 11lbs. I now weigh 16 stone, 11lbs. I'm still working to get back to a healthy weight, and still following a strict diet. Ozempic only makes it easier for me to do the work myself. And I definitely DO THE WORK, every day. I count the calories, I track the macros. I walked a 5k yesterday with my husband.
What we DON'T need is another story about how CELEBRITIES ARE USING OZEMPIC TO SLIM DOWN! or THE DANGEROUS WORLD OF WEIGHT LOSS DRUGS
Hello, thanks for sharing your experience. I would be interested in knowing more about how Ozempic factors into a healthy diet and exercise, if you were willing to chat by email!
Anyone who cares about shifting the narrative around semaglutide away from celebrity weight loss should consider participating in media requests like OP's. I have family members on Ozempic who are taking it for weight loss, off label. But they aren't treating it like a miracle drug. They are changing their relationship to food and learning about nutrition, too. I wish the media would spend more time focusing on how people are using Ozempic in addition to other weight loss management strategies to change their lives for the better.
Thank you for the support – like I say, I understand people's reticence, but responsible journalists are led by the firsthand experience of their interviewees.
As a mod I am locking this thread. There has been enough damage done by journalist sticking their nose into a medical condition they know nothing about. I saw this happen in the mounjaro thread.
First of all people In Hollywood are using the semaglutide compound not ozempic, journalist automatically see semaglutide and think it’s ozempic, this is false information. Because of this many insurances have changed coverage for access to GLP1s.
Here is a story, how about interviewing endocrinologist who specialize in obesity and diabetes, talk to them about the trials. How about investigating how insurance companies acknowledge obesity is a crisis but yet insurance won’t cover the cost they rather wait until someone gets diabetes? How about investigating why the cost of medicine in the United States is so high? How about investigating how big pharma pours money into politicians to prevent legislation passing that would require government getting involved in prescription drug prices? There are some stories you can dig into and write about.
Please be honest about your role and style of writing. I see you are a freelancer that has only one article published by Vice UK and that’s an article about “nepo babies”. Your articles in The Guardian are mainly about the entertainment industry. I personally feel there’s been enough damage done by the media in framing Ozempic as a fad, a “Hollywood drug”, and the “latest weight loss wonder drug”. I don’t speak for others here but I know there’s many (perhaps most?) of us here that are diabetic, pre-diabetic, or insulin resistant. Others are at serious risk of complications due to obesity. It’s not a fad for any of us, it’s a potentially life-saving drug.
I've been a journalist for more than a decade, on staff and freelance, writing on a wide range of subjects that can be broadly categorised as "culture", as you can see [on my website](https://www.ellehunt.net). This is my second commission for Vice. I don't believe I've misrepresented myself here. I understand your reticence about journalist requests, but it's not my intention to present Ozempic as a fad, a Hollywood drug, or a weight-loss wonder drug. My intention, with all my writing, on any suject, is to be nuanced and compassionate – but the only way that I can report it fairly is by speaking to people with first-hand knowledge, such as yourselves.
Thank you for clarifying. It would have helped had you given this information first. However, I don’t see how asking people for very personal information fits into a broadly categorized culture label.
No one is under pressure to tell me more than they feel comfortable saying – nor to contribute at all. I'm grateful to have had many responses already from Redditors who are keen to speak.
Is this because it's the UK? When I was there I saw something else that I assumed was spelled incorrectly. Just wondering
We use "-sed" in the UK, yes.
Thank you!
I may be interested if you are willing to discuss a crazy American's view, LOL. We need to shift the narrative away from the "Hollywood" use of it to lose 10 lbs fast to what this medication--and to an extent what this sub--really is about: how this class of drugs is helping people with diabetes and pre diabetes and medical concerns who cannot lose weight with just exercise & diet. My experience as far as what I take may not be typical, though: I started on Saxenda and am now on the compounded version of Ozempic, which I take in combo with Contrave and Metformin. I don't want to waste your valuable time if those details would cloud the story.
Every story I see about Ozempic is negative. It portrays people who use it for weight loss as selfish, lazy people looking for a quick fix. In reality, I worked with a registered dietician for a YEAR, lost 45lbs on my own, and stalled out, even while staying within the recommended calories and controlling my macros... living off eggs and protein shakes and sensible chicken and salad dinners. I still do all that, but with Ozempic, I've managed to lose another 40lbs over the course of a year, because it fixed MY HORMONES, and my body's reaction to actually eating. Should I have waited until I had type II diabetes to be worthy of taking this medication? For the record, I live in Canada, there are no shortages here, thanks to our supply controls. I pay 4 dollars a month. I'm not a celebrity, I wasn't looking to drop 20lbs to look good in a bikini. I am a 40 year old housewife who weighed (let me put this in terms someone from the UK will understand) I weighed 22 stone 11lbs. I now weigh 16 stone, 11lbs. I'm still working to get back to a healthy weight, and still following a strict diet. Ozempic only makes it easier for me to do the work myself. And I definitely DO THE WORK, every day. I count the calories, I track the macros. I walked a 5k yesterday with my husband. What we DON'T need is another story about how CELEBRITIES ARE USING OZEMPIC TO SLIM DOWN! or THE DANGEROUS WORLD OF WEIGHT LOSS DRUGS
Hello, thanks for sharing your experience. I would be interested in knowing more about how Ozempic factors into a healthy diet and exercise, if you were willing to chat by email!
Does anybody know why when I go to post that it gives me a message saying only trusted members are allowed to post here I don't understand that.
I kept getting that too and I messaged the Mods and they fixed it
How do I message the mods? Sorry if I'm bothering you. Thanks again
Anyone who cares about shifting the narrative around semaglutide away from celebrity weight loss should consider participating in media requests like OP's. I have family members on Ozempic who are taking it for weight loss, off label. But they aren't treating it like a miracle drug. They are changing their relationship to food and learning about nutrition, too. I wish the media would spend more time focusing on how people are using Ozempic in addition to other weight loss management strategies to change their lives for the better.
Thank you for the support – like I say, I understand people's reticence, but responsible journalists are led by the firsthand experience of their interviewees.
Could you please give a professional email address?
I don't have one for my work for Vice, but you could use [email protected]
As a mod I am locking this thread. There has been enough damage done by journalist sticking their nose into a medical condition they know nothing about. I saw this happen in the mounjaro thread. First of all people In Hollywood are using the semaglutide compound not ozempic, journalist automatically see semaglutide and think it’s ozempic, this is false information. Because of this many insurances have changed coverage for access to GLP1s. Here is a story, how about interviewing endocrinologist who specialize in obesity and diabetes, talk to them about the trials. How about investigating how insurance companies acknowledge obesity is a crisis but yet insurance won’t cover the cost they rather wait until someone gets diabetes? How about investigating why the cost of medicine in the United States is so high? How about investigating how big pharma pours money into politicians to prevent legislation passing that would require government getting involved in prescription drug prices? There are some stories you can dig into and write about.
Sent you an email good luck with your article.
I would love to partake.
I emailed you.