Well, fuck.
Just been informed by my GP practice's pharmacist that there's now a national shortage of Rybelsus, aka Semaglutide, my most effective diabetes medication, that's likely to last into 2024. Influencers have been boosting it as a weight loss drug (it's the same drug—in tablet form—as Ozembic/Wegovy) and private clinics are buying up all the stock for image-conscious idiots, depriving diabetics of access.
(I have 12 weeks in the cupboard, then I may lose access for months.)
It's one of three diabetes meds I'm on (also: metformin and empagliflozin) and it's highly effective. It has unpleasant side-effects—notably constant low-grade nausea—but also the weight loss is drastic and real. Hence its popularity, which is leading to the NHS-wide shortages.
@cstross Off-label use in the case of some medications should entail practicing licence removal.
Medications that there is a shortage of? (I'm curious whether you'd think the same about any medications that don't have a shortage.)
Sure there are; usually the duty of care towards patient, when exercised well, is sufficient to prevent harm from that. I wonder if you see any cases other than shortage when that's not the case.
BTW. Anti-obesity is definitely not aesthetic: standard strategies of reducing obesity decrease all-cause mortality noticeably (I don't know if someone studies effects of _this_ way of decreasing it already.)
@robryk @cstross There is a strong difference between obesity and "influencer wanting to look thin", I'd argue. And I sincerely do not believe that one should mess with metabolism and the endocrine system without health-compromising reasons for it.