Dr Eva Orsmond has warned about the dangers of using Ozempic, a new supposed ‘wonder drug’ that has become hugely popular for weight loss.
The Finnish-born doctor, known from her straight talking on RTE’s Operation Transformation, said that Ozempic - which works to suppress the appetite and make people feel fuller for longer - is not all it is cracked up to be and has some "scary" consequences.
Dr Eva said that people can experience "heavy" side effects on Ozempic and also need to stay on the drug for life in order to keep the weight off.
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She told the Irish Mirror: “It does work for some people and it does make them feel fuller but it doesn’t work for everybody. Some people are very, very sick on it.
“All these diabetic drugs have side effects, quite heavy side effects. If you looked at the leaflet for Ozempic and read the potential side effects, you might think differently."
Ozempic is a weekly injectable medication that has been used for years as a treatment for diabetes and has recently been prescribed for obesity in Ireland, with a number of celebs in Hollywood attributing significant weight loss to the drug.
Common side effects listed for Ozempic include nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, stomach pain and constipation. However, more serious side effects also listed on the website include possible thyroid tumours, including thyroid cancer.
Dr Eva said what she finds "scary" about Ozempic is in order to maintain the weight loss you need to keep taking the drug indefinitely - at a cost of around €1,500 a year.
“What I find very scary is that it’s actually licensed for life,” said Dr Eva. “When you actually read the [leaflet], the manufacturer says there’s a big chance that people basically put the weight back on when they come off the drug.
“Every single time we have introduced a drug for weight loss, after a little time it has actually been taken off the market.”
Dr Eva operates clinics in Dublin and Galway dedicated to weight loss and type 2 diabetes reversal as well as her latest venture: The Solar Alvura Health Hotel in Portugal.
Her approach, rather than treating obesity or type 2 diabetes with drugs, is to empower her patients to lose weight and actually reverse their diagnosis with practical and specific lifestyle changes so "they can actually shift weight and see the sugar readings coming down.”
Last year, 10% of the HSE’s budget went towards diabetes care and a new study in The Lancet journal predicts that number will only go up, as no country in the world is expected to see a decline in its diabetes rate over the next 30 years.
According to a recent Healthy Ireland Survey, over 800,000 adults in Ireland either have, or are at risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
Dr Eva says there is a misconception in Irish medical practice that type 2 diabetes is not reversible - which she insists it is and has the success stories from her clinic to show for it.
“Within five years of diagnosis we say it’s a 98% chance of reversing it. So it’s very high," she said. “I have a huge amount of people who have been able to reverse it. But I also have people who were already on insulin and were able to come off that.”
Dr Eva is now running a 10-day Diabetes Recovery Programme from her wellness destination hotel, Solar Alvura, in Portugal, with dates from September 2023 through to February next year.
In an all-inclusive stay, guests will receive a full medical assessment, cookery demonstrations, an opportunity to do exercise and a low-calorie, low-carbohydrate ketogenic diet, in at attempt to "support and kickstart" their diabetes recovery journey.
“The food is handed to you in a controlled environment, so you are more supported," said Dr Eva. “It’s always the first four or five days that are the toughest on anything when you do a new change."
The Solar Alvura has been up and running officially from February and also offers weight-loss programmes, yoga retreats and yoga classes, as well as simply being a place where guests can come to relax.
Eva started the dream project of renovating and opening the hotel a few years ago, along with her husband of 27 years, Wyatt Orsmond, with the huge job being filmed by RTE for the programme Dr Eva’s Great Escape.
However, the cameras captured more than just the hotel renovation when their marriage broke down as they were filming and their decision to divorce was documented on camera.
Dr Eva told the Irish Mirror that she enjoyed filming the hotel renovation for TV but harbours a slight regret at their split being so public. However, she said in a world where people only show their "perfect lives" on social media, it is important to be truthful about life.
“It was really great in a way because it’s all documented and I’m sure it’s going to be wonderful for us to look back on, because we would have never done the job ourselves," she said.
“Of course, it also created an extra stress but I love TV work, but then obviously the whole divorce came in the middle of it and there was a lot of drama in the middle.
“Looking back now, sometimes you say ‘was that all really needed?’ If I had known before would it have been better to keep it to ourselves?
“But then at the same time, I always felt that in life, if you do anything you have to be true. I’m straight with when I say things about people, and my opinions, so I want to be truthful about my own things as well.
“Social media in today’s world I think gives this impression that people’s lives are perfect and people tend to easily compare their lives to other people’s lives and think ‘everybody has it perfect, I don’t’.
“I definitely have had my good share of challenges in life but saying that I am also very lucky that I have been able to reach and do these things I have always dreamed of doing.
“Now it’s out there, people know I have a hotel and now I hope I get the message that people can come and rejuvenate.”
For more information about The Solar Alvura Diabetes Recovery Programme visit www.solaralvura.com or contact +353-1-2827500.
