Over the past few years, weight-loss medication from brands like Ozempic, Wegovy, and Mounjaro have ignited both the medical and pharmaceutical landscape to address, not only conditions like obesity, but to also assist in slowing cognitive decline, reduce nicotine cravings, and decrease the risk of heart disease.
Recently, the concept of ‘microdosing’ these kinds of medications - the act of taking these drugs at a dose smaller than the standard amount - has come into fruition. According to experts, this method of administration can have serious health benefits when done under the care and guidance of a doctor.
There are many reasons why an individual would want to microdose these medications that range from maintaining a certain weight, only wanting to lose a small amount of weight, financially being able to afford these drugs in smaller doses, and weight shaming stigmas around the usage of these drugs resulting in less guilt when taking these medications in smaller amounts.
Dr. Brett Osborn, a Florida neurosurgeon and longevity doctor at Senolytix, is a proponent of microdosing GLP-1 medications for health benefits such as managing blood sugar and cholesterol levels.
He goes on to state that microdosing is “essential for those who’ve lost weight on standard doses to keep the weight off.” He compared it to driving on a freeway saying, “At first, you need to hit the gas hard enough to get up to the speed of traffic. Once you’re going fast, however, you still need to tap the pedal, but only slightly.”
Osborn also emphasized that the key factor to all of this is making sure you consult your doctor about microdosing these medications and to only take them under the recommendation and supervision of your doctor in order to avoid any side effects or bad reactions. He then takes responsibility for potential bad reactions saying, “Do not ever blame this [the side effects] on the medication. It’s not the medication’s fault. The burden is on us as physicians to be able to modulate the dose.”
The full version of this article was published on Fox News by Charles Trepany on September 26, 2024.
