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Did you miss me (us)? WE BACK! [again]
202 Plays2 years ago
We are looooooonnnnngggg overdue for a few life updates! Between us catching up over AmiJo's absolutely GORGEOUS wedding, we discuss a few trending topics over the past 4 months, informative talk about the different "weight loss" drugs and end it with some great questions from our listeners!
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Transcript
Catch-Up and Wedding Recap
00:00:17
Speaker
Welcome back to another episode of Chocolate with a Side of Medicine. I am one of your lovely hosts, Amy JoMD, and I have here with me Dr. Sunshine. Welcome back. Hey, y'all. We missed y'all. Yeah. Dr. Chris. Hey, guys. And Dr. No-No.
00:00:33
Speaker
Welcome. It's been too long. So let me first start this off with an apology, people, because we've been gone for a while. And I don't want y'all to think that we were out here in these streets getting married and abandoning you all, because that's not how it went down, OK? Those things did happen, but that's not why we've not been recording. So all things are learning curves.
00:00:56
Speaker
And even in this sophomore season, we've had changes like new platforms, what you can use, record, all these things. It's been a scheduling nightmare. And so we went away, but we really missed y'all while we were out. So glad to be back.
00:01:13
Speaker
I'm gonna put you I'm gonna put you on the spot Amy Jo MD me cuz yeah you Amy Jo okay put you on the spot cuz I want to know how you feel because we never got to have a wedding debrief on the show
00:01:28
Speaker
We didn't. We did not have a wedding debrief. Last time we were actually on these airwaves, we were laughing at Dr. Chris because of her rum punch. But we actually did not get a chance to talk to you about the actual wedding, how you felt about your wedding, how you feel now, and how are things?
00:01:51
Speaker
Things are good. Did you enjoy your things? Did you enjoy your things? I had an amazing wedding. I enjoyed all things. I had an amazing shower. Y'all already know that part. We talked about it. And people definitely listen to the episode Dr. Chris just wants you to know. They were like, how does she poison herself? I don't even know. That's just how it went down. I don't even know.
00:02:08
Speaker
You got the recipe on the site, then tell people I know. Man, right. If you want to go down on the first stop, drink this. My shower was amazing, we know that part. But the wedding weekend was so fun. Okay, first of, I mean, from start to finish. We were out here in these streets acting like
00:02:30
Speaker
Nigerians, because the wedding started on a Wednesday, it felt like, and did not stop until Sunday night. It was going nonstop. The game show, y'all, the game show was fun. The game show was litty. The game show was litty. The game show was lit. I will never catch your response to the question, like, what would you do if you were the opposite sex for a day? Yeah, if I woke up, I was like, yes.
00:02:58
Speaker
The first thing I'm doing, I'm shaking, I'm shaking it. Like, oh my God. If I wake up the opposite sex for 24 hours, like that is the very first thing. So y'all, we went to this game show. It was great. And we play like real, real games. Like it was like a true recorded game show and we legit had an amazing time because they let us bring liquor.
00:03:20
Speaker
But I didn't even know that something like that would even be in the city that we were in. I was like, how is this here? This is somewhere. I would be an amazing concept right here. Yeah, I would think it would be somewhere like Chicago or New York where there's lots of improv and I don't know that. I was shocked. I was shocked. Because it was a great time. It's random. It's like here and in Houston.
00:03:51
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, it's crazy, but it was so fun. So that night was fun. And then I feel like we all checked into the hotel the next day, which would have been a Thursday. And it was like party nonstop because guests were like coming.
00:04:11
Speaker
coming ready to party. So they were like checking in like, what's up? Here's my room key and here's my bottles. Let's meet in the lobby and let's make it happen. So the lobby was lit every night. Every night the lobby was lit. It was so fun. We're out in the lobby after your wedding for like, oh, we were there until like three in the morning, I think. I went to bed at five a.m. But y'all were there longer than that. Yeah.
00:04:40
Speaker
There was some well-spirited conversation going on. It was a good time. 5 AM is the time I went to bed. I know those workers were tired of us. They were like, these people still here? No. No. Let me tell you, when I left, when I left, they were like, y'all can come back anytime. We loved your whole group. They were like, y'all were great.
00:05:02
Speaker
because everything was cleaned up, right? Like we were most responsible alcoholics in the whole weekend, right? Like we'd be down there like ordering wings, like popping bottles and everything. And then we would disappear and it was like, we were never there. Like everybody like took their stuff, like threw it in the trash was like, all right, tomorrow I'll see y'all, let's do it again. They were like, you all can come back anytime. It was great. Isn't that great? You were just a well-mannered drunk people. Yes. That's adorable.
00:05:32
Speaker
Right. We'll see you all tomorrow. Same place, same time. Yeah. That one night was way too early. They needed to keep that open at least till 2. Yeah. The bartender was like, ah, I can't keep it open late. And we were like, OK, that's fine. Listen, we just need some cups. And we took it from there. It was an amazing weekend. And then the wedding itself was great. It's so hard. It's one of those things you spend a lot of time
00:06:01
Speaker
making all these, like you think of every single detail, Dr. Sunshine can attest to this, like you're always thinking, is the guest gonna like this? Is the guest gonna like that? And even though you're doing it for yourself, no, you really are doing it because you want the people who show up.
00:06:16
Speaker
to feel as good about the day as you do, right? Because you already feel great about the day. You're getting to marry someone that you really love, that you want to spend the rest of your life with. But the day, the wedding itself, really is so that the people who support the marriage can enjoy it as much as you do. And so to hear it from everybody, to guest my bridal party, to hear you all have a good time, it was amazing. When y'all start trying to pay those people, bribe them, rather.
00:06:45
Speaker
for an extra hour at the wedding. I was like, yo, this ain't that kind of facility, people. Like, we cannot find another hour in here. We got to go. It's 11 o'clock. We got to go. We've been here all day. That was a bunch of people like, would you meet the bar's clothes? Would you meet the bar's clothes? They're like, no, no, no. The bar is closed. How closed is it? How closed is it? Right.
00:07:11
Speaker
I was like, yo, it's 11 o'clock, y'all. We really do have to go. Well, I think it's like 11, get ready to be 11 30. So we had to be out by midnight. But out by midnight, meaning place clean, like they're ready to like take their keys back and be done. Right. So we knew we were going to try to push it as close to midnight as we could.
00:07:30
Speaker
But as you already know, the size of my guest list grew a lot from the time we said it to the time we finally got to the day of.
00:07:42
Speaker
And so to get that many people out the door, get all the chairs and the tables and everything cleaned up and have it all cleaned by midnight, we were like pushing it to have people out at 1130. So we were like, look, we'll have them out at 1130, but we'll start picking up. She was like, are you okay with us picking up tables and everything like around your guests? And I was like, yes, that's fine. Because at that point, people either be drinking or dancing and they won't care what table they set it.
00:08:10
Speaker
So they were really working their way out to end while you all still got the party. But at that point, I'm, you know, I don't know what time it is because I can't find my phone, but I'm like, um.
00:08:22
Speaker
this feels like it is going too long, right? And now I'm looking around like, yo, where's my phone? Like I need to know what time it is. It's like 11 45 and I'm looking and my planner is like on the wall. Like I told them they could have one more dance. I was like, don't be fooled by these people. They look nice with their hoodlums, right? These people go down. They have one more song you to death. Like you gotta put them out.
00:08:48
Speaker
And I was like, all right, give them sparklers. You got to give this kind of crew an activity. And I was like, hand out the sparklers, because they'll be down for light stuff on fire outside, OK? So.
00:09:00
Speaker
So once the sparklers hit, they were like, yo, sparklers, where we going? What's happening? Yes, let's do it. Oh, that was your plan to get them outside. Yeah, I was like, hand out the sparklers. The only thing I wish is because I wish I had given, I have tons of them. There was enough to give everybody like four, right? Because I was like, somebody's gonna light this early, it's gonna go out in here, but like, where's another one?
00:09:20
Speaker
That is the only thing that I forgot to do is tell them there are more so you can kind of keep lighting them as you go. Because by the time we got outside, y'all kicking it like sparklers, yeah. Oh, y'all know about this little sparkler magic right here? And I was like, oh. Like, it was just, it was great. But that was great because what y'all didn't know was that when you all left, and I have a picture of it, there was just the cleanup team, the DJ, and me,
00:09:47
Speaker
and my husband. And it was the last dance of the night. So we had one soul dance where everybody was gone. There were no guests. It was just the two of us. And so it was a really cool night. Because the night's over. Lights are still down. And it's just you and the DJ. And my husband did not know what song. I changed the song on him. So he was like, what song is this? And I was like, yeah.
00:10:11
Speaker
Just listening. He was like, oh, I like it. So that was cool. The whole day was cool. And it was an early day. We had no issues. Everything was chill.
00:10:22
Speaker
And everybody always worries for the people listening. I had a really large wedding party. 13 bridesmaids. That's a large girl. And seven, 13 bridesmaids, six groomsmen, and one groom's woman. And two flower girls and a partridge and a pear tree. Two flower girls, ring bear, two moms, one godmother, and we got
00:10:50
Speaker
Everybody's hair and makeup done, no drama. We got everybody fed. Nobody was hungry. Everybody was where they were supposed to be. It was
Trending Topics: Wildfires and Health
00:10:59
Speaker
just chill. There were very few hiccups. Because we got to get to the trending. What you got for the trending, Chris? Oh, so many. OK.
00:11:19
Speaker
So I know that's my only, we've missed so many trending topics. Let's go so much. There's so much, but, um, I figured I have to talk about these wildfires that have been going on. Cause. Oh, in Canada. Yes.
00:11:34
Speaker
So basically, for people who didn't know, I think these wildfires happened about what, two weeks ago? About two weeks ago. So there's been nearly 150 fires that are currently active in Canada, right? And there were like 400 something fires that were going on there. So it was crazy when you hear like wildfires in Canada, but apparently there is a fire season in Canada, right? But it's usually in May.
00:12:03
Speaker
But what they believe is that the, well, because people don't think that climate change is a thing, but really the above normal temperatures and dry conditions help to start these fires coming.
00:12:15
Speaker
Right? So they've been burning in Quebec. And they said that the reason why these fires were really happening and become a problem, because it was kind of ignited by lightning that happened earlier in the month. So the problem is, is that the smoke has been pushed out to the Northeast. So in New York, they're having poor air quality. Detroit is even moving down the Northeast. And it's becoming a problem.
00:12:45
Speaker
So now why do we care about the fire? Cause the problem is, is that the exposure to those air pollutants, the smoke can irritate, uh, your lungs cause inflammation in the body. So these small particles would go in to your lungs through your whole body causes inflammation, cause respiratory infections. Okay. Making more susceptible to viruses like COVID and all types of things. So it's become a problem.
00:13:15
Speaker
Right? So they have been recommending that people don't stay out in the air too long so they don't have so much exposure to the smoke. And they say that you should wear the N95 mask to protect yourself from this smoke. But it's looking like this is going to be a thing moving forward. Yeah, actually, I saw a news announcement about that earlier today.
00:13:41
Speaker
So it's not because people are downplaying like, oh, it's just, you know, trees burning and stuff. It's just smoke. Like, what is that going to do? But the thing is, is that the wildfire is not just wood. It's anything that's burning within the fire's path. So you're talking about like houses, you're talking about like cars, car batteries. Like the smoke is actually just a soupy mess of all these really toxic and noxious chemicals that, you know, can really like, like what you said, wreak havoc on your lungs. And New York.
00:14:10
Speaker
It was crazy. It was at that day that New York had that like sepia filtered, you know, day, like it looked like pretty much it was orange. Like it looked like a San Fran look back in 2020 when those wildfires hit looked like something out of a Blade Runner 2049. But like when that hit, that was actually the worst. We beat out India and China for the absolute worst air quality like in the world for that single day.
00:14:40
Speaker
That's insane. That is crazy. It was like twice the amount of what those other countries had just for that single day in New York City.
00:14:49
Speaker
So it was, it was, people were kind of downplaying it, but I'm like, bro, that's really bad. Like, you know, and we were watching all these videos of people just out in Central Park, just chilling, you know, breathing all this stuff. And I'm like, y'all need to be inside. Like, wear masks. And they were also saying that you couldn't do like, you shouldn't do exercise in there because exercise outside, because when you exercise, you're putting like,
00:15:12
Speaker
you're putting more of these air particles into your system because you're trying to breathe while you're exercising and you're just causing prolonged exposure and later on this could turn into cancer, you know. There are carcinogens in that smoke. Like that's what we're trying to relay to the general public. Like it's not just wood and trees burning. There's other stuff in that smoke that you should not be breathing in. If you're not wearing a mask,
00:15:38
Speaker
you're at higher risk for getting whatever's in that smoke. So it's a problem. Yeah, it's a real problem. And also, of course, the vulnerable are the ones that are more susceptible, right? The people who are in low social, have low social economic status, you know, probably live in areas where the pollution is not good. And then you're, and then on top of that, you have this smoke. So it just makes things worse. Yeah. Yeah. Plus older people, people who have asthma, people who have
00:16:08
Speaker
I'm struggling. I'm struggling this week, y'all. Last weekend, this week. Wait, were you around some of that smoke on your recent trip, Amy Jo, Wendy? No, I can't. It wasn't too bad? It wasn't too bad? Oh, OK. It wasn't. It wasn't. I don't know what I've gotten into recently, but I got into something, and I have been inflamed. So I have a lot of empathy for people who are suffering.
00:16:34
Speaker
like legit asthmatics that are suffering right now because bronchospasms, wheezing, coughing, whatever your version of it is, like when you feel tight, that is, that's crazy. So, you know, all of the asthmatics, we already know like, you know, from a social economic standpoint, black people die at higher rates from asthma, exacerbation, asthma attacks and stuff like that, especially in urban areas. So we were in the hole in trying to
00:17:04
Speaker
you know, keep that population from not being so vulnerable. So when you think about, you know, urban areas like New York and all those places, and now they're trying to figure out how to, you know, let the dust settle, no pun intended on that. Yo, this could get really bad. So you, you know, this is not just a, oh, we'll just stay in the house and not run outside for a few weeks. I'll just do my peloton. We're not talking about y'all.
00:17:29
Speaker
We're talking about all the kids and the adults that have to go out, right? Because they got to walk to their jobs or they got to take the train or take the bus and all this stuff. You know, like they've got to be out in the elements and they don't have good asthma care anyway. So there's a lot of people with like obstructive lung disease that are going to be really vulnerable probably all summer because it's just going to wreak havoc because they're going to be inflamed for a long time.
00:17:54
Speaker
Because it takes a while for all those particles to really settle, even after you're like, oh, look, the clouds are back. Everything is clear. The time it takes to really clean up that air is a long, long time. So we were looking at air purifiers for my mother in Los Angeles, New Jersey. And so they're through the roof now. They're so high. Of course. Of course, not more expensive, because everyone's getting the air purifiers to help with that.
00:18:24
Speaker
Yeah, so, you know, it's crazy. And it came kind of like at a messed up time, too, because, you know, it's getting warm in the humidity and it's just going to stay longer. So they're hoping also the rain will kind of they're hoping that when rain comes, it kind of calms down the fires, but they had to bring they had to ask other countries to help. The US has volunteered firefighters to help, you know, put out the fires because it's kind of out of control in Canada.
00:18:56
Speaker
And it's crazy because you never hear of a wildfire in Canada. I mean, they don't get this bad. That's the problem. This is going to be like, and also they had a, um, like a weather expert on the news channel today and they're saying that this is going to be like a norm now. Like it's going to happen earlier in the season because we're only in June. And so you still have the rest of the summer to go through.
00:19:19
Speaker
But the more severe wildfires that we're seeing, like out, you know, usually get them out west and in other places that you wouldn't expect, they're going to be more severe, they're going to be long lasting. And that's just all, that's all climate change and global warming. So even if you don't believe it, like, I mean, obviously we're seeing it and the facts are there. So.
00:19:39
Speaker
We gotta do something about it. Purse goes out to, you know, all the people affected by the fires, because it's pretty rough. The fires, when I was here in California, that 2020 year, when I first moved here, that was the first time I actually saw everybody wearing masks, like pre-COVID, like my first, first fire season. And I was like, wow, like, but in California, they're used to it, because they're like, no, it's fire season. You need to put on a mask and everything. Little did we know, six months from then, we'd be wearing masks for another reason. I'm like, man, this is rough out here. Like, jeez, please.
00:20:09
Speaker
Um, but, but hopefully it gets better. We also can't finish our, so many of these have happened since we've been gone, right? And there's a problem needs to be a topic on its own, but we lost Tina Turner while we were out recording. So God rest her soul. Um, but she brings up an interesting topic that one of the, you know, we didn't know exactly.
00:20:33
Speaker
what she was going through, but one of them was kidney failure, secondary to uncontrolled hypertension. And so that is probably more common than what people think, especially in Black communities. She is at least one of two handfuls of people that I know have blown out their kidneys not taking care of their blood pressure. And I think she was trying natural remedies
00:21:01
Speaker
Um, and it didn't work. So I will definitely try to, you know, read more up on that. And that can be a topic because, um, I've lost patients, you know, uh, to, to those things, people doing natural remedies. I think she was doing some kind of like natural remedies. She assumed like, okay, kidneys will be fine. Blood pressure, blood pressure was never really controlled and she, she ruined her kidneys. Now she did get a transplant from her.
00:21:26
Speaker
Um, husband. So you, you know, you think, you know, okay, she must've, she should be fine. So I'm assuming there had to be something else, but one of the big things that was, I think, surprise to all of us was that she lost her kidneys due to uncontrolled hypertension. I think she also will suffer from a stroke before that, right? Yeah. Also from uncontrolled hypertension. Speaking of a stroke, is that for sure what Jamie Foxx said? Yeah, Jamie Foxx is the biggest mystery in a rehab facility, known for neuro.
00:21:56
Speaker
disorders here in Chicago. I'm betting a Shirley Ryan. I think it is Shirley Ryan. It's a Shirley Ryan's too. Well, we all know that when you see people with Shirley Ryan, they have had strokes. I've heard, I've been hearing aneurysm, like aneurysm rupture, but like he was on the ICU for a couple of days because they said that he was on, usually when people say someone's on life support, that's usually the ventilator machine and you know, they're up in the ICU. But I don't, I,
00:22:25
Speaker
I mean, I understand the family trying to protect his medical privacy, which they have all the right to do. But all this speculation is coming from what he actually went in for and what he had. Because now people are saying that he can't talk and he's paralyzed on one side, which makes me think he probably had a massive stroke. But the etiology of that stroke, we still have no idea.
00:22:46
Speaker
he got the COVID vaccine two days before he had the stroke. And I'm like, oh my God. I don't know, I was like, here we go. Whatever is happening, Jamie Foxx is one of my all-time favorite entertainers. I find him to be one of the most talented humans on the planet. I think he is amazing.
00:23:10
Speaker
I hope that he has a full recovery and that we, you know, the Chi-town represents well and provides him all the care that he can get. And so I hope for him and his family, they see, you know, great progress. But I would agree with you from the outside looking in and y'all, we don't know anything. Ain't nobody called us and told us a single thing for the record.
00:23:36
Speaker
knowing the people that we, because you're in our city, so knowing the people that we have tried to send to, the Shirley Ryan Lab, he is in need of prayer, right? Because he got something for real cooking. And so I just hope that he recovers.
00:23:55
Speaker
And I also like I felt like they were like bombarding his daughter and then like she felt like forced to like make a statement to the public like about the health of her father and I was just like this is so I don't know who it was it was it wasn't TMZ but it was someone who was like bombarding his daughter like
00:24:12
Speaker
Hey, how's your dad? Where is he? Why isn't he with you? I'm like, this is so insensitive. And the last time I remember feeling like that was when the helicopter accident happened with Kobe and how everybody was treating Vanessa. I was like, oh my gosh. I'm like, whenever families are going through something so abrupt, especially when something's abrupt, right? It's like, give them a minute to just like,
00:24:38
Speaker
I feel like we've lost a sense of compassion and the human aspect of it. This is a family member. You don't know their family member. Anyway, don't get me started on my soapbox. But I felt like that was a lot for his daughter to deal with as well. Yeah, because really none of your business. And she made a statement. And in my head, I was like, I don't even know if that statement is true. But honestly, she probably said something just to get them out of her face. And I'm like, it's fine.
00:25:04
Speaker
Yeah, when she was like, he's doing great. As a matter of fact, he's out playing pickleball his friends. I'm like, well, that ain't true, but OK. I mean, I hear you. I mean, it's probably one of the rehab facility games that they do to increase dexterity or improve your motor function. But I'm on the same page as Amy Jo, though, because Jamie Foxx is by far one of my favorite entertainers across. I was just talking to my dad about that last week.
00:25:32
Speaker
Like everything, like as an actor, as a singer, underrated singer, that album. Yeah. What's it called? Intuition? Yeah. Was it Intuition or the one before? Either way. I can't remember. It was a good album though. Yes. Like as a singer, comedian, actor, producer, everything. Like I thoroughly enjoy Jamie Foxx. So I hope he makes his recovery as well. I think he has a degree in classical music.
00:25:57
Speaker
I believe it. He's formally trained. I believe it. I could believe it. Honestly, I think his best portrayal in film was Ray Charles. He killed that role and that gives him kills to this day. You know what? I don't remember the name of it. Ray Charles is good, but one of his greatest moments when he played the guy that has schizophrenia that was the classical
00:26:20
Speaker
Oh, oh, I don't remember the name of that movie, huh? Yeah. Yes. Is it the violinist? I don't remember the name of it, but he was great. I didn't see that movie actually. He was great in that. That's what the. Yes, he was great in that. I mean, just his his he's got such a broad talent. So yeah, it was a great movie.
00:26:49
Speaker
So all that and then like, it's like literally comedy to like drama to like everything. He's been a bad guy. He's been the funny guy. He's been, he's been everything. And then I might need security on us. That's dating. But that I think was that the last of his full standups? I might need security. Mm hmm.
00:27:11
Speaker
And man, I steal cool stuff from that. People don't even know it, but I still say stuff from I Might Need Security. It is hilarious. Belafonte was also fast forward. God bless his soul. He was a keynote speaker at my graduation from Howard. Really? Really? Yeah, you know Howard.
00:27:46
Speaker
to pivot to something not as interesting. The topic for today is going to be, well, actually, I wouldn't say not as interesting because everybody in MAMA has questions about this. And we're just going to have like a casual, general discussion about it.
Ozempic: The Weight Loss Trend and Its Implications
00:28:01
Speaker
So I'm going to talk to you about Ozimpic.
00:28:03
Speaker
And the reason why I'm talking to y'all about this medication, Ozimpic, is because y'all keep asking us for this medication. Amy Jo has mentioned this medication at least on two or three occurrences on this podcast already. Should throw it in as like a nugget for like the trending topic, like, ooh, by the way, it's on back order, y'all. In case y'all don't know what this is, this is what it is, and it's on back order. Stop asking me for it.
00:28:29
Speaker
True. And recently, yes, you said it multiple times. But I feel like now that it's been around for a lot longer, now that the word has gotten out, a lot of people have friends that are taking it or friends who have friends that are taking it. And a lot of people are coming into the office just asking about it.
00:28:49
Speaker
So we're just going to have a general talk just about Ozimpic in general. For those that don't know, Ozimpic is a medication. So basically, it's actually FDA approved to be treated for, as in like, it's FDA approved to be used in the treatment of diabetes. So diabetes, in particular, diabetes type two, the acquired type of diabetes. So the reason why y'all keep hearing about Ozimpic is because it's all in the celebrity news because the Kardashians are talking about it.
00:29:19
Speaker
And it's basically considered like a weight loss wonder drug. And everybody loves to lose weight. And they also love to not work hard while they lose weight. And Ozimpic is one of those medications that makes people feel like they have an avenue to do this.
00:29:35
Speaker
So overall, Ozepic is a medication that is pretty new to the market. People like it because if they have diabetes in particular, they like it because it's not a pill that they have to take, and it's an injectable. So instead of taking medication by mouth, you get to inject yourself with an injection. Now, some of the other diabetes medications that are injectable is you have to take them daily, like Victosa, Xenda, some of those. Ozepic is even better. It's the point where you only have to take it once a week.
00:30:03
Speaker
So patients are like, what? Once a week, it makes my sugars go down and I lose weight, what? And it's just all these things all together, which is why it's gained so much popularity.
00:30:15
Speaker
So a little bit about how it works. I won't bore y'all with the science of it. But in general, it's a medication and it basically helps to alter how your brain processes your calorie intake and also your desire to eat. Basically like
00:30:33
Speaker
Your brain basically has these hormones that regulate like, hey, I'm hungry. Ooh, I'm done eating. Hey, I'm hungry again. Oh, we're done. So when you take Ozimpic, it's a medication that helps to alter some of the hormones in your brain so that you don't necessarily, you're not as hungry as often and you don't eat as much. In addition to that, it helps you to kind of regulate your sugars better, helps to secrete insulin. That's kind of the simple, quick and dirty version of what Ozimpic does.
00:31:01
Speaker
In addition to that, it has made its way into the gossip circles because of the weight loss. And the way that Ozimpic works is it's a medication that you take and you inject yourself and you can titrate up the doses until you get to the dose that you maintain that basically works and helps you to lose weight. That's the whole purpose of it. Now, mind you, quick caveat here, quick side note.
00:31:26
Speaker
Um, where I work, we can only prescribe Ozempic or we can only refer you for the medication Ozempic if you have diabetes type two. Like you have to have the formal diagnosis of diabetes for me to even refer you to someone to give you Ozempic. In other places, and I will defer to Dr. Chris and I will defer to Amy Joendy. In other places, they might be able to refer patients for Ozempic who are not diabetic, but where I work, you have to be diabetic to get this medication.
00:31:56
Speaker
you gotta be diabetic to get it everywhere. Even if you try, you can't even be pre-diabetic now, right? Like even if you try, the insurance won't cover it. And so you'll be paying out of pocket. All the insurances will deny it. So yeah, that's the issue. You could technically prescribe it to anyone, right?
00:32:15
Speaker
Um, diabetes, no diabetes, all the diabetes, half the diabetes. What's that? What's that cash prize looking like? I'm gonna look it up right now. What's that cash? Uh, about $3,000 a month. Yup.
00:32:35
Speaker
I was 3,000. I'm like, whoa. 3,000. And look, I've had people, you know, listen, because you know, black folks be out here in these streets. I've had people like, well, just write it for me anyway, right? Because somebody always comes in, they're like, well, my friend's doctor got it for them. And you're like, yeah, but you don't have diabetes, and it's not going to be covered.
00:32:59
Speaker
And I have definitely had a few people hit me with, well, just prescribe it for me anyway. Okay, great, thanks. And I'll see you next time. I'm like, yeah, I didn't pick it up because it was $3,000. Like, oh, okay. Like, I was trying to steal it. Oh, Mitch, meanwhile, you knew already. Amy Jo knew already. You know, right. You already know. Did you get the people who got the coupon cards? I got a coupon.
00:33:19
Speaker
That was Manjaro. So Manjaro, which is a cousin of Ozimpic, had a coupon card. And for a minute, we're coming to the end of that card. So there's a few stragglers. That card will end, I think, next month. End of this month. For a minute, that coupon card was great because for $25, you could get it every month. And because people were taking advantage of it so fast, we had people jumping ship from Ozimpic.
00:33:48
Speaker
excuse me, and going to Manjaro, they shut it down so fast. So it probably was, it was only like that for about a year. So the coupon card doesn't work. And they've not been, they've not been coupon cards for Ozimpic in a while. There might be a couple of them here and there, but none where the manufacturer is spitting them out in mass, especially when the shortage hit.
00:34:14
Speaker
Now, as magical as this might sound, there are some downsides to Ozimpic. So for one, there's a group of people that we can't give Ozimpic to. And for number two, Ozimpic can cause some side effects. So first of all, the main side effect that most people know about who have either talked to their friends who are on Ozimpic or have taken Ozimpic themselves
00:34:37
Speaker
So ol' zempic as a medication is going to cause you like this GI upset, like abdominal pain, diarrhea, constipation, all types of GI upset. And it's actually part of the reason why they have to start on low doses like 0.25. Then you do that for four weeks. Then you go up to 0.5 and you do that dose for four weeks and then one.
00:34:56
Speaker
and do that for four weeks and go up to 1.5 or 1.7 like you have to slowly titrate up over four weeks because every time you go up in dose you might get that constipation, diarrhea, abdominal pain, nausea, a lot of that because you have to also think about it if you do kind of have like this nausea like kind of like a low baseline nausea you don't really want to eat when you're nauseous anyway but that's probably like the most common side effect but in addition to that
00:35:25
Speaker
What you guys will also see, like if you just Google ozimpic, if you just type in the words ozimpic into Google, the first thing that'll probably come up is ozimpic face and ozimpic butt. Have you guys heard people talk about this? I have heard people talk about it. Yeah, Anthony Anderson. The guy, yeah, he has the ozimpic face. And so does Al Sharpton have it too? No, Al Sharpton been lose away before ozimpic came out. Now he might've been on a, he might've been on sexcender.
00:35:55
Speaker
And the inner set for sure has like the kind of the it's the blocking phase but like the really slim like physique so that's
00:36:05
Speaker
But in general, you have to also realize that, assuming the medication works for you, because also keep in mind this medication does not work for everybody. There are some people who get on Ozimpic and they do not get the results that they were imagining. So everybody is different as in like every physical body is different.
00:36:25
Speaker
And in addition to that, sometimes when you go through the four weeks, four weeks, four weeks titrating up with Ozimpic, if you do happen to get the weight loss, then the weight loss tends to be pretty quick. And when you have quick weight loss, then that could cause things to look differently. As in, when people talk about Ozimpic face or Ozimpic blood, a lot of the curves that you would normally have and a lot of the fullness that you would normally have in your face, of course, you won't have that anymore. So then some people talk about the baggy skin. Oh, go ahead, Amy Jo.
00:36:55
Speaker
I want to say, um, cause I feel like the Ozippic face Ozippic, but that cosmetics, right? But I will say that one of the, the, the, the one, the thing that I'm sure in your office in my office, well, people complain about the most is the nausea, constipation and or diarrhea. I have learned that most people that have the nausea, um,
00:37:20
Speaker
I started them on it because the A1Cs were not well controlled. And so what I think they're feeling is the fluctuation of the blood sugars dropping because I will have them and because most people have it closer towards their day of their shot and it gets better as they get further out. But I've also had them like eat a piece of fruit or something like that and it tends to go away. And I think that that nausea is that blood sugar fluctuation.
00:37:47
Speaker
Yeah, and they also have, they also, well, when I had the rep give me some of the information and some medicine sometimes, because I was trying to get people who need Ozembe to get Ozembe. There are some things that you could do to help minimize the side effects, like drink more ice cold water, you know, not eat slowly, because I think that's another thing, like people are trying to eat too much. And that's why they get some of these side effects. So
00:38:18
Speaker
I'm supposed to do some of these things to help you tolerate the medicine well. And also there's Ozimpic and then there's Wagovie. And the whole thing, there's the confusion because Ozimpic and Wagovie is pretty much, it's the same medicine. It's just Wagovie has higher doses and it's FDA approved for weight loss. Correct. It is the same drug though. It's the same drug. Mm-hmm.
00:38:47
Speaker
Yeah, without diabetes. For the weight loss. And then ozembek, mostly just to help them with the diabetes. And of course, it does help with weight loss as well. But another thing that when you give the people, when you give people wagovi for weight loss, another thing that I noticed people do is that they just, they just stop the medicine when they get to where they want. And then they're like, but I gained all this weight back.
00:39:12
Speaker
And you're like, yeah. Because you're not supposed to do that. That was literally where I was going. Because as you titrate and as you get on these medication regimens, you do need to stay on the medication. You do. And something that's a little, I won't say it's dicey. Dicey is not the right word.
00:39:35
Speaker
So for a lot of medications, we normally have like studies that are like, oh, people have been on this medication for like 10, 20, 30 years, you know, like statins and blood pressure medication, stuff like that. But the research that's coming out specifically on like Wegovia, Zimpic, it's actually not that old of research. We actually don't have like a huge database of like people who've been on it for 10, 20, 30 years. Because when I recently went also to a rep event and they were talking about Wegovia, you know, Zimpic, things like that,
00:40:02
Speaker
Someone asked a question like, well, how long do people need to be on it? Like, how long do you need to be on it? And they were just kind of like, well, you just stay on it as long as you need to. I was like, so forever. Yep. Yeah. Well, and you know, there's not so.
00:40:22
Speaker
No, that's not the plan. You kind of have to, you could technically stop it. You could technically stop it. You don't have to titrate down, but it is, that is not the point of the exercise. So we, these are chronic disease management medications, right? So no differently than when we meet our goal for hypertension, we continue medication. You meet your goal for lipids, you continue medication. And that actually was something that came up at the last AAFP national convention. There was one of the,
00:40:50
Speaker
meetings that kind of discussed changing our thought process about how we see weight loss medicine or just how we manage weight, just how we do weight management. So, you know, the whole group is always oriented on meeting the goal, being the goal that we get the 10% weight loss initially.
00:41:08
Speaker
Did we get the hundred pounds off? Did we get the BMI to the stated goal? And once that happens, okay, great. Now there's this myth that we're gonna transition them off. And because of all the things they learned on the way to their goals, they're gonna be able to take it from there.
00:41:25
Speaker
But that's actually not true. Most people have not learned as much. Some people learn a lot. And everybody learns something. Most people have not learned as much. And they are overestimating how much of it is them, right? Because people do it all the time. Oh, yeah, I'm good now. Once I just need to get back down to the weight and I can do it. And most of those people I know and you know are delusional about their eating habits, right? I do enough food journals that I know looking at those food journals and hearing what they're telling me.
00:41:55
Speaker
Yeah, I'm doing okay. And then you read the journal and you're like, this is trash. This is trash all day, every day. And what they- Popeyes and- Right. But only had a little bit, right? So people use their eyes to determine if it's safe, right? If it looks small, then it can't be that bad. Well, a McGriddle looks small, but it is that bad.
00:42:20
Speaker
And so because of all that stuff, one of the things they were talking about in one of those meetings was getting used to the idea that whatever you use to get people there, you're probably going to use to keep them there. So, you know, but in, in this, you know, it's the, it's, we wouldn't take people off of Ozimpic if they met their A1C goal, we would keep them on it.
00:42:42
Speaker
Now, some people get concerned about the amount of weight loss they use, and so I will back down, right? So I have some people that were on one milligram and they're like, whoa, I've lost 75 pounds. Can I back off? Sure, if you want to, but it's not my plan necessarily to take them off. What I was going to say is, especially when you give a wagovi for weight loss, depending on, I think a lot of it is driven by insurance too.
00:43:09
Speaker
because the insurance company wants a lot of times for you to show that the patient is losing a certain amount of weight. And I feel like when they see that you're not losing that amount of weight at some point, they might decide to stop the medication. I wouldn't know because anybody that I got on, we go over is paying out of pocket. Oh no, I got people on it who has the insurance is paying for it.
00:43:34
Speaker
But I have to show, they have to show that they're losing weight, and they need to lose at least 5% of their weight every couple of months while they're on it. So I get what you're saying, and you're right. We should be looking at it as a chronic disease, and they should probably be on it. But unfortunately, sometimes insurance companies drive that in the sense that patients just can't afford it if they decide that, oh, you're not losing enough weight. So we're stopping the medicine.
00:44:04
Speaker
But that's different. Them stopping the medicine is different than us stopping the medicine, right? So what we are talking about still stands. It is the recommendation that what you use to get people down, you keep them on. Whether or not they stay on it because of affordability is a whole different ballgame. But yeah, most people need something to sustain them. And personally, I like the GOP ones a little bit better because
00:44:35
Speaker
You know, it's I think it's just an easier thing to manage long term, right? I think about all my weight loss, my surgical weight loss patients that are now. Back to BMI is the same, if not higher than when they started. You know, you can't undo that, right? There's only so many revisions you can get from a sleeve or bypass or bypass with revision, but at least on the on the GOP ones.
00:45:04
Speaker
You know, it's a matter of either do they have the money to cover it or can we get their insurance to cover it? So, you know, I am hopeful that more and more insurance companies will get on board and start letting people take it because I think it's a better option. And one other thing that I wanted to mention is, and Amy Jo actually made me think about it when she was talking about patients who had like gastric bypass and things like that.
00:45:26
Speaker
is that whenever you're on a medication or whenever you have a procedure that causes you to have, you know, weight loss that could be taking ozepic, gastric bypass, whatever it is, it increases your risk for gallstones. Gallstones are basically gallbladder stones. So if you take ozepic, you're at an increase for that risk for that.
00:45:44
Speaker
While you're also taking Ozempic, your doctor should be watching your kidney function. You also are a little more likely to have something called pancreatitis, which is inflammation of the pancreas. That's the one that regulates the sugars and things. A lot of these things are pretty rare, but I usually like to warn my patients, especially about the gallstones, those ones tend to be
00:46:05
Speaker
ones I like to warn patients about because I'm like, hey, if you get some pain and you're abdomen on the right side, just kind of be aware that that could happen with any type of weight loss. And then-
00:46:18
Speaker
And the pancreas will happen. I've got like two patients that had had pancreatitis before, but they really were motivated to try it. And I mean, it's crazy. That pain came right back. They were like, oh, I feel it. And we even thought, okay, maybe it's a fluke. Like we stopped it and went away and it started back again and it came right back. So the pancreatitis is a thing.
00:46:40
Speaker
Yep, yep, yep, yep. And then the last little thing, little nugget I'll give you is that certain types of cancers in particular, specifically like a certain type of thyroid cancer, if you have a history of it, then you can't tickles and pickles.
00:46:55
Speaker
It's like medullary cancer of the thyroid. But aside from that, you know, those are pretty much the main things you have to look up for or the reasons why you can't take Ozimpic. And I feel like we pretty much hit all the major, all the major talking points on it. The thing is, is that since we've talked about this medication and it is one that you have to titrate
00:47:18
Speaker
and stay on to maintain the weight. This is why it's a huge deal every time this medication goes on back order. Because when it does go on back order and you can't get it, then that's an even bigger deal because
00:47:31
Speaker
you're on this regimen and you kind of need to keep with the regimen to maintain your weight. That's why during COVID, it was such a big deal that all of this was on backorder. And we never really know when it's gonna be on backorder. At my facility where I work, I think it's on backorder for us like every three months or so. So it'll come back and it'll go away and it'll come back and it'll go away. And I don't know if that's a supply chain thing or whatever it might be, but also at my facility, we only have ozepic, we don't have weekov.
00:48:01
Speaker
Um, so I think that that might change, like you guys said, insurance to insurance. You know what I mean? So it all depends, but that's all I, that's all I got for Olympic. Let y'all one chime in with some more info, more nuggets.
00:48:15
Speaker
No, I mean, I think Ozimpic is great. Also keep in mind that Ozimpic, so there's Trulicity, there's Ozimpic, there's one gyro. That's kind of the three in that class. There's that other one that starts with the R2. Or Balsys. Yes. But that's the oral version. Yes, that is true. That is true. That is oral. The one thing about Ozimpic that I also like is that the studies show that it has some cardiac protections.
00:48:41
Speaker
So we do, you know, there is a, there is a preference. And, you know, sometimes I have to educate my patients because they'll come in, I'll be like, yeah, I know why you picking one or the other. I want, you know, I want my gyro, but I know you're going to put me on a zimp and I'm like, hold on a second. We're putting you on it for a really good reason.
00:49:01
Speaker
Because you have diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, you are at great risk for coronary artery disease. And if we can get some cardio protections, then yeah, we should use the one that does it. And I'm sure at some point, you know, the studies will come out and say, you know, Manjaro has a tube, but they're not out just yet.
00:49:38
Speaker
Y'all been listening or waiting so patiently, we'll do two today. All right, so first one, since we literally just got off of a diabetes talk. So first question is, how do I know if I should stay on pills for my diabetes or if I would do better on insulin?
Diabetes Treatment Decisions and Doctor Resources
00:49:55
Speaker
Um, if those are your options, then my first question is what is your A1C, right? So it depends. So the guidelines actually have changed a little bit over the years. And so the first one recommendation, even an uncontrolled diabetes is not to put people on insulin. It is to try some of your other newer injectables. So.
00:50:17
Speaker
There are some really good reasons on why insulin will work better for you than some of our other tried and true or newer oral or injectable medications. If you have severe kidney dysfunction, then that's a really good reason to put you on insulin.
00:50:37
Speaker
There are a small group, a minority, but a group nonetheless, where they are type 2 diabetics and they have tested as type 2 diabetics. I run the labs. They do not appear to be anything but type 2, but they behave as type 1, right?
00:50:57
Speaker
their blood sugars are just always out of control. We track in the diets, they are eating a relatively fair meal and the blood sugars are through the roof. If we have tried everything on oral medications and we have done that while you have monitored your diet and we think that the diet is very reasonable but you're not gaining any ground on the oral medications, that is also a good reason than to switch to insulin. I have done that. It's not my preference. It's not my first choice or my second choice.
00:51:27
Speaker
but I have done it in a few people and we've seen their blood sugars go down beautifully. So that's the reason too. It just really depends on the case by case. It's really hard to say if then. There are no if then statements to when you use oral versus when you use insulin. You are trying to make it as simple as possible in a way that the patient is going to like, because if you like it, you'll do it. And then you just do it according to what's getting the most success.
00:51:56
Speaker
I totally agree with that. Because I've had patients that have A1Cs. So A1C is like 12, which is really, really high, right? They just test and they have that and they probably just newly diagnosed for me, but clearly their sugars are not well controlled. And, you know, you put them on metformin and they do just fine. They don't even have to be on insulin. So really all depends on the person and how motivated they are with their diet as well.
00:52:25
Speaker
All right, last question. We'll close it out. All right, this is a good one. So if I'm considering moving to a city with a large amount of Black doctors, where should I consider moving? Hotlanta, Chicago. Black city. Your urban areas.
00:52:45
Speaker
Not all urban areas. Not all urban ones. I'll be real with you. LA, per population size, we probably should have more Black doctors in LA than we do. So I don't include LA in that. We have them, but not compared to how many we should have. But you're going to have more than it's in some small town, a rural town. Yeah, you will. You're going to have to go where the concentration is highest. That's your best bet to find Black doctors in your area.
00:53:13
Speaker
especially if you're looking for Black specialty doctors. Can you find Black primary care in most places? Yeah. Some places are going to have a higher concentration than the others, and it's going to be fine. But one of the challenges, I'll see someone they'll say,
00:53:33
Speaker
hey, can you find me a black urologist? Can you find me a black dermatologist? Can you find me a black cardiologist? They want their whole team to consist of black doctors. That is harder to do when you're in smaller towns or when you're in rural areas. And so if that's what you're looking for, then larger cities are going to be a better option.
00:53:57
Speaker
I mean, Midwest, Chicago, and Detroit probably. I'm sure, but I'm sure like Houston, Dallas, I'm sure they have. Oh my gosh, the medical, yes, the medical district in Houston, it is overflow with, with melanin in Houston. Yeah, probably like DC, Maryland. Yeah, DC, Maryland, Virginia area. I don't know, East Coast, I mean, New York would probably be one for sure. It depends where in New York you want.
00:54:27
Speaker
especially if you're on Brooklyn, you can find whatever you want in New York, honestly. As long as you're not upstate. Your borough is like all cities, so that makes sense. But yeah, I mean, also there's a lot of different inventory.
00:54:45
Speaker
I have a tour of directories of like black doctors, you know, even with primary and subspecialties that are out there. Um, I'll make a note to myself to include on our website. Um, that's also a way that you can find like, you know, black doctors in your area. Um, if you want to establish care with them, but I'm like, everyone has been saying larger urban centers are we going to have the highest concentration of them for sure. Well, y'all it's been real. It's been real. It's been fun.
00:55:16
Speaker
Glad to be back. Missed you guys a lot. Hopefully you guys are still rocking with us. And we will try to get these episodes out for you. Now that we've got new toys to play with, so. I know, right? Questions, y'all. Send the questions, please, by all means. Send the questions, like, follow, tell people, all the kind of good stuff. We are back in business. We are. And excited to talk to you. With our new toys and things. Listen, y'all. We thugging and bugging out here.
00:55:49
Speaker
You see any updates for upcoming shows on our Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram? Our handles are at thechocolatemds for all three. And then also be sure to send us any DMs or general questions or just well wishes to our email, which is thechocolatemds at gmail.com.
00:56:11
Speaker
And please look at our website. It's www.dchocolatemds.com where we'll post different info for upcoming talks and also our general resources that we talked about on the show. And I hope y'all stay safe. It's summertime now. Y'all out here. Y'all out out. It's pride month. It's Gemini season. We going into cancer season. That's Chris People going into cancer season.
00:56:37
Speaker
Y'all stay safe out there and we'll talk to y'all soon. Bye guys.