It seems that Ozempic has been linked to another system in the body. The drug, initially designed to treat diabetes, famously causes weight loss. Today, it’s even more well-known for its body-shrinking effects than it is for its effect on diabetes.
Recently, users of the weight loss drug have been discussing how it’s affecting their sex lives. For some, it’s for the better, and for others, not so much. And apparently, the changes can be seen in both men and women.
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Miranda Shea had an extremely healthy sex drive, the New York Post reported. But when she began taking tirzepatide, the generic version of Mounjaro – another weight loss drug – she discovered that her desire disappeared. Turns out an aversion to sex is a common side effect of Gluvagon-Like-Peptide-1 (GLP-1) drugs. These medicines – Mounjaro, Wegovy, and Ozempic – imitate a naturally occurring hormone that helps regulate blood sugar, appetite, and digestion.
When these GLP-1s affect a man’s sex drive, they can lower testosterone levels and cause erectile dysfunction. For all patients, they have an effect on dopamine levels. The hormone, encouraging us to seek out pleasurable activities and releasing when we experience them, is present when we participate in our more indulgent behaviors, such as consuming food or engaging in sex. So along with a loss of appetite in food, a loss of the sex drive can sometimes follow.
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Shea, a 35-year-old critical care nurse from California, described her sex life before tirzepatide: “I’m hyper-sexual, so we were having sex pretty often but the week I started taking the shots, my libido plummeted.” Shea said at her heaviest, 186 pounds, and being a mother to three children, she still had energy for sex at least four times a week: long, sensual moments with multiple orgasms per session.
She began taking GLP-1 because she found that even with diet and exercise, she couldn’t lose the weight she’d gained as a result of the pregnancies. She started the weight loss drug, which cost $400 to $500 per month, to help curb her appetite.
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The drug has worked. Shea has lost 40 pounds. But it came with a cost. “That ‘ick’ some people taking the shots feel toward food is the same ick I felt toward sex,” Shea said.
The director of NYU Langone Health’s medical weight management program, Dr. Holly Lofton, said the higher the dose of medicine, the more likely patients will experience a drop in libido.
Furthermore, as the patients are losing weight, they still take the drug. “So, the medication is working in greater concentration in [the patient] because they’re now a smaller person taking a high dose,” Lofton told the Post. “Patients may feel too tired [to have sex] because the drug is making them work off of a lower glucose level than they used to,” she said. “They just don’t have the energy to do fun things like be with their partners.”
@the_designgirl 5 things a lot of us AREN’T told when starting a #glp1 journey. #glp1community #wellnessjourney #healthjourney #infertility #autoimmune #medication #libido ♬ original sound – Christine
When Shea lowered her dosage, her sex drive came back. For others, the opposite is true.
Christine began taking Zepbound in February 2024. In the first two months of taking the drug, she didn’t have excitement for anything in life. But then she increased her dosage. “When I increased my dose, I felt much more energized, and my sex drive started to increase,” Christine said on TikTok. “Now I’m up to having sex four times a week.”
Researchers from Florence, Italy, have attributed the increase in libido to a positive view of their body image, the role insulin plays in influencing sex hormones, and the overall impact of the weight loss on mental health.
That was the case for Caley Svensson, who has been taking Mounjaro for three years, the Post reported. “Prior to taking the shots, my libido was horrendous because I didn’t feel good about myself,” the wife, mother of three, and decor influencer shared.
Svensson had also been diagnosed with depression. Since 2022, she’s lost nearly 100 pounds. “Now I feel sexy and confident,” she said. “I blossom in the bedroom.”
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