I Take Ozempic. Here’s What I Tell My Kids.

“What are those needles in the fridge?” 11-year-old Nell asked, looking at the Ozempic sticks that were in a box that I had not wisely placed on the top shelf of our refrigerator.

“Oh, it’s my mom’s new medicine,” I blurted out, frantically trying to figure out what to do with the fact that I was taking a somewhat controversial weight loss medication and my teenage daughter.

That night I knocked on Nell’s bedroom door as she was getting ready for bed. I asked if he wanted to talk about the medication he received. We ended up snuggling up in his bed as I explained that my doctor recommended that I take medication because it would help balance my blood sugar.

“I’m fine, but medicine will help me get better,” I explained. At this time, Nell did not know what Ozempic was, and had not seen any videos on the Internet or heard of famous people using the drug. We focused on my desire to be strong and fit, and I explained that one of the side effects was that my body could change.

“I love my body now, and I will love my body if it changes,” I explained. With my 9-year-old, I had the same conversation. We agreed to keep the lines of communication open, and for the next few months we did. Sometimes I was very tired, and I explained to them that it was one of the side effects of my medication. When we saw the Ozempic TV ad, we talked about the advertising messages and why the media is talking so much about the drug.

“Not everything the media says is true,” I explained, which led to a critical examination of media literacy.

“We learned about this at school,” Nell added.

After six months, I decided to go off Ozempic for various reasons: my insurance wouldn’t cover it, and the side effects were affecting my quality of life. My kids didn’t ask, so I didn’t tell them to stop taking it until they suddenly noticed that the medicine had disappeared from the fridge.

Nicole Roder, a board certified therapist in Columbia, Maryland, has personal and professional experience in managing these types of difficult conversations with your children: Roder was also prescribed semaglutide in the past. “I try not to tell my parents what they say should or it is not appropriate do. That being said, I think it’s okay to tell your kids if you’re taking semaglutide like Ozempic,” Roder told HuffPost.

Roder recommends having an age-appropriate conversation with your children. For older children who have been exposed to various media through Ozempic, it is best to keep the lines of communication open.

“The best way to balance these feelings is to encourage open discussion so you know what they’ve heard and provide corrective information if necessary…. I encourage them to ask questions…. That goes for of any emotional issue, not just weight loss drugs,” Roder said. He also says you can ask open-ended questions, such as “What have you heard about this drug?”

Roder said that he kept talking to his children freely while taking semaglutide and that he explained that the medication was given to him to help improve his health. Her children especially wanted to know if the needle hurt.

“It’s best to keep this discussion about health and not physical appearance,” Roder said. Talk about your health reasons for taking the drug and the health benefits you hope to receive.

She also says it’s important to prioritize a healthy perspective on body image with your children. Never make negative comments about your body, and focus on positive feelings, such as your strong arms or the fact that your marks are a reminder of the joy of bearing children yours in the world.

Samantha DeCaro, psychologist and director of clinical and educational services at Renfrew Centrehe has a different opinion on this matter.

“Parents should not discuss any method or strategy they use to pursue weight loss on purpose, including dieting or using weight loss products,” it said. said DeCaro. He added that talking to your children about the use of your medication can increase the risk of them internalizing harmful beliefs about body image.

If your child notices that your body is changing, DeCaro says you should “confirm what the child is seeing but do so in a completely neutral way. Remind your child that bodies come in all shapes and sizes, and we can’t tell how someone is feeling or how healthy they are by looking at them.”

An artist based in Los Angeles Torri Efron Pelton says that choosing to talk to your children about your weight loss medication is a personal choice that will depend on each child.

“I encourage parents to take a holistic approach to health and not focus on weight loss but rather on health goals and benefits,” he said.

“The first step is for the parent to understand his purpose and goals for action [the weight loss medication] and what values ​​they want to pass on to their children,” said Efron Pelton. If your child doesn’t ask questions or doesn’t want to know, the best way to do this is to talk to your child the same way you would about any medication. or medical condition.”

Efron Pelton suggested the following statements and questions to guide the conversation:

• My body and health are changing, have you noticed?
• “The weight loss is the result of the changes I made. Here are some good things about improving my health and how they will improve my life and yours.” …
• “I deal with my health and my doctors and I can lose weight, but in the end, health is the most important thing regardless of weight.”

DeCaro recommends responding with these words if your child notices and comments about weight loss:

• “Sometimes the body changes. Sometimes they’re bigger, sometimes smaller and sometimes they stay the same, but we can’t tell much about a person’s health or well-being by looking at their body size. home.”
• Bodies come in all shapes and sizes, and our bodies will change throughout our lives. Our genes play a large role in how our bodies look now and how they will look in the future.”
• “No matter what size or shape you are or how your body changes, you will always be loved and worthy.”