Let me explain where these drugs came from, because the history matters. Aspirin was invented for headaches. Then doctors discovered it thins the blood and prevents clots. Now it's a cardiac standard prescribed to millions who never had a headache in their lives. GLP-1 drugs followed the exact same path — invented for Type 2 diabetes, then discovered to cause significant weight loss. Liraglutide, semaglutide, tirzepatide: they mimic a hormone your gut naturally produces after eating, telling your brain you're full. The weight loss was a side discovery, not the original purpose.

The dose must be titrated: you start at 5 milligrams, then 7.5, then 10 — under physician supervision with blood work at each step. Some doctors in Egypt skip this and start patients at high doses to show fast results. The patient is happy for two weeks, then the side effects hit. And the serious ones are real: thyroid cancer and pancreatic cancer in 1 to 3 percent of cases. This is not a drug you experiment with.

And then there's "Ozempic face" — a side effect patients discover on their own. Rapid weight loss causes facial fat to disappear, and the face can look gaunt and aged. Nobody warns them because nobody monitored them in the first place. With proper supervision, the dose is adjusted to control the rate of weight loss. Without it, the face tells the story of unsupervised medication.