Ozempic, a drug for diabetics, is also used by people who want to lose extra pounds and has gained popularity in recent months. But Ozempic and other similar drugs don’t just help people hide the holes in their waistlines and wear old clothes: Many say they see whimsical, vivid and strangely realistic dreams that don’t look like their past, The Wall Street Journal reports.

The “Ozempik dreams” they talked about are just crazy. There is no shortage of stars for those adventures that people experienced in their dreams and then talked about in groups on social networks.

Some dreamed that they got into the cast of a famous series, others that together with Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck are preparing to rob a museum. “I’m carrying your baby,” one woman recalled saying in her dream to Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, who, judging by his reaction, she believed was open to the idea of ​​reuniting their families.

Cherie McLemore recently enjoyed watching the parade of cows and bulls at a cattle auction with actor Matthew McConaughey. He then wanted to climb a small pet llama she had brought and had to raise his voice to get the actor to stop. “Okay, you can stay with your blade, I’m leaving!” McConaughey yelled at her before lunging. Then Mrs. McLemore woke up. Her trip to a cattle auction with one of Hollywood’s bigwigs has been just one of the woman’s dreams since February, when she started taking one of the powerful new weight-loss drugs that have become so popular in recent months.

These real virtual night goggles are a side effect of drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy from Novo Nordisk A/S and Mounjaro from Eli Lilly & Co.

The companies originally developed these drugs, which require weekly injections, to treat diabetes, but then discovered they were much better than the old diet pills at helping people lose weight in a controlled way.

The US Food and Drug Administration has approved Wegovy for weight loss, while Mounjaro, a diabetes treatment, is being considered for this use. Ozempic, which contains the same main ingredient as Wegovy, is approved for diabetes but is widely used for weight loss.

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People have created special groups to talk about strange dreams

Thanks to celebrity endorsements, its use began to grow. On Facebook and other social platforms, thousands of people have shared tips on where to find limited supplies and how to deal with side effects, including belching that tastes like sulfur. Then they celebrated “small victories” like making seat belts easier to wear.

Weird dreams are another hot topic that has prompted some users to create social media groups dedicated to mentioning strange and colorful details.

The TikTok account “ozempicdreams” publishes short videos with lyrics describing dreams submitted by users, accompanied by mood music.

“I spent the night at Home Depot ordering new cabinets and appliances for my kitchen! My salesman, Clint Eastwood, helped me pick out everything I needed,” reads one, accompanied by a sped-up version of Raye and 070 Shake’s “Escapism.”

Ms McLemore’s Facebook post about her cattle auction dream attracted more than 160 comments, including some admonishing her very dream for not letting that imaginary Matthew McConaughey ride a little llama.

Celebrities appear in many dreams. According to a woman’s Facebook post, actor Jonah Hill waited tables on a cruise ship, telling customers he had changed his name to “Sundaze” and planned to quit film acting for a career in cabaret.

Oprah Winfrey got into a go-kart to save an Ozempic user who was playing a baseball game in front of a hostile crowd, according to another Facebook post. Another Ozempic dreamer was about to give birth in a bar and wanted actor Will Ferrell, who was nearby, to deliver her baby.

What doctors and pharmaceutical companies say

A spokeswoman for Novo Nordisk confirmed that the company had received reports of unusual dreams among users of Ozempic and Wegovy, but there was not enough information to determine whether the dreams were caused by the drugs.

A spokeswoman for Eli Lilly declined to comment on reports of strange dreams among Mounjaro users.

Dr. Caroline Apovian, a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and co-chair of the weight loss center at Brigham & Women’s Hospital in Boston, suspects that the dreams are related to the way drugs that stimulate the production of gut hormones work. that it has receptors in the brain.

The drug can also increase the user’s energy expenditure (burn) during sleep, which can promote vivid dreams, she explained.

It’s also possible that the drugs help users recall dreams they used to have but had previously forgotten, said Deirdre Lee Barrett, a dream researcher at Harvard Medical School and author of “Pandemic Dreams.”

As for these celebrity appearances, Dr. Barrett says they are unlikely to be drug-related. She believes that posts on social media about celebrities having strange dreams can encourage others to respond with similar memories.

Dreams aren’t a “problem unless she starts sleepwalking”

It wouldn’t be the first time. Other drugs are known to cause strange dreams or the impression that they are very real. Antidepressants, including Paxil and the smoking cessation drug Chantix, are associated with pathological dreams. In the instructions for the drug, doctors advise to think about adjusting the dose if patients have strange dreams.

Arnetris Knight, a beauty consultant in Oxon Hill, Md., who has been taking Ozempic for diabetes since January, said she told her doctor about her recent dreams, but he told her it wasn’t a problem as long as she didn’t start sleepwalking.

Often her dreams include a quiet car ride on a sunny day and a conversation with the passenger. “Nothing made sense, but it was fine because I was driving and it was beautiful outside,” she said. However, one night she dreamed that she was sitting in a dark house watching TV when the door disappeared. A terrible figure was hiding in the shadows, and she was trying to escape. “It was scary, like Stephen King,” Ms. Knight testified.

The dreams are so realistic, she says, that she wakes up thinking she’s still in a dream before realizing she’s lying in bed next to her sleeping husband.

Dreams with Johnny Depp, Jeff Goldblum and Matthew McConaughey

Mrs. McLemore, the one with the dream of a blade, and Matthew McConaughey of Amarillo, Texas, and taking Vegovi. She is a mother of two and says that she usually dreams of her family, but after taking Wegovy, she sees celebrities in her dreams. In addition to attending a cattle auction with McConaughey, she shopped for shoes with Jurassic Park actor Jeff Goldblum, went to the eye doctor with Pirates of the Caribbean star Johnny Depp and toured North Korea with Minnie Pearl. from the famous “Hee Ho”.

While hiking in Yellowstone National Park, Ms. McLemore couldn’t agree with her dream partner on how to set up the tent. “I hate you, Kathie Lee Gifford!” – she remembers how the American star shouted. (news.ro)