Patients starting on a new weight loss medication are required to start with lower doses first, so that their bodies can adjust and better manage any side effects. Therefore, when these starter doses are more scarce than higher doses, a bottleneck is formed, preventing new patients from being prescribed the medication. This is particularly the case with Wegovy, where the lower 3 doses were noted to be in limited supply.
Some clinicians and pharmacists expressed frustration at not being able to fulfil prescriptions for their patients or move them to the next dose. If the gap between taking medication is too long, the patient may be required to revert back to the lowest dose to reacclimatise, further exacerbating the shortage.
Original article posted here: https://www.thelondonobesityclinic.com/explaining-the-weight-loss-medication-shortage-wegovy-mounjaro-zepbound/
