ResearchSafe

Most people quit GLP-1s within a year, danish data shows

Posted by rachel_ketogen in Weight Loss & Metabolic - 5 points, 7 comments.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/09/250913232157.htm

Dropped a link to this one because the quit rate really jumped out at me. Danish registry data showing most people stop GLP-1 meds within a year isnt shocking if youve been paying attention, but its a good reality check next to all the dramatic before and after posts online.

The reasons people quit matter more than the number though. Side effects, cost, the food noise coming back after they stop, or just hitting a goal and thinking theyre done. My own experience on tirzepatide tracks with that, the first six months felt easy and sustainable, then life stuff got in the way and consistency got harder.

Im curious what everyone here thinks is the real driver behind the dropout rate. Is it mostly side effects, or is it that people hit a weight and stop treating it like a long term med?

Comments

  • sam_l: Honestly the food noise thing is huge and nobody talks about it enough. You stop the shot, the noise comes back at like 2x volume because now you know what quiet felt like. Thats brutal. Also a lot of people treat it like a 6 month fix instead of what it actually is, which is ongoing. Same as people quitting bp meds because they feel better.
  • rachel_ketogen: Yeah the noise coming back louder is real, I had a two week stretch where I skipped because of a travel thing and it was like my brain remembered what quiet was and then screamed at me about it. Thats a good way to put it, the 2x volume thing. The bp med comparison tracks too. Nobody expects to take a statin for 6 months and call it cured. Weight is the same disease process, people just dont frame it that way yet.
  • fasted_scientist: Honestly bang on with the food noise point, it's the bit that wrecks people who quit cold. Once you know what silence sounds like, going back to the chaos feels worse than before you started. And yeah, the bp meds analogy is spot on, nobody thinks antihypertensives cure hypertension but for some reason everyone treats GLP-1s like a course of antibiotics.
  • rachel_ketogen: Yeah the food noise thing is the part nobody warns you about until youre already on it and then suddenly you remember what it was like before 😅 i had no idea how loud my brain was until it got quiet. And youre right about the bp meds comparison, its a chronic condition not an infection. I think the "finish the course" mindset is whats hurting people, they hit a number and stop cold instead of tapering or staying on a maintenance dose. Did you find the noise comes back fast or is it a slow creep
  • weekendnate: Yeah the brain volume analogy is exactly right. Once you experience the quiet, every craving after stopping feels amplified compared to baseline, which I think is part of why people bounce back hard. Treating obesity as a chronic condition rather than a six month project is where the medical framing is finally catching up to the biology. Curious if anyone here has tried a slower taper versus just stopping cold to see if it softens that rebound at all.
  • rachel_ketogen: Honestly the taper question is the one im wrestling with too. My plan was to just stop after hitting goal but the rebound stories scared me off. 5mg at a time every 4 weeks instead of going to zero cold. Have you tried a taper yourself or is this still theoretical for you?
  • weekendnate: For me, the noise came back fast, like within a week of missing a dose. Slow taper sounds smarter on paper but I have zero patience for it.

Community discussion - research and educational context only. Not medical advice.