FREE NEWSLETTER
EARLIER THIS YEAR, I came up with what I thought was a brilliant idea. I’d signed up for the August 2025 Ironman Ottawa to celebrate my 70th birthday and thought, “Why not jump on the Ozempic bandwagon for six months to drop some significant excess weight before the heavy training starts?”
I’ve struggled with my weight for years. My doctor calls me an emotional eater. I thought, if I dropped the weight and committed to keeping it off, an added bonus would be getting off the statin and blood pressure medicine I’m on.
I visited my doctor, and was put on Ozempic in April.
Welcome back, depression. The weight started dropping off, but in May I began experiencing feelings of depression. My wife and others noticed a significant change in my mood and behavior. I began withdrawing into myself, not talking or laughing much, just wanting to be alone.
I’d experienced depression when I retired and knew the signs well—a loss of interest in activities I used to enjoy; feeling tired and moody all the time; forgetfulness; feelings of hopelessness, helplessness and worthlessness; lack of concentration; not able to make decisions. I had no desire to do anything. I gave up writing articles and working on my new book.
I didn’t understand what was happening to me, and I couldn’t put my finger on what triggered my depression. Could it be the skin cancer I was dealing with? Was it because a number of my friends were sick, dying or dead?
Things were bad, but they were about to get a lot worse. Panic attacks kicked in. Thoughts of impending doom raced through my head.
I imagined something bad was going to happen to the house. I had this fear that my basement would flood, and would run down and check for leaks at least a few times each day. I even had my father-in-law come over to look at some cracks I’d found in the basement floor, which I was sure were going to cause a leak.
He couldn’t understand why I was freaking out about such things. He told me that I shouldn’t worry. Any problem, he said, could be fixed as long as you had money. But his words didn’t lower my anxiety. I kept checking the basement.
I was on constant high alert, trying to spot signs of trouble. I started to hear random noises, especially at night. Sometimes, the noise was in my head. Other times, it was from the air conditioner, refrigerator, washer, dryer or a car outside. I had to immediately investigate the source of the noise to ensure it wasn’t another potential problem.
All this wore me down mentally and physically. I started to sweat heavily at night. The bed would be soaked when I woke up in the morning.
I was sure my car needed to be repaired. I thought it made a strange noise when I put it in reverse. But when I took the car in to be serviced, the shop told me the noise was normal for my type of car and it was nothing to be concerned about. I think the employees felt sorry for me, and I wasn’t charged for the visit.
I felt hopeless and incapable of solving even the simplest of problems. I couldn’t see things getting any better and I didn’t want to be a burden to my wife.
I decided the best course of action was to kill myself. Once I made that decision, the suicidal thoughts came fast and furious. They consumed me for most of the day.
I even Googled the best ways to commit suicide, and settled on hanging myself from the pergola in the backyard. I went so far as to check out various kinds of rope at Home Depot to ensure I picked one that wouldn’t break.
But then I thought that committing suicide in our backyard would hurt our home’s value. I assumed my wife would sell it after my demise, and I didn’t want to do anything that would negatively impact her financially. Weird how the mind works.
I didn’t tell anyone about my suicidal thoughts, not even my wife. I didn’t want to worry folks.
Why didn’t I end up killing myself? I think what saved me was my love for my wife. I thought that my suicide would destroy her and I didn’t want to ruin her life.
She was convinced that Ozempic was the culprit, and forced me to see my doctor and tell him what was going on.
I called the doctor’s office to book an appointment, but was told that the next available opening was a few weeks away. I tried to convey the urgency by telling office employees about my high anxiety and how I thought it was linked to Ozempic. But they weren’t budging and told me to go to the hospital emergency room if my anxiety got out of hand. I think they didn’t believe Ozempic was causing my distress and that the issue was my own mental health. I didn’t tell them about my suicidal thoughts. I was too embarrassed.
I decided to take myself off the drug. But it takes a long time to get the chemical out of your system.
Trying to make it through each day, I forced myself to exercise, taking long walks and swimming three times a week. Exercising seemed to ease the pressure and temporarily lowered my anxiety, but it would come back, especially in the evening.
I would have a couple of drinks to reduce my anxiety and help me fall asleep. I know self-medicating is the wrong way to go, but I didn’t know what else to do.
I think that, if I had discovered that my basement was flooded or if something else had broken down, I wouldn’t be here writing this article. Things were really bad. But luckily, I didn’t give in to those suicidal thoughts. Still, it was close.
When I finally visited my doctor, he was skeptical that Ozempic was the cause. He had lots of patients on the drug and that was never a side-effect. He did the prudent thing and started checking all the physical things that could be causing the problem. He ran blood tests and checked my thyroid. He had my lungs X-rayed, searching for signs of cancer that might explain the night sweats. Nothing was found.
After a few weeks of detoxing my body, I started to feel better and people noticed the change. With each passing day, I was becoming more like happy old Mike. I’m still suffering from occasional feelings of anxiety and brain fog, but depression has left the building.
Ozempic and Wegovy are the same drug. The only difference is the dosage taken. If you check the Wegovy website, it lists “depression or thoughts of suicide” as a possible side-effect.
When I visit the Ozempic website, I can’t see that side-effect listed. Why not?
Mike Drak is a 38-year veteran of the financial services industry. He’s the co-author of Longevity Lifestyle by Design, Retirement Heaven or Hell and Victory Lap Retirement. Mike works with his wife, an investment advisor, to help clients design a fulfilling retirement. For more on Mike, head to BoomingEncore.com. Check out his earlier articles.
Want to receive our weekly newsletter? Sign up now. How about our daily alert about the site's latest posts? Join the list.
Mike,
You might not remember me but I exchanged emails with you a few years back, after reading your books, “Retirement Heaven or Hell” and “Victory Lap Retirement.” Our conversation resulted in your being interviewed by one of my colleagues from my institution.
I am so glad you are still with us…and I wish you the very best of luck in the upcoming marathon.
I absolutely believe that medications can adversely affect you in ways that can’t be explained. Years ago, in the late 1980’s, I was experiencing terrible heartburn on a regular basis. I was diagnosed with a relatively rare (at that time) disease called Barrett’s Espohoigitis, and I was placed on a drug called Reglan. (I may be misspelling it.) It was a generic name for another drug, which I do not recall.
The symptoms I experienced were absolutely weird. I was tired all then time. I would break out into sobbing, crying jags, for little to no reason. I was very short tempered. I thought “everyone was out to get me.”
I told my Gastroenterologist about these feelings and they were dismissed.
One day during this experience, I was at Walmart, picking a prescription. (Remember, these were the days before Web MD and being able to GOOGLE everything.) On the counter at the pharmacy was a PDR Manual so I looked up Reglan…and there, in black and white were 5-6 of the symptoms I was experiencing.
I called my doctor, cussed him out and had him listen to me flushing the drugs down my toilet. (I know…I know…I shouldn’t have done that.) Needless to say, I never consulted hm again nor have I ever taken Reglan again. That experience has me getting second opinions on any drug I am prescribed these days.
God Loves You and so do I! I am so glad you are still with us…and again…good luck in August! You can do it!