“I didn’t tell anyone I was starting a GLP-1 for this exact reason.”

I do not owe people body positivity any more than I owe them thinness. I also like to think being intentional with my medical care is body positive.

I understand that the popularity of GLP-1 medications is a complicated subject for us as the general public, but as a chronically ill and dynamically disabled person who has finally found treatment that works well for me, I cannot hold space for everything healthy people find triggering or uncomfortable about my reality. Sorry, but I’m done holding your hand through this one. Eliminating the fact that I’m chronically ill, it’s not the general public’s responsibility to comment on other people’s bodies. I’ve kept my mouth shut about a lot of jacked-up Botox, I think everyone else can keep their opinion to themselves about GLP-1 medications.

I began my GLP-1 treatment with the understanding that if it made me ill or negatively impacted my quality of life, I could stop taking it at any time. If something makes you sick, you can (and should) stop taking it, doubly so if it makes you poop your pants.

There are two kinds of laziness: physical laziness and intellectual laziness, and parroting a 15-second opinion off your social media platform of choice instead of using your curiosity as encouragement to learn about something that makes you uncomfortable is the Hallmark of intellectual laziness. I might skip leg day, but you’re not bothering to learn something new, so I guess we both have to work on ourselves.

I hate to break this to you, but none of us are getting out of here alive. At some point, you, too, will be on medication for the rest of your life, whether the rest of your life is 20 years or two days. 

Wow, Craig from Facebook, I didn’t know you were a pharmacist. Thank you for your concern, but a lot of medications in common daily use have black box warnings, including Ibuprofen, certain antibiotics, combination birth control pills, SSRIs, testosterone, and more. FDA black box warnings are meant to notify the consumer that there is a potential for a serious side effect or drug interaction; just like you have a potential risk for crashing your car every time you drive.

GLP-1s have been studied since the 80s. 

Megan J Kaleita is a comedy writer and chronically ill advocate. Her debut essay collection, This Book Is Brought To You By My Student Loans, is available at Clash Books. 

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