About ten days ago, shortly after I started the Eli Lilly drug Zepbound to help me lose weight, I got an email from a friend.
“I have been waiting 2 weeks for my Zepbound from CVS. They have ordered it but it’s not in yet. I got on a Facebook Zepbound group and all diet shots are behind. They can’t fill the orders because so many people are taking it. I was supposed to give myself a shot yesterday and it could be a month before I get my rx.”
As a longtime Lilly shareholder, talk of high demand was good news. It wasn’t too long ago that my stockbroker had urged me to hold onto my Lilly stock amid the news that they are building a new structure in Indianapolis to boost manufacturing because of demand.
As a new Zepbound user, the lack of supply made me shudder.
My next shot is due this Thursday and both Walgreen’s and CVS have said they are out of the drug and have a long waiting list. Walgreen’s already has my prescription. CVS essentially told me not to think about transferring my Zepbound order to them. They weren’t going to be able to help me, but they were nice about it.
A quick call to my other friend who is also on the drug revealed some other interesting information. She was able to pick up her last prescription from CVS, but they wanted to know how she was going to pay for it. “Cash,” she told them and that seemed to do the trick. We weren’t sure why that made a difference, but now she is thinking she should try to double up her order the next time.
That’s how it begins. Not hoarding food but clinging to our weight-loss drug supply.
Being the kind and sharing soul that she is, she offered to give me one of her pens filled with the miracle elixir. I declined, telling her to hang onto it for herself, I very much appreciated the sentiment.
I’ve lost seven pounds so far. Not the huge amounts that some people talk about—five pounds in the first week, they say. Maybe it’s because I’m not about to give up eating altogether or drop to one meal a day. Except for some acid reflux, which I tend to have anyway, I haven’t suffered any side effects.
The big question is what will happen when Thursday comes and goes without the injection? Will thoughts of chocolate cake and giant cheeseburgers overwhelm my already pathetic willpower? With cravings, anything is possible.
A visit to the Lilly Zepbound website gave me no indication that there was trouble in weight-loss paradise. Or any sign that shortages were being addressed. I have a friend who used to work at Lilly. I think it’s time I call her and got the skinny, so to speak, on what’s happening. Why is the company falling so far behind in meeting demand? Zepbound isn’t for diabetes, it’s specifically for weight loss so I don’t understand the issue.
Crank up the overtime, Lilly. There are a lot of us fatties–and shareholders–out there waiting and hungry for your miracle drug.