During episode #2499 of The Joe Rogan Experience, Joe Rogan and musician Marcus King discussed GLP-1 treatments, with Rogan raising concerns about potential side effects.
The conversation began after King revealed that he had briefly tried a GLP-1 while attempting to quit drinking. According to King, it significantly reduced his cravings for al**hol, though it came with unpleasant side effects, including what he described as “really bad stomach cramps.”
That led Rogan to share his concerns about the growing popularity of the drug class.
“I always wonder about these things when things come along that give people an easy fix,” Rogan said. “Like, okay, maybe it works or maybe there’s some sort of side effect that’s going to mess you up for the rest of your life. And for some people, there is. I mean, some people are experiencing all kinds of wild side effects.”
Rogan then brought up specific complications that have been linked to GLP-1 treatment, including gastroparesis and pancreatitis. He pointed to comedian Brian Simpson as someone he personally knows who dealt with serious side effects.
“Brian Simpson got pancreatitis from it,” Rogan said. “He was in bed for like two weeks. It messed him up.”
As the discussion continued, Rogan and King pulled up a list of reported side effects on screen. The list included acute pancreatitis, gallbladder problems, gastroparesis, stomach paralysis, bowel obstructions, potential thyroid tumors, and a rare condition associated with sudden vision loss.
Rogan also argued that dosage may be one of the biggest problems with the treatments, suggesting that many people are prescribed too much too quickly.
“The problem is the dosages are too high,” Rogan said. “And what, when you go into a doctor, they give you a standard dosage and the way to do it, some people feel, is to make a much smaller dose than what they’re prescribing. And that’s what you need. You just need a little bit of a curb to it. Not like a complete cessation of all desire to eat.”
At the same time, Rogan acknowledged that GLP-1 dr*gs may have uses beyond weight loss.
“There’s some people that think there’s some good in these GLP-1s for a**iction,” Rogan explained. “Because it curbs whatever that is as well. So it can help people with all kinds of a**ictions, too. Not just like food a**ictions but gambling, like weird stuff.”
Later in the conversation, Rogan discussed Retatrutide, an investigational d**g being developed by Eli Lilly. He described it as a once-weekly injectable triple agonist that targets GLP-1, GIP, and glucagon receptors.
“This one is supposed to be better because it doesn’t cause muscle loss and it doesn’t cause bone density loss and it’s supposed to be more effective,” Rogan said, adding that some analysts believe it could eventually become a trillion-dollar medication.
Despite showing interest in the newer d*ug, Rogan ultimately maintained that long-term lifestyle changes remain the better solution.
“Or have some discipline,” Rogan said. “How about try that out? How about try don’t eat as much. Go to the gym, eat better, be healthy. Do what Jelly Roll did.”
