That might seem like a clickbait title, but it’s actually a serious question.
Although limerence is not a disease to be cured, it can certainly have a negative impact on life. I often get asked about whether drugs like antidepressants could help with limerence, and the answer is always that there are no approved treatments for limerence and you should only ever take any pharmaceuticals with the advice of a medical professional.
That same principle applies to Ozempic.
So, this post is speculation about possible mechanisms of action; it is not medical advice.
OK, with that clear, why might a drug used for the treatment of diabetes have an impact on limerence?
Well, as Ozempic use has increased, there’s been a lot of interest in so-called “off label” uses for other conditions. One area of research that is taking off at the moment is the potential of Ozempic for management of substance use disorders.
To understand this, we need a quick bit of background on how Ozempic works. Then we can consider why it might have relevance for limerence.
Ozempic mechanism of action
Ozempic is a drug that is licenced for treatment of type 2 diabetes. It acts as a glucagon-like peptide receptor 1 agonist.
That string of jargon means that it mimics a class of molecules that are released from the gut wall, called incretins, that coordinate the body’s response to feeding.
Incretins promote insulin release (clearing glucose from the blood), slow gastric emptying, and reduce appetite. So, they both shift the body into a state optimised for digestion and absorbance of nutrients, and decrease appetite so that you don’t waste time seeking more food.
Ozempic is a synthetic form of this natural biochemical signal, and it switches on the incretin receptors for a prolonged period. So, rather than peaking naturally after feeding and then fading as the meal is digested and cleared, Ozempic keeps signalling to the body that it is sated.
It’s not hard to see why this would be a good treatment for type 2 diabetes.
It blunts blood glucose spikes, promotes insulin release, and reduces hunger, all of which will be beneficial.
But nature is parsimonious, and it often utilises the same signalling pathways for multiple different functions in the body.
A good example is oxytocin, which initiates labour and breastmilk release, but also promotes bonding and attachment by acting on receptors within the brain.
It turns out that there are lots of incretin receptors in the brain too.
Incretins don’t just regulate appetite through the gut, they directly modulate the reward system of the brain, suppressing food-seeking behaviour. And they do this by suppressing the dopamine wanting drive.
A core process in addiction is known as “incentive sensitization”, which involves the reinforcement and strengthening of the dopamine wanting drive, coupled with suppression of executive feedback from the prefrontal cortex.
Ozempic can enter the brain, directly activate inhibitory neurons in the ventral tegmental area where dopamine neurons are located, and so reduce that motivating drive to seek rewards.
Ozempic blunts desire. Blunts appetite. Blunts reward-seeking behaviours.
That’s why the best known off label use of Ozempic is for weight loss.
But there is now a growing body of evidence that Ozempic (and related drugs) is also able to effectively reduce cravings for alcohol, cocaine and other addictive substances.
(See this review article for a summary of the current state of the field)
An important point to make at this stage is that most of this evidence comes from animal research. It’s possible to get rats and mice hooked on alcohol and cocaine, and treatment with incretin analogues does reliably reduce drug-seeking and drug-consumption behaviours.
Humans, are of course, different from mice, and ever so slightly more psychologically sophisticated. There is often a disappointing gap between promising results in preclinical animal studies and real world treatment in people.
One advantage in this case is that there are already lots of people taking Ozempic for management of diabetes and for weight loss. Observational studies are now reporting on the psychological effects these people experience, and how that relates to addictive behaviours.
What about love?
A recent X.com discussion kicked off about the implications of widespread Ozempic use on love.
We initially thought GLP-1s like Ozempic, Tirzapeptide and Retatutride just reduced food cravings. Now, we know they work for alcohol, cocaine, gambling and other addictions too
— Dr. Shin Geon-yeong (神建永), Ph.D. (@asparagoid) March 3, 2026
But do you know what runs on exactly the same circuit?
Falling in love
GLP-1 receptors sit in the…
After all, the same mechanisms for reward are involved in romantic desire as other desires. A general suppression of desire, of wanting, should impact wanting another person too…
Indeed, the basis of limerence is hyperactivation of the reward system after co-activation with the arousal and bonding systems.
The responses to the claim that Ozempic will kill love fall into a few categories.
- People who think this is awful
- People who argue that love is a lot more than romantic cravings
- People who point out there is no evidence of any effect on love yet
- People who want relief from their overwhelming love
To me, of course, given my obsession with limerence, there is a very straightforward hypothesis to test:
Ozempic would turn you into a non-limerent.
If a generalised reduction in dopamine drive does turn out to be a robust effect of Ozempic, it would blunt the euphoric highs of early limerence, and it would interfere with the process of incentive sensitization that causes the transition from early limerence into person addiction.
While that process would turn the volume down on limerent urges, it’s not likely to stop all the other factors that contribute to love (although, Ozempic could mess with bonding and attachment too…).
Also, observational reports are already revealing complexities—losing weight has an impact on body image, self-confidence and libido that could counteract the negative influence on dopamine release.
After all, non-limerents happily fall in love, form long term stable bonds, make babies, and have fulfilling and successful lives.
So, I don’t subscribe to the more pessimistic projections that this would mean the end of love, a plummet in (already declining) birthrates, and the collapse of society.
But it might mean limerents do have to option to turn down their infatuation, chemically.
The future
We’re currently in that phase of early discovery when there is a lot of uncertainty and a lot of strong opinions.
There are also a lot of unanswered questions: what would happen when you stop taking Ozempic? Would the addiction flare up again?
Even more important: could Ozempic reverse an existing addiction, or just stop one developing in the first place? If you suppress dopamine signalling in a system that was sensitized, would the sensitization fade?
Overall, despite this uncertainty, I have to admit that my bias is towards dealing with limerence without the use of drugs.
I see limerence as a behavioural addiction and so it is much more feasible to reverse it with counteracting behaviours than substance addictions (that chemcially alter the brain).
Living with purpose, understanding your drives, cultivating good keystone habits—all of these actions lead to compounding benefits beyond just managing distressing limerence symptoms.
Pharmaceutical treatments have their place for dealing with acute distress, but lasting recovery means fixing the foundations.
One last thing: if anyone in the LwL community is taking Ozempic, I would love to hear from you as to whether it has changed your experience of limerence and romantic desire.
Share below, or drop me an email through the contact form.
Thanks!
I’m on Mounjaro for Type II diabetes.
I was prescribed it 2-3 years ago. Today, I’ve never been less limerent. I thought I’d simply aged out of limerence.
In retrospect, it seem like going on Mounjaro coincided with a drop in wanting to check up on them on social media.
Limerence…meh…
Thanks, L.E.
A datapoint, but also a good indicator that there will be lots going on in anyone’s life that can also influence limerent tendencies.
I don’t know if I can credit Mounjaro but the “If I only knew…” and “What would you do with the information if you had it?” have diminished to largely nothing. I used to be able to quote LO #4’s goodbye verbatim but now it’s hard for me to recall it in detail. Reliving the past has lost its exhilaration and been replaced by “What was I thinking?” when it comes up at all.
I’ve considered myself “Post-limerent” for a long time but now, I think I’m closer to non-limerent. When you toss Mounjaro in with all the other work I did, I don’t think there a any bases left to cover. It seems that WRT limerence, my brain is definitely quieter now.
I’ve been on Zepbound (tirzepatide) for about a year and a half. I’ve lost weight and my blood sugars and lipids are hugely improved, but I can’t say it’s changed my behavioral issues (phone addiction, limerence) at all.
Things that HAVE helped behaviorally: therapy, using a Brick to constrain my phone use, limited exposure to LO. Zepbound has helped for specific food-related behaviors, though, like emotional binge-eating.
Some time ago I had asked the community here if anyone had looked into or tried naltrexone for alcohol use, wondering if it could also be useful for problem-causing limerence.
The Oar Health company has a mint available to take up to twice daily. I remember thinking that it sounded perfect for my husband (who also overuses alcohol).
He could take a mint in the AM at work before he encounters his co-worker LO, and one at night to help cut down on his craving to surf her social media, google her hobbies, engage in rumination, etc.
Unfortunately, he has not been open to trying it out, thinks he can just deal with this using willpower.
He is a big fan of Dr. Bellamy’s you tube videos, however, so at least we have something…
I’m curious do these above mentioned drugs do more than intended. I understand most drugs have biological side effects but why would weight loss and diabetes medications effect someone in the aspect of limerence?
Hey Adam,
The drugs mimic GLP hormone’s effect in your body, which is associated with promoting feelings of satiation and reducing cravings.
It sounds plausible that it might work for other addictions too 🤔.
It seems so simple now they’ve discovered it – I actually can’t believe that they didnt figure this out years ago.
But does Ozempic kill desire in general or a desire for overstimulation like overeating? Because if it’s the former, that sounds like the post-limerence blahs. The gray feeling. That doesn’t sound good.
Also … we need to talk about Ozempic face and Ozempic butt. I’m being serious. It’s a loss of volume in both areas. I don’t know if people who have OF and OB have overused the drug, but you can look at some people and tell they’ve used it.
Hey Marcia,
I think the OB and OF is maybe just a titration issue? You are correct that people are over-using and I think that it possible to become as obsessive about weight loss as it is about other things and some people cant help themselves from over-doing it.
About killing the desire to eat *at all* as opposed to the over-eating, again I guess maybe a titration of those hormones, that needs to be carefully monitored.
I am with you that killing desire full-stop seems like fixing one problem but creating another.
Human biochemistry is so variable that I think its important to acknowledge that there may be various outcomes too. Those who have been on these drugs for years to treat diabetes are a useful sample, although many are in a different age bracket from the newer users.
So age related factors come into play. The whole thing is a fascinating game changer (way more interesting than AI😆)
I’m in way over my head with this … but isnt satiating cravings and not addressing the problem just a bandaid?
Now I don’t get food … if scientists came up with a pill that gave me all my nutrients without eating I’d never look back. But when it comes to drinking I highly doubt a pill could save me from drinking anymore than from my limerence. You have to look at why you drink/overeat/limerent not a miracle pill.
I hear (especially the ozempuic ads on YouTube because f you I won’t pay) the ads all the time. And it always sells as a miracle cure. Momma and I were talking about it last night about Ozzy’s daughter and the poor girl looks like a ghoul when she was beautiful before at a healthy weight.
I know I’m going off on a tangent. But for a man who watched his mother struggle (which she didn’t need to) with her self worth and her weight to Momma who went through gastric bypass I guess I’m a bit jaded. Ok I’ll shut up.
Bewitched
” The whole thing is a fascinating game changer (way more interesting than AI😆)”
It is. But do people who take Ozempic have to stay on it indefinitely? If you’re on it because you want to lose weight and you’re an emotional eater … what happens when you go off it?
It would be the same if you’re taking it for limerence. Once you get off of it, wouldn’t you be at risk for becoming limerent again? (If the medication was suppressing an emotional component/desire that caused limerence)
Hi Marcia,
“But do people who take Ozempic have to stay on it indefinitely? If you’re on it because you want to lose weight and you’re an emotional eater … what happens when you go off it?”
The studies seem to show that weight goes straight back on when people go off it. So its an expensive and temporary fix (if people don’t stay the course forever….). I think they are close to having an oral dose so maybe this will become easier for people to maintain forever. Yeah, I agree – people have cravings for all sorts of reasons not just the biological vulnerability. But some people, like CamillaGeorge down below, points out that along with the biological side, weight loss medication also quietens down the emotional side of over eating for her. She also makes the highly relevant point that it didnt help with the limerence at all.
For some people, could this be related to using limerence as an escape (if we look and feel good, we don’t need to self medicate?). I know that is not always what sets it off, some people might be more prone due to their enneagram (spelling?), attachment type, past trauma, etc.
Bewitched,
“The studies seem to show that weight goes straight back on when people go off it. So its an expensive and temporary fix (if people don’t stay the course forever….).”
Personally, I wouldn’t want to be on medication forever. There is no medication without side effects. Even taking too much ibuprofen can damage your live.
“But some people, like CamillaGeorge down below, points out that along with the biological side, weight loss medication also quietens down the emotional side of over eating for her.”
Yes, but if I’m understanding her correctly, along with the medication, she also did some work on herself to understand her patterns.
“For some people, could this be related to using limerence as an escape (if we look and feel good, we don’t need to self medicate?).”
I’d ask if you’re using it as an escape, what are you escaping from? From your own life? That’s not good. I mean, we all zone out to Netflix sometimes, but to do it for months/years on end during an LE …
The above was meant for Bewitched
Marcia, addendum, thinking some more about this…when I was off the med during the shortage, hunger increased. Leptin…Leptin resistance means hunger feelings are out of whack, and Science is stumped as Leptin and Ghrelin are related /changes in response to weight already present, and the intricacies of this type of ‘resistance’ in not yet understood and likely related to the facts known so far – that Science has concluded that ‘fat’ Is an endocrine organ in its own right so the logic is indeed there . Am I suffering from an over eating disease? Imbalance? Never thought so…wasn’t born this way but the kilos snuck on over the years, mid 30s was when attempts to shed started, and met with failure, over and over, over time. Were my ‘pleasure related brain pathways’ numbed by the med? In my case, don’t think so… but ‘everything’ happened during the same time period- 2021.
CamilleG,
So I guess the question would be: What’s causing the weight issue? (This is a general question, not just to you, specifically.) Is it hormone related or biologically related? Does the appetite need to be suppressed?
Or is it emotional eating? Because if that’s the cause, does Ozempic work? Because the person is likely eating when they’re not biologically hungry. Does suppression of the appetite help in those cases? (I’m asking; I don’t know.)
Dear Marcia & CamillaGeorge,
“Is it hormone related or biologically related? Does the appetite need to be suppressed?
Or is it emotional eating?”
For some people, I think its probably that they are prone to both biological susceptibility (GLP, leptin, etc) as well as emotional eating. Someone I know struggled with weight all her life (as did her family members, possibly a biological vulnerability) and then she had a health scare. She was offered weight loss jabs but decided to try a weight loss program involving exercise and a strictly controlled diet, along with coaching (she had done it all without the daily coaching before). The coaching specifically addressed the emotional side to her problem and as it was daily, it made all the difference compared to her numerous unsuccessful attempts previously. This has really turned her life around – god, I hope that it sticks for her. What’s amazing is how much better she is doing generally, more active, happier, coping better with work stresses, it seems like the biological and emotional sides to her problem were all bound up in a gordian knot. Now that she’s got it under control, she is better both biologically and emotionally as well. She’s never been limerent, as far as I know, so I can’t ask about that 🙂
Possibly there are multiple causes for “cravings” hence multiple fixes and solutions too?
I am middle aged, my friend is middle-aged and I do strongly believe that you have got to do things for *yourself* in middle age. Often, this includes appearance-related improvements because things that makes you look and feel good are an antidote to the the ravages of time. Ideally those are healthy-habit building rather than medications, but either might be in the mix? Because those things often also help to make you healthier, its a win-win-win scenario.
Bewitched,
“Possibly there are multiple causes for “cravings” hence multiple fixes and solutions too?”
The other issue is the hyper-palatability of junk foods. Food companies employ scientists to chemically engineer their products and people become addicted. I’m not saying it’s impossible to change to a healthier diet, but it’s not easy and a healthier diet will taste bland after all the chemically engineered food. I’m not sure where Ozempic fits in with that issue.
It is kind of like limerence, which is a hyper-response to someone and dating in the normal world, with people you are not limerent for, takes some adjustment.
“Often, this includes appearance-related improvements because things that makes you look and feel good are an antidote to the the ravages of time. ”
There is no antidote. 🙂 Not really. You can slow it down, to an extent, but you can’t stop it.
I can’t find who mentioned it; “chemically engineered food with the intention of addiction”. Yes, in the west, it is a real thing. So is one drug over another going to fix the problem? When people use these drugs for the purpose they weren’t intended for but the side effects give them the results they wanted is that healthy?
Like Bewitched mentioned her friend had better results by changing her lifestyle, eating habits and getting a professional consultant. And it worked/is working for her so far.
I think the demonic thing about drug companies when it comes to weight loss (I get unskippable ads on YouTube all the time) is that they seem to really target women, who seem more conscious of their appearance in regards to weight than men do. And it’s pretty despicable.
Just like Dr L’s mantra of purposeful living as a cure for getting over limerence and trying to prevent it from happening again, so are eating habits and lifestyle changes.
But I think it’s very pointed to acknowledge that, in the west, a lot of our food is poison and highly addictive. And a lot of people struggle with that. But I agree, quitting smoking (Momma too) about two years ago was because I wanted to do it for myself. And Momma followed suit and this is the longest in 27 years of marriage she’s been smoke free. And she started smoking long before I knew her. And I am so proud of her. Because I know it wasn’t as easy for her as it was for me.
🎩 🥃,
I agree with your observations of the West in some of its lifestyles and tendency to solve itself-created problems… As an Easterner, I could see a tiny bit more, but that’s not the topic here.
“Just like Dr L’s mantra of purposeful living as a cure for getting over limerence and trying to prevent it from happening again, so are eating habits and lifestyle changes.”
I’m sincerely curious: what’s preventing you from trying Stoicism with your own drinking? Or digging out its cause(s) /root(s)?
Someone in the other forum posted a while back that they were using GLP and it killed their limerence finally. Haven’t heard from them since—I guess they didn’t need the forum anymore. 🙂
Now as for me, I’d rather not use drugs for limerence or for weight loss, but just live through it. I’m a romantic at heart and would rather feel life at its fullest, not deaden emotion.
I went on Ozempic in March 2021, had a bit of a hiatus of a few months due to the very public shortages (2022 or 2023?), and switched to Mounjaro in Feb 2025. In short being on these shots has not affected me from a Limerence aspect, my ‘freight train’ hit in October 2021. Ozempic and now Mounjaro helps me to view food as food, quietens the rumination around food, and has totally opened my eyes to my own habits and behaviours learned over a life time and how my partner enables them-it is both learned behaviours from childhood and partner dynamics-holiday traditions also play a role-plus the mindset -phew I survived this gruelling work week, here is my reward. In my case, I tend to over eat about 1/2 a meal over a day, and in addition eat chocolates every day, and with the patterns from parents and later partner dynamic and then the Friday/weekend extra rewards…my weight has ballooned over the past decades. And I don’t know when I am ‘full’ (Leptin is confirmed high). That ‘lack of feeling full’ changed when I went on Ozempic. Mounjaro is a dual medication, both GLP and GIP so much stronger than Ozempic. I still drink far too much alcohol (to me) but less than I used to, and my habits around food has improved a lot, it has been an inner journey over the past five years, still ongoing too, I don’t think this will ever change. Part of living mindfully and be present in Life and not be on auto-pilot, not ‘live to retire’ as so many seem to do. Contrary to many women, my feelings of self worth isn’t tied to my appearance only, and whilst external approval is still important, I know my worth is not in my ‘looks’ ( if people are mean, they don’t belong in my life and that weight can easily be shedded). And yes, still passionate 🙂 these medications have not blunted THAT! However, this is likely a life time medication, it fixes something for me that years of trying ‘everything’ couldn’t accomplish, feels more like it is at a biological level than a character/will power level.
I have been taking Mounjauro for a good 2+ years. It’s done wonders for killing my appetite for food. I can still eat and I like to eat but I never need as much to eat. Whereas before I could polish off a bag of Oreos in one sitting.
As for it killing my limerence, I don’t think its wiped it out completely. I got on the Mounjauro not too long after I transferred locations at work. LO had already transferred out a good 6 months before me, so NC by default was already suppressing the desire. By then LF was coming on board but I’ll never admit I was limerent over her. Limerence similarities were present but it never felt like a true LE because there was always way less uncertainty. Whether or not Mounjauro had a hand in downplaying that time, I can’t say.
My friendship with NG now is very indifferent at present. I’m in a place where I look forward to seeing her and getting her texts, but when she’s moody or quiet on the phone, I don’t get all needy and worried about why she isn’t or as present.
Since I take a higher dose of Mounjauro now, from the time I started taking it, I wonder if this is why I am so indifferent about if things work out between us. Either way I don’t really care. Kind of like if I see LO again, great. But if I don’t, who cares? I know where she works..
Thanks, everyone, for all these insights.
Really interesting, and really useful 🙂
I don’t know much about this although I am intrigued.
Do people on Mounjaro and Ozempic have to stay on them for life?
ND,
I think that would depend on the reason you’re taking them. My insurance company requires a pre-authorization every year. As a Type II diabetic, my doc has no problem submitting for it and I get it. If you’re taking them for weight loss, it might be a different story. My doc is in the “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” camp so the prescriptions keep rolling in. If I really keep my nose clean, which is nigh impossible, my A1C can go below 6. If I don’t it fluctuates between 6-6.5 which makes me “pre-diabetic.”
There are emerging issues related to them but they seem to work well for what they were designed to do.
To L.E.:
Thank you for the response. I am not diabetic or overweight, so I guess I would have no way of trying this.
The idea of a pill or a shot to “cure” limerence is a tantalizing one.
Yes, otherwise it reverts back to the ‘before’ stage. The difference is ‘treated’ versus ‘cured’.
Link: A doctor’s view and other articles Dr L and this audience may find interesting: https://substance-over-noise.beehiiv.com/p/special-edition-i-ve-been-taking-low-dose-tirzepatide-for-two-years-here-s-what-i-ve-learned
To Camilla:
I really liked the article. I wish more people could try that low dose to see how it affects various compulsions.
Wow! My SO was clearly limerent for another woman for 16 months but he was denying it vigorously. Then he admitted it and for the next 16 months was more transparent but still retained an emotional connection and wanted to be her friend (wanted the three of us to be friends together!). The last two/three months have been different and he seems to suddenly not care about seeing her at all. I’ve been racking my brains to find a reason for this shift. It was so abrupt that I don’t think it’s just that the limerence suddenly ended. SO says nothing happened to change his attitude. BUT he did start on Mounjaro four/five months ago. I never considered that that could be an influence. Perhaps that’s the answer. If so… wow!
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2026/apr/06/is-retatrutide-experimental-weight-loss-drug-making-people-fall-out-of-love?CMP=share_btn_url
Interesting article!
So many things to weigh! 😉
I think what’s most interesting is that people who are taking the drug describe an emotional flatness. Which is what I’m now feeling on the flip side of an LE … rationality has finally started sinking in, I know it’s hopeless, the limerence grip is slowly loosening … So take the drug and feel flat. Or go through an LE and eventually fell flat. These aren’t great options. 🙂
Scientists need to find a way to remove the limerence chip in a limerent’s brain. (I kid.) 🙂