GLP-1 Drugs: A Game Changer for Addiction Recovery?

Has Addiction Met It’s Match?!

It’s been a wild few months for me, and not just because of my usual chaos of growing AddictionHelp.com, which is now reaching hundreds of thousands of people every month, and for that, I am SO grateful (as is our entire team). This is in addition to other crazy things going on, such as me getting sinus surgery (without any pain meds), a hurricane hitting, and watching my New York Jets take a beating. I plan to update you all on it via a new video series soon!

Another issue I’ve faced in this battle with addiction has been related to my weight gain over the years. It’s been HARD, but I’ve been on this journey with GLP-1 drugs, which were prescribed to help with weight loss. What I didn’t expect was that they’d spark something much bigger—a shift in how I view cravings, habits, and even addiction. What’s even cooler is that I sensed this would be a breakthrough LONG BEFORE any clinical research was published, but now it has.

Before you roll your eyes at yet another “weight loss” story, hear me out.

This one’s different.

I’m talking about something that might just change the game for people battling addiction—yes, addiction to substances like alcohol or opioids. Crazy, right? But hang in there, because I’m about to dive into why these drugs, designed for managing diabetes, might just be the breakthrough we didn’t know we were looking for.

So, What Exactly Are GLP-1 Drugs?

Alright, let’s break this down in simple terms. GLP-1 drugs are a class of medications that mimic a hormone in your body that controls blood sugar and hunger. Originally designed for Type 2 diabetes, these drugs help people keep their blood sugar in check. As a nice bonus, they also suppress appetite, making them effective for weight loss.

You’ve probably heard of some of these—Semaglutide, Ozempic, Wegovy, Zepbound, Trulicity—they’re kind of all over the place right now. People are dropping pounds left and right. But here’s the thing: these drugs don’t just stop at curbing hunger.

They mess with your brain’s reward system. And if you know anything about addiction, you know that’s where the real battle is fought.

Addiction and the Brain: The Sneaky Connection

If you’ve ever struggled with addiction—or watched someone you love go through it—you know that it hijacks your brain’s reward system. The same part of your brain lights up when you eat something delicious or experience something pleasurable. With addiction, though, this system gets rewired, and suddenly, substances like alcohol or drugs become the only thing that can trigger that hit of satisfaction.

Here’s where GLP-1 drugs start getting interesting. They don’t just suppress appetite; they send signals to your brain’s reward center that make you feel satisfied and “done” after eating. What researchers are now wondering is: could these same signals be used to dial down cravings for drugs or alcohol?

That question got me excited. I’m no stranger to addiction—I’ve fought my own battles, and for nearly two decades, I’ve been in the trenches helping others navigate theirs.

So, the idea that a drug could potentially shut off those relentless cravings?  That has me like the Animaniacs, yelling “HELLOOOOOO NURSE!”

The Research: GLP-1 and Addiction

So, what does the science actually say?

In 2024, a study led by Dr. Fares Qeadan and his team set out to explore the exact connection between GLP-1 drugs and addiction. They analyzed data from over a million patients, all of whom were grappling with opioid use disorder (OUD) or alcohol use disorder (AUD), to see what impact GLP-1 medications might have. The findings were nothing short of remarkable.

Patients who were prescribed GLP-1 drugs had a 40% lower rate of opioid overdoses and a 50% lower rate of alcohol intoxication compared to those not taking these medications.

What’s even more impressive? These protective effects were consistent regardless of whether the patients had diabetes or obesity. The GLP-1 drugs seemed to work across the board.

Now, think about that for a second. A drug that can potentially slash overdose rates in half? That’s a game-changer.

It opens up a whole new world of possibilities in addiction treatment.

My Personal Experience: The “Aha” Moment

I’ve been on GLP-1s for a while now, and here’s where things get personal. I started noticing that it wasn’t just food I felt less attached to—it was everything. The compulsions, the constant feeling of needing to satisfy something… they started to fade. I could hit pause on habits that used to feel impossible to control.

It’s not just that I was less hungry—it felt like a switch had flipped in my brain, the same switch that drives addictive behaviors. It got me thinking: if this could help with my compulsive tendencies around food, could it help someone battling cravings for substances like alcohol or opioids?

I started digging into the research and realized that this wasn’t just some random thought—it was something the scientific community was starting to explore, too.

The Bigger Picture

If you’ve ever been close to addiction—whether it’s your own or someone else’s—you know how insidious it is. It’s like being stuck on a loop, constantly chasing something you can’t ever quite catch. And while there are treatments that work, the truth is, they don’t work for everyone. People slip, they relapse, and sometimes, they lose hope.

But what if GLP-1 drugs could offer another way out? What if they could be part of a larger arsenal in the fight against addiction? Not a miracle cure, but a tool—one that could help tip the scales (see what I did there?) in favor of recovery.

That idea gives me hope for someone who’s been in this fight for nearly two decades. And not just for people struggling with substances, but for anyone dealing with compulsions—whether it’s food, gambling, or anything else that takes over your life.

What’s Next?

This is just the beginning. The research on GLP-1 drugs and addiction is still in its early stages, but the results so far are promising. And while it’s important not to get ahead of ourselves, it’s also hard not to feel a little bit excited about what this could mean.

We’re talking about a medication already widely available and used by millions of people. If it can be repurposed to help with addiction, we could see a future where relapse rates drop, where overdoses decline, and where people struggling with cravings have another option—one that works in a totally different way.

My Takeaway Thus Far

At the end of the day, what matters most to me is seeing people win the fight against addiction. I know how hard that battle is because I’ve fought it myself. If GLP-1 drugs can help, even just a little, then we need to pay attention. We need to push for more research, clinical trials, and conversations around how these medications could be used in ways we never thought possible.

This journey with GLP-1s has been eye-opening for me, not just for the physical changes, but for the deeper understanding of how interconnected our brains and bodies are—and how that knowledge could lead to breakthroughs in addiction treatment.

We’re not there yet, but we’re getting closer. As someone who’s dedicated my life to helping others find freedom from addiction, I’m all in on seeing where this goes.

Let’s keep the conversation going and keep pushing for solutions that can truly change lives.

As always, I’m walking this road with you. Let’s see where it leads.

Keep your eyes looking ahead, and let’s hold onto our hope.

-Chris Carberg, Founder, AddictionHelp.com