Australian Olympic swimmer Libby Trickett has revealed she is taking GLP-1 injections, the type of medication commonly used for weight loss, and admitted she felt "shame" over deciding whether to speak about it publicly.
The four-time Olympic gold medallist, 41, was prescribed the jabs to help her recover from a heart attack she suffered last year, not to lose weight. Even so, she said she was reluctant to disclose her use of the medication because of the stigma surrounding drugs such as Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro.
"I didn't know if I would speak about this in public because the space for nuance in these conversations is almost nonexistent on these platforms and everyone is going to have their own view," Trickett wrote in a social media post.
"But not mentioning it felt like a shame response to me, and I've been open about the medication that I take for my anxiety and depression. I'm certainly not ashamed of any of the medication that I take to make sure I'm the healthiest version of myself."
Trickett on GLP-1 stigma
Trickett said she was aware there are "biases" around the use of GLP-1 injections and urged others to "be open to the idea that other people's experiences are different to ours and therefore can lead to different perspectives."
"There is no reason that is more 'right' to take these medications," she continued. "Only what is right for you and is between you and your prescribing doctor. Because ultimately, we are all just doing our best with what we have."
GLP-1 medications were originally developed to treat type 2 diabetes and work by mimicking a hormone that regulates appetite and blood sugar. In recent years they have become widely used worldwide as weight-loss treatments under brand names including Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro, though the source article notes that in some studies the drugs have also been shown to lower the risk of heart attacks by as much as 20 per cent.
The heart attack that followed childbirth
In April, Trickett revealed she had suffered a heart attack last year, roughly two months after giving birth to her fifth child, Archie.
"Turns out in June last year, I would have been about two months postpartum after Archie, I actually had what turns out to be a type of heart attack," she said in a video posted on Instagram at the time.
She explained the condition was a spontaneous coronary artery dissection, or SCAD. "It's not caused by kind of the normal things that cause heart attacks, like build-up of plaque and things like that, but basically a tear that happens in the artery wall in the heart," Trickett said.
"It almost exclusively happens to women under the age of 50, it commonly happens in pregnant women or women who have recently given birth," she added.
Lasting changes to her lifestyle
Trickett said there was a chance the condition could recur and that she would probably need to stay on medication for the rest of her life as a result. The diagnosis has also forced lasting changes to her daily routine.
"I can do moderate cardio exercise but I can't lift heavy weights," she said. "There's question marks about [going on] rollercoasters and all different types of things."
"I can't have ADHD medication, which is probably the thing that I'm saddest about. So it's been a lot," she said.
Trickett won gold medals in swimming at the 2004, 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games, making her one of Australia's most decorated Olympic swimmers.
