MD Podiatrist Explains “Ozempic Feet”

“When patients started coming into my office last year saying their shoes didn’t fit anymore, I knew something was happening. Then came the patients describing a strange sensation, like walking on pebbles, in shoes that used to feel fine. Then the patients pointing to the tops of their feet, asking why their veins were suddenly so visible and the skin looked loose. Almost every one of them was on Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro, or Zepbound,” says Dan Michaels, DPM.

“What’s being called “Ozempic feet” online is now a real conversation in podiatry. The complaints I’m hearing in clinic fall into three main categories: 1) Aesthetic changes. The skin on the top of the foot starts to look loose, wrinkled, or saggy. 2) Functional pain. Patients describe a ‘walking on pebbles’ feeling, or burning and aching in the ball of the foot, or new heel pain that wasn’t there before. 3) Shoe fit problems. Shoes that fit perfectly six months ago now slip at the heel or create new pressure points,” says Dr. Michaels.